first of all, I always like how someone brags that a v8 gets 30 mpg on the highway, especially when they were going light on the go pedal to get the best mpg to brag.
Take that same v8 and sit in Chi-town stop and go highway traffic and then tell me what you get.
I believe the focus to be a good little car. Ford never took it to the next level without going to the SVT. This latest 2008 car appears to be really nice so perhaps it will fair better in the long run.
Until I actually bought an import, I remained ignorant to the fact that an RSX-S with Hondata and full exhaust could bang a mid to low 13 in the 1/4 mile.
I owned two ford trucks before going to a Nissan car. I was tired of how crappy and unresponsive the truck transmissions were, especially coming from vacum modulated, tv cable controled C4's.
I looked at the SVT focus, honda Civic SI was butt ugly in 2003, the RSX-S was out of my price range and also the Jetta 1.8T.
Jetta had the nicest interior and the best overall ride; 110 mph and not a bit of wind noise and it would be 21500 out the door with tax and title. The SVT focus was fun if you like to zing a little engine into the stratosphere, but anything under 4G on the tach and it felt like a turd in traffic this was 19,970 out the door with tax. So I looked at the Nissan, 180 ftlbs of torque at a very usuable RPM no need to constantly shift the 6 speed, 4:13 factory limited slip and some factory sponsored bolt-on goodies. 16, 700 out the door for a car that got 33 on the highway, a lousy 27 in down town traffic and could bark the tires going into 3rd at 60 mph. Car weights in at 2800lbs.
Is it the best car ever... noway. Has it been dependable with enough gusto to keep me satisfied; certainly.
If I need faster, I've always got the Notch.
As far as the Pearl Harbor comment, I can see your point and here's my rebuttil, If Ford built it, I would buy it. I've always said that Ford is the fat kid who's late to the party.
AWD direct injected 263 hp Focus is what they should have brought to the states.
WRX killer, would have been a SRT4 killer, but nope, we don't get any of that technology until it's too late. Ford has some beautiful cars across the pond and yet they give us the septic tank back up crap.
Another example, why not put the new mill into the Escape? Rav 4 3.5 v6 has 269 hp, why not equip the Escape with Fords new 3.5? The Rav can claw it's way to 60 in 6.3.
Then if you read this they are bragging about how Ford's 3.5 is beats out imports.
Umm last time I checked Nissan's 3.5 it was making 306 hp on premium, but I garuantee that it still makes more on 87 than Fords mill.
http://media.ford.com/newsroom/release_display.cfm?release=23109