Ford will show a concept version of their l0ng-awaited Fiesta ST hot hatch at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show. An ST version of the Focus hatchback has long been confirmed, and many correctly suspected that a hotter version of the smaller Fiesta would follow.

With the Focus making 250 horsepower from a 2.0L Ecoboost 4-cylinder engine, the next logical step down is Ford’s 1.6L Ecoboost, with an output of around 180 horsepower. Stay tuned to AutoGuide for more info as coverage begins on Tuesday, September 13th.

Ford is ready to take on Hyundai in a duel for fuel efficiency bragging rights. Hyundai has advertised the redesigned 2011 Elantra as a 40 mpg rated subcompact, regardless of options.

However, Ford can only officially say that the 2012 Focus attains 40 mpg when equipped with the Super Fuel Economy package and six-speed automatic transmission. Ford is eager to prove that the Focus is more fuel efficient regardless or its options, so the American automaker organized a media drive in Romeo, Michigan.

Ford invited reporters to drive the Elantra at a steady 45 miles per hour around the 2.5-mile track. Then the reporters drove a Focus without the SFE package and lapped the track at the same speed. Conditions were equal for both cars and an engineer sat in the backseat, monitoring the fuel economy. The results showed that the average fuel economy of the Focus was 40.4 mpg and the Elantra achieved 37.8 mpg. This proves that the Focus is more efficient at a steady 45 mph than the Elantra.

[Source: Automotive News]

Click here to read AutoGuide’s 2011 Hyundai Elantra Review

Click here to read AutoGuide’s 2012 Ford Focus Review

Summer is almost over, which means back to school shopping. Forget about pens, pencils and binders; what about picking up a new set of wheels? Surely that will make the thought of heading back to class a little better!

Kelley Blue Book has put together a list of vehicles that it believes will appeal to kids. There are some odd choices though.

The new car picks all seem to be decent, all are affordable, efficient and attractive. However the used choices are surprising. The Kia Sedona probably won’t be very appealing to students because well, minivans are not cool. As well, the F-150 is a pretty large truck and although it is the best selling vehicle in America, it’s hardly fuel efficient. The HHR was also an interesting choice because not many young people drive them. The new vehicles are probably better choices overall, but who knows, maybe minivans are secretly cool among teenagers… or maybe just teenagers trying really hard to be ironic. What do you think?

Check out the list of new and used vehicles after the jump:

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Electric cars not green enough for you? How about a solar powered car? Ford will be working with SunPower, an established solar provider, to build a solar energy system for the Focus electric vehicle that goes on sale later this year.

Solar panels will be mounted on the car owner’s house or garage, to power the vehicle. The panels won’t directly charge the electric car’s battery but will provide power to the house at a rate sufficient enough to offset nearly 1,000 miles of driving a month in the Focus.

The solar power option will allow for green electricity, rather than traditional electricity from a house, which is often made by burning fossil fuels at power plants. The 2.5-kilowatt system will produce about 3,000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year. The power will be generated by 147 square feet of roof panels (11 panels that are 4 feet by 2 feet). The solar power option will be offered through Ford dealers for about $10,000 after federal tax credits. The Best Buy Geek Squad will work with Ford to install home chargers at the customers house, after the purchase.

Ford has yet to announce the price of the 2012 Focus electric, but the first vehicles go on sale in California and New York later this year.

With 305 turbocharged horsepower the Focus RS might just have been the ultimate hot-hatch. Now, for the first time, Ford has confirmed it will have a successor, arriving in late 2013 or early 2014 with at least 350-hp while sticking to its front-wheel-drive strategy.

Gunnar Hermann, Ford’s global chief of small cars, has gone on the record stating that the new Focus RS could create more power than even the limited edition RS500 model, which produced 350-hp from the turbocharged 5-cylinder engine borrowed from Volvo. It’s unlikely Ford will continue to use the Volvo-sourced engine and according to Herrmann engineers are working on extracting more power from the turbocharged 2.0-liter 4-cylinder that will power the Focus ST, which is set to make 247-hp.

