Pope Francis. d.ibtimes.co.uk
Recently, I wrote about my Ford Tempo COAL.
I thought it would be fitting to COALlate my Fords as automotive bookends. It seems every niggly thing that caused me to detest my Tempo has been redressed with my Focus.
The Ford Focus has become the world’s best selling automobile nameplate since its European introduction in 1998 and North American debut in 2000. In addition to the numerous automotive awards and accolades it’s attracted, it has had the heady honor of being habituated as a Popemobile®. *
*Littlest Known Fact: The Popemobile® monkiner, similar to the US president’s Air Force One tag, is a call sign that is automatically transferred to every vehicle the Holy See pontiff is wholly seen in. (Source)
Wishing. Popeing. Thinking. Praying.
Just some of the things that have been done in a Focus.
These dusty springfields are much more appealing than the cursing, kicking, swearing, and bitching that I’d done in my Tempo.
The CC effect.
My Focus is the first brand-new car I’ve ever purchased. I don’t recall the particulars on how I was pulled into the local dealership to look more closely at one and take an example out for a test drive. My previous negative experience with Fords had pretty much convinced me to never consider buying another one. I guess “pretty much” weighed in at 99%. The 1% had prevailed, so one day there I was, browsing and chatting with the salesperson.
The house we live in is serviced by a well. The capitulation that catapulted the deal was agreement the family would drink bottled water. So began our ritual of swapping out and refilling 5 gal. (19 l) containers for the home water cooler – a practice we still do today.
cardomain.com
The ride I was contemplating trading was a 1991 Buick Regal, much like the one pictured here. It was a nice car, but not practical for transporting water jugs. They were too tall to put in the trunk with the lid closed and they couldn’t be laid on their side. I figured out a way to transport them in the back seat, secured with the seat belt, but the ingress and egress was proving regressive.
2007 was the last year for the Focus Wagon. The wagon was dropped from the lineup in 2008, much to the dismay of Canadian Ford dealers. The wagon represented a significant portion of Focus sales in Canada vs. the US, where wagon sales were a blip on the radar and would not be carried over with the ’08 restyling. Canadians love wagons, minivans, and apologizing for things. My salesperson was aware that the wagon would be dropped for the ’08 MY and apologized for that. Good for her. It was her fault!
autodealertools.com
I test drove a maroon SES wagon, which was an upgrade from the SE. I’d heard that “SES” stood for “Special Edition Specialer”, and though I couldn’t absolutely confirm that, it was indeed much more specialer than the pedestrian SE. Fog lamps with black surrounds. Ooooh. Black instrument cluster surround with gray-faced gauges. Ahhhh. My tester even had a sunroof! Life in the fair lane; surely make you lose your mind.
Are you with me so far?
It’s 2015 and that tester has been in my driveway for eight years. It has provided reliable service with no major mechanical issues. The body is in great shape with no rust. It has about 125,000 km’s on it now. I’ve seen ’07’s at 250,000 or even 300,000 km’s still running strong. It’s a nice feeling to know it will likely not have any problems, and will continue to provide worry-free (and payment-free) driving. My son has his learner’s permit and likes to drive it. He’s waiting for the papal blessing to adopt it as his own.
My Focus. My bike.
I’ve wondered why I’ve kept this car as long as I have. There just has been no compelling reason to trade it in. I’m glad I chose the “specialer” package. The car has pretty much every option available, including heated leather seats. I’m sure the creature comforts have kept my eyes from straying.
No looking back.
I’ve driven a 2010 Focus. Those were the most comfortable small-car car seats I’ve ever sat in. Perfect riding position, not too low, not too high. Perfect steering wheel and foot pedal position. Perfect amount of support.
Stream of consciousness writing…
And that’s the only thought I can muster this morning.
The Ford Focus was the successor to the Ford Escort, which from the 70s on was always a very solid No. 3 behind the Opel Kadett / Astra and the VW Golf.
Nowadays that is no longer the case. With each new model Ford lost more grasp of the important compact car market in Germany.
I think that back in 2014 the Ford Focus barely managed to keep a Top 10 sales spot.
