If the first step on the road to recovery is admitting you have a problem, congratulations Ford, you’re on your way. The Blue Oval Crew recently admitted that their overly-long product cycles were partly to blame for their current financial queasiness. As the surprisingly satisfied owner of a 2000 Focus, I’ve earned the right to say: ‘bout time. I was worried that the marketers’ standard question “Would you buy this car again?” had become strictly hypothetical.
In the six years since my Focus was new, I’ve changed jobs twice and addresses three times. I got married, we’ve had a couple kids and what’s left of my hair is going a little gray. I’m not exactly the same person I was in 2000. But the Focus is basically the same car, save for a different engine and a couple minor styling fluff ‘n buffs. The rest of the world got a groovy new Focus two years ago. We got a chrome grille surround.
Why would any auto manufacturer have its products on a life cycle greatly exceeding the average term of a car loan? I mean, I get the whole Alfred Sloan/GM ascending the social ladder business model. There’s a car for everybody, but never the same car twice (unless it’s expensive). Since I liked the Focus so well, I should be ready to trade up to the Fusion or Milan, right? Wouldn’t I really rather have a little bit bigger, classier car this time around? After all, I’m older and I’ve moved up in the world, haven’t I? Or maybe a family guy like me needs something with some cargo capacity. You can get two Pack & Plays into the back of an Escape, after all. Hey, we could get you into a lease on a new Explorer for a few dollars more . . .
The problem is, I actually like small cars. I don’t want or need anything bigger. Most of the time, it’s just me, my briefcase and a cup of coffee. And I kinda like 30mpg. I really want another small car— but one that offers me up-to-date engineering and design. If Ford can’t provide it, what about some other “American” brand? Chevy will sell me an Aveo (they didn’t build) or a Cobalt (I still can’t tell from the Cavalier it replaced). Saturn has an Ion, which is basically the same car as the Cobalt except it goes “boing” instead of “crunch” in a fender-bender. And DaimlerChrysler won’t sell me a car at all. I have my choice of a snack-sized SUV called the Dodge Caliber or a PT Cruiser only slightly less superannuated than my Focus. I could wait for the possible Dodge Hornet, but if I wanted to wait, would I be complaining about the all-new Focus I can’t have yet?
You’d think the Big Three would have learned the lesson of the ‘73 and ‘79 energy crises. You’d think they’d stay competitive in the small car market. You never know when an outbreak of hurricanes or mullahs will blow up gas prices, making car buyers think small again. But since the modern era of American subcompacts kicked off with the 1970 AMC Gremlin, how many American small cars have been world-class?
Maybe two: the 1995 Neon and the 2000 Focus. Otherwise, American consumers have been treated to a desultory deluge of dorkmobiles. You know the names. Go look up the numbers. A solid decade of Pintos. Twelve years of Chevettes, Omnis, and Horizons. Thirteen years of the first-generation Cavalier, followed by eleven years of the second generation. All of this while the imported competition was on four- to five-year design cycles. Small cars are still showroom pogey bait, as far as Detroit is concerned. It’s just that these days they’ll push an SUV or a crossover on you, not an LTD.
You’re not supposed to fall in love with small cars. You’re supposed to fall in love with their prices, notice their shortcomings immediately, then decide that maybe you can swing the payments on a new Malibu after all. So I guess I’m barking up the wrong org charts. I didn’t realize that small cars are supposed to be a pit stop, not a destination. I’m a bad customer for preferring a small car after I can finally afford a big one.
All it would take to keep my dollars flowing Detroitwards is for some manufacturer to show me that they care enough about small-car buyers to offer us two world-class efforts in a row, without a couple Olympiads in between. Will Ford’s new short design cycles lead us to better cars more often or will they lead to half-finished beta tests? Time will tell. But it’s OK– for some. The steadfast (if endangered) American car buyer is used to waiting.