According to Herrmann the new Focus RS will continue to be a front-drive model and will use a similar suspension setup to the previous model, which allowed for such a high amount of power to be effectively transmitted through the front wheels.

Now only one question remains: will this Focus RS finally make it to our shores?

[Source: Sydney Morning Herald]

Color choice tends to be an extremely personal subject when it comes to purchasing a car, and with 40% of respondents stating that they’d walk out of a dealer if they couldn’t get a car in their hue of choice, Ford is hard at work at the next generation of paint schemes.

Ford engineers tend to have a 3-year timetable when it comes to choosing new colors, and the company is already trying to determine what will be popular in the coming years. The 2000′s saw white and grey as popular shades, but Ford is betting on vibrant colors like Ruby Red and a “Candy Blue” as being among the next big hits. A Ford press release states that the next big things will be “complex metallics, tinted clearcoats, tri-coats and neutrals.”

Vehicles like the Focus and Fiesta, with their range of bright blues, lime greens and magentas should provide a clue as to the company’s future direction. But research still shows that white, blue, grey and silver are the most popular colors, with silver being the global favorite.

Ford Motor Company Chairman Bill Ford (great-grandson of Henry Ford) revealed to Fortune magazine that his namesake automaker will apparently launch a global line of electric vehicles, with 25 percent of Ford’s lineup available with some degree of electrification by 2020.

Ford cited the electric Focus and both plug-in and fully electric versions of the C-Max as the start of a shift towards electric vehicles as a viable alternative to gasoline powered passenger cars, but the surprising nugget of information within the article was Ford’s calls for government involvement in the propagation of electric vehicles.

“I think it’s a matter of national security to have a competitive American battery industry,” said Ford. “Washington should increase R&D spending here unless they want to cede the development of batteries to other nations.” Ford cited China as the most imminent threat, as they have made significant strides in lithium-ion battery technology, and Ford fears that America will fall behind in one of the most important emerging industries.

Furthermore, Ford also laid out a vision for future cars that is heavily reliant on smart-phones, WiFi and GPS technology, which would enable cars to talk to one another and share information on traffic jams and other pertinent data, all in the name of eco-friendliness.

[Source: The Globe and Mail]

German tuner MR Car Design has transformed Ford‘s Focus RS into a viable contender to Audi‘s RS3 and BMW‘s 1-Series M. Taking one of Europe’s most popular hot hatches, MR Car Design pushes out 355-hp out of the turbocharged 5-cylinder engine, a 54-hp increase from the factory 301-hp. The enhanced performance comes courtesy of an ECU reflash, MR Car Design downpipe and exhaust, high-flow catalytic converter and a K&N air filter.

In addition, MR Car Design combines its horsepower increase with a slight diet for the Focus RS. No details on the weight loss were specified but MR Car Design claims its Focus RS will blitz to 62-mph in 5.9 seconds. Other upgrades include r a set of KW V1 coilovers.

No pricing was announced, but does it really matter… the closest we get to the RS on this side of the Atlantic is the new Focus ST.

GALLERY: MR Car Design Ford Focus RS

Lincoln may show an updated version of its Concept C small car at the 2011 Los Angeles Auto Show, as automakers of all stripes begin rolling out their new smaller, fuel efficient cars that feature much of the same equipment as more upscale models.

The first Concept C, which debuted in 2009, was attractive but had very little chance of making it to production in its existing form. While the 1.6L Ecoboost powertrain is a shoo-in for a premium, fuel-efficient compact, with its 180 horsepower and 180 lb-ft, but the pseudo-hatchback body style will likely undergo substantial revisions for its Los Angeles deubt, not to mention any sort of production run. Fortunately, the Focus underpinnings used for any future Concept C will afford Lincoln a wide berth to engineer a desirable compact that will also have superb driving dynamics and build quality.

Lincoln has previously stated that a compact luxury car will appear within three years, and with Mercedes, BMW and Audi all preparing (or selling, in Audi’s case) a compact model, the timing is just right for an American competitor.

[Source: Automotive News]

Ford has released a list of 25 cities in the United States that it labeled “electric vehicle-ready”, with the 20 initial roll-0ut markets for the Ford Focus E.V. listed, as well as 5 other cities, Baltimore, Dallas, Hartford, Honolulu and Charlotte.

