Yes, there is the
2007 Ford Focus, but only the 3-door hatchback (formerly known as the ZX3) could be considered a borderline small automobile (it is longer than 4 meters). So, are there any plans for anoter small car in the North American Ford lineup? I suppose they could just bring back the
Fiesta, which is actually doing quite well in Europe (sales of the Fiesta in the
first three quarters of 2006 were up 8.5% over the same period in 2005). But what about something new? Probably not any time soon:
"We have decided to keep away from entering the [very] small car market." -- Ford India's Vice-President for Marketing and Sales, Mr Scott McCormack (in an interview on 2006.10.13 with the indian Business Line newspaper)
Reading the rest of the interview, one gets the impression that Ford doesn't see much future in small cars; they seem to have decided that the profit margins in this segment are too low to be interesting. Margins or not, it seems short-sighted not to have at least some model in the development pipeline. With fuel prices going nowhere but up in the future, Ford's emphasis on big vehicles (SUVs, trucks, excessively large sedans) might put the company further behind than they currently are.
Whatever. The Focus is one of the top selling small cars and the #1 selling small car in China. The F150 Pick up is the #1 selling vehicle on the planet period! Because people will always need full size trucks. So yes it is a major focus. (no pun) Ford uses Hybrid technology and is developing a fuel cell vehicle. You guys seem to blab whatever ideas pop into your head whether right or wrong.
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I seem to see alot more Prius on the road than Focus lately. I am dismayed at Ford and GM who once had the biggest share of the US Auto market who now seems to have fallen behind Japan and I haven't heard Toyota or Honda laying anyone off lately! and they seem to be growing each year in market shares.
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