I’ve been saying this for a while now: Ford needs to bring over the Fiesta to dispatch the Aveo (easy) and compete with the Yaris, Fit and Versa. This would free the Focus from having to be the cheapest car in their lineup so that they could bring the new one and it could go dispatch the Cobalt (easy) and take on the Civic and Corolla (who have since moved upmarket).
You’re in luck the vw golf V (rabbit) will soon be on sale. Not sure if it will be a mexican or a german made car but either way its got to be a whole lot better than the focus you’re getting ready to divorce. Probably a 2.5 20v I5 say 150hp/170lb ft… even gets that 30mpg. For the more fuel consumption conscious a TDI might be in order.
Ford did release the redesigned Focus here. It’s called the Mazda3.
We sold our 02 Focus to my parents. I still miss the gas mileage, and it really served us well, but we like our Legacy GT more (would have gone the STi route if the darn thing wasn’t so uncomfortable to sit in). And when there are problems with the GT, Subaru sucks it up and admits it, instead of jacking us around the way Ford did. And you’re smoking dope if you think the 95 Neon and its engine that was guaranteed to blow up at 60,000 miles was a world-class machine (the husband’s parents are ‘blessed’ with one of those). People may have been suckered into buying a lot of Neons, but it was by no means world-class anything.
The domestic automakers refuse to provide the public with decent small cars, so I don’t buy from them (and thousands of others apparently agree with me). They cater to the small car demographic overseas, why not here? The models are out over there, why not throw a emission-compliant engine in them, toss them in the showroom, and toss out high-fives over how much money you saved on coming up with a new design? Like most Americans would even know any better.
nathaniel:
You’re right. The Fiesta is one sweet piece, and the many Gen Xers who drove them in high school remember them fondly. The Fiesta name still has resonance with some potential customers.
qfrog:
The Golf (actually, Rabbit) is on the radar screen, especially since I’ve heard they’re cutting the price.
+1 on the Fiesta
I’d take a SportKa, for that matter.
I’ve been into small cars all along. Heck, my “”favorite all-time car” is a 1991 Nissan Sentra SE-R. I think that’s about the perfect size car for me, and I doubt I’m alone. The Japanese have stepped up to the plate and ponied up the money to import their smaller offerings, Detroit…. Not yet.
The big Two have plenty of compelling cars available overseas, just waiting for localization (large and small).
Get with it Ford (and GM)!! Do you want my money or not??
zerogeek:
I don’t get why Ford decided to give a different brand the benefit of the latest design. I mean, 2000-2002 was a totally different time frame than 2005-2007 will turn out to be, but it is perplexing why they gave Mazda a new car but kept us on the eight-year plan. FWIW, my experience with Ford customer service has been pretty good. They reimbursed us for a repair long after my car was out of warranty.
automaton:
+1 on the SportKa
OF COURSE! I… I never thought of it that way. I always knew that the entry-level car was supposed to be one’s entry into that particular company and, as the theory goes, you would then move up the ladder as you moved up the ladder.
I never thought of the car as a “pit stop,” but that seems to be exactly as what American car companies are treating them. So that’s why they all suck! If they made a good car, then you may just keep buying that car! Those dastardly devils! If you couldn’t tell, this is something of a revelation for me.
So they apparently forgot that for people to want to move up the ladder, they have to be at least somewhat happy with their current rung. Most importantly, though, is that next rung has to be good!
Alright, this is something of a pet peeve of mine. In the world of business, in other’s and my own, I expect a very Quaker-like level of behavior. You produce a good product at a good price. Combined with a modicum of savvy, this virtually guarantees success. Thus, when a company purposely creates an inferior product to the one they could create, I consider that bad business. Actually, I consider that just being all-around shitty. I’m sure we can all think of some products out there that fit this bill, *cough*CAYMAN*cough*.
You see that in tons of markets, but the automotive industry is among the worst. If you, as a company, have a $10 product and a $20 product, and you can make your $10 product just as good as your $20 product but don’t just to keep both products separate, that’s bad PR, utterly horrendous business, and any company that does otherwise deserves to die. You make the best product you can at all times.
