Ford Focus News
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Detroit pride is back. Domestic brands are winning quality awards, and matching or beating import labels on consumer satisfaction indices. If you watch television, you've likely seen the spinoffs of the widely discussed, utterly illogical feel-good Chrysler 200 ad featuring Eminem with the "Imported From Detroit" tagline. Following bankruptcy and the government rescue of two out of three native automakers, Detroit feels resurgent. But one market, far from Detroit's stronghold in the upper Midwest, may determine domestic carmakers' ultimate competitiveness. The future of America It's a place...
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2012 Ford Focus Becomes Fourth Ford Vehicle To Get 40-MPG EPA Rating
40 miles per gallon seems to be the new magic number in the automotive industry and Ford could be considered heavy weight in the category. With the official 40-mpg rating of the 2012 Ford Focus by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Ford now has four vehicles with a 40-mpg or greater rating...
Jonathan McGrew -
Who's Your Gas Buddy? 16 Cars With 40-MPG Gas Mileage On Sale Now
Gas prices got you all nervous? Figuring the days of cheap gas are over? Thinking about a new car with much better gas mileage? Well, just because the EPA rates a specific car at the magic 40-mpg mark doesn't mean you'll actually get 40 mpg. But the ratings are a good indicator of where cars stand...
John Voelcker -
Ford Focus Uses the 1-14-50 Approach To Promoting Vehicle Features
If you were used to the Ford Motor Company ten years ago and how they marketed to the public and what they offered, then you have probably noticed the pendulum swing in a very different direction. It is hard to say what really started it, but a lot of people credit Alan Mulally, President and CEO...
Jonathan McGrew -
Ford Focus Electric: Plug-In To the Most Maintenance-Free Ford Yet
Anyone that has owned a car knows about maintenance. Some people take their cars in for what the industry calls “regularly scheduled” maintenance and others might wait until something goes wrong—the if it ain’t broke don’t fix it motto. Ford is enticing consumers with...
Jonathan McGrew -
2012 Ford Focus Electric: All The Parts It Doesn't Have...
A few days ago we told you what you needed to know about Nissan LEAF and Chevrolet Volt servicing. After all, an electric car doesn't have many of the serviceable components you associate with a fossil-fuelled vehicle. Not one to be left out, Ford are now extolling the virtues of simple servicing...
Antony Ingram -
We're eagerly looking forward to driving the 2012 Ford Focus. It's won raves in reviews--including the first-drive report on TheCarConnection--and been the subject of downright fawning coverage in Detroit media. It has many unique features and options for a compact car, from Ford's excellent self-parking system to the MyFord Touch voice-command software. But one thing it doesn't seem to have is the most front-seat leg room in its class, as the TV commercial below from Hyundai points out. 2011 Elantra: most front leg room Using third-party data from AutoPacific, the ad simply says that the...
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SUPER BOWL Ad Watch: Small Cars That Appeared During the Game
The Super Bowl has historically had a lot of automotive industry ads and this year is no exception. Maybe it is the millions of viewers at one time or the tradition of actually watching the ads as opposed to running to the kitchen for a snack. This year Super Bowl XLV had ads from many...
Jonathan McGrew -
Focus Rally: America—First Video Airs Tonight On Hulu
Last week AllSmallCars.com ventured out to L.A. to spend some time with the 2012 Ford Focus. To say that the car was good is probably a bit of an understatement, but we know no everyone will be a fan. Something most of us can agree on is that the all-new 2012 Ford Focus is steps above its...
Jonathan McGrew -
The Jay Leno Show Has New Life, And The Ford Focus Electric Does Too
There’s something terribly fickle about the bright lights and flashy sets of the TV talk-show genre. But while Jay Leno’s chat show on NBC may have failed to receive positive viewing figures the bright orange 2009 Ford Focus electric prototype used in the show has just found a new home...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Ford Focus Electric Won’t Charge as Fast as Nissan LEAF
One of the biggest drawbacks to electric car ownership today is the time it takes to recharge the car when the batteries are depleted. So it comes as no surprise that the time it takes a car to charge from empty is a big selling point. A few weeks ago, Ford seemingly pulled ahead of its rivals...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
2012 Ford Focus: Yes, It Can Even Park Itself Like a Lexus
Okay, okay…we have been talking a lot about the 2012 Ford Focus today and hopefully you have been able to check out the articles that interest you most. We have covered our First Drive experience, MyFord versus MyFord Touch, Hatch versus Sedan, Torque Vectoring Control and now Active Park...
