2013 Ford Focus ST: 32 MPG Highway

More news this week from Ford about their rising star. 32 MPG is excellent for a car that puts performance before fuel economy. We’d bet that we could beat that number if driven carefully and kept off the boost. We’ve seen 34 on our own MazdaSpeed6, with a similar engine and a lot more weight.

From the early tests we’ve seen so far, the ST is clearly superior to the MazdaSpeed3, and of course it leaves the GTI well behind. We’re looking forward to a magazine such as Car and Driver or Road & Track to setup a comparison test with production models – and it’s too soon for a production ST to be available.

Ford Press Release follows:

2013 Ford Focus ST Achieves Class-Leading 32 MPG Highway

• Highly efficient new 2.0-liter EcoBoost^® engine helps 154-mph Ford Focus ST achieve 32 mpg highway, 23 mpg city and 26 mpg combined

• Six-speed manual-only Focus ST bests manual-equipped Volkswagen GTI and MazdaSpeed3 in fuel economy ratings

• 2.0-liter EcoBoost variants now offered on Focus, Fusion, Flex, Explorer, Escape and Taurus

Ford Focus ST: Overboosted For Your Pleasure

The first reviews of the Ford Focus ST are coming in – and the results are very positive. Ford offers the ST in identical specification worldwide – including suspension tuning and tire. This is unprecedented, and the first modern worldwide Ford performance product.

Some us might bemoan the lack of a mechanical limited slip differential, and the missing RevoKnuckle front suspension system. But, relax, because now that the ST is delivered the engineering team in Europe can start working on the RS. And with rumors of a 2.3 liter engine (which from displacement alone and the same level of tuning would make 298 HP and 310 torque) being developed, and certain inclusion of a RevoKnuckle and mechanical limited slip, the RS will be very simply an animal. But if we had our way, it’s a 2-door body and would include AWD. Too bad we likely won’t.

Ford Focus ST Features Factory ‘Overboost’ Turbo Engine

• Ford Focus ST increases acceleration through factory “overboost” turbo feature that extends torque curve from 3,000 rpm to 4,500 rpm for up to 15 seconds

• Turbo tuned to decrease response time and increase power throughout rev range

• Ford confirms the Focus ST’s SAE-certified engine output of 252 horsepower and 270 lb.-ft. torque from efficient 2.0-liter EcoBoost^® engine with low-inertia turbocharger

DEARBORN, Mich., June 11, 2012 – Pilots might call it the Focus with afterburners. Everyone else will call it really fast.
The new Ford Focus ST features a four-cylinder, direct-injected turbocharged engine with an “overboost” feature that extends peak torque for up to 15 seconds at a time.

The gains extend the peak torque from 3,000 rpm to 4,500 rpm, whereas other EcoBoost^®engines would hit peak torque and begin to drop off at these higher engine speeds. This is the first overboosted Ford EcoBoost engine sold in North America

Cobb Tuning Ford Focus for 2011 SEMA

This month’s Cobb Tuning First Thursday show in Austin Texas had a special surprise: the completed Cobb Tuning 2011 SEMA Ford Focus. We’d seen this car in the first stages of construction last August and have been looking forward to the completed images. Knowing about the upcoming Ford Focus ST, we asked Cobb representatives what their long-term plans were for the Focus… and got a polite ”no comment”. We’ll just have to wait and see… but very clearly great things are underway – and hopefully this might mean that Cobb is going to focus (no pun intended) on certain Fast Ford’s going forward (could there be Fiesta and Mustang EcoBoost projects someday?).

See the complete gallery of 25 images here.

This was our first view of the Focus… and we were wondering why a partially disassembled Ford Focus was being worked on inside Cobb – they don’t do Fords!

Looking inside we began to get an idea of the scope of the project. Then the Cobb folks told us it was their SEMA car under construction. Our first question was “where’s the turbo” – after all, this is Cobb Tuning, the home of turbocharger tuning in North America.  To which the answer was “stayed tuned”. 

And here is the completed SEMA car, 4 months later, complete with an equal length turbo manifold. and a front-mount intercooler. 

The original concept picture above had the Cobb Tuning Focus using a Focus ST front nose… however, since this was well before the ST was announced, such prototype pieces probably weren’t what Ford’s marketing people had in mind. But compare this to the stock front end above… in person this car has *presence*.

And also out back.. with the large wing on top of the factory piece.

Inside, the Focus features full carbon-fiber door coverings, race seats and wheel, and a variation of an existing Cobb short-throw shifter.

All-in-all, it’s a really great show when you run into something like this. But that is par for the course at a Cobb Tuning First Thursday event. We never miss one!

