Actually, on second thought, I have to at least partly correct myself on this one. I had an old friend with a mid-80s-vintage Escort that DID burn up. The catalyst overheated while it was parked, idling. Fortunately, she wasn't in it.

Actually, though, I liked that vintage Escort, except for the sluggish-shifting automatic transmission. I drove it for several hundered miles and back, down to North Carolina's Outer Bank She took a little vacation with a couple of her girl friends, and didn't want to drive....she asked me to do the driving for them.

What's interesting is that, with the current American-market Focus, the automatic is still the weak point, even after some 30 years.

 

Maybe some guys pay extra for that.


I just don't see the need for this car's existence, baggage or not. Maybe in China they need a cheaper version of the Focus....but it just seems superfluous to me. Definitely wouldn't be needed here in America.


Come on Ford, give us a true replacement for the Crown Vic and the Town Car.

 

But... "Applicable to sedans without power steering or A/C..."

 

Strippy lol. The more equiptment they throw at these cars the heavier they get and it negates the whole fuel efficiency thing. So a Geo Metro gets great mileage (when it works )

 

Previous Escorts (and even the last-generation Focus, which was essentially a rental-grade car and little else) sold quite well here in America. I don't see any reason this car wouldn't. It would pick up customers who, like me, find the current Focus too awkward-styled and the twin-clutch automatic too clunky.

Totally agree. The Lincoln MKS and Cadillac XTS are both a joke.

 

The thing is, when the Escort was for sale here in the US, it was not offered alongside the Focus. The Escort was the small offering. They only offered them side by side for a few years, during which the Escort sales were much lower than before.