Another American car bites the dust

[Perspect Scale Modelworks]

Ford says we don't need the Focus anymore.

https://www.gearpatrol.com/cars/ford-focus-production-discontinued/

 

[iamsuperdan]

Ford Focus hasn't been available in North America since 2018.

It's the European version that as just ended its production run.

And the Euro cars were far more interesting than any of the Focuses (Foci?) we got here.

A sporty wagon with a turbo 4 and a manual? Sign me up.

[bytownshaker]

Ford North America's Focus wasn't a bad little car other than the terrible trans problems, made a ton of money as a FORD trans tech changing 2 or 3 clutches some days.

[Perspect Scale Modelworks]

5 hours ago, iamsuperdan said:

Ford Focus hasn't been available in North America since 2018.

It's the European version that as just ended its production run.

And the Euro cars were far more interesting than any of the Focuses (Foci?) we got here.

A sporty wagon with a turbo 4 and a manual? Sign me up.

True, however it's still sad that Ford's only car is the Mustang.

[Perspect Scale Modelworks]

36 minutes ago, bytownshaker said:

Ford North America's Focus wasn't a bad little car other than the terrible trans problems, made a ton of money as a FORD trans tech changing 2 or 3 clutches some days.

It was a neat little car until the trans went out. 

[bytownshaker]

1 hour ago, Perspect Scale Modelworks said:

True, however it's still sad that Ford's only car is the Mustang.

Yep and one version of the Mustang is an electric SUV and Maverick is a mini truck. What are they thinking?

[jack22]

More and more consumers are opting for SUVs, crossovers, and electric vehicles (EVs), while the market share of traditional sedans is gradually decreasing.

[Rodent]

On 11/18/2025 at 11:53 AM, iamsuperdan said:

A sporty wagon with a turbo 4 and a manual? Sign me up.

You and 10 other people in North America (me included). Afraid that most Americans and Canadians like their "station wagons" tall and tippy so they can see in traffic.

Ford had originally intended to sell the 2019 generation Focus in North America, a sedan and the Focus Active X crossover. Both were going to be imported, one from a country that would actually be its main market (think Buick Envision strategy) and the other from another country where car companies sometimes build less expensive cars for export. Some political things changed their minds to the point of abandoning a factory under construction in one of those countries.

Oh well, the old Michigan Assembly plant that built the last generation Focus is happily churning out Rangers and Broncos at far more profit than a handful of Foci would have made for them, although I think the ActiveX would have done OK if the dealers didn't make them sale-proof with additional dealer markup, useless addons, and having everyone within 900 miles be the same colour and configuration.

At least you guys got to buy MBz C-Class AMG wagons when we didn't. I could see a C43 in my garage 🙂

 

Edited 36 minutes ago by Rodent

[bobss396]

One of my buddies owns a car repair shop. He bought a nice 2019 Focus from a customer that needed a clutch.

Talk about an odd design. I gave him a hand with it. His son drives it, no complaints about it.

[Rbray47]

I was never a Focus fan, but still, the demise of any car takes just one more option away from those of us who hate the current suv trend, where most of them are shaped like a deformed computer mouse. I blame the soccer moms who think they need awd even though they stay home when it snows lol. 

I drove a XJ Cherokee for almost 20 years. It was great offroad but was subpar at everything else. Bad mpg, questionable reliability, and very little cargo space. And rust. Lots of rust.

I figured out that if funds allow, having a car for comfort, driving enjoyment, and good gas mileage, while also having a truck for truck things is the best of both worlds. Of course, thats not doable for everyone. 

[iamsuperdan]

1 hour ago, Rbray47 said:

I drove a XJ Cherokee for almost 20 years. It was great offroad but was subpar at everything else. Bad mpg, questionable reliability, and very little cargo space. And rust. Lots of rust.

I'm going to disagree with you on this one!

I had a 1993 XJ Sport. Bought it in 1998.

I put over 400,000km on it was bulletproof. My only unplanned repair was a radiator that somehow developed a hole. I never had a breakdown or a failed part. It never left me stranded. Everything worked perfectly for the 12 or 13 years I owned it. And I didn't baby it. It was lifted, it had plenty of mechanical and electrical mods. It went camping and did trails constantly. It did several Jeep Jamborees and other trail adventures, as well as commuting to university. And mine didn't rust in all the time I had it.

 

Of course, my daughter now wants one, and finding one with intact rocker panels is pure unobtanium. Unless I want to pay well into the 5 figures. Which I don't.

[Mike 1017]

My 2010 has 160,000 miles on it. No transmission problems. The only problem is self-inflicted I stuck a CD into it and forgot there was one already in it. I tried but I can't get it out. I did buy a Sirius lifetime subscription when they first started broadcasting, I was and still am a Howard Stern fan.

Mike

[Brutalform]

I have a 2012 Focus as my everyday, beater car. I got it for free from a relative that passed on, so it doesn’t owe me anything. I put 25,000 miles on it since I had it, and now it has over 70,000. The auto trans has some clutch shudder, and I did re set the trans, and it seemed to perform much better. This year is apparent the worst for the transmission, being “sealed” and no way to service. I’m hoping I can get another year out of it. Too bad, because other wise, it’s  a great running little car. It keeps mileage off my good car, so I’ll be sad to see it go.