Ford declined to rank the cities, instead listing them in alphabetical order, but said that cities on the list were working to help make it easier to install charging systems and offering incentives for charging your car during off-peak hours. Ford expects about 20 plug-in vehicles to be on the market by 2012, and believes it will sell “thousands” of Focus EVs.

The cities listed by Ford include Atlanta; Austin, Dallas and Houston in Texas; Baltimore; Boston; Charlotte and Raleigh in North Carolina; Chicago; Denver; Detroit; Hartford; Honolulu; Indianapolis; Los Angeles, San Diego, the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento in California; New York; Orlando, Fla.; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; Richmond, Va.; Seattle; and Washington.

[Source: New York Times]

Ford is planning a product-lineup bonanza in China, with plans to introduce 15 new vehicles there as part of its Asian expansion plans.

The announcement was made at the 2011 Shanghai Auto Show, where Ford also outlined plans to more than double the number of dealerships currently open: from 340 to over 700. Ford will also add 1,200 jobs and a brand-new, $490 million plant at Chongqing next year, which will be able to handle 150,000 cars annually. The first car to launch will be the all-new Focus, entering production in China in 2012.

Like many other companies, Ford has seen booming success in the Chinese market: sales were up 19% in the first quarter, with over 140,000 cars sold. The company expects 70% growth across Asia and Africa within the next 10 years.

Determined to make sure the launch of their new 2012 Focus is flawless, Ford is road testing the first examples of the new Focus for 30 miles, an unprecedented length for a mainstream car.

Ford will take a Focus from its Wayne assembly plant to a Dearborn test track for evaluation, and then a further inspection once back at the factory. While some industry analysts have raised questions about whether the elaborate procedures are a cover for significant problems with the Focus, Ford is claiming that the launch is crucial for the company, especially in light of the Focus’ 40-mpg capability and rising gas prices.

Ford spokesman Said Deep said that Focus models being built right now would not get the same 30 mile test drive, but will get a thorough inspection nonetheless.

[Source: Automotive News]

Taking shots at your competitors is nothing new in the advertising world, but North Americans generally see the kind of gentle ribbing that comes from restrictive libel laws and the preference for subtlety over braggadocio.

Not so in Brazil, where Nissan ran a campaign for their Tiida small car (aka the Versa on our shores) that featured actors imitating rappers and dancing with bikini-clad video girls in front of a Ford Focus. The message of the ad was that Ford was overcharging customers (due to the $1,800 delta in price between the Focus and Tiida) and their lavish lifestyles were funded by the extra cash.

Ford took issue with the gratuitous nature of the commercial and has decided to sue. We don’t know whether their argument will hold up in a Brazilian court of law, but we sure appreciate the video!

[Source: Reuters]

Hit the jump to see the video

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Ford is asking dealers to curtail orders of three shades of red paint, and one hue called “Tuxedo Black” due to difficulties sourcing metallic elements needed for the paint. The element, which is produced by a Japanese supplier, is unable to be produced to due damage resulting from the natural disasters that occurred in the country.

So far, full-size pickups and SUVs are unable to be ordered in Tuxedo Black, while vehicles like the Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS will have their supplies of the color restricted. The shades of red will be scaled back on cars like the F-Series Super Duty and Ranger pickups, Focus, Econoline and Lincoln Navigator.

Ford says it is looking to find a replacement for the substance, called Xirallic, which is used to give the paint a metallic finish.

[Source: CNN Money]

Ford‘s strategy involving smaller cars priced at a premium will become even more important if gasoline rises beyond $4 gallon, said Ford of the Americans President Mark Fields.

“There is a natural kind of water level that if a gallon of gas goes over, that may shift the market mentality,” Fields told Automotive News. ”When it starts getting over $4 a gallon or gets to triple digits when you fill up your tank, that catches people’s attention.” Gasoline prices are currently at a national average of $3.55 per gallon, and global unrest means that they are likely to keep rising.

