The Ford Focus: A Story of Youthful Connection and Polarizing Design

It's time to Focus you nerds, because this is everything you need to know to get up to speed on the Ford Focus. The car engine roars as we delve into the world of this iconic vehicle, which has been a staple in the automotive industry for decades.

The Ford Focus: A Humble Beginnings

The Ford Focus was once upon a time the world's best-selling car, its modest step brother, and the vehicle Ford built to connect with the youth. A humble four-door sedan, a forgettable coupe cabriolet, and a bunch of sporty models made up this American brand's lineup that didn't want us to have.

A Lineup Born from Imperfection

In the late 1990s, Ford was looking to replace their long-standing and outdated compact car, the Escort. The once-beloved everyday driver and World Rally Championship-winning racer had evolved into a sixth-generation basic in the UK and a third generation pile of jelly in the US. Ford had learned from previous experiences that it wasn't wise to completely dump a model from their lineup to make way for its replacement.

The Cortina Conundrum

Ford kept the Escort in the lineup and released the all-new Focus in 1998 to the European market, and in 1999, to America. The new little sporty compact was met with mixed reception at first. Up front, it had sharp lines and distinctive headlights, while out back, it was kind of boring. People either loved it or hated it - a polarizing design that sparked heated debates.

A Taste of Youthful Appeal

The look stood out and got the attention of younger buyers, which was exactly what Ford was hoping for. Maybe it was the aesthetics or maybe it was because the Focus sponsored Ricky Martin's music. Whatever the reason, the design became synonymous with youthful rebellion and was emblazoned on t-shirts, posters, and even pizza boxes (yes, pineapple pizza - a divisive topic in its own right).

The Soundtrack to Success

As we rev up our engines, the sound of screeching tires and revving engines fills the air. "No, you can't dude," says one voice, only to be contradicted by another: "Yes, I can Nolan, you don't know what you're talking about." The banter is music to the ears, a testament to the Focus's place in the hearts of car enthusiasts worldwide.

