Anyone read the article about the MS3 in the new Sport Compact Car. They speculate that the turbocharged MS6 engine might be going in it...anyone know? These cars seem to have more performance potential than the Proteges...also I didn't know the MS6 was AWD. Looks like Mazda is steppin it up.
Mazdaspeed 3 performance?
- Thread starter Doodsmack
- Start date
Your going to have to wait until SEMA in November. There is a lot of speculation with the choice of motors. Some say 2.3 and some say 2.0, it depends on where you read it. Some even believe it may be the Volvos 2.5 inline-5 turbo which is a possibility. Look at the European Focus ST. I believe it has a 215 hp turbocharged 2.5 inline 5. I wouldn't be suprised to see that motor in the 3. But that would mean it has a bigger engine than the MS6, so who really knows. No matter what they choose, this will be globally built motor. It will not be unique to the Mazdaspeed 3. It is just too expensive to produce parts for a single model anymore.
I just wanted to add; WHAT THE ****? Ford is supposed to be an american car company and it sells bad ass models in european countries and not in the US. I mean you have to be a moron to think that it wouldn't sell very well here. Just look at the Impreza and the Lancer evo. I know the Focus SVT didn't sell well, but come on that car may drive well, but it was a ugly, plasticy POS. Sorry, just venting a little, but this is one sexy "american" car.
RHAGEL said:I just wanted to add; WHAT THE ****? Ford is supposed to be an american car company and it sells bad ass models in european countries and not in the US. I mean you have to be a moron to think that it wouldn't sell very well here. Just look at the Impreza and the Lancer evo. I know the Focus SVT didn't sell well, but come on that car may drive well, but it was a ugly, plasticy POS. Sorry, just venting a little, but this is one sexy "american" car.
The main reason that Ford won't bring these "bad ass" european models over here is they don't want to sell anything that might take sales away from the Mustang.
That really doesn't make sense to me though, as your typical Mustang buyer wouldn't even look at the Focus RS, and vice-versa.
Oh, and I REALLY don't see Mazda putting a Volvo engine in any of its cars, especially the 3, seeing as it's made in Japan. My guess for the MS3 would be a slightly detuned version of the MS6 engine.
I know what your saying about the Mustang Focus thing, they are so completely different. Ford cannot afford to make a lot of misteaks right now. Their credit is a junk status so getting loans is going to be hard, maybe they cannot afford to build the new Focuses in the US right now.
RHAGEL said:
In the UK, the highest trim new-gen Ford Focus is 18,825.00pounds = $33,000USD (out the door price, not MSRP). And this is not fully loaded, just the highest trim with no options.
This is for a regular Focus, the high performance Focus ST in your link is going to cost far more. Let's say the premium for the Focus ST is another $5,000USD (actual pricing not released yet, and it's going to be more than this), so you willing to pay around $40,000USD for a Ford Focus?
Even $33,000USD for a 'regular' Euro Focus is not reasonable for Ford USA. N. American and Europe markets are completely different.
When you consider the price, I see why they wouldn't bring it here. I guess there are just so mmany factors that play into product distribution it is hard for any person not involved to understand. I would love to buy an "Big three" car, but the truth is that the American cars just don't do it for me. The fusion is nice, but they won't be making a V-6 5 speed this year, so it's not really a consideration for me. The current Focus and Neon are just plain ugly and the Cobalt is just...well, a Cobalt. I want a car that is well balanced between performance, quality, comfort and style, and Mazda does just that.wongpres said:
goldwing2000
OG Mazda Mafia
- :
- 2004 Mazda3s Hatch; 346,000 mi (sold)
2024 CX-5 CE; 7,500 mi (so far)
The reason they don't bring the euro-Focus here is plain and simple: They can't build it.
The Focus is built at Wayne Assembly, just down the road from me. When they first started building the Focus, they put all new assembly line equipment in to accommodate the build.
When they started building the euro-Focus, everybody loved it and they realized that it was a better car. Shortly thereafter, they looked into the possibility of changing over production here in NA to the euro-spec version.
But guess what?
The European platform could not physically be manufactured on the brand new equipment that was brought in for the NA Focus! Duh! (braindead
I don't know exactly which dimensions were out of capacity but I've heard this explanation from more than one Ford engineer.
So they just keep building the same POS because it doesn't make sense to buy all new equipment just to make (essentially) the same car.
Especially since they're still selling like crazy and most people don't know the difference.
The Focus is built at Wayne Assembly, just down the road from me. When they first started building the Focus, they put all new assembly line equipment in to accommodate the build.
When they started building the euro-Focus, everybody loved it and they realized that it was a better car. Shortly thereafter, they looked into the possibility of changing over production here in NA to the euro-spec version.
But guess what?
The European platform could not physically be manufactured on the brand new equipment that was brought in for the NA Focus! Duh! (braindead
I don't know exactly which dimensions were out of capacity but I've heard this explanation from more than one Ford engineer.
So they just keep building the same POS because it doesn't make sense to buy all new equipment just to make (essentially) the same car.
Especially since they're still selling like crazy and most people don't know the difference.
