Ford Compact Cars

Ford has unveiled the refreshed Mondeo at the 2019 Brussels Motor Show in Belgium. The Mondeo was looking stale for quite some time now and needed a refresh desperately. However, it did not come alone. It brought along the company’s first-ever hybrid wagon and, from our initial impressions, we would call this hybrid-wagon a masterstroke!

Ford rolled off the last Ranger off its assembly line in the U.S. almost seven years ago. However, Ford decided to bring the nameplate back to the States for the 2019 model year and get its share back from the Toyota Tacoma and Chevrolet Colorado. The company also teased a Ranger Raptor that won’t be sold in the U.S., but some Sherlock Holmes’ descendants have found that the Raptor is actually coming to our shores - just not in its current generation.

Ford just unveiled the new Explorer at the 2019 Detroit Auto Show, but during the press conference it also announced five new models that it will launch over the next 24 months. Three of them are new generations of existing models, while the other two are brand-new nameplates, including a revival of the Bronco.

If you’re part of the minority who prefers do-it-yourself solutions for your vehicles, you’ll need to know this one important aspect when it comes to changing the oil on the 2019 Ford Ranger. You’re going to have to remove the left front wheel to do it. It’s not the hardest job in the world — you only need a jack and some muscles to do it — but it is inconvenient, especially when you only need to pop up the hood of your vehicle to gain access to the oil filter. But, apparently, Ford made some changes to the U.S.-spec Ford Ranger, which necessitated this move. You’re not going to find it impossible to change the oil on the new Ranger, but you are going to have to work more than you probably expected to get the job done.

Persuaded by the high interest in SUVs and crossovers in Europe, Ford decided to rough up the 2019 Ford Focus a bit and give it an Active badge. The Focus is the third model in Ford’s lineup to be offered in Active trim after the likes of Fiesta and KA+. The Focus Active can be had in both hatchback or wagon body styles, and Ford says its engineers tweaked the springs, dampers, and stabilizer bars, while also lifting the ride by 30 mm up front and 34 mm at the rear.

Ford is reportedly working on a replacement model for the Courier pickup sold in Brazil, and there’s a good chance this new model could make it to North America. Unlike the Courier, which is positively tiny by American pickup standards because it is based on the Fiesta city car (and also it went out of production in 2013 and never got a direct replacement), this new Ranchero would use the slightly largerFocus platform.

This means it’d grow in length quite considerably and also move from a single cab design to a crew cab. If it makes it to the States, it would probably get a name change as well, so instead of Courier, it will probably be called Ranchero, recalling an older model name. The old Ranchero was built between 1957 and 1979 as a unibody, car-based pickup. It was Ford’s answer to the Chevy El Camino.

So, it would be quite natural for Ford to use the Ranchero name for this newly proposed pickup, although nothing has been officially confirmed yet (or denied, for that matter). What’s clear is that this new Ranchero could be here by 2022, when it will share the showroom floor with the likes of the new Ranger, Bronco, and maybe a boxy-looking Focus platform-based crossover (aka “baby Bronco”).

Most of the autobahn top speed runs we’ve seen over the years usually involve a high-powered German sedan with its governor disabled. This time, we’ve got something a little different. Ever wonder what it’s like to push the new Ford Focus ST-Line to its limits? Now’s your chance to find out, with this point-of-view take from AutoTopNL.

Ford offers an array of Focus-derived variants of its latest generation compact hatch that include the base model, a sporty looking ST Line, a posh Vignale and a high-riding Active. All are available as practical wagons, and the Active is no exception, arguably making more sense to buy as a wagon than the standard hatch.

The Focus Active tourer (and the regular hatch too) sit 30 millimeters higher on its suspension compared to the standard model and features plastic body cladding for a more rugged overall appearance. Front and rear bumpers are different too, as is the grille which gets its own unique design.

This is Ford’s response to similar models from other automakers, like the Skoda Octavia Scout or VW Golf Alltrack, although unlike these models, Ford doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

Ford is bidding farewell to all of its cars in the U.S. market, with the exception of the Mustang, and for one final hoorah, Ford is introducing the Fiesta ST Line to its 2019 model lineup to give buyers Fiesta ST looks without any power gains whatsoever. Seriously, folks, we can’t make this up. The Fiesta ST Line is, essentially, the Fiesta ST with the mundane 1.6-liter four-banger from the lesser models. Ford even claims to use the same front and rear clips on the car, making the only real difference the engine under the hood. To be more specific, Ford says “It’s for people who want the look of the ST but the don’t necessarily care about having that performance.”

As Ford moves away from its line of sedans, it’s instead focusing (perhaps “concentrating” is a more appropriate word) much more heavily on its crossovers and trucks. As such, the Blue Oval has a swarm of fresh prototypes out on the road, like this recently spied compact crossover - leading us to ask, is this the new Baby Bronco?

Continue reading for the full story.

After seven successful years on the market, the third-generation Ford Focus was replaced by a brand-new hatchback. Although it’s too early to say whether the new model will be as successful as its predecessor, it has many features to brag about, starting with a new platform that will underpin several Ford vehicles in the future. It also boasts a sportier exterior, new tech inside the cabin, and a revised engine lineup. With the standard Focus on its way to dealerships as of 2018, it’s time to talk about the RS model. The performance-oriented model might arrive by the end of the year and rumors and renderings are already making headlines on the internet.

Ford’s very own competitor for the all-popular Volkswagen Golf GTI, the Focus ST will benefit from all the cool features of the new Focus, but it will receive a few extra features inside and out. The sportier exterior with more aggressive cues will be joined by an exclusive interior, while its engine will provide the most power in an ST model yet. Until the next-generation Focus RS arrives, the ST will sit at the top of the range in terms of performance and pricing. Let’s take a closer look at what we already know about this car in the speculative review below.

