There’s no “April fooling” when I say that this may be it. This may possibly be the year that I get corrective lenses. Again. Almost immediately following my move to Chicago from Florida’s bright, sunny vistas over twenty years ago, I found myself in the office of my new optometrist faced with the reality that I needed glasses. Initially, I was doubtful of this, as my eyesight had seemed completely fine when I was in Florida and had driven everywhere. Still, there was scientific, factual evidence right in front of me, demonstrated for me as I looked through the giant contraption as Dr. Cheryl had parroted, “Which one is clearer… One or two?”, as she flipped through the comparative lenses.
Good eyesight had been a badge of honor for my entire existence of almost thirty years up to that point. With the exception of one first cousin, everyone else in my extended family had worn glasses, including all other members of my family of origin. Glasses simply would not do for Joe Dennis. I would go straight to contact lenses at any cost. Up to that point, I was someone who would be super irritated by the occasional stray eyelash that had found its way onto the surface of my eyeball. Making the decision to forego glasses for contacts was a very serious thing for me. I practiced and practiced putting them in, but still hadn’t sufficiently mastered that skill by the time I went to get my new driver’s license at the former James R. Thompson Center downtown, which is now being reconstructed into Google Headquarters.
The former James R. Thompson Center. Tuesday, November 6, 2020.
I had spent maybe twenty minutes in the grubby bathroom on the lower level trying to get those contacts in before returning to the queue at the Secretary Of State office with eyes so red I might have looked stoned. No matter. I passed that vision test and got my new drivers’ license, but had that “R” restriction on my license for years. Not too long after that, I was a seasoned pro at popping those lenses in and out. From a practicality standpoint and as a photographer, I appreciated not having glasses physically on my face to encumber the process of getting quick and impromptu photos of things and people, which required very specific, split-second motor movements which I had memorized. Also and as I had observed with others, glasses can be easily lost or broken.
A typical night of tearing it up at the former Berlin Nightclub. (Early) Sunday, January 10, 2010.
The only times I regretted wearing those contacts were when I had had too much to drink at the disco the night before and had fallen asleep (or passed out) before I had removed them. In the morning, I’d then have two things to deal with: a nasty hangover and peeling yesterday’s disposable lenses from my dry, irritated eyes. I switched eye doctors to another optometrist in my neighborhood when Dr. Cheryl had left her office shared with other practicioners. After taking a series of vision tests with my new doctor, we discovered that I did not, or no longer, needed corrective lenses. It was the weirdest thing, but quite welcome. Was there an adjustment period my eyes had gone through while getting used to Chicago’s dark winters versus Florida’s year-round sun?
Fast forwarding to 2025, I’m noticing that things aren’t quite as clear as they have been, though I can still see well enough to function. As someone with introverted tendencies, this lack of eagle-sharp focus sometimes works to my psychological advantage. I can’t feel socially anxious in a large room or on sidewalks shared with strangers if I can’t clearly see all of them. Problem solved. Sort of. Not really, actually. Maybe I just need more sleep and less screen time. Now on to our featured car…
When I had first seen the redesigned, second-generation, U.S.-market Ford Focus, I was underwhelmed, especially by the two-door sedan. Aesthetically, it made me feel the same numb disappointment I had felt after having first seen the Saturn Ion as a replacement for the S-Series, or when looking at the third-generation Chrysler Sebring. In all three cases, the newer car had taken a significant stylistic step backwards. The original Focus, introduced here in 1999 as a 2000 model, was a very forward-looking car, putting an attractive, affordable face on Ford’s “New Edge” design language. Four body styles were available, between a traditional four-door sedan, hatchbacks in three- and five-door configurations, and a station wagon.
It was the egg-shaped, origami-creased hatchbacks that looked the most futuristic, which prominently featured one unorthodox and distinctive design element: vertical taillamps that were incorporated into the rear roof pillars. It took a little time for me to get used to their placement, but then they became part of the Focus’ identity and cool-factor in my mind. With a base-model three-door, not only did you have an attractive expression of Ford’s new, chiseled, linear styling, but you got it wrapped in the utility of a hatchback. It was win-win.
