2009: Post Your Ride Thread

[Nalcyon]

My Bronco takes a while to heat up. Sometimes it takes it 10-15 minutes for the air to actually become warm, depending on how cold the temp outside is. The G37 will spit lava from the vents within just a couple minutes of cranking it, which I like. A lot. The butt warmers come in handy, too.

 

Good quote in your sig, one of the most moving passages ever written in my opinion.

[Silverfox]

I've never started a car, turned the heater knob to defrost and NOT had a windshield be "de-iced" in under 4 minutes...

 

(well maybe a few times when we've had freezing rain and there is about an 1/8th inch of ice all over everything)

 

Well, the Ford 'Quick Clear' wind screen is pretty impressive. It's good enough to sell cars solely on that merit in the UK Car heaters are fine - hot in 2-4 minutes or not, they only hit the lower part of the screen first ... and take a while to get the rest cleared. Quick Clear does the whole lot at once. It suits places that get lots of ice and changing weather more than perhaps what the USA demands from a car

 

After all - nothing worse than ruining your wipers by sweeping across rough and dry ice!

[Verran]

They were most likely not a dealer option, because the Focus was an entry level hatchback in the USA and having such features was a) not in line with consumer demand and b) an unusual characteristic in 'cheap' cars

Yup, you're right and that is one of my biggest complaints about the American car market. Small = crap. Plain and simple. It's practically impossible to find a small car that's highly equipped. It's because here, anyone who's anyone drives an iceberg to work. Why on earth would you spend big money on a car that isn't ginormous?! How will your friends know how cool/important you are if you drive a small car?! So for the few like myself that don't want giant vehicles, we have very limited options when it comes to quality and features. Small cars are only marketed to low budgets, so you'd never see a car like your Focus available here.

 

Speaking of which, I just saw a gallery for the 09 Focus RS, and... yeah. I like it It's a bit aggressive for my tastes, but I think a bit more color-matching would tone it down enough.

[Silverfox]

Yes, the good old RS. It's shockingly quick. And front wheel drive, using a new technology called 'RevoKnuckle', to ensure that the LSD can cope with the 300+ bhp and 440Nm torque it spits out. It's a cleverly modified MacPherson strut front suspension system. 0-62 in 5.9 secs and that alone is fairly impressive, though the in-gear acceleration is what can only be described as 'mind blowing', and rivals more expensive and more powerful vehicles.

 

And yeah - it's a shame the Focus isn't as popular there. Mine for example as you know, has enough equipment to embarass a BMW/Mercedes that costs almost twice as much.

[LoArmistead]

Yup, you're right and that is one of my biggest complaints about the American car market. Small = crap. Plain and simple. It's practically impossible to find a small car that's highly equipped. It's because here, anyone who's anyone drives an iceberg to work. Why on earth would you spend big money on a car that isn't ginormous?! How will your friends know how cool/important you are if you drive a small car?! So for the few like myself that don't want giant vehicles, we have very limited options when it comes to quality and features. Small cars are only marketed to low budgets, so you'd never see a car like your Focus available here.

 

Speaking of which, I just saw a gallery for the 09 Focus RS, and... yeah. I like it It's a bit aggressive for my tastes, but I think a bit more color-matching would tone it down enough.

 

That is a pretty good looking car. And it's true, if you have money to drop on a car here, you buy a BMW 7 series or a Lincoln Town Car, or some other land yacht. One of the things Mulally noticed when he came in to run Ford is that the US and Euro Focii are completely different cars, built using different parts from different suppliers. The Euro Focus is a quality car that comes well equipped, while the US Focus is... well... crap.

 

I read on the WSJ a week or so ago that the US Focus starting in 2011 is going to be virtually identical in manufacture to the Euro Focus, aside from small differences made to it for our more authoritarian "safety" standards. Ford realizes we will be buying small cars soon, too, and they are working hard to go ahead and seize the quality small car market before it happens. More power to them. In the meantime, I'm just happy to be getting more than 20MPG for the fisrt time in my life. I've never done the math, but the Bronco may have gotten 14 on a good day, with a tailwind, downhill, and no A/C.

[Silverfox]

It'll be a good thing if the new Focus is sharing the same parts as the Euro model for sure. German build quality is fantastic!

 

My 1.8l TDCi is pushing 115bhp and 221.26lb/ft torque. It's by no means as quick as my old SVT, but in gear acceleration is fairly good. It returns up to 65mpg UK imperial which is 54.12 mpg US.

 

You guys in the USA love your torque, but I am amazed that nobody really considers diesel that often, even though fuel prices are a little higher than regular gasoline.

[LoArmistead]

Americans? Torque? Naw! Dad's car pushes 700 ft/lbs

Edited March 27, 2009 by LoArmistead

[Queenz]

Yeah, I have the voice activated Bluetooth phone package. Changing track with voice control is hilarious, especially when the voice control button on the steering column remote is right next to the change track button

 

I can program my touch screen unit when I'm driving no problem. I don't recommend it too much, but it works well enough. I find the traffic announcements most useful, as it downloads sites across the UK on to my map as accidents and incidents occur and sends me a message to ask if I want to accept a route to avoid the traffic.

 

The heated front screen is a God-send. In the winter, it clears an icy screen in all of about 2 minutes (a bit longer if your car is totally cold, but only marginally), which is better than standing outside with de-icer or a plastic tool! It's also really handy all year around too, as misting in the windshield can happen at any time - especially if I've been playing soccer etc, so whip the heated element on and bam! Gone in about 30 seconds.

 

The US Focus probably has the wiring loom for the heated windshield in place, but I doubt the screens are easily available. They were most likely not a dealer option, because the Focus was an entry level hatchback in the USA and having such features was a) not in line with consumer demand and b) an unusual characteristic in 'cheap' cars

 

Here's the screen albeit a bit dirty.

 

I couldn't ever live without my navigation. It really really comes in handy in many situations, and sure beats pulling out the old map-eh-roo especially if you don't have a mate sitting next to you to help you. Whether you opt for the factory OEM navi when getting a car or one of those Garmin or Magellan portable navi's from Walmart or something, it's well worth the investment and will please you years to come.

[Makaveli]

We just got pounded with over a foot of snow in like 4 hours yesterday so I had some fun in my truck this morning

 

06 F-150...

 

[Waco]

Great choice/taste in automobiles good sir! The red leather is especially classy on that car.

That's what I was looking at before...then I saw the insurance rates.

 

I got a Cobalt SS instead. I've averaged about 26 MPG through my admittedly aggressive driving this week too.

 

 

EDIT: That Focus RS is dead sexy. I want one.

Edited March 27, 2009 by Waco

[Andrewr05]

I always liked Ford's "hot hatches", those older Escorts were quick in there day as well...

 

 

Random well not completely if we're talking hot hatches, I always pronounced "SEAT" as seat ya know "seet" it wasn't untill I heard it on Top Gear and then research it that I realized that it was "say-at"/...

[mrsinister]

Mmmmm...... Torque