Launch celebrated by Ford employees and management at Wayne, MI plant.
10-15-07: Celebrating what? We suppose getting to keep your job at a plant regardless of what rolls off the line is worth celebrating in Detroit these days. The all new but still old 2008 Focus had its official launch celebration at the Wayne, MI plant. Located just west of Dearborn the plant complex also is home to the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, two more of Ford’s long in tooth slow selling vehicles. So, when you consider the products being made there, a job kept is worth a party.
The company spent 130 million updating the plant to build the new Focus. When you add the engineering, research and development costs to the face lifted old car one has to hope that it pays off for Ford. After all the 2007 Focus it replaces is a penalty box of the highest order with its agricultural drive train, miserably cheap interior and tasteless styling.
The move to re-hash the old ox-cart has in our opinion as well as the general consensus of the mainstream press been a bit of a gamble. It is a gamble both financially and in image when you consider that Ford already has a newer, better and most admittedly cooler Focus already being built in every other market of the world. Over and over, the question has been asked. Why not just bring the good one here instead of putting lipstick on the pig. Only time will tell if the gamble pays off or leaves Ford even more broke.
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Ford Press Release:
* 2008 Ford Focus is fun to drive and features industry-exclusive technology including ambient lighting and Ford SYNC™, the hands-free voice-activated in-car communications and entertainment technology that seamlessly integrates Bluetooth-enabled mobile phones and digital music players.
* Focus is available in a first-ever coupe as well as a four-door sedan for 2008 and offers the best value in its segment, with a starting price under $15,000.
* Ford invested $130 million in Wayne Stamping and Assembly for new tooling and equipment, body shop upgrades and a new onsite test track for the Focus.
WAYNE, Mich., Oct. 15 – Ford Motor Company employees at Wayne Stamping and Assembly Plant today celebrate the production launch of the all-new 2008 Ford Focus.
Arriving in dealership showrooms this fall, Focus is better all around – offering buyers in the largest U.S. market segment a small car that’s fun to drive, fuel efficient and packed with clever features. Focus is the showplace for a number of industry- and segment-exclusive technologies from Ford, including the in-car communications system SYNC and the segment’s first factory-installed color-configurable ambient lighting system.
Ford Motor Company President and CEO Alan Mulally thanked plant employees for their part in building the company’s new small car.
“The most important thing we can do at Ford Motor Company is create the products that people really want and value,” Mulally said. “The team at Wayne Assembly is helping Ford address the demand for small, well-equipped cars as they build the new Ford Focus with an unwavering focus on quality and craftsmanship.”
Mark Fields, president, The Americas, said Focus puts the company in a stronger position to take on the small car market, the largest vehicle segment in the U.S. market.
“Small is big: Last year was a record for small car sales, and the industry will see another record-breaking sales year for this segment in 2007,” Fields told Wayne employees. “Focus remains an important car for Ford and comes at the right time for a growing number of customers who crave fuel efficiency, great driving dynamics and innovative technology that makes their time on the road more enjoyable.”
Ford invested $130 million in Wayne Stamping and Assembly for new tooling and equipment to build the all-new two-door coupe and the four-door sedan Focus models.
Upgrades include new robotics, more precise welding guns for improved exterior fit and finish and the addition of 130 new direct-current electric hand tools to ensure more ergonomically friendly and error-proof assembly. Vision cameras also have been installed to measure the dimensional integrity of every Focus built on the line and a new rough road track includes more varied surfaces to ensure each assembled unit adheres to strict noise-vibration-handling (NVH) targets.
These measures, along with other material and design changes, make the 2008 Focus the quietest Focus ever built, beating a number of the segment’s top contenders in internal road tests measuring interior quietness.
“Everyone who works here understands the importance of small cars in the Ford Motor Company line-up,” said Dale Wishnousky, plant manager, Wayne Stamping and Assembly Plant. “The Wayne team is proud to be building the vehicle that will help strengthen Ford’s position in the small-car market.”
Focus also delivers in terms of fuel economy, yet it offers more power and a better package than other vehicles in its segment. The 2008 Focus has a 4 percent fuel economy improvement, tallying up to 35 mpg as rated by the Environmental Protection Agency.
The 2008 Focus is available in a first-ever coupe model as well as a four-door sedan. Base prices for both models start below $15,000 with a projected 36-month resale value from the Automotive Leasing Guide as high as 50 percent for the SE and SES coupe and 49 percent for the SE and SES sedan.
Standard content includes:
• 2.0-liter Duratec 20 4-cylinder engine (140 hp and 136 lb.-ft torque)
• In states that have adopted California emissions rules, every Focus qualifies as a Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle (PZEV), meaning its tailpipe emissions are cleaner than some hybrids.
• 5-speed manual transmission
• Front-wheel drive
• European-inspired suspension
• Dual-stage driver and passenger air bags
• Driver and front passenger seat side impact air bags and side curtain air bags*
• Tire pressure monitoring system*
• Audio input jack for MP3 players**
• AM/FM stereo with single CD player
• Ice Blue backlighting for instrument cluster and control knobs**
• Air conditioning
Available options include:
• 4-speed automatic transmission
• Ford SYNC (standard on SES models, available on SE models)**
• Ambient interior lighting
• SIRIUS satellite radio**
• AM/FM Stereo 6-disc CD/MP3 player with digital clock
• AM/FM Stereo 6-disc CD/MP3 player with Audiophile system
• Anti-lock Braking System (ABS) with Traction Control
• Power moonroof
• Fog lamps
• Front row heated leather-trimmed seats
• Speed control
* Indicates newly standard features
** Indicates all-new