I should be clear that I don’t think the redesigned 2008 Focus was ugly. It just felt uninspired compared to what it had followed. Unless I’m missing something, this generation of Focus was the last small, two-door car with a trunk that Ford offered in the U.S. market. Why was there the switch from a hatchback to a notchback? The Escort ZX2, also with a trunk, had ended production in 2003 after being sold alongside the original Focus. Was this newer two-door sedan intended to appeal to those who wanted a small Ford but didn’t want a hatchback? Buyers liked the redesigned Focus well enough, with its U.S. calendar year sales increasing 13% for ’08, going from about 173,000 the year before to 196,000.
It wasn’t until the third-gen cars arrived for model year 2012 that sales increased to levels last seen with the first cars, with 246,000 calendar year sales for ’12 being the third-best in the model’s entire nineteen-year run here in the States. I had rented a two-door Focus about fifteen years ago to visit family in Ohio. Driving it was an okay-enough experience, and the 2.0 liter Ecotec four-cylinder seemed adequate, but the thing I remember the most was joking with my uncle about what we agreed to be the completely random-seeming appearance of an ear-shaped piece of chrome trim stuck onto the front fenders. The featured car is missing those trim bits (maybe not all Focuses had them), but they’re the first thing I look for whenever I see one of these.
The impression I get from the second U.S. Focus is one of a placeholder, and as seen through that filter, it’s easier to forgive its loss of stylistic focus in comparison to the first cars. The Focus seemed to have corrected course with the arrival of the third-generation models, much like my vision apparently had done an about-face maybe five years into my having worn contacts. My hope is that on my next annual eye appointment that I’ll be able to squeak by with at least just one more year of not relying on anything external to help me see. We’ll see how that goes, but in the event I do need glasses, contacts, or whatever, I’ll try to remember that to see at all is a gift.
Downtown, The Loop, Chicago, Illinois.
Monday, March 3, 2025.
@Joseph: Unlike you, I became “four eyes” in the sixth grade, when it was discovered that my clear field of vision didn’t extend far beyond my outstretched arm. I dealt with all the hassles of “coke bottle” thick glasses until the ’80’s when I started wearing contacts! First, daily wear, then I went to extended wear, (after sleeping in the dailies once, LOL!). Last year, I noted that things were not as sharp/clear as they had been, and long story short, cataract surgery has restored my vision to the point to where I don’t even require reading glasses! This Focus is just dull enough (or out of focus) that I wouldn’t even consider it to be good looking, let alone owning one! 🙂
Cataract surgery! I know I have cataracts in my extended family health history, so I recognize the importance of annual eye exams. I had this conversation with a friend just yesterday.
The last one of these I saw was a white strippo with the predictable demographic driving it.
But I remember one at the Ford dealer, red, decently equipped but with not a lot of options, one of which was “handling package”
It had alloys and Pirelli tires.
I bet it was a hoot .
I still have a soft spot for cars equipped like the one you described, in the days when one could purchase a basic strippo car (probably with crank windows) with a handful of useful options, like as you mentioned, a handling package. I’ll bet that Focus was way more fun to drive than an Escort Pony from twenty years prior.
When I saw some photos of this Focus, it remind me a bit in some ways of the Chevrolet Vega.
I absolutely see what you’re saying, especially in full profile and with the shape of those rear quarter windows. Wow. I hadn’t noticed this before.
I got glasses in the 3rd grade and have worn them ever since. I tried contacts when I was in my early 40s. It was only then that I realized how frequently nearsighted me looked over my glasses to see things up close, like a thermostat on the wall of a dimly-lighted hallway. I decided that contacts with reading glasses was no better than regular glasses and no contacts. And yes, I eventually switched to bifocals. But I still do all my up-close looking without lenses.