The current generation Focus is the best selling car on the planet.
and for good reason it is, too. Yet all the rave reviews in the motor press never translated into the great sales as should be…in Germany that is.
Same here. The market share of both Ford and Opel have diminished drastically in the past 20 years.
Our 2014 Top 10 (Source: autozine.nl)
1. Volkswagen Golf 16.457
2. Renault Clio 14.720
3. Peugeot 308 14.439
4. Skoda Octavia 13.913
5. Volvo V40 10.987
6. Volkswagen Up! 10.764
7. Volkswagen Polo 9.140
8. Kia Picanto 9.050
9. Ford Fiesta 8.771
10. Renault Captur 8.305
One non-Euro brand, on number 8. And nothing from Japan.
thats some interesting sales chart, Johannes.
Because whenever I go to the Netherlands it seems to me as if all the Dutchies were driving around in expensive SUV´s ! 😉
You visited the Dutch Cattle Dealers Convention ? 🙂
Middle-East peoples are prejudice against East-Asians. I don’t get it but it is true. I think your immigrant population is boycotting Japanese cars. I’ve seen it here in the US. It could have something to do with the Japanese government outlawing Islam. No joke. Islam is against the law in Japan.
No idea what you are talking about….
Anyway, Japanese brands were pretty popular here in the late seventies, eighties and early nineties. And then their marketshare went downhill, all brands.
It’s not illegal in Japan- Christianity was before the Meji Restoration, but that was about a century and a half ago.
Honestly, most Japanese have real trouble telling Jews, Moslems and Christians apart…
Sure wish my ’06 Focus SES ZX5 (every option as on yours but the heated seats) were as reliable as your ’07. It’s a swift, stable, fun car to drive when it’s running right.
My dad has a ’12 Focus. It has none of the smile-inducing characteristics of my ’06.
Sorry to hear about your ’06 reliability issues. (<– See, there's the Canuck in me, apologizing…) 😉
I'm a bit surprised. My understanding is the '00 – '04's had some issues, but most of the kinks were ironed out by the '05 facelift.
I like the styling of the ZX5. It was on my shortlist but the wagon won out because '07 was the last MY it was offered.
Uh, how is a Ford Focus a Curbside Classic or any CLASSIC? Really? Just saying…
This site(I love all you guys and this site ROCKS) loses focus(no pun intended) when we do stories of 2000+ cars…. Like someone’s 2005 F150 or a 2009 Hyundai Veloster.
Who gives a crap about those “appliances”? Lately, it’s more like if you open your eyes and see a car, “Let’s Write About It”. Cool article… But, since when did a Focus become a Car of a Lifetime?
Okay, flame on!! Lol 😉
Sorry, Paul I guess I can’t sit at the executive lunch table, since I spoke out against the establishment… Lol
When it’s not a “Curbside Classic”; meaning the title is “Car Of A Lifetime” (COAL), which are series by contributors with their real-life experiences about their cars, old, medium, and new.
Here’s the thing: It has become quite obvious to me that our readers don’t just live in the past; in addition to their interest in older cars, they also live and drive in the present. And they obviously like to read about/discuss new/newer cars.
If I had to say, it’s because our community perhaps prefers to discuss old and newer cars here, rather than go elsewhere.
We’ve had posts on new/newer cars here all along. We’re a site and community that has a wide range of automotive (and beyond) interests. We like to write and talk about the full range of our interests.
So if that’s seen as a dilution of the “CC” brand, I long ago accepted that. And you’re free of course to skip over the ones that don’t interest you. It’s one of the reasons we use a clear titling system: “Curbside Classic” posts are clearly delineated. “COAL” and “Future CC” posts and such can and will cover the wide range of cars including new/recent cars.
Having said that, we’re not going to go into things like industry news, etc. We like to stick to the actual cars, and our real-world experience of them.
CC is a big tent, and as it says right up top “Every car has a story”. And you’re still invited to sit at the exec table; just bring your own lunch. We all do. 🙂
+1
+2
The Focus is a car of my lifetime. At eight years, It’s the longest amount of time that I’ve ever owned a vehicle. I bought my first car at 18. I’ll be celebrating the big 5-0 this July. So, I’ve owned my Focus for one quarter of my 32 years of driving.
