They are better than the rest of the American cars, but I still wouldn't buy one.

The Ford truck is one of the few things Ford does right though.

Trucks do serve a purpose in life. Contractors can't carry their supplies in a ford focus.

It's nice to see some new cars. But honestly the bigger concern is what type of alternative energy source will we use? If it's to be electric then we need to fix our infrastructure to accommodate that. If it's bio-diesel much of what we have will work.

Just somebody choose and go with it, that's the major concern i have over this going "Green" crap.

The new fiesta is sweet. I'd certianlly get one.

Adjusting to market demands. Better late than never, I suppose. But is it too late?

the new fiesta isn't a bad looking car. If it was nice inside and outside, i'd consider it.

@HiPwr: It's never too late to learn to read!.... oh wait.

A friend of mine is part of the "Fiesta Movement" promotion that Ford is doing. He loves the Fiesta, although it's a European model and it doesn't have Sync.

There is still a need for SUVs, and I'm not talking about a family of five. There are certain industries or government agencies that buy fleets of SUVs...dumping them altogether isn't a good idea, but reducing your SUV line to one small one and one large one may be a better idea than shifting the focus entirely away from them.

@Skankingmike: I agree. Let's get the politics out of it and make the choice that makes the most sense. Every alternative seems to have drawbacks that must be carefully considered.

@pecan 3.14159265: The American auto industry does seem to be guilty of massive swings one way or the other. But "a company with a balanced product lineup" is encouraging.

I still feel that Ford stands for Fix Or Repair Daily.

@eekfuh: In my opinion, the Fiesta is one of the best reviewed cars ever. Top Gear reviewed it last December and it was amazing -

@HiPwr: Build more nukes!

I drive a 2000 (first model year) Ford Focus. In 9 years, in addition to routine maintenance, I've only had to have a little work done. (Electro-motor-thingies that control window up/down had a simple, inexpensive problem; and lost a ... strut, I think? Last year. (After four years of driving way too fast over speed bumps.)

My 2000 has some kinks (road noise, in particular); my husband drives a 2002 Focus and it's a much tighter car.

I love my little Focus: it gets great mileage, it's been very problem-free, and it can haul a surprising quantity of crap. Even doing pretty major home renovations, I've hardly run into anything I can't transport in my Focus (hanging out the trunk, of course, but that's why God gave us little orange flags and back roads).

So, yes, I'd definitely buy another Focus (I already did!), and I'd definitely look at a hybrid or electric Focus. This one cost me $15,000 new and has lasted me 9 years and counting with virtually no problems (knock on wood). My husband's we got used for around $6k or $7k (with only 6,000 miles on it, 18 months old) and has had no problems so far (except from a fender bender) and is 7 years old. My li'l Focus is at the dealership today getting her oil changed, her fluids checked, and her interior detailed. Since I figure once the car seat goes in there, it's not getting cleaned for a long damn time.

@Eyebrows McGee (on Twitter: LPetelle): (Another kink, to be totally fair: my trunk latch and interior trunk pop button require spooky voodoo to function properly. But the trunk pop on the door-opener-widget works fine.)

@Mknzybsofh: And this feeling is based on what?

If you have had experience with a recently built Ford, that would be one thing. But if you're feeling is based on what a family friend experienced 6 years ago, stop wasting other people's time.

I have a 2002 Focus and I have very mixed feelings about it. It does handle well, gets great gas mileage, and with the manual transmission manages to accelerate pretty well with only a 2L engine.

On the other hand, the car has less than 45,000 miles on it and I have had the following problems:
- At least 5 warranty recalls, some of them for serious problems
- Lots of road noise
- Both rear window motors blowing out almost at the same time - as in, catching on fire -
- Leaking engine gasket
- Squeaking struts that the mechanic says are not worth replacing
- A leaking windshield, ensuring that the passenger footwell gets filled with water during every rainstorm

Will I be buying another Ford? I don't think so. My husband's Camry has needed *no* work apart from routine maintenance and is a year older. I'm going Japanese in the future.

Why didn't they put 2 and 2 together about hybrid small cars earlier? I know the profit margin comes from the bigger cars and that's why we have the hybrid escape. But seriously, they didn't look at the waiting list for the hybrid prius and go "hmmmm...maybe we should make a hybrid Focus"
I do miss my old 1992(?) Ford Taurus station wagon. Lived to see about 200,000 miles before my sister crashed it into a boulder. Got 30-35 MPG.

@Skankingmike:

I am a hydrogen fan myself. Especially after seeing Hondas Hydrogen concept.