As for this nondescript little Ford, some cars are better looking if you can’t see them clearly. 🙂
Haha! I think Ford Styling absolutely could have turned in better than a B- effort with these.
Many in my age cohort are into bifocals. That’s where we are now. I won’t get Lazik because one can do that only once, and our vision consistently changes.
My left eye went south in high school. Thus, I wore one contact for years. My freshman year of college soured my right eye. I wore contacts until my late 40s, when two things happened…first, I needed cheaters to read if wearing contacts. Then my eyes rejected the contacts. So I’m all glasses now. I hate them as I am accustomed to having peripheral vision and wearing glasses is like experiencing life by watching a movie screen. Like JP, I remove my glasses to see up close, often saying “let me take my glasses off so I can see this…”
Supposedly, I have been “on the cusp” of needing bifocals for about five years, but my eyes have stabilized.
The Focus? It’s pretty vanilla, although a better color would likely help it.
Hooray for that stabilization, and I hope it lasts for a while. For me, I imagine my range of vision with glasses on my face to be like moving from a “panoramic” windshield to a traditional one with properly sloped A-pillar. And agreed on the color of this example. Not bad, but a spicy red would have elevated its look.
Joseph Dennis, If you are not already aware of it, Google Refractive Lens Exchange. It may well be just what you are looking for.
Thank you for this recommendation. I’ll have to look this up.
Refractive lens exchange is simply cataract surgery under another name. Whether you are removing the crystalline lens for a cataract or to alter your myopic/hyperopic condition it is still removing the lens and replacing it with an IOL. One of the benefits cited is that it reduces the risk of cataracts. Well, duh! There is no risk. Costly? Yes, as not covered by insurance like cataract surgery since this is cosmetic.
When I turned 30, needed glasses for distance, so of course had a restricted license. Just kept some glasses in the car in case I got pulled over. For a while I used contacts in my 30s and also had some of your experience’s after a night of clubbing. Then my vision improved back to 20/20. When I was in my mid 60s, needed some drug store glasses to read. During this time I realized my vision was almost perfect in the mornings but got fuzzy late in the day. Now in my 70s just had cataract surgery which restored my vision to the point to where I don’t even require reading glasses most of the time. As a design professor I would scare the hell out of my students because I could see an error of one inch on 1/4″ = 1′-0″ scaled architectural drawings. They would break out in a sweat if I used my reading glasses when reviewing their drawings. In my 40s, when I was doing my graduate studies an element of my thesis was color vision and perception. To reduce a chapter into one sentence: no two people see color the same way. I had my color vision tested at Duke Univ. and I could identify the differences of about 260 variations of white while most people can only identify less than 20 variations. This was another way I could intimidate my interior design students. Now with cataracts gone and corrective lens implanted my color vision is back to my spooky normal.
Regarding cars some are better appreciated with blurred vision.
This is fascinating stuff. I didn’t love being more scared (is that the word?) of some of my former professors, but I respected those who really seemed like masters of what they taught. You write your comments where I can envision the scene really well. My dad was a college professor and he didn’t play, from what I’ve heard.
Alfred, that is facinating stuff. I cannot imagine 260 variations of white, or even 20. And a thesis on color vision and perception? Wow.
Great story, Joseph! My only experience with this generation Focus was as a rental, driving in to NYC in 2012 for a wedding from Connecticut, leaving the city at 2 am during a tropical storm, melancholy me walking the beach (in the tropical storm at 4 am), and somehow getting home safely. All I remember is the Focus was sure footed and I arrived in one piece.
Needed glasses as a kid, didn’t need them from high school on, needed readers in my ’40s, and now full-blown multi-focus in my ’60s. I think the combo of cataract and Lasik in the near future might be a winner…
I like the picture of this association you have made with these Focuses, and melancholy beaches sometimes really speak to me. Similar to your experience with your rental, I remember mine getting me to between Chicago and Ohio with no muss and no fuss, and for that reason, I liked it.