The Focus in particular represents Ford’s new premium small car strategy, with high end models costing as much as $29,000, while still achieving 40 mpg on the highway. But with more than 80 percent of its parts shared in common with global variants (and expected worldwide sales of 2 million per year in 2012), the Focus could prove to be an extremely profitable car for the company.

[Source: Automotive News]

The success of the Ford Fiesta brings with it another trend—the revival of the hatchback, long-derided in America as being cheap without the cheerfulness.

The Fiesta has dominated the small car segment below the Focus. Consumers are trading in their larger vehicles, even including the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, in response to increased gas prices. Ford claimed 19 percent of the C-class segment in December; January sales have put it in second place with Hyundai, against Nissan’s Versa.

And at the core of this success is the Fiesta 5-door, which is riding the surge of popularity in hatchbacks reports Ward’s Auto. “We’re now selling 5-door (SE trim levels) in volume now,” said Jim Farley, vice president of global marketing. “The price is more in the low end of the C-segment.”

Hatchbacks have traditionally been shunned in America because of their perceived cheapness and lack of security compared to a trunk; perhaps too many bad memories of tinny Hyundai Excels and blue-smoking Ford Aspires from high school are fueling the prejudice. Even Volkswagen, whose Jetta consistently outpaces sales of the Golf in America (and nowhere else) could have told Ford that.

Likewise, Ford had initially predicted that the Fiesta sedan would be the volume seller; yet demand was 50/50 once production started. And as of this week, sales of the hatchback trumped those of the sedan, at 55%. “The research didn’t tell us that,” said Farley.

If sales of the hatchback continue outperforming those of the sedan, this will give Ford valuable insight into consumer preferences in the small car segment—just in time for the new Focus to roll out, later this season.

[Source: Wards Auto]

Along with China, India’s economy has experienced rapid expansion in the last decade, helping fuel the creation of a new middle class, which of course wants all the trappings most middle class folks do, their own house, car and plenty of creature comforts.

By 2015, India is expected to be the fourth largest single auto market in the world and already, some manufacturers, even US ones, are taking a serious look at peddling their offerings there. One of them is Ford, which plans to offer a version of its flashy third generation Focus.

According to a study by Boozy & Company, the average car buyer in India wants to spend less than $8000 on a vehicle. That really isn’t very much and helps partly explain why Tata believed it’s pint sized Nano could do so well on the sub-continent.

This price point will also make it difficult for Ford and others to sell current versions of their world cars there in many cases. But when it comes to cheap, practical cars, perhaps there’s another angle, here, something which could ultimately prove far more cost effective and beneficial.

India’s most popular car  for many years has been the Hindustan Ambassador, essentially a brand new, Isuzu powered 1948 Morris Oxford. In fact they’re still making the blasted things and in sizable numbers too.

There’s many reasons why the Ambassador has proved such a success. It’s capacious by Indian standards, has proper doors, a trunk and prosaic, tough mechanicals, which make it easy to operate and easy to service in tough, harsh conditions, like those typically found in India. Because it’s been in production forever it’s also highly profitable. In fact it’s regarded in many quarters as India’s national car and the king of the road down there.

If car makers like Ford, GM and others are to really have a fighting chance and selling practical, low priced cars in India, perhaps the success of the Ambassador is something they need to consider at least in the short term.

Getting back to the study, Booz says it’s not just about the cars, it’s also about the fact that China and India will become the pillars of the global economy in the future? Really, that’s a bit like saying the sun will rise and set tomorrow. If you ever wondered what happened to all the money in the world in the last couple of years, now you know; it’s been used to pay hefty consulting fees to people who do nothing more than simply state the obvious.

[Source: USA Today]

One of the big advantages of an electric car is the lack of routine servicing they require. With only the battery and electric motor present, consumables like fluids, filters, belts and the like are obsolete.

Ford is making this a big selling point for their upcoming Focus Electric, as it released a list of 25 items that will never require replacement or repair for the first 150,000 miles. Of course, we normally shy away from blatantly running press releases, but the document gives a cool insight into one of the big differences between EVs and gasoline powered cars.