2012 Ford Focus production starts – getting us one step closer to the Focus ST

The start of North American production of the 2012 Ford Focus is an important milestone for driving enthusiasts. Production of the new generation Focus puts us one step closer to next year’s availability of the Focus ST.

The ST has only been available in North America once before, labeled as an SVT (which they should not get credit for since the car was simply a base model ST from Europe). Unfortunately, the SVT was very nearly obsolete against it’s competition (such as the 200 HP Acura RSX Type S) as soon as it came to market and Ford was unable to respond to that issue in North America. And shortly thereafter the European Focus ST quickly moved to a turbocharged 5-cylinder and a much better platform, neither of which were offered here by Ford (although you’ll find the platform under the Mazda3 and the Volvo C30/S40).

Now we’re on the verge of getting the real thing, offered to us exactly as it is in Europe. It’s confirmed, and it has been shown in public. We know it’s rough HP (247) and torque. We know most of it’s spec. We don’t know yet if the RevoKnuckle front suspension from the former RS model will be offered…. but there are hints it will. And, speaking of the RS, if there will even be another RS, the stars are in alignment now to sell in North America too. And that is phenomenal news for driving enthusiasts. 

Ford Press Release follows:

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Ford Opens Flexible, Green Michigan Assembly Plant with Production of All-New Ford Focus

• Transformed Michigan Assembly Plant (MAP), which will produce the fuel-efficient new global Ford Focus for North American customers, features flexible manufacturing, environmentally friendly practices and a highly trained work force
• A $550 million investment transformed the plant, creating new benchmarks for flexible manufacturing. Multiple models to run down the same production line, making Michigan Assembly the world’s first plant to build gasoline-powered, battery electric, hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles on the same line
• MAP also features one of Michigan’s largest solar-powered generation systems and electric vehicle charging stations

WAYNE, Mich., March 17, 2011 – Ford Motor Company is celebrating production of its all-new global Ford Focus, built for North American customers in its completely transformed Michigan Assembly Plant (MAP). Following a $550 million transformation, the plant features an environmentally friendly workplace with flexible manufacturing capability and a motivated, specially trained work force ready to deliver a fuel-efficient new car to the marketplace.

“MAP epitomizes the best of what Ford stands for – fuel efficiency, quality, smart technology,” said Mark Fields, president of The Americas. “Focus delivers even more of what customers truly want and value – and this new car could not arrive in the market at a better time.”

The new Focus sets a new standard in the small car segment in North America, offering more technology and features than more expensive European cars, such as SYNC® with Traffic, Directions and Information, MyFord Touch™, active park assist and Wi-Fi access, while delivering up to an unsurpassed 40 mpg with an automatic transmission.

Fuel economy and greener driving will be built into each new vehicle slated for production at MAP. With its flexible manufacturing system, Ford workers can build multiple models on one or more platforms in the same facility. The Focus Electric zero-emission battery electric vehicle is slated to go into production late this year at the plant, followed by production of the new C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid in 2012.

With this product lineup, Ford’s Michigan Assembly Plant will be the first facility in the world capable of building a full array of vehicles – gas-powered, electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid – all on the same production line.

The company’s investment in Wayne, Mich., is supported by strong partnerships at the state, county and local level, as well as by Ford’s green partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy. Michigan Assembly Plant is one of 11 Ford facilities in the U.S. participating in the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program initiated by Congress and implemented by the Obama administration. This green loan program is helping to develop advanced technology vehicles and strengthen American manufacturing across the country. Ford, Nissan, Tesla, Fisker and Vehicle Production Group (VPG) are all participants in this initiative.

Making Ford vehicles smarter, greener
MAP is Ford’s most flexible plant, thanks to reprogrammable tooling in the body shop, standardized equipment in the paint shop and a common-build sequence in final assembly. This flexibility allows the Ford team to produce multiple models on the same assembly line – and in even more environmentally friendly ways.

In its flexible body shop, at least 80 percent of MAP’s robotic equipment can be programmed to weld various-sized vehicles – a Ford first. And, MAP’s integrated stamping facility allows the stamping and welding of all large sheet-metal parts on-site, ensuring maximum quality and minimum overhead.

The plant also will employ an efficient, synchronous material flow, where parts and other components will move in kits to each operator, providing employees with the tools they need in the sequence they will need them.

Michigan Assembly is the first U.S. plant to commercially use a three-wet paint application that will save about $3 million in production in natural gas and electricity – without compromising Ford’s paint quality or durability.

“In most other automotive plants, we apply a layer of paint called the primer coat and we bake the unit, and then we put on the base coat and the clear coat, and we bake it again,” said John Nowak, environmental engineer. “The three-wet process allows us to put on primer, base and clear, and bake it only once. We save all the electricity from the blowers that run the booths and the ovens, plus all the natural gas from heating the air and the ovens. Ford is leading the way on this greener, cleaner paint process.”