“the completely random-seeming appearance of an ear-shaped piece of chrome trim stuck onto the front fenders. The featured car is missing those trim bits (
maybe not all Focuses had themonly M.Y. 2008 had them)”I found the ‘08 refresh absolutely abhorrent from a styling standpoint; so regressive (I owned an ‘01 ZX3 from new). It seemed things were changed just for the sake of change and it all was a mismatch of parts that now clashed. Those “gills”. Trapezoidal rear view mirrors. The chrome maw… The dashboard may have been the only area for me where aesthetically things were better (the original dash was an, ahem, acquired taste), with gentle curves and a relatively modern and sleek layout, but that was all completely ruined by the fact the door panels were also redone – strong and defined square shapes… When I think of generation 1.5 what comes to mind is “phoned in”.
It sounds like we’re on the same page with the styling of these. I don’t remember much about the interior, but after having read your comment, I’m curious now to look up pictures of it.
This one is one hundred percent a 2008 from a license plate search, so I wonder if it has been in an wreck with the fenders replaced from a later year.
My eyes started going when I was 40, I stuck my head behind the stove to read the serial number and found that I could no longer focus on objects 2 inches away from my face.
I recently recommended a Focus like this to an extended family member who was looking for a super cheap student car. If you can find one without rusted rocker panels they can still provide good service. I agree that they are stylistically disappointing compared to the Gen1 or Gen3 Focus, but at least they have a reliable automatic transmission. Unlike the Gen3, there’s lots of ads for cheap Focii that say “great shape, very clean, needs transmission”.
I like that you mentioned the rocker panels. I’ve seen a few of these around my neighborhood, and while the upper body tends to look rust free (even if dented, etc.), the rocker panels are almost invariably perforated. It’s the same with Fusions from around this time period.
Another great article and topics. Thank you!
When I was younger, I didn’t look forward to wearing glasses some day. With all the fashionable eyewear styles now, and many people look great with glasses, I no longer have any reservations.
Yes, indeed. The second gen Focuses were a disappointing design regression. As well as the other examples you highlighted. I will also offer, the Toyota Matrix, as another car that took a design step backwards, in going from its cute and attractive original incarnation. To the more anonymous and blobbier second gen version.
They tried to make it look less like a wagon and ended up making it look like a giant metal toad.
Thanks, Daniel! I think the second Matrix was kind of a push for me, though the first one was unquestionably cleaner looking. The second one looked like they incorporated some Solara-esque curves into the body sides. For what it’s worth, I think Matrix 2.0 looks better than Solar 2.0.
Reading your comment also reminded me that I had written a post here probably years ago in which I had referenced how I had once wanted to “grow up” to wear glasses like the rest of my family of origin. That faded.
Bought this car new in 2008 as a commuter. For 14000 bucks. Had a 6-speed, got 45 miles to the gallon, both kids learned to drive with it, and sold it 12 years later. It’s still on the road. I’m 6-3 and the 2-door was just enough longer to make it easier to get in. My youngest thought it was a sports car because you could roll down the windows with the engine off!. Don’t know what more one could ask of a 14,000 car.
I respect your Focus, and this is a great story of ownership. I love that it’s still kicking, even with someone else now behind the wheel.
I’ve owned both first and second gen Focuses at the same time. It’s obvious that the 2gen is just a reskin of the 1gen. The windshields are identical, and the door shapes (though not skins) are the same.
The 2gen Focus that Europe got wasn’t a sparkling design either.
Yes, this gen2 was just a heavy reskin of gen1. Regardless of the looks, the European gen2 was a significantly better car. This was the case of the US getting the stale leftovers.
If those fixed, back windows had at least been hinged so they could open a bit, would a been soo much nicer.
So true, the buffeting in the sedan is atrocious enough, not being to open the rear windows to relieve it would be torture.
