[Exotica]

http://www.autocar.co.uk/VideosWallp...AR=239816&CT=V

[c0nstant]

nice find! i love the new frs

[Seminole]

I hate you Europeans. Why the hell do you get the cool cars. I would take a Focus RS in a second.

[oilcrankinject]

Me too. Ford is so stupid. They release these awesome cars in Europe but refuse to bring them to the states. Its been that way since the 80s.

[solefald]

Originally Posted by svtfast

Me too. Ford is so stupid. They release these awesome cars in Europe but refuse to bring them to the states. Its been that way since the 80s.

I think we should blame an American Consumer for that.

[radix]

Originally Posted by solefald

I think we should blame an American Consumer for that.

But which one?

[solefald]

Originally Posted by radix

But which one?

the one who would much rather buy a huge-ass SUV over a small sporty car, even though they have no need for an SUV. Or get a Mustang because it is BIGGER. Or get a Japanese or German car, because it is NOT American...

[Blake]

Originally Posted by solefald

I think we should blame an American Consumer for that.

i don't think that's a fair assessment...just look at hondas, scions, nissan, neon srt-4, etc. they sell the shit out of them here and people customize them. i think a focus rs would sell a lot of units here, but for whatever reason, they don't sell them. everyone can't afford a bmw or benz, but lotsa people want quick, agile cars.

[solefald]

Originally Posted by Blake

i don't think that's a fair assessment...

well, i know it wasn't, but you can't deny that Ford did do an extensive market research, and they know what sells where? I would certainly assume so.

It is also possible that it does not meet some kind of US safety regulations, but is good enough for European safety standards?

[Blake]

Originally Posted by solefald

It is also possible that it does not meet some kind of US safety regulations, but is good enough for European safety standards?

if i were to speculate, this would probably be the reason why there isn't a US-spec focus rs.

[Year's_End]

despite the fact that i'd probably have more fun with the focus, i'd probably take the GT-R in real life.

[ptack]

Originally Posted by solefald

I think we should blame an American Consumer for that.

No, you can't say that until Ford actually tries to sell it and can't. I'll bet you there are 2 possible reasons -
1) The RS may simply be too complicated, costly and not reliable enough to manufacture and sell in large quantities, so there's too much risk and too little profit. It's a nice european niche car that can represent the performance side of the brand in a region where Ford's US performance car (see below) is not so popular.
2) MUSTANG - as in they don't want to canabalize their own US sales. I'm sure Ford makes a good profit from their array of high performance Mustangs so I would imagine that there is not much interest in offering a car that might have better performance but with less profit. It sounds stupid to us, but it's real money to them.

[GreenThree]

Interesting conclusion. The RS looks fun. It should be AWD though

[Maestro]

Originally Posted by solefald

the one who would much rather buy a huge-ass SUV over a small sporty car, even though they have no need for an SUV. Or get a Mustang because it is BIGGER. Or get a Japanese or German car, because it is NOT American...

I think that fairly assess the situation and the buying preference of Americans.. Do forget those who buy cars because they have some sort of loyalty to the company.


With that said this summer Ford will release this in the US in the Fusion along with a number of other cars with the same engine. Copying the BMW idea of twinturbo power and fuel economy.

http://www.motortrend.com/features/a..._gt/index.html

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/04/03/f...rful-eco-frie/