Of course, that’s assuming that the battery technology is all sorted, and it lasts through the 150,000 mile mark…

Hit the jump to take a look

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Speaking to Autocar Magazine, Ford‘s European design chief Martin Smith said “Our marketing people are telling us there’s demand for an affordable family saloon,” and Ford appears to be moving in that direction for the Chinese market.

The Blue Oval will prepare a concept for the Beijing Auto Show, but rather than target the wealthy coastal areas of China, this car will go after the poorer, inland markets where basic transportation would be a big purchase for the average family. Using either a Focus or Fiesta platform, the car would still meet strict crash standards, but would be decontented with less sophisticated features in order to reduce costs. “We’d never engineer out safety,” Smith said, “but you could give it single-piece headlights and tail lights, and reduce the glass panels in the side from three to two.”

The previous generation Focus, known as the C1 (a different car than our previous compact Ford) would likely underpin the car, as Chinese buyers are thought to be more receptive to a larger vehicle.

[Source: Autocar]

The Fiat 500 just missed the now coveted 40 mpg mark, returning 30 mpg in the city and 38 mpg highway with the 5-speed manual, while automatic versions will net 27 mpg in town and 34 mpg while cruising. While the numbers are nothing to frown about, expectations were higher considering the car’s 1.4L four-cylinder engine and compact packaging.

The Hyundai Elantra, Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Focus will all offer 40 mpg capability with more practicality, but we doubt they’ll be as fun to drive. With that said, the $15,995 price point is fairly close to the three compacts, and we expect the lines to be drawn according to those who desire an all-purpose, efficient car versus something stylish and sporty.

Check out Autoguide’s review of the 2012 Fiat 500 here

Ford will sell an all-electric version of its Focus compact in 14 states, including Washington, D.C. when the vehicle goes on sale at the end of 2011.

Among the locations where the Focus EV will be offered are Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, New York, Orlando, Phoenix, Tucson, Portland, Raleigh Durham, Richmond, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

With a 100 mile range, the Focus EV won’t be cut out for much beyond the usual urban commuting, and owners will be able to attend seminars that educate participants on topics such as charging the car’s batteries.

Hit the jump to view the official press release

[Source: Ford]

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We all know Ken Block is a cool guy and a self-made millionaire, but what nobody seems willing to admit is that the guy can’t drive. Well, maybe he has some talent, but not nearly as much as Ford and Monster Energy Drink’s PR machine would have us believe.

Although he has some of the most successful viral videos to his credit, Block has only scored a total of two points in WRC over three whole seasons. It seems like without a purpose built, hydraulic-handbrake equipped car and some quality video editing, Block can’t pull it together. Hit the jump and decide for yourself.

Video after the jump

[Source: Youtube]

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As if we needed another reason to be jealous of Ken Block. The millionaire entrepreneur and rally driver has a full sponsorship package with both Ford and Monster Energy Drinks just got a brand spanking new Ford Focus RS thanks to The Blue Oval’s generosity.

Wearing Michigan manufacturer plates, the Focus RS is painted in the car’s signature green color, with black Volks Racing wheels added in to make the car look a bit different from the other Focus RS that resides in the U.S.A, also painted the same shade of green. The car is fairly stock for now, with a KW Variant suspension being the other major modification, but a host of power upgrades and a skull and crossbones motif on the headrests of the Recaro seats are expected to appear on the RS post-SEMA.

Gallery: Ford Focus RS

Ford has announced pricing for the 2012 Focus, and the car is set to start in the upper end of the price bracket, with a base price of $16,995.

The base S model in sedan with the 6-speed automatic will cost likely $17,995, as the 5-speed manual is standard. The upper end Titanium trim starts at $22,995 while a fully loaded example costs $24,295. Hatchback models will start at $18,790 and top out at $24,785.

The sticker may seem high, but pricing reflects Ford’s desire to position the car as a “premium” compact, much like General Motors and Volkswagen are doing. Chevrolet’s Cruze retails for the exact same amount, while the new Volkswagen Jetta undercuts it by $1,000.

Official pricing documents can be found here and here.

[Source: Ford via Edmunds]