I had to look up the second-generation, Euro-market Ford Focus, as I didn’t remember it at all. I don’t find it offensive-looking, but certainly not as distinctive as the first one. To me, though, the first Focus was such a departure from what I was used to seeing in a small Ford – in styling, perceived quality, etc., that (honestly) anything that followed was going to disappoint me in some way.
You’ve had a good run – making it well into adulthood without glasses or contacts. I started wearing glasses in 7th grade, so I marvel at your success. I got contacts in my late 20s, and struggled mightily putting those dang things in my eyes at first. Eventually I got the hang of it.
I’m amused by your comments about how as an introvert, you sort of appreciate not being able to see people clearly. My teenage daughter has said exactly the same thing (and she’s also an introvert). Her vision is almost as bad as mine, but she refuses to wear glasses except when absolutely necessary, and even then, removes them at the first available opportunity. I honestly can’t believe that someone else has the same thoughts about this!
As for this Focus, I think it’s best viewed out of focus. I agree that this was a stylistic step backwards, and with these two-doors, it’s almost as if Ford designed it to look as unappealing as possible… like the ultimate loss leader. It’s also one of these few cars where the four-door version looks better.
In other news, I’m pinching myself that a 2008 car is now old enough to look back on retrospectively!
Eric, your comment about your daughter and I having the same thought process made me smile today every time I periodically read through some of the comments to take a break from work. (Work kicked my butt today, but I kicked butt right back.)
Speaking of 2008 seeming to recent for a car from that era to seem worthy of a retrospective, I was in American Girl Place with a friend and her young daughter yesterday afternoon and remembered going there with my now college-aged niece. That seems like the quickest-ever eight years of my life.
Glad that brightened your day – it did for me too!
The 08 was the only year with the chrome teardrop thing on the fender, I agree even though I daily drive a 2009 it’s definitely a stylistic downgrade of the original and frumpy compared to the gen 3. I cynically wonder if Ford deliberately culled the practical bodystyles and uglified the design for the third gen to make a stronger impact on the market… which seemed to work, at least until all the good will went up in smoke with the powershift transmissions. No other explanation makes any sense for getting rid of a hatch and wagon for a 2 door sedan in 2008.
When I was comparing sales numbers, the increase in sales for ’08 now actually seems like a smaller sales bump than I might have expected for a significantly altered design.
And then factor in that this generation Focus was in the top 10 cars bought through the cash 4 clunkers program!
Came soo close to buying one of these in “2008”. Decided to wait another day.(sleep on it , so to speak)
Got notice the next day of a “big assessment”, here at the condo.
Was quite glad I hesitated; continued driving my “01 Focus” until “2014”.
Was also able to continue making “car payments” to myself during those years.
That’s so amazing, the timing of what happened in your case. In my own life, I firmly believe that there are no coincidences, even when adverse circumstances surface.
My niece wore “contacts” for years.(well into her “30’s”) Countless, torn, scratched contacts, scratched cornea’s, eye infections, yada, yada..
Went to glasses around age “36ish”. Been going that route about eight years now.
I’m someone who needed glasses to see in focus more than 5 feet away since 5th grade, when the Mustang was still new, but now has great distance vision thanks to cataract surgery. I don’t mind this generation Focus. It is bland but harmless … though I agree that bit of chrome fender trim was a bad thing. As a former Vega owner I never saw any similarity but after it was pointed out here, I see it as well.
The Vega thing! Seriously, since Stephane mentioned it above, I’m going to think of it probably every time I see another Focus two-door of this generation.
“… the thing I remember the most was joking with my uncle about what we agreed to be the completely random-seeming appearance of an ear-shaped piece of chrome trim stuck onto the front fenders. The featured car is missing those trim bits.”
It isn’t just a random piece of chrome. It is a stylized “F,” a leftover from 2005 when FoMoCo went all-out with car names starting with the letter F. Out with Taurus, in with Fusion and Five Hundred. That worked out really well until 2010 when it became Out with Five Hundred, in with Taurus (reboot).