Jonathan McGrew -
Torque Vectoring Control sounds like something out of Iron Man or the Star Trek series. In this case it actually refers to a new system on the 2012 Ford Focus that simulates a limited slip differential. It is also a safety feature that many parents—and adults—will be happy to have on-board. From our recent first drive experience in the hills of southern California we can attest that it works, but is it a good thing? Is Torque Vectoring Control magic or just another illusion? Here is what you need to know: Torque Vectoring Control uses the braking system to apply slight braking...
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2012 Ford Focus: Hatchback Or Sedan, That Age Old Question
Alright, so a couple of years ago I wrote an article about the return of the hatchback, and return they have. Instead of just having a hatchback, car manufactures are opting to have both a hatchback or sedan version of models they produce. This is true in both the new Fords we have seen...
Jonathan McGrew -
2012 Ford Focus: MyFord Versus MyFord Touch
If you have been looking at any automotive website starting early this morning you probably noticed that there is a slew of press today on the 2012 Ford Focus—mostly first drive reports. Yes, we here at AllSmallCars.com are guilty of that as well and you can read our first drive at your...
Jonathan McGrew -
2012 Ford Focus First Drive: The Perspective of a Twentysomething
If you haven’t seen the 2012 Ford Focus, then what I am about to say is going to come as a bit of a surprise. The 2012 Ford Focus is probably the best compact car that Ford has produced yet. Ford has taken style, performance and technology to new levels in the c-segment and has done so with a...
Jonathan McGrew -
GM Bets On Cheaper Electric-Car Batteries With Envia, Invests $17 Million
Riding high on a bout of good press of its Chevy Volt, GM is putting $7 million into its next big bet on electric cars: cheaper, higher-energy batteries. In his state of the union address yesterday, President Obama called for the U.S. to be the first country to put one million electric cars on the...
VentureBeat's GreenBeat -
Chelsea Sexton Slams Bias On Both Sides Over Electric-Car Range (Guest Post)
by Chelsea Sexton Slanted, anti-EV reporting is hardly a new thing, and I suspect we're in for a lot more of it in 2011 as plug-in vehicles hit showrooms. But the recent BBC "Mini Adventure," a 484-mile journey from London to Edinburgh in a Mini E, has caught fire like nothing I've seen in a while...
John Voelcker -
There is no doubt that Ford is leading the charge on voice-activated in-car technology—in fact they are the only company that makes this technology available to all of the product lines regardless of the price tier. Generally, we approve when technology moves from the highline to the mass production in the automotive industry. A good example is Anti-lock brakes and traction control, two features that most journalist and consumers appreciate and now expect on all cars regardless of price. MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch are both getting mixed reactions—the complaint is driver...
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2012 Ford Focus Electric Is Greener Than You Might Think
What makes an electric vehicle environmentally friendly or green? Most would say it is the zero-emissions of the all-electric motor. However, the 2012 Ford Focus Electric has more going for it than just the all-electric powertrain and global C-segment chassis. When building a car that is marketed...
Jonathan McGrew -
Electric Car Pioneers Want Simple Sockets, Not EVSE Charging Stations
Less than two months after the first 2011 Nissan LEAFs and 2011 Chevrolet Volts arrived in the eager hands of their new owners, there is an increasingly large group of owners worldwide who are wanting to ditch the confines of dedicated electric vehicle charge points and plug in where-ever they can...
Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield -
Greening The Rouge: Ford's More Sustainable Pickup Plant
A green roof is not at its most photogenic in a Michigan winter. In fact, it's hardly green at all--more like gray and brown--though it still insulates the building below just as well. But while some of the green aspects of Ford's showcase Rouge assembly plant have succumbed to the January weather...
John Voelcker -
Video: 2012 Ford Focus Electric Live Unveiling At 2011 Detroit Auto Show
Ford’s Volt and Leaf rival has been revealed, making its world debut last week at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and then reappearing again this week at the 2011 Detroit Auto Show. We are, of course, talking about the 2012 Ford Focus Electric, the Blue Oval’s first...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Talking Global Electrification With Ford’s Program Director
Ford is getting a lot of press with the introduction of their 10 small vehicles and electrification plan earlier this week at the 2011 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). Of course, that isn’t the only news; they also announce the all-new Ford Focus Electric at the 2011 Consumer...
Jonathan McGrew