Ford Focus News

Subaru has launched an online ordering process for the new 2014 WRX sedan, months away from its arrival on local soil, and even before nailing down Australian-market pricing. In the meantime, Subaru has put together this video of the new WRX being put through its paces over both gravel and tarmac surfaces. Watch the desktop version of the official 2014 Subaru WRX video here.  2014 Subaru WRXPrice: $39,990 (estimated)Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder boxer turbo; 200kW/250Nm Transmission: six-speed manual, CVT autoThirst: 9.8L/100km (manual, 11.2L/100km (auto)  RIVALS Price: from $38,290 Engine: 2.0L turbo four, 184kW/340NmTransmission: 6-speed manual (no auto), FWDThirst: 7.4L/100km, 172g/km CO2   Price: from $49,900Engine: 2.0L turbo four, 155kW/350NmTransmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto, FWDThirst: 6.6L/100km, 152g/km CO2   Price: from $41,490Engine: 2.0L turbo four, 162kW/350NmTransmission: 6-speed manual or DSG auto, FWDThirst: 6.2L/100km, 144g/km CO2  

Longboards are fast downhill. So is the Ford Focus ST, so it's no surprise Ford lent a car for this promo video, having it chase a team of four longboarders down a mountain road. Sweep cars don't usually get to have much fun -- they're there to carry spare parts and pick up any people that run out of puff (or road). But with the Focus ST's agility, we're pretty sure the driver had as much fun as the longboarders, judging by the big grins on all at the end of the epic run -- shot by action video specialist Devin Graham. Watch the desktop version of the Ford Focus ST vs longboarders video here.  Also watch: Graham's incredible paintball battle video with the Nitro Circus stunt tea.   

The 59-year-old, one of the last senior executives from the tumultuous Jacques Nasser era, started as Ford's vice president of design in 1997 after working with BMW, Audi and Volkswagen.

Manouevring your car into a tight parking spot isn't easy, but sometimes getting out of the car can be even more difficult. We've all had the experience of squeezing our bodies through a barely-opened door after getting our car into a narrow park.And with cars getting bigger while carparks -- many of them built decades ago -- stay the same size, it's going to be an increasing problem, along with the growing collections of body and bumper scrapes that come with it.However Ford is working on a solution with a car that can park itself, after you get out of it. The auto giant is not the first to probe the idea, and is following in the research footsteps of Chinese brand BYD, which showed off its remote-controlled park function on the small Su Rui sedan concept at the 2012 Beijing motor show. Watch the BYD Su Rui remote parking video here. Swedish carmaker Volvo is also developing a remote parking system, which it revealed on a V40 concept in June this year. Watch video of the remote parking Volvo here. However Ford may be the first to market with the technology, with the US brand currently testing the concept at its proving grounds in Belgium and being tipped to get it into showrooms within two years.The Ford Focus test car is fitted with cutting edge technology that remotely controls steering, forward and reverse motion and even gear selection. All you have to do is get out of the driver's seat and hold down a single button on the key fob.The process takes about 10 seconds with the parking system limited to a speed of 9km/h, and sensors around the body prevent it hitting obstacles while it’s under way. When you return to the car, you can simply reverse the whole process and the car slides smoothly and safely out of its spot.Ford says the remote parking would be a daily benefit in crowded cities. "It's trying to help someone squeeze into that space and allow them to have some automated help to help them achieve a driving manouevre they are going to have to do frequently in their life," Ford Europe vice-president of product development Barb Samardzich said. Watch the Ford Focus remote parking video here. This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott 

It gets a frontal update soon to reflect the styling of the all-new Mondeo.The Cabriolet is expected to follow in 2015, provided the economy picks up in Europe, with a full foldaway top and a sharper look than the previous Focus CC. 

The first one I tried, a Toyota Prius, could happily measure the gaps and reverse into place provided I took care of work on the brake and accelerator, and that's a familiar package now for a range of cars including the Ford Focus.But there are also cars that can parallel park, and even reverse safely out into traffic using a range of radar-style sensors. Some people say the rise of self-parking cars is all about our increasing laziness and the ability of technology to take over the menial, or annoying, tasks in our day-to-day lives.Others might, more controversially, draw a link between self parking cars and the inability of many women to do the job. Before you get too carried away, I should point out that this has now been scientifically proven by a study in the UK that I read about in a book called 'Why Men Don't Listen and Women Can't Read Maps'.The book is by Allan Pease - the body language man - and his wife Barbara, and includes the parking research in a section devoted to women's relative lack of 'spatial awareness'. This apparently affects their ability to read maps, and park, but is offset by greater peripheral vision that makes it easier for women to spot things in a fridge than men.But, moving along, I've also recently heard about a new incentive for self parking cars. It comes as Audi accelerates its work on cars that can valet park themselves, linking electronically to a system inside a carpark that identifies open slots and then guides the car into place. They can then be summoned out of hibernation as needed.There is currently only one self-parking garage in the world, not surprisingly at Audi's headquarters in Germany, although work is progressing at other sites and on other cars. But the idea is that cars which can park themselves will free up extra space for parking. After all, when you park - often with other people in the car - you need clearance to open the doors for access. It's the same for head space, as well as clearance to open a hatchback boot.But if the cars can park autonomously, think about all the extra space in the world. It's something that occurs to me nearly every week as I head to the airport or my local shopping centre and wonder where the space has gone. Cars are obviously getting larger, and SUVs are making an increasing land grab, but am I the only one who thinks that parking slots are being shrunken to get a bigger car - and cash - return on the available space?Then again, there are cars that cannot be helped. In Britain - where 1950s garages designed for tiny Austins now look ludicrous in the face of even a humble Ford Fiesta - I was once driving a long-wheelbase Rolls-Royce Phantom. When I drove into the supermarket to buy some fruit I was shocked to discover that the brutally brilliant limousine actually required four standard-sized parking spots, as it was both too long and too wide for anything less.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover 