In the case of the Focus the “F” (missing on this one, must be a strippo) could stand for Ford or Focus. But in hindsight it actually was a Fetish.
It didn’t even occur to me that this was a stylized “F”. (And now on Sesame Street, brought to you by the letter “F”…) Maybe I didn’t see an “F” because I was on the opposite side of the car where the letter was reversed.
Still, I remember thinking (as you mentioned) about that time period when Ford was naming their vehicles all “F” names, like Freestar, Fusion, Freestyle, etc. Chevrolet did the same thing with “C” names for a long time.
I rarely, if ever, see a 2nd Gen Focus out by me. Two days ago I saw a white 1st Gen and said to my son “look a 1st Gen Focus like mine.” He took a glance and back to his cell phone. Oh, well. Mine is doing great and will be in another maintenance update dealing with a few cars in the fleet.
Love all these vision stories especially since I have been doing it on patients for 45 years so far.
Yay – an optometrist among us! This reminds me I need to get on scheduling my appointment. It’s funny about youths now not being impressed by certain cars people my age like or liked. I had one nephew tell me the Fox-body Mustang looked “stupid” once, though he seemed to be semi-joking and trying to get a rise out of me. I kept my cool, but my feelings were hurt. I loved my Fox-body.
Off-topic, but I always look forward to your pics of Downtown Chicago. The exposed metal-work of your elevated trains, combined with the lovely mix of retro, and modern architecture, is so appealing. The framework adds, some really nice lighting effects.
I often read your earlier posts, while enjoying many of these attractive photos. NYC and Chicago are of two of the most photogenic US cities, matching my tastes in urban photography. Thank you!
Not off-topic – I feel like the environments in which I have photographed my subjects become part of the story about them that I want to tell, even if I don’t explicitly mention it. Thanks, Daniel.
Don’t feel awkward about needing glasses, Joseph. It’s not as though they are uncommon. And I’m sure none of your colleagues are going to tease you about them, not like if you got them in grade school – like several of us here.
Do you ever get the feeling some names are singularly inappropriate for the car? Like this one. Focus? No thanks, I’d rather not…
Poor jokes aside, I could never understand why ‘your Ford’ felt the need to back away from the World Car thing with this generation. It wasn’t as though this was a better-looking car. The Europe/rest of world design was quite attractive. A bit plain, maybe, but thoroughly cohesive. To my eyes (which I’ll admit aren’t the best) the US design has too much vertical height in the body here, the cowl is too high, and the wheels look too small.
The sharp vertical line on the front bumper face where the corner appears oddly chopped off just looks weird, as does that headlight shaped like some kind of mutant amoeba. The placement of the taillights makes the rear of the car look tall and narrow; the trunk lid looks to have come from a different car entirely, that crease annoyingly not lining up with the shape or color division of the lights. And you say some had chrome ears on the front fenders?
Why did Ford US think this was better looking than the ROW design? Somebody in management needed glasses….
Peter, I like that you mentioned the sharp, vertical chop lines on the bumpers. I had never been able to properly articulate what looked so awkward to me about those corners, but you nailed it. It’s like someone took a meat cleaver to the clay model. Definitely not a very cohesive design, even if I don’t find it unpleasant. I just liked the first one so much better.
I had the same reactions even at the time. I think the reasons for it get to the heart of why Ford offered this car in the first place: This was really just an extensive facelift of the Mk1 car, divorced from the better-looking ROW Mk2, and suffered the problem of trying to graft a different-looking skin on carryover hardpoints of a car that had had a fairly distinctive look. In that regard, it’s like the 2000–2005 U.S. Taurus, which was a fairly successful attempt to make a conventional-looking three-box sedan out of the awkward-looking fish-faced Mk3 Taurus.