@Eyebrows McGee (on Twitter: LPetelle): My wife's Focus is 5 years old and has also only had a few problems. Most of the problems she's had are related to repairs done by local mechanics, rather than the dealership.

@pecan 3.14159265: Exactly what is the "need" for an SUV? Families and government did perfectly fine without SUV's 20 or so years ago. Need to haul stuff? Buy a pickup truck or minivan.

Good for Ford for being smart with their money and changing how they operate instead of whining to the government for assistance. I am still leery of "American" cars, but would definitely look at Ford now if they continue to do such things.

I currently drive a 2009 Ford Fusion, average between 22-28 combined city/hwy mileage, and love the hell out of this car. The trip computer currently says I'm getting 24.2/gallon, and that's with about half and half cuty/hwy. I took a trip to Gatlinburg from Nashville, and just hwy driving I got about 30 mpg.

The Sync system is fun, the interior is the way I like it-simple and functional, and I haven't had problem one with it so far (fingers crossed).

I had a Ford Escape that I traded in for the Fusion, as I didn't need to carry my band gear around anymore (long story). I've been happy with Fords for the last ten years, and I plan on keeping this one until it dies.

Every day I look at it and wonder why Ford took so long to make this car. They should've had this available five years ago.

@Skankingmike:

I favor a practical and balanced approach: Dilithium crystals and anti-matter in a quantum lattice structure for stability.

Of course, we'll want to store the energy from braking in batteries for later use...every little bit counts.

@jayphat: I like hyrdrogen too. But as I understand it, it takes an enormous amount of electricity to extract the hyrdrogen from water and the hydrogen itself is significantly more compustable than gasoline so there must be greater attention on how to store it both at the refueling station and in the car.

I'm sure that all of this could be overcome, but who is going to spend the money it takes to do it if in the end, the government mandates some other form of fuel?

2011 sounds about right. That's about the time I might want to be looking for a new car, and if I can get a plug-in Focus for a reasonable price, it might go to the top of my list. I don't need much; 50 miles of electric-only range. If I can have that, we can keep our gasoline car in the garage a good percentage of the time.

@Skankingmike:
Of course there will always be a need for trucks...but the artificially inflated demand for trucks by people with no real use for them is finally waning.

Ford is merely adjusting for that reality.

@IamNotToddDavis: I've heard good things about the Fusion, including from Consumer Reports. I guess Ford really is trying to shake that Fix Or Repair Daily reputation they have.

@Eyebrows McGee (on Twitter: LPetelle): @HFC: You guys are obviously confused. You either purchased Civics or Corollas, and just thought they were Focuses / Foci. Didn't you know that American cars fall apart after 500 miles and don't have any nice features?

The real bad news for Ford and other auto companies will be when people realize that keeping and maintaining the efficient gas-burning car they already own is cheaper and greener than buying a brand-new hybrid. I plan to drive my fuel-efficient compact sedan for years and years to come.

If the factory builds Euro style Fords I'll buy whatever they make. The Mondeo wagon is gorgeous and the Euro Focus is probably the best car in its category. If Ford really wanted to make me tight in the pants they'd sell us the Focus RS, that thing is just an amazing piece of Ford.

@IamNotToddDavis: The Fusion is a great car. I love the grill on it. They did a really good job of styling that car. In general Ford has been doing a much better job of styling their vehicles. It is definitely better looking that anything being built by Honda or Toyota.

The problem is that if Ford can't sell enough of these cars, the next stopping ground is the rental car market.

That's a double whammy for a couple reasons. First of all, Ford doesn't make any money selling rental cars.

In addition, the car owner gets screwed at trade in time since rental companies dump their slightly used inventory on the market, depressing prices.

I was lucky enough to take a ride in the 2011 Fiesta, and it was awesome. The interior had sweet two-toned leather and smooth plastic. The ride was great too. I would buy this car if it was offered today.

Basically this means they are going to be selling their European lineup here.

@HurtsSoGood: I've driven Fords for over twelve years straight and never had any serious problems. I had a Ranger, an Escape, and now the Fusion. I may just be lucky, but this is my experience.

I paid about $18.5K before trade-in for a nearly loaded Fusion (everything but the leather-I don't like leather seats) that they practically begged me to buy, and I think you would be hard pressed to get the amount of car I got for $20k from anyone else.