Thanks for the positive feedback on the article otherwise. It was fun diversion!
Germany 2014…it did perform a little better than I had suspected:
1 VW Golf 114.200
2 VW Passat 35.533
3 VW Tiguan 34.487
4 Audi A3 33.432
5 VW Polo 32.077
6 BMW 3er 30.486
7 C-Klasse 27.927
8 Ford Focus 27.536
9 Skoda Octavia 27.409
10 VW Touran 27.364
I think my immigrant theory, which I responded to Mr Dutch, applies to Germany as well.
This was the 80s – and only – Ford Escort model that managed to come seriously close to Opel Kadett and VW Golf sales volumes…
Do you have any ideas why the Ford product should be so unpopular?
Roughly one can say that the market share of both Ford and Opel shrank and Volkswagen’s market share grew strongly in the past two decades.
They just don’t sell the numbers anymore they were used to in the seventies and eighties. And the 1990 successor of the Escort in Monzaman’s picture was a joke. Already outdated when it came out.
One can not really say that Fords are unpopular in Germany. They´re just not as popular as they used to be. Also there is much more variance in the car market than there was in the 70s or 80s. That market place has become so crowded now with all the Asian imports, a resurrected Skoda brand and the segment for small SUVs. Its difficult now for the Focusses and the Astras.
I have an ’02 5 speed wagon used as a daily driver. Nothing runs like a Deere!
My folks also have a well and have been bringing in water for the nearly 30 years they have been living there. Before moving out I regarded potable water coming out of faucets as a luxury. Sure we brush our teeth, shower, and clean dishes with the water, but the only thing we did not do was drink it.
Glad you are enjoying your Focus wagon and I hear that when the Cavalier wagon went out of production there was also an outcry by dealerships even in the States. Bit surprised Ford sold the 1st gen Focus in until the 2011 model year at least in the States instead of bringing over the 2nd gen which Europe got. My family has almost always driven vehicles until the wheels fell off so trading in is a foreign concept to me.
We have all the equipment to make the water potable (UV, filtration, softener). Tests have always confirmed the water is safe to drink. It’s just one of those things… we had always lived in the city prior to moving so there was a desire to drink bottled water, if not only for peace of mind. We took possession in mid 2001, barely a year after the Walkerton, Ont. tragedy.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walkerton_Tragedy
Well dang that is a terrible deal especially with several people dying. The water out of my folks’ taps tastes nice after it is boiled, but tastes nicer when zapped with a UV light instead.
We’re also on a well. My wife is a lab tech for a water testing lab so she’s pretty paranoid about water quality. When we moved into our house, there was only a softener between the well and the taps. Now we have our own water treatment facility in our basement: sediment filter, iron/sulfur filter, softener, charcoal filter, then UV light. The only thing missing is a reverse osmosis filter to remove the salt introduced by the softener. That’s on my to-do list.
In Australia it’s often rainwater tanks rather than wells. I used to cart water twice-weekly from a friend’s tank, on the back seat of my old Ford Cortina. For hay bales, I’d take the seat out.
It’s funny how regional the wagon was/is. Locally plated ones are as common in Vermont and far upstate NY as they are north of the border, but when I visited north Jersey for the NNL East model-car show for the first time in 2009 the only one I saw all weekend was the Wayne Ford dealership loaner car.
I’ve never actually been to Vermont, but I’m pretty sure that 99% of the cars I’ve ever seen with VT plates have been Subaru wagons.
I have an ’04 Focus SE wagon which I bought 18 months ago to replace my beloved ’96 Escort. It has been reliable and mostly trouble free. The seats are comfy (though could use a tad more lumbar support), the size is right and it drives and handles nice. Crisp steering, good brakes, the 4-speed automatic shifts nicely. Too bad Ford discontinued the wagon models after the ’07 model year, worst decision they’ve made in recent years. Not everyone wants a minivan or SUV.
Small wagons rule!