Because of the differences in technique – including robotic processing, elimination of equipment and associated pollutants, and increased line speed – the three-wet paint process produces 6,000 metric tons fewer CO2 emissions per year compared to waterborne systems and 8,000 metric tons fewer CO2 emissions per year compared to conventional high-solvent-borne systems. There also is a Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) emissions savings of 5 percent related to processing.

Driving on sunshine
MAP also boasts one of the largest solar power generation systems in the state as well as several electric vehicle charging stations, allowing the plant to operate on a blend of renewable and conventional electricity.

Renewable energy collected by the solar panels directly feeds the energy-efficient microgrid, helping power the plant. When the plant is inactive, such as holidays, the stored solar energy will provide power during periods of insufficient or inconsistent sunlight. The projected energy cost savings is approximately $160,000 per year.

“We have taken steps great and small to make the plant as green as possible,” Nowak said. “Our goal was to help the 4,000 Ford employees make this several-million-square-foot facility truly environmentally friendly and cost-efficient.”

The plant also has 10 electric vehicle charging stations that recharge electric switcher trucks that transport parts between adjacent facilities – saving an estimated 86,000 gallons of gas a year.

Plus, the 50 percent of the parts arriving for the all-new Focus that come from Europe, packed in cardboard, are carefully collected, sorted and recycled, as is the bubble wrap, the Styrofoam and water bottles used by employees. Even the temporary wooden partitions that were put up as the plant was revamped and remodeled were donated to the local Habitat for Humanity.

Quality focus
But equipment isn’t all it takes for a plant transformation to occur. Work force training is equally important. Doug Mertz, organization development manager at MAP, worked with the team to develop training that would focus on the plant’s operating principles – safety, quality and flexible manufacturing – with high priority placed on respect for people, product and processes.

Group leaders from Wayne Assembly Plant participated in an intense, three-week quality education, which included pre-builds of the new Focus and in-depth training on safety, ergonomics and work-station design. In addition, group leaders were trained on “soft skills,” such as developmental leadership, personality preferences and their impact on behavior, conflict resolution, change management, techniques for teaching others, and other skills to aid in situations specific to their base departments.

“Since the group leaders would be training the base operators when they came to the MAP site, we wanted them to understand not only the implication of performing their job correctly, but also the impact that performing the job incorrectly would have downstream,” said Mertz.

As the full MAP salaried and hourly work force arrived at Michigan Assembly Plant, operating patterns helped to ease the transition. The first week, the normally two-shift operation was combined into one so that group leaders on both day and afternoon shifts could work collectively with their teams and ensure standardization of work practices. Shifts continued to overlap so line employees could work together and minimize variability on job performance.

“The all-new Ford Focus is truly global in the sense that we’ve created it to satisfy the needs and wants of people all around the world,” said Plant Manager Rob Webber. “This has been an exciting challenge but one we’re ready for. We have the people and processes in place to deliver on the promise of the new Ford Focus and the many products to come."

Ford Focus @ 40 MPG

40 MPG in a 160-HP Ford Focus requires a couple of special changes in tuning, aerodynamics, and rolling resistance. And here they are from Ford in the new Focus SFE model. This kind of number was previously unthinkable without resorting to economy gearing, smaller engines, and fewer luxury options but it’s been done now without the loss of the comfort and options customers require.

This isn’t the end of the development for the Focus, either. Certainly a small EcoBoostengine could exceed this number (at the cost of increasing manufacturing complexity and therefore overall cost) and still maintain performance (and perhaps even improve the “fun to drive” quotient?).  But it will take development in two areas to get this number higher: weight-loss, and engine technology.

Ford press release follows:

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All-New Ford Focus Officially Certified at 40 MPG with Features, Technology Competitors Can’t Match

• The all-new Ford Focus is certified by the EPA at 40 mpg highway with a six-speed automatic transmission, which is overwhelmingly preferred by American drivers
• Ford Motor Company now has four nameplates with an EPA-certified rating of 40 mpg or higher, more than any other full-line manufacturer
• The outstanding fuel economy of the Ford Focus is complemented by available class-exclusive technology and features usually found only on larger cars
• Ford data show that fuel economy is the No. 1 purchase reason for Ford Focus customers

DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 25, 2011– The all-new Ford Focus with the SFE (Super Fuel Economy) package delivers an EPA certified 40 mpg on the highway to go with its array of smart technologies, exceptional standards of craftsmanship and retuned suspension for a total driving experience not found anywhere else in the segment.