Making the best product you can at all times is the only way to future-proof your company. Nothing else. No marketing, no design, no fancy-schmancy malarky you learned in business school. Look at GM. If GM was actually making the best cars on earth, they’d be fine. Even in the face of cataclysmically bad management, they’d still be fine. People would be lapping up their cars like candy. They wouldn’t be as profitable as they could be, but they’d still be profitable.
I’m a perfect example of why this is true. I own and love a Focus. I should want a Five Hundred, or a Fusion, or something from Ford. I don’t, though. In fact, I couldn’t even conceive of buying another Ford. The good will is gone. And with the internet at their disposal, I think people are buying fewer and fewer cars on the “Well the old car was good” principle. I think it’s increasingly on a car-by-car basis. And there’s only one way to win that game; make the best that you can and take pride that you did.
“Small cars are still showroom pogey bait, as far as Detroit is concerned.”
Mr. Hasty,
You have hit the nail on the head.
Ford and GM,
You’re in the auto business. Just make an honest effort on ALL the vehicles you develop (not just SUVs) and everything will be fine.
aaronmc:
Thanks. Couldn’t have said it better myself. The Japanese companies have been willing to play “small ball” while Detroit’s been looking to the HGH of rebates and incentives.
stanshih:
Thanks also. It would be nice to see the development dollars spent a little more evenly across the board, so we wouldn’t have to apologize for American cars any more.
I love small cars. I am about to buy a fourth sub compact (C class) station wagon. As an engineer at Ford, I did work on the second generation Escort (CT-20/CT-120). Seeing first hand the differences between Ford and Mazda opened my eyes.
Back in the 90’s, the 91 Ford Escort (CT20/CT120) and the Protege (?) shared a platform. At the end of the CT20 platform’s 4 year life, Mazda did a new platform and Ford warmed over the CT20 to create the CT120. If you think real hard and look around, you might see one of these too forgettable platforms tooling around in anonymity. My favorite of the breed was a black Mercury Tracer LTS with a 5 speed. A subtle 4 door outside with a GT motor and gearing made for speedy car.
When it came time to replace the Mazda platform, Ford went to Europe for the Focus to reduce costs and increase the corporate return. Common platforms would reduce company wide costs (so it seemed). Was the European platform a mistake? The Focus has an excellent basic platform. Cost reductions hurt the execution of the product. Ford left it alone to long as they have done with every small car since the Fairmont or Model T.
Mazda stayed on the typical Japanese product cycle of
1. New platform
2. 4 year make over
3. 7 or 8 year new platform again.
The current Mazda 3 was born in the early 00’s and is about due for a make over. It is a great car already and should get better with the updates. When has anyone ever said that about a Ford or GM sub compact?
Ford and GM could make cars to compete in the market. Their best small car engineers, designers, and suppliers are overseas. Once the prototype product gets to the U.S., all bets are off. Costs take precedence. Product content stays behind. Luxury car and SUV driving managers take the perky, fun-to-drive overseas designed cars home overnight and complain about the noise, ride, steering, and how much the wife disliked them. Next, the development team spends months reducing cost, making the car less rough like a Town Car or DTS, and generally sucking the personality from the original.
My point, great small cars (even good ones) do not come out of Southeast Michigan easily.
Count me in for loving small cars too. I drove the (current) UK-spec 1.6L Focus when I was in Scotland last year for my wedding, and it was absolutely sublime in so many respects. Smooth, supple, good handling; it had a feel that was so much more satisfying to drive than the 2.3L Mazda3, which felt thrashy and gutless despite a nearly 50% larger engine. I’ve not had the opportunity to drive the Fiesta, SportKa, the Renault Clio, Daihatsu Sirion, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa or any of PSA’s offerings (though I did get a ride in a 206 and a Xsara when I was over there), but I’d love the opportunity to try (and perhaps buy) them all.
