Focus coupe to get sportier look in '09 model

Automotive News
May 15, 2008 - 12:01 am ET


Ford will tout the revamped 2009 coupe on Foxýs ýAmerican Idolý TV show Wednesday, May 14.

DETROIT -- After just eight months on the road, the Ford Focus coupe is undergoing a modest makeover for the 2009 model year.

Ford announced today that it is giving the Focus SE coupe a sportier appearance with changes to the front and rear fascia. The new, lower front fascia has a larger open area -- meant to evoke the European styling of the redesigned Ford Fiesta subcompact, which will arrive in the United States in 2010.

The high-end Focus SES model gets a new roofline spoiler and standard 17-inch aluminum wheels. Ford will tout the revamped 2009 coupe on Fox's ýAmerican Idolý TV show Wednesday, May 14.

The restyled and re-engineered Focus compact went on sale last fall as a 2008 model. The coupe was a new body style at that time.

While it's unusual for automakers to tweak exterior styling after less than a year, Ford said it is trying to make the Focus more attractive to young buyers.

ýWe've spent a lot of time talking with small-car customers and Focus enthusiasts,ý Sam De La Garza, Focus marketing manager, said in a statement. ýTheir overwhelming feedback was that a sportier exterior design could attract even more millennials, or those people born between 1980 and 1995 -- 11,000 of whom reach driving age every day in the U.S.ý

The 2009 Focus SE coupe will go on sale in August, starting at $16,615, including shipping. Pricing for the SES model will start at $18,035, including shipping.


DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. plans to make a shift under the hood by 2012, equipping nearly all its vehicles with six-speed automatic transmissions that will improve fuel efficiency. Ford said it will more than double the number of North American vehicles with the transmissions, which boost fuel economy 4 to 6 percent.

The automaker's newest six--speed, the 6F35, will replace the current four--speed in the 2009 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner crossovers. According to a press release, Ford's Van Dyke transmission plant in suburban Detroit will double production of the 6F35 annually.