The reasoning for doing this was almost certainly not that Ford U.S. thought this was better-looking (someone might have, but that wasn’t the rationale): It was a way of trying to re-tailor a hand-me-down design to make it look new so it could sell for cheap, plugging a gap in the North American Ford lineup that they had struggled with for some time. This was essentially a 21st century version of the old Ford Tempo, which had been an enlarged and aero-styled redress of the North American Escort. The Tempo had never been a particularly inspired car, and a lot of them went to rental car agencies and other fleet buyers, but it was cheap, cheap, cheap, and thus attractive basic transportation for people who needed a bit more interior space than an Escort, Tracer, or Festiva, but whose budget could not stretch even to the lowest end of the Taurus line. When Ford U.S. introduced the Contour (NA version of the Mk1 Mondeo), they completely lost the Tempo buyers: The Contour was more sophisticated and much better to drive, but it was more cramped in back and a lot more expensive even in base form. This Mk1.5 Focus was pretty clearly intended to recapture the Tempo’s cheap-wheels segment. Because it was based on the outgoing car, this Focus was low-investment and could be aggressively priced, on top of which Ford U.S. and Canada generally offered attractive incentives that made it accessible to buyers who otherwise couldn’t afford much in the new car market of the time.
It appears it was probably a bit more complex than just this- I agree a cheap ‘loss leader’ product was critical in attracting buyers into Ford’s showrooms (and since it being the Focus, to in turn balance their CAFE averages), but Ford began to officially backtrack on their previously stated intent to produce a new C1 platform based Focus for North America in mid 2003:
Chris Theodore, Ford’s vice president of advanced product creation, said Ford North America still needs to pay for the development costs of the current Focus before it can look to adopt the new platform. “We have to amortize and make money on our original investment,” Theodore says.
That is a rather common sense approach, but lest we forget, the Focus’ early years were plagued with defects and recall after recall after recall. Any semblance of profit on those early cars likely evaporated into thin air and turned very red in short order and I’d wager this severely altered the planned trajectory of a redesign.
Also from mid 2003: “One Ford source says the company doesn’t have the resources for another major product introduction and worried that a Focus platform change could trigger another round of costly recalls.”
Full disclosure: I bought an ‘01 ZX3 that had so much warranty work done I quite literally lost count of how many visits (easily a dozen +) and weeks that car spent at the dealer being “repaired”. It never ended and I know Ford lost a lot of cash addressing the endless recalls and faults on my ZX3 during the 3/36.
You nailed it. There’s absolutely no doubt in my mind that Ford never made a penny of profit from the Mk1 Focus. This is not a guess, but based on various industry disclosures. It was a fairly ambitious effort, given the realities of the small car market (US brands were not seen to be competitive hence had to be sold at low prices to meet CAFE targets). The Focus broke out of that to some degree by its inherently superior qualities, but all the immense recalls and issues dragged it down. And I doubt it was really ever going to make a profit even if those hadn’t happened. The simple reality is that during this era the Big 3 simply could not hope to make profits from their small cars due to higher costs and lower average selling prices. They kept building them because they had to.
And yes, there was no way Ford US could afford the more expensive-to-build Euro Mk2 Focus. So they cobbled up this sad thing. I’m quite convinced that both the 2-door and 4-door used much of the basic body of the Mk1 4-door sedan, and that not having a hatchback saved money.
And while I too saw this as something of the reincarnation of the Tempo, it’s actually sadder than that, if that’s possible. At least the Tempo had almost radical aerodynamic design when it arrived; this is the most pathetic styling job I’ve laid eyes on in along time. Every penny was pinched to get this out the door, as a loss-leader CAFE compliance-mobile.
And then Ford shot itself in the foot again, by cheapening out on the Powershift transmission, using dry clutches instead of wet ones. One of so many Ford DS.
I knew people as well who struggled with awful reliability of the Mk1 Focus. Was the Mk1.5 at least reasonably reliable? I’ve never heard any horror stories, but it’s also not a car one paid attention to if one wasn’t thinking of buying one. It does look like a cheap Circuit City stereo system, but if it was more or less debugged, it wouldn’t have been wholly without virtue, for the price.