A Legacy Born from Controversy

The Ford Focus has become an integral part of automotive history, its impact felt long after its initial release. Love it or hate it, the Focus remains an iconic symbol of youthful rebellion and design that continues to inspire car enthusiasts to this day.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en(car engine)- It's the once upon a timeworld's best selling car,the Escort's modest step brother,and the vehicle Ford builtto connect with the youth.(car tires screeching)A humble four door sedan, aforgettable coup cabriolet,and a bunch of sporty models,that the American branddidn't want us to have.(engine sputtering)It's time to Focus you nerds,because this is everythingyou need to knowto get up to speed on the Ford Focus.(imitating guitar sounds)- No, you can't dude- Yes I can Nolan, you don'tknow what you're talking about.- It's literally impossible.- No, It's not because I can do it.- Nuh uh.- Yeah, huh.- Nuh uh.- Yeah huh.- Nuh uh.- Yeah huh.- Nuh uh- Yeah huh.- Nuh uh.- Yeah huh, watch this.(tires screeching)(engine revving)See told you, did it look cool?(laughs)(rock music)In the late 90s, Fordwas looking to replacetheir long standing and outdatedcompact car, the Escort.The once beloved everyday driverand World Rally Championship winning racerhad evolved into a sixthgeneration basic in the UKand a third generationpile of jelly in the US.Now Ford had learnedfrom previous experiencethat it wasn't wise tocompletely dump a modelfrom their lineup, to makeway for its replacement.They did that with theCortina when they releasedtheir new and improved Sierraand that upset all thosesensitive Cortina snowflakes,aka British people in 70.So, Ford kept the Escort in the lineupand released the all new Focus in 1998to the European market,and in 1999, to America.The new little sporty compact was metwith mixed reception at first.Up front had sharp linesand distinctive headlights,while oout back, it was kind of boring.People either loved it, or hated it.It's like the pineapple pizza of cars.- I love pineapple pizza.I'm from Hawaii, so Ilike pineapple everything.Polarizing as it was, the look stood outand got the attention of younger buyers,which was exactly whatFord was hoping for.Maybe it was the aesthetics, or maybeit was because the Focussponsored Ricky Martin's"Livin' La Vida Loca" tour,and partnered with Dawson'sCreek to be featuredin various episodes of thegroundbreaking teen drama.♪ I don't wanna wait ♪♪ For our lived to be over ♪If you have no clue what Dawson's Creek is'cause you're not old likeme, leave a comment below.The Focus was affordable,got great gas mileage,and came in all sorts of configurationsto appeal to just about anyone.Also, it was a great handlingcar and fun to drive.(tires screeching)(engine revving)It took a bit for theFocus to catch some heatin the sales department, butonce those loyal Escort fansbegan to dig the new cool kid in town,(Spanish music)Sales of the Foucs reachclose to 500,000 carsin its second year.And then as the new carfrom the land of Hot Cheetosstarted to take off, itwas plagued with recalls.(car crashing)Left rear wheels were falling off,roof pillars were foldingin during crashes,and the ignition cylinder failed,making it impossible to turn the car on.The first two years of theFoucs got banged over the headwith 12 safety recalls, andseven defect investigations.It was one of the worst casesof vehicle recalls in history,second only to the X-Platformcars GM released in the 80s.But Ford pressed on, fixing the problemsthat plagued the Focusduring its first few years.Improving upon their build qualityand trying to get the public to forgetabout the Focus' tarnished reputation.And one way Ford went about giving amnesiawas by building a more sporty model.The 2002 Focus RS.(tires screeching)Only 4,501 of the MK 1 Rally Sport Focusesrolled out for public sale.Using a turbochargedversion of the two literFord Zeta engine, the RS got 212 horsies,and 229 pound thicks of tuerwerks.(engine sputtering)That might not sound all that impressivecompared to current day hot hatches,but in the early 2000s,this made the RS a great buyfor the performance.It didn't get all wheeldrive like the Cosworth,it got front wheel drive witha torque bias differentialdesigned to compensate for torque steer,which occurs in high powerfront wheel drive cars.A tightened up suspension, Brembo brakes,18 inch Oz racing wheelsand upgraded bodyworkcompleted the package.Timeout.Is it Oz, or is it O-Z.I think it O-Z.What do you think?By the way we're going tostart doing a thing now,anytime we talk about acar that we didn't get herein the States, I'm goingto go on our subreddit,and do a post called James List.So go to R/Donutmedia to see my list.And while you're there,let me know other carsthat we didn't in the US.So, we didn't get the RS, but we did getthe next best thing.We got the SVT.The special vehicle team tookthe 2 liter Zetec four banger,and massageed the lacticacid out of that pony,to get an extra 40 buffhorses for a total of 170.(engine revving)The SVT got variable intake cam timing,a dual stage intakemanifold, and high flow,high compression cylinder head.This thing was a blast to drive.I'm guessing, becauseI've never driven one.During the same time Ford also decidedto make statement cars.Special Edition Focusesbuilt from 2000 to 2003.You got the Sony edition thatcame with a high performanceSony Xplod audio system.A Centennial edition, and a Kona editionthat came with a bicycle,specifically, the Kona Blast.And they sold them to theiryoung and hip Focus buyers.Ironically, a crank boltproblem on the bicycleled to the first ever automakerissued bicycle recall.(groans)You can't catch a break.So aside from thestatement cars they built,they offered specializedpackages marketed as,tailored for you kits.Pet lover?You can get the pet packagethat included a custom pet bed,a lint roller and a pet safety belt.The friends package, whichcame with a ice coolerand a candy dispenser, andthe complete first seasonof Friends on VHS.Well if you're a business person,maybe you'd offer the professional packagewhich got a mobileworkstation that had a trayto hold your laptop and other suppliesneeded to run a business out of your car.I can't imagine anything more depressingthan working out of your car while parkedin the parking lot of a Carl's Jr.If you are working in yourcar you need to get a new job,unless you're a private detective, or cop,or an Uber driver or a race car driver.Sometimes I'm at work when I'm in a car,being the host of Top Gear would be cool,I guess you work in cars there.Turns out working in carsis actually pretty tight.Saleen even got in on theFocus fever with the S121.Although it was more of a looks package.Using the Duratec 2 liter Inline four,the cars got a 10% performance bumpby replacing the factory paper air filterwith a more freely flowing air filter.And a cat back exhaustsystem, but the cool thing is,you can get an N20 addition.nitrous oxide anyone.