Ford Kills Civic Competitor Focus/Fiesta and All Small Cars

[Ataricade]

Hahahahahaha come live in Australia.

Fuel is $1.54c per litre or $5.82 in the backward unit of measure you have.

It’s not backwards at all, we just don’t feel the need to conform. Might be why we still run the show.

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[Sgamon12]

But I just watched the unveiling of the 2019 focus st. Weird that they’ll only make it for a year

 

[AndyAndromeda-AUS]

Hahahahahaha come live in Australia.

Fuel is $1.54c per litre or $5.82 in the backward unit of measure you have.

I should note as well $1.54 is for an ethonal blend 94 octane.

98 octane (premium) is $1.75 or $6.77

 

[a c i d.f l y]

I should note as well $1.54 is for an ethonal blend 94 octane.

98 octane (premium) is $1.75 or $6.77

AUS uses different octane ratings, but the conversion is below. 98 is basically 91-92 in the States. In case anyone was curious. US 98-100+ octane is really only available at race tracks and costs $7-10/g or more.

98: (98 RON + 85 MON) / 2 = 91.5 AKI

 

[Gruber]

Americans can afford to buy big practical cars and pay much more for gas. Even the Chinese today buy themselves an SUV as soon as they can afford it. For this reason there is no future for massive sales of compact cars and sedans in the US market.
These are cars for teenagers and students. I bought my daughter a Camry.

Additionally, there is currently no reason for increasing gas prices except greed and politics. Oil companies increase the prices because they can - there is almost no price sensitivity of gasoline demand - even low income people drive multiple times a day for silly reasons (like go to a convenience store to get a beer and a moment later again to get more chips) and just don't drive any less because of price hikes.

HR-V is a subcompact crossover SUV available at your local Honda dealer today starting below $20k and with available AWD. Why isn't it more popular? I guess it's too cheap for most small SUV buyers. I would never buy it - I prefer the CR-V which is a not much more expensive better car.

 

[dallasjhawk]

Americans can afford to buy big practical cars and pay much more for gas. Even the Chinese today buy themselves an SUV as soon as they can afford it. For this reason there is no future for massive sales of compact cars and sedans in the US market.
These are cars for teenagers and students. I bought my daughter a Camry.

Additionally, there is currently no reason for increasing gas prices except greed and politics. Oil companies increase the prices because they can - there is almost no price sensitivity of gasoline demand - even low income people drive multiple times a day for silly reasons (like go to a convenience store to get a beer and a moment later again to get more chips) and just don't drive any less because of price hikes.



HR-V is a subcompact crossover SUV available at your local Honda dealer today starting below $20k and with available AWD. Why isn't it more popular? I guess it's too cheap for most small SUV buyers. I would never buy it - I prefer the CR-V which is a not much more expensive better car.

I dont get the small suv/cuv thing at all, if I want more room then Id go CRV I just dont care for SUVs at all though. I love my cars.

 

[jred721]

Americans can afford to buy big practical cars and pay much more for gas. Even the Chinese today buy themselves an SUV as soon as they can afford it. For this reason there is no future for massive sales of compact cars and sedans in the US market.
These are cars for teenagers and students. I bought my daughter a Camry.

Additionally, there is currently no reason for increasing gas prices except greed and politics. Oil companies increase the prices because they can - there is almost no price sensitivity of gasoline demand - even low income people drive multiple times a day for silly reasons (like go to a convenience store to get a beer and a moment later again to get more chips) and just don't drive any less because of price hikes.



HR-V is a subcompact crossover SUV available at your local Honda dealer today starting below $20k and with available AWD. Why isn't it more popular? I guess it's too cheap for most small SUV buyers. I would never buy it - I prefer the CR-V which is a not much more expensive better car.

Gas prices have been dirt cheap for a while now but they are actually starting to rise. I wonder if the cuv/suv trend would still continue if gas prices actually rise a substantial amount (not that I want them to). That seems to be the reason why everyone feels like going with a bigger vehicle just because gas really isn't a issue to a lot of consumers at this point.

 

[dallasjhawk]

Americans can afford to buy big practical cars and pay much more for gas. Even the Chinese today buy themselves an SUV as soon as they can afford it. For this reason there is no future for massive sales of compact cars and sedans in the US market.
These are cars for teenagers and students. I bought my daughter a Camry.

Additionally, there is currently no reason for increasing gas prices except greed and politics. Oil companies increase the prices because they can - there is almost no price sensitivity of gasoline demand - even low income people drive multiple times a day for silly reasons (like go to a convenience store to get a beer and a moment later again to get more chips) and just don't drive any less because of price hikes.



HR-V is a subcompact crossover SUV available at your local Honda dealer today starting below $20k and with available AWD. Why isn't it more popular? I guess it's too cheap for most small SUV buyers. I would never buy it - I prefer the CR-V which is a not much more expensive better car.

Gas prices have been dirt cheap for a while now but they are actually starting to rise. I wonder if the cuv/suv trend would still continue if gas prices actually rise a substantial amount (not that I want them to). That seems to be the reason why everyone feels like going with a bigger vehicle just because gas really isn't a issue to a lot of consumers at this point.