The new Focus is certified by the EPA at 40 mpg highway and 28 mpg city through its advanced six-speed automatic transmission.

Some competitors utilize a manual transmission to achieve their highest fuel economy ratings, though sales of vehicles with automatic transmissions account for more than 90 percent of the market.

Focus becomes the fourth vehicle in the Ford Motor Company vehicle lineup with an EPA-certified rating of 40 mpg or more.

“Our customers tell us that fuel economy is the top reason for purchasing a Focus,” said Derrick Kuzak, group vice president, Global Product Development. “The all-new Focus meets that demand with great fuel economy, class-leading technologies and features, exceptional standards of craftsmanship and driving dynamics typically reserved for larger, more expensive vehicles.”

Affordable fuel economy
With the EPA certification of Focus, Ford continues to deliver on its promise to make fuel economy affordable for millions of consumers. Today, Ford Motor Company has 12 vehicles including cars, utilities and crossovers in the U.S. that lead their sales segments for fuel economy – a number no other automaker matches.

With the new Focus, four 2011 models achieve at least 40 mpg – the Ford Fiesta SE with SFE package (40 mpg highway) and the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Lincoln MKZ Hybrid (41 mpg city). No other automaker offers four nameplates with EPA-certified ratings of 40 mpg or more, according to the 2011 EPA Fuel Economy Guide .

Here’s how the Ford Focus SFE compares with current 2011 model year competitor products with automatic transmissions:

High fuel prices coming? Focus ready for challenge
That exceptional fuel economy could be vital in the months ahead. The Department of Energy is offering a somewhat bleak forecast at the gas pumps. Gas prices, now at a national average of $3.22, according to http://www.nationalgasaverage.com/, could go as high as $3.50 a gallon, and there’s even a slim chance they could go higher – maybe even above $4.

The all-new Ford Focus answers that challenge with content that builds off the mid-range SE model four-door sedan with the PowerShift six-speed automatic transmission.

The engaging driver appeal of the new Ford Focus is magnified by an advanced powertrain. Focus is fitted with a completely new 2.0-liter gasoline direct-injection DOHC four-cylinder engine that combines high-pressure direct injection and twin independent variable camshaft timing (Ti-VCT) for enhanced performance and fuel efficiency. This engine delivers more power than the current 2.0-liter Duratec® unit featured in the North American Focus, while contributing to fuel economy gains of more than 10 percent.

To maximize its performance and economy advantage, the engine is mated with the latest dry-clutch six-speed Ford PowerShift automatic transmission. A high-efficiency dual dry-clutch design, the transmission alone can help to reduce fuel consumption by up to 9 percent compared to a traditional four-speed automatic.

The SFE package also includes 16-inch steel wheels with aero wheel covers, active grille shutters, high-efficiency tires, four-wheel disc brakes, rear spoiler and a special SFE badge.

Unlike other competitors, the Ford Focus employs full active grille shutters. Active grille shutters help optimize aerodynamics by using vents to control airflow through the grille to the cooling system and engine compartment.

If air is required to cool the engine, the vents are opened. If no airflow is needed the vents are shut, contributing to significantly reduced aerodynamic drag.

Mounted in the grille aperture ahead of the radiator, the active grille shutters feature motorized horizontal vanes that can rotate through 90 degrees to block the airflow. Automatically controlled by the car’s electronic control unit, the vanes can be rotated into 15 different positions – from fully closed to fully open – depending on the amount of cooling air required.

When fully closed, the reduction in drag means the active grille shutters can reduce CO2 emissions by 2 percent.

As an additional benefit, the system keeps the vanes closed as long as possible when starting from cold, so the engine reaches its most efficient operating temperature more quickly. This also helps reduce fuel consumption.

Great looks, smart technology and true performance
The dynamic Focus exterior is reinforced by a modern, cockpit-style interior with a stylish center console.

The most significant interior innovation is the available SYNC® with MyFord™, which includes a sophisticated voice control system for vehicle functions, connected Bluetooth® devices, MP3 players and a wide variety of external media.

The interior combines functionality with outstanding craftsmanship. The cabin’s bold and contemporary graphics, the sculptured shape of the soft-touch instrument panel and the choice of superior trim materials combine to give occupants a premium-class experience.

Focus interior space rivals larger vehicles, with more shoulder room than an Audi A4 and more front headroom than a Toyota Camry. The second row of Focus provides more hip room than the Audi or Toyota.

The original Ford Focus brought new levels of driving agility to this segment of cars. Now Focus raises the benchmark to target class-leading driving quality, blending communicative steering with significantly improved ride quality.

“The all-new Ford Focus delivers the outstanding fuel economy our customers demand in a more stylish package with more technology and an even greater driving experience,” said Kuzak.