- Yes, please.(breathes in)Wow, wow.- You got a factoryinstalled 75 horsepowershot of nitrous with thebottle mounted in the boot.(air hissing)But if you hooked up the bottle,it would void your warranty.So, whatever, in 2004,Ford took away the SVT.And England, got the ST.This was also the firstyear, where a Focus modelsplit up into various markets.The MK2 makes its debut in the UK,while here in the States,we have to wait until 2008.Gone was the two liter Zetec,now the Focus was poweredby 2.3 liter 155 horsepower Duratec motordeveloped by Mazda.The Ford Focus ST got the restyle as wellas a 2.5 liter fivecylinder turbo Volvo motorthat pumped out 225 horsepower.Getting the car from zeroto 60 in 6.4 seconds.With all these differentmodels and packages,it's funny that Ford left outone particular group of car goers.- Oh yeah who?- Someone who likes totake a spin on the coast,with the wind blowing through your hair.- You mean a convertible Focus?- Yeah- Well actually they did make one,it's called the Coupe Cabriolet.- Huh, yikes, that does not look good.The RS made a UK come back in 2009,this time getting 300 horsepowerout of a turbocharged five cylinder.Ford used the ST motor andbeefed up the internalsgave it a new intake and exhaust,and threw on a largerBorkwarner K16 turbo.The hot hatch could get it.(tires screeching)With a top speed of 163 miles per hour,and a zero to 60 in 5.8 seconds.Of the second gen Focus, theone that tops the food chainis the RS500, the swansong for the second gen RS.And an homage to the SierraRS500 racer of the 80s,only 500 of these matteblack mobiles were made.Sporting 345 horsepower, theRS500 got a larger intercoolerairbox, and downpipe.(engine sputtering)All helping it scoot to 60,faster than his little RS bro broby four tenths of a second.(engine revving)And if you're a Focus fanthat lives in the US of A,And have never seen this versionit's because yes,(record scratch)we didn't get it.You're an American carcompany, and you're not evengiving America any ofthe cool frickin' cars.It's going on the list.Yeah, we haven't talkedmuch about WRC cars becausethey share literally zeroparts from the street model.From 99 on, manufacturers wereno longer required to buildhomologation specials in orderto meet requirements to race.But similar to how it is in NASCAR,the brands would tag their carswith a model in their lineupin order to get people to buyone off the showroom floor.Even if it's nothing likethe race car you see on TV.Good old Frankie boy mightmosey into a Ford dealershipthinking he's gonna get that WRC edition.Sorry Frankie, you got duped.The Focus RS WRC did win 44 ralliesand two manufacturer titlesduring its run from 99 to 2010.So, very successful.Ford reignited the internationaland North American Focuswith the MK3 in 2011.Design of the MK3 was developedusing the Third Age Suit.A wearable device that simulatesthe physical limitationsof being old, weird.Ford pushed to make theFocus a global phenomenon,and it worked.The third generation Focuswas the best selling carin the world in 2012, withover a million cars sold.That same year, Fordbrought the ST package back,built as part of the One Ford program.Which was Ford's way ofcombining all the various designand engineering teams around the globeto produce a single car worldwide.Which sounds great, becausenow I get to cut down the listof fun cars we don'tget here in the States.- Well, unless you wantto get the Focus ST Wagon,we didn't get that, only Europe got that.(groans)- The ST uses a tuned twoliter Ecoboost four bangerthat makes 250 horsepowerand 250 pound feet of torque.When horsepower and torqueare the same number,I call that Horsepork.Half buff horse, halfbuff pig, 100% delicious.They got all those 250 horseporksby way of a high pressuredirect injection system,a low inertia turbo and twin independentvariable cam timing.It took them a few years butthe RS line returned in 2016to outshine the ST.Hey ST, I got more power baby.And for the first timein the Focuses history,it got all wheel drive.Making this car eat isa 2.3 liter Ecoboost,the same one that's in the Mustang.We did an episode of The NewCar Show on the Focus RS,so you can check it out here.It's basically the tip top hotboy hatch, that you can buy.Sorry, could buy.2018 was the last year ofthe Focus here in the States,as you might know, Ford has stopped makinga bunch of passenger cars,Focusing (clicks tongue)on building crossovers and trucks.The last MK3 Focus for the NA marketrolled of the assembly line in May, 2018.Ending an era that spanned two decades.But the Focus name will stilllive on in the Focus Active.A Chinese made versionthat will be importedinto the States.While other countries across the worldstill get to enjoy thenew ST and RS models,we'll only get one model to choose from,a five door hatchback from Chinathat looks like a crossover.- Hey guys, huge announcement,we're launching a podcastfinally, it's called "Past Gas"about the cars you love them,and the people behind them,and we'll be telling the beststories in automotive history.And because it's longer,you get to go deeperinto the juicy details, the fun stuffthat we sometimes have toskip in our shorter show,so you can watch it here onour YouTube or Facebook page,every Sunday, and then youcan listen to the next episodeMonday, wherever you getyour podcasts, iTunes,Spotify, Stitcher, whereverfine podcasts are delivered.Go check it out, Past Gas, it'sabout cars, not about farts.It's a podcast.Enzo, come on.- No, I don't want to race anymore.- Come on, Enzo, if you stopracing, your brand is dead,we all know that.- You don't even care ifa Ferrari go to waste.- Don't say that.- It's how I feel all the time.- Oh, what's the problem?- I feel like everybody likea Ford, nobody like a Ferrari.