Yes, I know people will say "buying a new car is stupid" blahblahblah, but I will respond that all the used cars I've had cost me more in stress and headaches than I saved in dollars. I like knowing that if my car breaks AT ALL I call drop off the car, get my free rental and tell them to call me when it's fixed.

@Skankingmike:

Whatever contractor dude. Fact is the car companies exploited a loophole in the cafe standards for years while pushing SUVs as safer cars. Now they are paying the price and it feels oh so good to see them going under. They could have seen the trend towards higher gas prices but it took 4 dollars a gallon to smack them in the face. Yet they STILL continued to produce land monsters. It took a full on recession leaving them with millions in inventory choking them to death to finally wake up. Too little, too late, suckers.

@mbz32190: SUVs essentially displaced station wagons. I still remember my father's International Harvester "Travelall" -- that was a station wagon that would send most of today's SUVs off cowering in the corner!

@TheGuinnessTooth: The next Focus that this factory will be building next year is the "next-generation global Ford Focus", which happens to be designed by... Ford of Europe!

So basically, your wish has been fulfilled.

@pecan 3.14159265:

Any agency or business who foresees a need for these in the future and thinks they might not be available can simply invest in buying up the millions of them that are sitting unsold in massive lots all over the country at manufacturer's cost. Walk into any dealership in the country and tell them you want 100 or more of these and you can pretty much name your own price.

@Eyebrows McGee (on Twitter: LPetelle): Finally someone with some sense when it comes to american cars :P

Good for Ford for finally doing this. They're late, but at least they're on the right track. I've never been particularly fond of Ford's cars (love their trucks and SUV's though) but I think they've got some nice looking stuff coming out/recently introduced. The Fusion hybrid, Fiesta, Edge...they've turned around quite a bit. Chrysler and GM should follow suit.

@jayphat: @Citizen Kang: I'm for developing an engine that runs on rainbows and unicorn farts (that are depleting the fictional ozone layer). And with intensive fairy breeding programs along with the legalization of marijuana we can produce enough pixie dust and happy thoughts to keep our planes in the sky indefinitely.

@downwithmonstercable: I'm not anti-import, but my dad is a Michigander so I was raised with a bit of a "buy Detroit" bias. :)

I actually settled on the Focus when I was looking to buy *MY* first car (as opposed to a parental hand-me-down loaner) when I finished college, and I was looking at little Saturns (SL1s?) and Civics as about all that was affordable for me. My mom actually saw the Focus in Consumer Reports and saw its 5-star safety rating and that the price was comparable to the Saturns and Civics, and thought I should go take a look. She liked that it was all-steel (I guess the Saturns have that plasticy composite that the attack shopping carts on commercials can't ding? She's sort-of irrationally anti-that for her babies.).

Turned out quite well. And yeah, the rest of Ford's car line hasn't really done it for me historically (but the trucks are great), but since I'm a car-as-appliance person (I want it reliable, safe, and reasonably comfortable ... I don't care about fancy options and add-ons), I was mostly only ever interested in the non-sporty compact and sub-compact market anyway.

@Mknzybsofh: I thought it was First On Race Day...or was that Find On Road Dead. But seriously, Ford has turned itself around. My parents have an Escape with over 150,000 miles on it and so far it's only needed brakes, tires and exhaust; which is pretty good for any car. I've heard nothing but good things about the Focus (aside from the early models which had some sort of defect).

Trucks and SUVs are the most profitable vehicles for Ford. Going away from that to make less profitable Fiestas will help Ford how? Oh yes, we'll save the planet from man made global warming... hahaha!

@diasdiem:

Unicorn farts are a non-renewable resource. We have only so many unicorns, you know? Do you work for the shady unicorn lobby?

@Citizen Kang: No, I work for the cabbage farmer lobby. What did you think we'd be feeding the unicorns?

i'll use the cliche.... that SIZE DOES MATTER. Even my ex-girlfriends will agree thats one thing they'll miss!. but anyways... going small wont lead you to going big in the end. it may help in the short turn, but if ford shifts to small..... that means nissan, toyota, honda, etc will then shift to big. sadly the japanese, british, etc are a step ahead. ford, gm, chrysler are just following to whats catching on. kinda like follow the leader. ford should divide 3 ways. 1/3rd should be aimed at Big SUV's, Trucks, Vans. for businesses, fleet vehicles, etc. Muscle Cars the 2nd part, and the 3rd to small "economical" vehicles.

Allan Mullaly/Bill Ford, send me a free GT40 when you see my formula works!

-dave

Wow, that's great news. SUVs are wasteful and ineffecient, the fewer of them produced the better.