Aside from the feelings of smug virtue, I like the creative thinking that must go into making a small car attractive.
I’ve driven small cars my whole life, and I’ve come to prefer them. I go out and buy a new yaris this minute if I could get it in leather with a quiet ride, and smooth suspension. I’m young so, naturally, I think scions are about the coolest looking cars on the road (if you ignore the new civic), but I’d kill for 30 more horsepower and a suspension that doesn’t feel like I’m getting punched in the ass every time I go over a bump.
American car makers can???t afford to make small cars with the structure they have now. There just isn???t enough money in the segment. There are many people who like small cars, there are many more who like larger cars and that is where the Big 2 1/2 put there money (if the put any into cars). Your average 30 something with kids is not going to buy a sub-compact unless it???s solely a commuter car. Typically the small car segment is a stepping stone to something higher up the chain. Now is that because that is how we as Americans want it or just because of the quality of what we are offered? Some small cars sell well, Mazda 3, VW Beetle, and some sell really well, Mini Cooper. If you make a fun to drive car that has real character and style for a reasonable price it can be profitable BMW has surely shown that. If I could afford a third car it would be a Mini Cooper S or Audi TT.
John:
Where I live (the upper Midwest), I still see lots and lots of CT-120 Escorts (along with a smattering of CT-20s) every day. Those cars deserve more love than they’ve ever gotten. I drove my dad’s ’93 Tracer in Montana back in the “reasonable and prudent” speed limit era. That thing was pretty composed at 100 MPH.
Humourless:
You’re right. It’s hard to make a small car look nice. My personal favorite small-car design is the fourth-generation (1988-1991) Honda Civic four-door. That was a slick, functional shape which wasn’t trying to look like a big car. It still looks good today.
Stryker1:
If you’re talking about the tC, I’m right there with you. I could not see myself behind the wheel of an xA or xB.
Steve_S:
I think it’s because of the quality of what we’re offered. A buyer who wants to “buy American” can’t find a small car a notch above what’s currently offered. Your only choice is to go large, or go to another brand.
THINK! that is the key word in the whole automobile mess that consumes the U.S. automakers. everyone but them has known this for the past 30-35 years except for them. can they really be that stupid ? yes they can. or is this whole thing just a plan to eliminate the manufacturing of cars here in the states,with the possible exception of big ticket autos.
naif, my personal opinion is that the lack of attention to small cars is not part of a plan to move manufacturing out of the country. GM and Ford could, if they chose, just decide to stop building small cars altogether and go back to the days of “captive imports” like the old Dodge Colt or Opel Isuzu. I just don’t think they understand that small car buyers might prefer to stay small car buyers forever.
I too like small cars and the added reflexes due to the lack of size. I have owned several great small cars in my driving lifetime – ’79 Audi Fox GTI (fun, fun, fun), ’85 Isuzu Impulse (fun to look at but fast as a slug), ’91 Isuzu Impulse RS (AWD, turbo – fast and fun). But then ….. along came kids. I no longer decided that I wanted to fold my 6’4″ frame into a small car. Now I am an Accord driver which surprisingly is quite fun to drive but there is still too much mass.
I recently sat in a MX-5 and Scion tC and all of those small car feelings came back. Now what to do with the kids, I’m sure they will understand.
Steve_S,
I think that’s a good point, but I also think it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. There’s no money in the small car market because Detroit gives it no attention. With the proper attention and market massaging, I think they could turn the small car market into an extremely profitable and widely varied one. For example, the Audi A3 sells well in Europe, but not here. I don’t think it’s because of the market, but because Audi treats it as though it’s the red-headed stepchild.
Volkswagen created the R32, which was incredible (ohhh how I wish I could find one for sale around here. My Focus would be out like the trash on Thursday), and it sold out. I think there are many people who would love the interior and engine of a Mercedes in a car the size of a Focus or Rabbit. Especially city folk (Manhattan in a large car? Screw that!). Small cars are, I really think, an untapped gold mine.