I happen to have a 2004 ZTS Sedan with the larger 2.3L engine and 5 speed. The 99-03 definitely had some issues such as the ignition switch being a major one. The suspension of the earlier cars was tighter than the later cars that became a bit softer. Mine is a very quick, agile and extremely well handling car. The only issue lately is there is some low growling heard in the manual transmission possibly. Outside of that never any issues with the car.
I never even realized that their were 3 generations. I know the first generation (1998–2005) was widely known for having a lot of problems. Today’s Focus is a more upscale car, while the new Fiesta seems to have filled the spot the first generation Focus occupied.
On the Chevy Spark and Sonic forums, many members are trading their Sparks and Sonics for Fiestas due to reliability issues with the Chevys. I haven’t heard anything bad about either the new Focus or Fiesta.
but the first generation Focus was also know for its supreme chassis and its superb ride and agility.
Good old Sangria Red, same as our ’01 Focus.
Same replacement deal with ours too, why should I get rid of it, when it still does everything I need it to and doesn’t give me much grief? Ours has 220,000km on it and still going strong.
Very nice. In my early years, I changed cars almost as quickly as moods or clothes. Now, I keep them a long time (sometimes too long.)
I have a 2005 Focus base model for almost 9 years & nearly 51K miles now & I’m very happy w/it. The only problem that I had w/it was that I had to replace the driver’s side door mechanism which cost me $375.00. Otherwise, I’m satisfied, although I think the interior has a bit too much plastic.
If a car serves you well, why not hang on to it? When I was younger I went through countless cars, but since ’91 I have had 3. Well actually, one car and two trucks. In 04 I bought my new Titan and in 06 I (painfully) sold the truck I had since ’76. Still have the ’85 Yamaha 700 Maxim motorcycle I bought in ’94 it now has 76k miles on it. They all still have their original untouched powertrains, though one has over 300k miles on it. The truck I sold in ’06 had the original short block and rear end, but the trans had been replaced twice and the valves, valve seats and timing chain were replaced during it’s 30 year ownership. And they both still look good with original paint and interior. The Yamaha was repainted and the seat reupholstered in 2000. Really like the color of your wagon, seems like it has had good care.
As much as I like the Ford Focus, I’d still rather have the Pope’s Renault 4L!
During the early years of the Focus, there was a “ZTW” model that came with blacked out trim, bigger alloys and the European suspension. I believe you could get them with the 2.3l engine and 4-wheel discs too, almost like a ST wagon. They’re probably stupidly rare now, but I’d love to have one of those!
Indeed…I loved my ’04 ZTW, silver, with NO options…5-speed, cloth (heated) seats, 4-wheel discs, 50-series Pirellis (yep – the OEM tires were P6s) and nothing but grins every time I drove it. I was sorely tempted to buy out the lease after 3 years, but the addition of one more child made the ostensibly 5-passenger vehicle strictly a 4-seater.
Luckily, by then Mazda was selling their version of the same Ford C1 platform in the form of the 5…a “tall wagon” (it’s NOT a minivan), still available with a stick, and with seats for 6. I’m now on my 2nd one – which means 3 different copies of essentially the same Ford platform have graced my drive. The current 5, with 110,000 km, runs just as well as when new and has had few problems…I’ll probably keep it for at least another 100,000…
I think we’re all fans of the “Classics” here at CC. My avatar is a ’66 Chevy. That’s my next COAL.
That being said, it’s a different time for car ownership today. Cars are much more reliable and less susceptible to tinworm. The farewell of the yearly model change makes older cars look less dated in comparison to the new offerings.
For folks like me who were raised in the snow belt, it was not uncommon to see five year old cars with rust holes all along the side where the molding strip was missing. Many side mouldings just succumbed to tinworm. Cars were hard to start in the winter. Mechanical problems were more prevalent.
76 Conti – my Focus has been cared for with the odd wash and wax. It sits outside all the time, which is testament to today’s build quality rather than my detailing expertise 🙂
I am amazed how rust resistant cars have become.
PSA galvanises its cars and for the NZ market Toyota did the same with its best selling Corona, rust is a thing of the past except on Australian cars but those get it repaired under warranty.
A keeper for sure.