Update 8/15/2018: The next-gen Ford Focus ST prototype has finally been caught on camera. Check out our special spy shot section below to check it out for yourself.

Automakers usually don’t need to be asked to have their cars appear in movies or TV shows, but there was one instance when Ford apparently turned down an opportunity to have the Fiesta appear in a movie that ended up grossing more than $100 million. That revelation came from actor and comedian Seth Rogen who revealed on Twitter that Ford nixed the idea of having the Fiesta play a role in The Pineapple Express, a movie Rogen co-starred in with James Franco.

The Ford Focus could be used as the basis for a compact, unibody pickup that the Blue Oval is looking to offer in the U.S. in the future. The rumored model was first mentioned by Automobile Magazine as a possible addition to Ford’s shifting product lineup in the country. As the company’s car lineup is about the go — the Focus and the Mustang are the only ones being spread — the rush to beef up its crossover, SUV, and pickup offerings begin. One of the reported models is the Focus-based compact, unibody pickup, and as is often the case with ground-breaking model developments like this one, it didn’t take long for renderings of the rumored pickup to surface.

It’s no longer a mystery that Ford is planning to relaunch the Ranger in the United States, but word has it an even smaller pickup truck will hit dealerships as early as 2022. This new hauler will be based on the fourth-generation Focus and will be produced in Mexico.

The Ford Mondeo is spending a lot of time in front of the cameras these days. After being spotted frolicking in the snow in Sweden a few months ago, the Mondeo is back doing test runs, this time in the friendlier climate of Southern Europe. It’s also a different body type — it’s a wagon! — than the Mondeo prototype a few months ago, but the location of the camouflage remains the same, so the front and rear sections are still matters of speculation. Still, we get a good look at the Mondeo wagon’s entire body, giving us an indication of what to expect when it comes out.

The Ford Fusion sedan is not long for this world, but just as the sedan is set to be axed in the coming years, the “Fusion” nameplate will live on in another form. Word has it that Ford is looking to use the name on a high-roofed sport wagon that the company is developing to compete against the Subaru Outback. There’s no timetable on when the Fusion Sport Wagon is going to arrive but look for its debut to happen shortly after the Fusion sedan gets the heave-ho from Ford early next decade.

A ratty looking 1976 Ford Escort GL sedan is expected to sell for as much as $300,000 at a coming RM Sotheby’s auction, all because it was once owned by St. John Paul the Great, a lot of whom know him more as the late Pope John Paul II. The unassuming Escort isn’t in the best of condition, but its provenance is the biggest reason why it’s predicted to go for that much money.

Less than a couple of weeks ago we found out that the Ford Fiesta RS might finally happen. It was Ford Performance Europe boss Leo Roeks who hinted about the possibility, but we just learned that the Fiesta RS remains just a rumor for the time being. The news comes from Ford’s head of design for Europe, Amko Leenarts, who argued that an RS model isn’t necessary because the Fiesta ST is fast and powerful enough.

Rumors about Ford wanting to add a high-performance RS model to the Fiesta lineup have been flying around for quite a few years. Unfortunately, we never got a hot-hatch above the 212-horsepower ST200, despite the first Fiesta RS concept dating back to 2004. But Ford’s more recent plans to expand the RS performance lineup may finally include the tiny Fiesta.

Why Ford CEO Jim Hackett thought that killing off almost all of Ford’s car lineup, after watching stock prices drop 12 percent in five months, was a good idea is outlandishly puzzling. That’s a huge drop in stock price, and his plan is to cut $25.2 billion in costs by 2022. Apparently, the route to take to do that is to force loyal Ford customers into trucks or SUVs. He’s taken a lot of heat from shareholders over this move and actually had the nerve to say that Ford is “reinventing the American car.” So, riding a wave that was created by consumers, while killing off most of your car lineup, is now considered reinventing the American car.

Even worse, Hackett wants to blame the sour reaction to this move on media coverage, saying “I wish the coverage had been a little different. If you got beyond the headline, you’ll see we’re adding to our product lineup, and by 2020 we’ll have the freshest showroom in the industry. The headlines look like Ford’s retreating. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.”

Truth be told, the brand is killing off an entire range of affordable, economical cars in hopes that loyal customers will be willing to step up from a car like the Taurus or Focus to an SUV. According to him, customers say they want Ford SUVs. That’s “what they really want.” I don’t know about you, but to me, that sounds like reasoning that tries to shift the focus away from him being an idiot in hopes that the next five years will yield a better profit with no cars.

Well, he better be right. I mean, Ford isn’t reinventing the American car – that’s not how this works. But, if things don’t work out, and this proves to be as much of a bonehead move as it appears to be, Hackett will probably find himself out of a job a lot sooner than he expected.

More than a few hearts were broken when Ford announced plans to dramatically scale back its non-crossover and non-SUV lineups in the U.S. One of the casualties of that downsizing is the Ford Focus. Unfortunately, all but one version of the Focus are expected to be eliminated from the company’s U.S. lineup. That means that there’s a good chance that we can say goodbye to hatchback and sedan versions of the Focus. It’s not likely, but the ST could also get the heave-ho as could the range-topping RS, which only arrived in the country in 2015. We barely knew it. The good news is that there is one version of the Focus that will, without a dout, remain in the U.S. It’s called the Focus Active, and it’s essentially a raised five-door hatchback with some semblance of a crossover.

The next-generation Ford Focus ST was recently spotted testing in the wild, and we’ve already discussed what it may bring to the table in our speculative review. Now, a new rumor suggests that the new ST might be the last non-hybrid hot-hatch from Ford and that it could get its juice from the same 2.3-liter EcoBoost found in the Mustang. Sounds pretty wild, but it makes sense given Ford’s plans for the next-generation Focus RS.