Scott Burgess

Ford hopes ride on Euros

Plan to jolt U.S. sales with six models from abroad is overdue

It’s about time.

Ford Motor Co.’s decision to accelerate its automotive emigration plan — in the wake of a record $8.7 billion second-quarter loss and a shift in consumer demand toward fuel-sipping cars — shouldn’t surprise anyone. The automaker should have opened that border years ago.

The Europeans have had it too good for too long when it comes to Ford products. It’s about time they shared.

The European Focus, one of six European Fords planned to come to America over the next four years, will blow the doors off the American version when it arrives in 2010. It’s not better because people with an accent build it; it’s better because it’s a sporty fuel-efficient compact with European handling. That means the suspension is firm, the car sticks to the road through turns, and the steering feels well-balanced and weighted in your hands. Its interior uses higher quality materials and it’s more luxurious than the tiny American model. And let’s hope the two-bar grille and goofy side vents don’t translate onto the new Focus.

Redesigned for the 2008 model year, the European Focus uses Ford’s "kinetic design" language, which gives the vehicle sharper edges and a more pronounced face. It’s built on the same platform as the Mazda 3 and Volvo C30. It’s been proclaimed one of the best-all-around compacts anywhere and speeds the pulse of anyone who drives it.

The American version, which will have improved gas mileage as a 2009 model to 35 miles per gallon on the highway, doesn’t cause too many hearts to race. The European version, using a direct injection small four-cylinder engine, possibly turbocharged, could improve even that highway mileage number, though specifics were not released.

The downside for Americans is the European Focus could cost more than the dumbed-down American version. A steeper price hasn’t discouraged Europeans. Since it debuted in Europe in 1998, Ford has sold more than 5 million vehicles.

Ford says it will bring a sedan and a four-door hatchback version of the European Focus. Both are good news for American consumers. This, too, could mean the end to the Blue Oval’s idiotic aversion to the hatchback. Ford’s refusal not to build a Focus hatchback could be costing the automaker more than 50,000 customers this year.

The Transit Connect, a small utility vehicle, will serve business owners well with its versatility and compact size. It’s the ideal work van, with an open work/hauling space in the back (143 cubic feet), and a 2-liter four-cylinder engine should help it get around 19 miles per gallon in the city and 24 mpg on the highway. It was scheduled arrive by next summer before Thursday’s announcement.

When the Ford Fiesta arrives in early 2010, Ford will finally have an entry into the subcompact segment, something it should have always had. The concept Fiesta is sharper than anything in that group of daily drivers and offers the potential for Ford to tout a car that could get more than 40 mpg.

Another model Ford said it will bring by 2010 is a small car that will fill "white space," meaning it will reach an untapped market.

It’s tough to say exactly which vehicle that is without knowing which market Ford is aiming at, but that won’t stop me from trying. This could mean the introduction of the C-Max, a small minivan-type vehicle built on the European Focus platform. It would offer improved mileage and falls into a segment of its own, a vehicle that seats five passengers and can carry some cargo, similar to something like the Mazda 5. It’s refreshing to see a car company finally admitting that not every family of four needs a third row. Then again, Ford might be referring to the Kuga, a small sporty crossover that has performed well in Europe.

Two more vehicles are on tap for America, Ford said, and I can only hope one of them is the Mondeo. This compact sedan is fabulous. Even though it’s a compact, it has seating for five adults and all their luggage. (I once rented a Mondeo and carted my brother, sisters and mother around Europe for two weeks.) The all-new design makes it look more like a Mazda than a Ford and its performance is considered excellent. It is destined for success should it make Ford’s "America or Bust" list.

Ford, which also announced the refreshing of the F-150, Taurus, Mustang and Lincoln MKZ, intends to roll out a Ford Fusion two-mode hybrid early next year, as well as Mercury Milan hybrid (the Fusion’s platform sibling). This is another vehicle that should have come years ago.

Also tucked away in the new vehicle announcement was a small obituary trumpeting the death of the Ford Explorer as we know it. Ford confirmed the body on frame truck would perish in 2010. Its name, however, will live on as a crossover. The new Explorer, likely patterned after the concept Explorer shown at the Detroit auto show, will feature a 25 percent increase in fuel economy, Ford’s turbocharged ecoboost engine and a unibody construction.

During its heyday, the Explorer was the best selling SUV in the world. But those days might as well be 8.7 billion years ago.

Finally, someone at Ford figured that out.