I think most of the issues of the Mk1 were worked after the first three years, so yes, the 1.5 was not tainted that way.
Mine in the past year has needed:
-LF wheel bearing
-Pads and rotors(second time)
-all three motor mounts
-front sway bar links(second time)
-AC condenser
-windshield washer motor
-valve cover gaskets
-throttle body(although that I may have caused using it as leverage replacing said motor mounts)
-TMPS sensor
I’ve developed a bond with this car but it’s definitely not been the paragon or reliability with still less than 100k miles. I got this car to spare my 31 year old Cougar the daily grind (and my wallet of lightness) but I truly find the latter more reliable/dependable. On the plus side doing all the work myself it is at least a pretty easy car to work on, and in fairness to it and still amazes me it is 16 years old and up to this point (being in my family since new) it really hasn’t had any issues
XRyMatt: Ouch. I hate to say it but my ’05 xB has needed exactly one actual repair all these years except for wear items: a leaky water pump. And I drive it really hard, lots of forest roads and such with massive bumps and holes. I keep waiting for something to break…but no such luck yet.
I won’t lie Paul, there’s been a few times this year I’ve been looking at late model Corollas or Civics at used car lots. I’d actually really like a gen 1 XB in large part because of your experiences but also like the styling, but they’re not easy to find here anymore, even gen 2s are pretty scarce.
The other issue with the Focus is the rockers are rapidly rotting out, which is a shame because the paint has otherwise held up fantastically and the color is absolutely beautiful to me, but sooner or later I’ll need to make a tough decision
My take on the design philosophy is a little different, the NA gen 1.5 looks more like a half baked attempt at the ROW gen 2 styling, where the NA gen 2 looks like the full Americanization of the Focus in the vein of the original NA Escort. There’s no international stylistic resemblance that remains with the 08-11 Focus, instead it’s using uniquely NA themes that were found in the Fusion and Edge models hastily grafted onto the old gen 1 sedan body structure
I first started wearing glasses at age 23, but I think I likely needed them while I was in junior high school. Not wanting to be teased any more than I already was, I just pretended I could see. I’d sit near the front of the class… you know, all the tricks.
But putting glasses on for the first time and being able to see clearly was a revelation. Turns out, I have an astigmatism wherein the X & Y axis don’t line up perfectly.
In my late thirties or early forties, I tried contacts for the first time. Hated them. Having to wear cheaters to read defeated the purpose of them. Also, with an astigmatism, having that X & Y axis drift didn’t really help. I’m happily back in glasses again, and wear multi-focal. Astigmatism and distance at the top, computer ‘Focus’ in the the middle, and reading through the bottom. It took a little while to train my head to move with it, but now when I get a new pair, it becomes automatic in about 15 minutes.
Like what someone said above, I’m not doing Lasik as your eyes change, so what’s the point. That said, my last prescription was really close to the one before it, so maybe my eyes are finally getting dialed in.
As to the Focus, a coworker had one of these as his commuter car, and it never gave him any trouble. I think he gave it to a relative who needed a car and it’s still going. As to its styling? I have to agree with most everyone here. Meh…
My eye doctor told me that I’d eventually need readers. I was hoping was going to be able to go straight back to contacts, but my vision issues probably won’t be now what they were twenty years ago. Whatever. I’m sure I’ll be cool with whatever is decided. When I go to the beach, I’ll just squint. Or do what I’ve been doing for a little while now. No big whoop.
Get yourself a nice pair of RayBan prescription sunglasses for the beach and you’ll be set.
The neat thing about glasses today, is they are quite stylish. I’m sure a good looking dude such as yourself will find a style that’ll suit you just fine.
Ford was flat broke when they developed the 2nd gen Focus. Huge debt load from those Volvo and Land Rover purchases. Hence they phoned it in with an ugly reskin instead of an all new model.