Many Americans not living in public transit meccas, are attached at the hip to their cars. I am one of them. I will drive no matter gas costs but I also own a civic and a TSX so mpgs are a not problem for me. But many people with large SUVs and Trucks will drive them no matter what. They would rather put $100 in gas in than have the top tier cable package or go out to eat that 6th time in 7 days. Its the American way, but Ford is foolish if they think the small car market is dying. Things are cyclical, they always change. Is the market smaller than it used to be, yes. So one must wonder, why does Ford lose money on small cars but not Honda or Toyota or Nissan or Chevy for that matter? Because Ford didnt do shit in that market for 10 years. The Focus platform is so old and dated, they didnt innovate or improve their product (not talking specialty like ST or RS, but even then those use the same 10 year old platform) When you make crap for so long, people lose interest in your product as a whole. It doesn't matter that the new Fusion is actually a really decent car with good tech and good feel inside. People don't buy it bc they don't think of Ford anymore when car shopping.

 

[jred721]

Many Americans not living in public transit meccas, are attached at the hip to their cars. I am one of them. I will drive no matter gas costs but I also own a civic and a TSX so mpgs are a not problem for me. But many people with large SUVs and Trucks will drive them no matter what. They would rather put $100 in gas in than have the top tier cable package or go out to eat that 6th time in 7 days. Its the American way, but Ford is foolish if they think the small car market is dying. Things are cyclical, they always change. Is the market smaller than it used to be, yes. So one must wonder, why does Ford lose money on small cars but not Honda or Toyota or Nissan or Chevy for that matter? Because Ford didnt do shit in that market for 10 years. The Focus platform is so old and dated, they didnt innovate or improve their product (not talking specialty like ST or RS, but even then those use the same 10 year old platform) When you make crap for so long, people lose interest in your product as a whole. It doesn't matter that the new Fusion is actually a really decent car with good tech and good feel inside. People don't buy it bc they don't think of Ford anymore when car shopping.

That's true, ford was lazy and just didn't innovate enough with the focus platform and didn't market it well at all and thus people lost interest. They are essentially cutting out all potential profit they could have had in the compact car segment if they actually put out a fresh new product that was competitive. As far as gas prices go I also rely on driving everywhere I go so i'll have no choice as well but filling up the Mercedes SUV and TLX (not worried about my civic) if the prices actually do go up isn't something i'm looking forward to especially since the SUV gets absolutely abysmal MPG. I honestly think the market for cars will never die and things are eventually going to balance out. This whole trend started because honestly crossovers weren't really a mainstream product till 10-12 years ago and most people's definition of SUV's were body on frame truck based vehicles. But once car companies started pushing out car based suv's that were "awd" and had a higher ride height that caught everyone's atention and pretty much started the trend we see today.

 

[gtman]

But I just watched the unveiling of the 2019 focus st. Weird that they’ll only make it for a year

Remember, Ford isn't discontinuing most of these cars at all. They are stopping sales in North America only.

 

[dallasjhawk]

Remember, Ford isn't discontinuing most of these cars at all. They are stopping sales in North America only.

which saves them tons of money because that one less region where they have make the cars to meet those regions emissions and safety specs.

 

[n9yty]

Just a warning, if you don't like unvarnished opinion, skip this post.

I rather despise the trend of all the larger/higher cars... They overcrowd parking spaces and make their drivers feel invincible and, in my opinion, dangerous on the roads. Maybe if I were driving a Hummer I wouldn't care, I'd be a bigger offender then. I like my cars, though, and love the Hatchback. Yes, I feel a bit "undersized" with all the fat high-riding vehicles, but I love it all the same. And I'm not a greenie or tree hugging type, but I also feel that all the same I can be a bit more responsible, getting a car to meet my needs with the best fuel economy I can for the space. I do see the larger cars as wasteful in so many ways...

 

[BarracksSi]

Many Americans not living in public transit meccas, are attached at the hip to their cars. I am one of them.

Up until two years ago, I spent a decade and a half living in a public transit mecca, smack in the middle of Washington, DC. Now I live out in the 'burbs and can't do a damned thing if I don't drive for it.

I guess I could walk a mile and a half to some restaurants (no biggie as I used to walk almost as far to get to work), but there aren't sidewalks along the route. But I've had to give up on walking for anything like groceries (used to walk half a block), the train station (used to be three blocks), hail a cab (stand on the corner), go to the movies (fifteen minute walk), catch a flight (subway or bus or train), go to the doctor (subway), browse the flea market (fifteen minute walk), visit some museums (walk)....

My wife is happier out here, but I'll tell ya, ...we're fatter now.

 

[jred721]

Just a warning, if you don't like unvarnished opinion, skip this post.

I rather despise the trend of all the larger/higher cars... They overcrowd parking spaces and make their drivers feel invincible and, in my opinion, dangerous on the roads. Maybe if I were driving a Hummer I wouldn't care, I'd be a bigger offender then. I like my cars, though, and love the Hatchback. Yes, I feel a bit "undersized" with all the fat high-riding vehicles, but I love it all the same. And I'm not a greenie or tree hugging type, but I also feel that all the same I can be a bit more responsible, getting a car to meet my needs with the best fuel economy I can for the space. I do see the larger cars as wasteful in so many ways...

I agree, for most people's needs a smaller vehicle with decent trunk space would honestly do just fine and they would get better fuel economy and handling at the same time. However, I have friends who live in the snowbelt areas and for them having a vehicle with AWD actually makes sense so in those cases I can totally see why someone would feel better in a crossover/suv rather than a low riding sedan/hatchback.

 

[motoguy128]

Ford will keep making and selling compacts overseas where demand for smaller vehicles on smaller roadways is still there. Won't be hard to bring them back. Of course in Europe, very few buy automatics, that that issue is null.

Overall probably a smart move. They never could compete very well with Toyota or Honda overall in that market. Too many year of POS cars like the escort, tempo, focus. Without Mazda to do most of the design work, they really don't have much ability to innovate in that segment. IF anything, Ford was holding Mazda back and they've done well in their niche.

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