Aaron MC.
This article is right on the money, i.e., what’s up with domestic decade long model changes, not only on small cars, but everything? Up until the seventies, a significant model change occurred every two years, three at the most in Detroit. Hell, the 1958 GM products only lasted one year. What happened?
The longest Toyota and Honda go between major model changes is four, maybe five years. They know the key to staying on top of the market is by offering a new (and I mean ‘really’ new) model to the customer of the old model when it’s been paid off or the lease expires.
I guess Detroit is content with selling to rental companies and bottom feeders when the only change a model sees in a decade is a new grill and different colors. I mean, c’mon, who’s going to buy the exact same Focus they bought four, five, or six years ago? Doesn’t seem like a good business strategy, to me.
That’s why when it’s time to move up from a 2000 Focus but you want to stay with a small car, you don’t get the same, tired, old Focus – you buy a state-of-the-art Corolla or Civic.
nutbags:
Your comment reminds me of why I’m so glad my wife doesn’t mind driving a minivan.
aaronmc:
OK, I’ll say it: The M-B 190. Maybe people wouldn’t mind a Mercedes engine and interior in a small car, but they won’t pay a Mercedes price for it. That’s if you think the 190 had a Mercedes engine and interior, of course.
rudiger:
I thought about mentioning the fifteen model years of the Buick Century/Olds Ciera, but de mortuus nihil nisi bonum and all that. But, hey, Ford’s still selling the Crown Vic that came out during my freshman year of college. I do not wish to discuss how many years I’ve been out of college.
I appreciate you not succumbing to the herd mentality and running to buy a giant SUV. For once an American who shows some restrained and consumer discipline.
You can’t tell the difference between a Cavalier and a Cobalt? But I bet you don’t refuse to see the difference between generations of Corollas and Civics. May I recommend the Pontiac G6? Not exactly small, but affordable, available as a 4 cylinder offering 23/34 MPG, and no dorkmobile. And it’s very different from a Grand Am.
chaz_233:
Thanks for the compliment. I don’t like SUVs and probably wouldn’t buy one if I actually needed one.
I actually have a hard time telling the 1996-2000 Civics from the 2001-2005 Civics. As for the G6, it had better be different from my ’86 Grand Am. But I suppose 0% financing for 72 months would cover for a multitude of sins.
The 1993-1997 and 1998-2002 Corollas are also very similar, although they’re popular enough that it often seems like I see more of them than the 2 previous generations combined. No doubt I’ll be feeling the same way about the current Civic in a couple years as well.
You forgot the early 1990s Saturns. They were close enough to the Civic and Corolla of the day to be considered world-class; certainly better than the Neon.
Europeans are willing to pay more money for a small car then their american cousins. Almost the whole market is below the Toyota Camry or Mercedes E-Class in size. The reasons are various. Tradition, taxes, economy, parking spaces, parking availabilty, narrow streets in medieval towns, personal needs, and so on. Just because you have the money you don’t need to buy big or expensive. But that also means that people have more money available to use for a smaller car.
That’s why the premiumification of small cars are being made in Europe. The Mini is fashionista-chic. As is the Mercedes A-Class and Smart. That’s why the VW Golf and Audi A3 sells in numbers far higher than their bread-and-butter counterparts Focus and Astra.
The 1997 Golf IV really made an impact in the pursuit for high quality in that market sector. The first generation Focus was a really good car, almost over-engineered in Fords attempt to up the antes. That made Fords earnings smaller per sold car, and can perhaps be accounted for Fords bean-counted second-gen european version, and Fords decision not to sell the second-gen in USA.
Americans are per tradition not willing to pay large money for a small car. Instead of investing money in technique, safety and engineering, they prefer to buy a larger car. Instead of paying more for a refined second generation Focus, they prefer to pay the same money and buy an entry level Ford Fusion.