And you can cook up your Fiesta with three meaty options:bacon stripes over the rear wheelsbacon racing stripes on the bonneta full bacon wrap (10 stripes layed around the car)Before you get too hungry, this is a public relations stunt from Ford of America and was delivered with pork-barrelling terms such as: "unlike bacon grease, nothing gets sizzled away from the Fiesta interior."Ford's pork barrelling got cooking at USA Today, Time and even - well, naturally - Pork magazine with some publicity. "It's no secret that bacon inspires a lot of passion, and that's what the Fiesta celebrates," says Ford Fiesta (US) marketing manager Liz Elser. "Our customers have a hunger for self-expression. Plus, it's just awesome to drive down the road in a piece of bacon."Ford Australia says it has no plans to ham it up with the car.The reporter is on Twitter: @cg_dowling 

But work is already underway to keep sales ticking along, with a European facelift - headlined by a giant new grille - coming next year.It takes its lead from the new mid-sized Mondeo, but that's even further in the future as Ford switches production to Spain. Here in the second half of 2014 for about the same pricing as today.  

The sharpest knife is wielded by Proton, whose Preve sedan is now the cheapest small car in the country. Proton marketing general manager Billy Falconer says the cut -- which amounts to a 15 per cent shave off the original price -- is a reaction to the aggressive discounting of rivals.The flip is the annual/15,000km servicing cost is now capped for the first five years or 75,000km, rather than the free servicing as previously. "In order to compete with all these offers, we have reduced the price for the Preve range, with the manual starting at just $15,990 driveaway and the CVT auto Preve from $17,990 driveaway for a limited time only," Falconer says.The Preve is the first Proton to earn a five-star ANCAP safety rating and comes with a five-year warranty. The Malaysian brand is relying on the improved safety and features -- all Preve models have 16-inch alloy wheels, Bluetooth and iPod connectivity, and controls for the sound system and phone mounted on the steering wheel -- to help boost sales.The company sold just 856 vehicles last year and is behind that number year-to-date with 353 sales to July. A new hatch and people-mover -- both built according to Proton's improved safety standards -- are imminent.Ford's Focus Ambiente is -- for now -- just $18,990 on the road, including free servicing for the first three annual/15,000km check-ups. Mazda's $19,990 deal on the Neo includes a four-year warranty and three years' roadside assistance. A Mitsubishi Lancer ES with a front and rear spoilers, side skirts and alloy wheels is available for $19,990 driveaway until the end the month.PRICE WARModel                                November 2012     NowCitroen C4                          $22,990                 $20,990Ford Focus                         $20,290                 $18,990*Holden Cruze                      $21,490                 $19,490Mazda3                              $20,330                 $19,990*Proton Preve                       $18,990*                $15,990*Mitsubishi Lancer                $19,990                 $19,990**denotes driveaway pricing

Ford has revealed new performance-boosting tuning packages for European versions of the Focus ST and Fiesta ST hot hatches, courtesy of its semi-official tuning partner Mountune. The kits boost Focus ST’s outputs from 184kW/340Nm to 205kW/400Nm, and the Fiesta from 134kW/240Nm to 160kW/320Nm, while maintaining their full European manufacturer warranty. The upgrade drops the Focus ST’s 0-100km/h acceleration by over half a second to below 6.0, and 50-100km/h happens 0.8 seconds quicker in 4.9. The Fiesta ST makes similar performance gains, reducing its 0-100km/h figure by half a second to 6.4, and its 50-100km/h figure by 0.7 seconds to 5.7. Mountune has an established history with the Focus and Fiesta models, having fettled previous-generation high performance versions of each nameplate.  Ford Australia spokesman Neil McDonald confirmed the possibility of Mountune packages for local versions of the Focus ST and Fiesta ST in future.  “It’s something we’re looking at locally but at this stage it’s too early to put any timings on when it will be available. However, it’s clearly a great opportunity to provide something extra for some of our Ford performance hatch customers.” Mr McDonald would not be drawn on how Mountune-badged models would sit with the existing FPV performance branding, insisting that the Mountune packages would need to be assessed for local warranty and ADR compliance first. In Europe, the kits take between 60 and 90 minutes to fit to the ST models, and the Focus ST kit includes a larger intercooler, upgraded air filter, cast-alloy inlet duct, and a remapped ECU, and costs the equivalent of AU$2025. The Fiesta ST kit is simpler, comprising just an aluminium high-flow airbox with cold-air intake, air filter upgrade and an ECU remap. Fittingly, it’s cheaper too, at the equivalent of AU$990. This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn