Why Is The Focus A Rare Sight On Thai Roads.

[skydiver77]

The Mrs explanation as to why the Ford Focus seems to be a rare sight on Thai roads, is that it is 'kee mah' [dog <deleted>]

I'm not saying that we have a 'lemon,' but she is no longer at ease when driving. And frankly I don't blame her.

She does 95% of the driving and uses the vehicle every week day for her office.

So I will be conceding to her wishes and we will dob the car in, in the near future. To be replaced by a Jap car.

Of course everything started off well, when over a year ago we replaced our Lancer with a new sedan 1.8 auto.

Having owned Fords back in the UK, I eventually persuaded her to go over to Ford rather than get another Jap car.

At first we liked the good drivability of the car, with especially good road holding in the wet.

A stream of minor faults didn't bug us, but eventually niggled us, like intermitant function of reverse warning bleeper/ rear window switch non working/ faulty bonnet lock and so on. Of course all faults were rectified eventually, but when one was fixed, something else would turn up.

And sometimes it was more serious; Rapid tire wear on left rear,[wheel alighnment not correct] We got a free tire out of that one. Loud clicking noise when turning at walking speed.[new steering parts fitted.] As a matter of interest Ford already knew about these potentional faults. And last but not least, power steering failure.

For you 'few' Focus owners out there, do you know that to check levels or top up the ps res. you have to remove the offside headlight first? It's hiding underneath,[but not on the 1.6]......nutty design.

We naturally compare our car with our taxi driver friends Mitsubishi, which he bought a few weeks before ours arrived.

There has not been the slightest fault with it and his weekly km is a lot higher than ours.

Goodbye Focus. It's not been nice to know you.

[bangkokrick]

The Mrs explanation as to why the Ford Focus seems to be a rare sight on Thai roads, is that it is 'kee mah' [dog <deleted>]

I'm not saying that we have a 'lemon,' but she is no longer at ease when driving. And frankly I don't blame her.

She does 95% of the driving and uses the vehicle every week day for her office.

So I will be conceding to her wishes and we will dob the car in, in the near future. To be replaced by a Jap car.

Of course everything started off well, when over a year ago we replaced our Lancer with a new sedan 1.8 auto.

Having owned Fords back in the UK, I eventually persuaded her to go over to Ford rather than get another Jap car.

At first we liked the good drivability of the car, with especially good road holding in the wet.

A stream of minor faults didn't bug us, but eventually niggled us, like intermitant function of reverse warning bleeper/ rear window switch non working/ faulty bonnet lock and so on. Of course all faults were rectified eventually, but when one was fixed, something else would turn up.

And sometimes it was more serious; Rapid tire wear on left rear,[wheel alighnment not correct] We got a free tire out of that one. Loud clicking noise when turning at walking speed.[new steering parts fitted.] As a matter of interest Ford already knew about these potentional faults. And last but not least, power steering failure.

For you 'few' Focus owners out there, do you know that to check levels or top up the ps res. you have to remove the offside headlight first? It's hiding underneath,[but not on the 1.6]......nutty design.

We naturally compare our car with our taxi driver friends Mitsubishi, which he bought a few weeks before ours arrived.

There has not been the slightest fault with it and his weekly km is a lot higher than ours.

Goodbye Focus. It's not been nice to know you.

I am utteley amazed by this post. I have had a Ford focus for around 9 months and i have not had a single problem with it. I am more than happy with the performance, road handling and fuel consumption and i think that it was a good buy at a good price. I have also seen many Ford Focus's around Bangkok.

maybe you got a Monday morning car??

Cheers, Rick

[nidge]

I have had my Focus for more than 1 year now and i love it. I had a bearing problem on one of the rear wheels and the dealer replaced it in 2 hours. Other than that no problems whatsoever. My reasoning for the lack of Focus's on the roads is the Thai inability to be different. They all want to conform. Just look at the colour of most of the cars, black, white grey/silver or gold. That is the reason my car is blue! It's funny you posted this today as i was in the local hospital today and there were 2 other Focus's there and i was very suprised. I also appreciate having a "rare" car when i have been shopping somewhere new and forget where in the carpark i left my car

[Theyreallrubbish]

I have had my Focus for more than 1 year now and i love it. I had a bearing problem on one of the rear wheels and the dealer replaced it in 2 hours. Other than that no problems whatsoever. My reasoning for the lack of Focus's on the roads is the Thai inability to be different. They all want to conform. Just look at the colour of most of the cars, black, white grey/silver or gold. That is the reason my car is blue! It's funny you posted this today as i was in the local hospital today and there were 2 other Focus's there and i was very suprised. I also appreciate having a "rare" car when i have been shopping somewhere new and forget where in the carpark i left my car

I've rented a silver Vios and if it wasn't for remote central locking it would have been lost on several occasions

[Gary A]

I have a 2007 Focus Ghia that is a lot fun to drive because of the VERY good handling. The fuel economy is not impressive but it likes E20 very well so that took care of my fuel economy gripes. The dealer replaced both front drive axles complete with CV joints and bearings. That cost me nothing. It must have been a recall but I was not told that was the reason. Other than that the car has been flawless and I am quite happy with it.

[Plus]

Ford's got a bit of a reputation they never care to improve.

GM, on the other hand, sticks with proven brand names like Chevrolet. No way they'd try to sell Opel here, but they can put Chevy nameplate on Korean shitturds like Aveo and no one would bat an eye.

This is Thailand, it's all about perception, and Ford is not doing its homework.

[ThaiHotels]

The Mrs explanation as to why the Ford Focus seems to be a rare sight on Thai roads, is that it is 'kee mah' [dog <deleted>]

I'm not saying that we have a 'lemon,' but she is no longer at ease when driving. And frankly I don't blame her.

She does 95% of the driving and uses the vehicle every week day for her office.

So I will be conceding to her wishes and we will dob the car in, in the near future. To be replaced by a Jap car.

Of course everything started off well, when over a year ago we replaced our Lancer with a new sedan 1.8 auto.

Having owned Fords back in the UK, I eventually persuaded her to go over to Ford rather than get another Jap car.

At first we liked the good drivability of the car, with especially good road holding in the wet.

A stream of minor faults didn't bug us, but eventually niggled us, like intermitant function of reverse warning bleeper/ rear window switch non working/ faulty bonnet lock and so on. Of course all faults were rectified eventually, but when one was fixed, something else would turn up.

And sometimes it was more serious; Rapid tire wear on left rear,[wheel alighnment not correct] We got a free tire out of that one. Loud clicking noise when turning at walking speed.[new steering parts fitted.] As a matter of interest Ford already knew about these potentional faults. And last but not least, power steering failure.

For you 'few' Focus owners out there, do you know that to check levels or top up the ps res. you have to remove the offside headlight first? It's hiding underneath,[but not on the 1.6]......nutty design.

We naturally compare our car with our taxi driver friends Mitsubishi, which he bought a few weeks before ours arrived.

There has not been the slightest fault with it and his weekly km is a lot higher than ours.

Goodbye Focus. It's not been nice to know you.

I would say its a decent car.

Many people prefer Japanese cars. Probably as they are so reliable and depreciate a whole lot less than Ford. Also Japanese car showrooms pretty much on every other road in Bangkok and represented well upcountry.

I have had over 10 Japanese cars in 14 yrs and have never had a single problem with any. Never even filled up the oil!

[BSJ]

When Ford engineers start working on a job they are always told to make it (whatever IT is) as cheap as possible and to reuse old designs as much as possible. Which means the new model is new on the outside but very dated underneath.

Here in Oz that attitude has lead a drift to other brands. Plus a lot of their corporate decisions are strange to say the least!

Which leads me to believe the "Ford" corporate culture rule #1 is: Never question anything no matter how dumb it may be. Closely followed by rule #2 which is: keep your lips firmly attached to your bosses butt!

[jackspratt]

When Ford engineers start working on a job they are always told to make it (whatever IT is) as cheap as possible and to reuse old designs as much as possible. Which means the new model is new on the outside but very dated underneath.

And your inside knowledge comes from where...........?

[bangkokrick]

When Ford engineers start working on a job they are always told to make it (whatever IT is) as cheap as possible and to reuse old designs as much as possible. Which means the new model is new on the outside but very dated underneath.

Here in Oz that attitude has lead a drift to other brands. Plus a lot of their corporate decisions are strange to say the least!

Which leads me to believe the "Ford" corporate culture rule #1 is: Never question anything no matter how dumb it may be. Closely followed by rule #2 which is: keep your lips firmly attached to your bosses butt!

If you look at the specs for the new Ford Focus you will find that it is anything but old.

Cheers, Rick

[lingnoi34]

Let's not forget that Ford Focus shares the platform with Mazda 3 which is reliability leader in Europe.

L

[rixalex]

When Ford engineers start working on a job they are always told to make it (whatever IT is) as cheap as possible and to reuse old designs as much as possible. Which means the new model is new on the outside but very dated underneath.

Here in Oz that attitude has lead a drift to other brands. Plus a lot of their corporate decisions are strange to say the least!

Which leads me to believe the "Ford" corporate culture rule #1 is: Never question anything no matter how dumb it may be. Closely followed by rule #2 which is: keep your lips firmly attached to your bosses butt!

All the cars i saw in Australia looked old and out-dated compared with Europe.

[esprit]

Let's not forget that Ford Focus shares the platform with Mazda 3 which is reliability leader in Europe.

L

Hardly a comparison when the Ford focus on sale in Thailand is built in the Phillipines, hence possibly a reason for the reliability and recalls that occur. The Focus in Europe is an entirely differant beast, both dynamically and engine wise and maintains high reliability and customer satisfaction.

[Plus]

Ford's reliability issues are inherited, they need to prove that they are up to scratch now, same problem as with Hyundais.

Mazda is not known for reliability either, even the latest model. There were recalls, there were couple of cases of car catching fire all by itself and so on.

It's a matter of perception, not facts per se.

[skydiver77]

I'm happy to see there appears to be a fair number of Focus owners who are perfectly satisfied with the all round performance of their cars. Which is how it should be , after paying good money for a new vehicle.

These days with advanced robotic assisted production lines, issues of quality control should not exist. Unfortunately the human element has to be involved somewhere during the process. I don't know if the fact of being put together in the Phillipines has anything to do with their reliability factor.

As i said in my intro. post, we bought the Focus based on my ownership of Fords in the UK. Every road test I read gave positive results and the car is a best seller in Europe. It looks good from any angle and the interior is well designed. And the Mrs at least loves it in her fave. color; dark blue.

On the road at fairly high speeds it's as stable as a rock and accurate.

But, we didn't buy it to run around with a bucketful of faults.

Because of frequent visits to the dealer, the Mrs finally got the original salesman to admit to recalls for steering problems and rapid single tyre wear plus a host of others.

The majority of owners are of course, Thai.

So what do they think about the car.

If readers of this thread can read Thai or have a partner or associate who can translate for them, I'm sure they will find the following website very interesting. It's an independant forum, not connected to Ford, for articles/comments and discussion groups by Ford vehicles owners. Satisfied and non satisfied.

For example; There are many early battery failures and one in particular fairly humorous,[glad its not us though] of a couple having taken their Focus with only a few thousand km on the clock, back to the dealer 5 times with the same problem. A mysterious 'noise.' Each time they get the car back, the noise resufaces in a differant place.

I think they are now on the 'Mai Pen Rai' syndrome...............never mind...

http://www.fordclub.net

click on web board

click on problem/technic

[dotcom]

I don't know if the fact of being put together in the Phillipines has anything to do with their reliability factor.

If this info is correct what you are saying is that this car is brought in Thailand as a CBU car. And all the taxes that attracts.

So maybe this is the answer to your question.

Similarly - why don't you see a lot of Dodge Neons on the road?

Cuz they aren't made in Rayong using panels that are stamped in Thailand using locla made glass wheels shocks tires etc.

Frankly Toyota & to a lesser extent Honda has car making down to a science.

If it ain't broke don't fix it.

[Plus]

Fords are built in Asean, the import tax is only 5%.

[Gary A]

I'm not used to having problems with any vehicle. I take care of my vehicles and am a firm believer of having them serviced at a dealer even though it costs a little more. I have had, I think eight different vehicles while living in Thailand. Only one was a lemon and I took my beating and traded it on the new Ford. If I have any problems with the Ford it will get a new home and that will be the last Ford.

The only other problem I had was with a Suzuki Jeep. It had electrical problems that the dealer couldn't find or fix. A 14 year old kid with a homemade continuity checker found and fixed the problem. It cost me less than a hundred baht so I tipped him more than double the charge. Problems like that, I can live with but that doesn't fall into the same area as having MANY problems.

[BSJ]

jackspratt: And your inside knowledge comes from where...........?

Where do you think! Back a few decades I wasted a few years of my life inside the organization.

But to be fair I would have to admit there is a similar mentality at all the mass produced car companies now.

Some just do it better than others!

PS: If your not a car guy buy a Toyota, they have turned mediocrity into an artform!

If you are a car guy....there is a lot of prime metal out there, if you can afford it.

[jackspratt]

PS: If your not a car guy buy a Toyota, they have turned mediocrity into an artform!

If you are a car guy....there is a lot of prime metal out there, if you can afford it.

I am a car guy actually. To me a car is a machine with 4 wheels and a steering wheel, that gets me from point A to point B - safely, comfortably and economically.

Anything else is more about the ego of the driver than it is about the car

[Gary A]

PS: If your not a car guy buy a Toyota, they have turned mediocrity into an artform!

If you are a car guy....there is a lot of prime metal out there, if you can afford it.

I am a car guy actually. To me a car is a machine with 4 wheels and a steering wheel, that gets me from point A to point B - safely, comfortably and economically.

Anything else is more about the ego of the driver than it is about the car

I don't think it is an ego thing. Some vehicles are just plain UGLY! Some are fun to drive while others are boring. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

[dotcom]

PS: If your not a car guy buy a Toyota, they have turned mediocrity into an artform!

If you are a car guy....there is a lot of prime metal out there, if you can afford it.

I am a car guy actually. To me a car is a machine with 4 wheels and a steering wheel, that gets me from point A to point B - safely, comfortably and economically.

Anything else is more about the ego of the driver than it is about the car

Ah yes. The old Timex watch argument. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[sangfroid]

I have had my Focus for more than 1 year now and i love it. I had a bearing problem on one of the rear wheels and the dealer replaced it in 2 hours. Other than that no problems whatsoever. My reasoning for the lack of Focus's on the roads is the Thai inability to be different. They all want to conform. Just look at the colour of most of the cars, black, white grey/silver or gold. That is the reason my car is blue! It's funny you posted this today as i was in the local hospital today and there were 2 other Focus's there and i was very suprised. I also appreciate having a "rare" car when i have been shopping somewhere new and forget where in the carpark i left my car

There are two Thai owners of Ford Focus in our mu ban. Both owners tell me that they are more than happy with them. Thais seem to take a set against some makes and models, for instance in Bangkok you can buy a Mazda Tribute only a year or two old at a huge discount to the original dealer price. Ford Escape is the same.

[rixalex]

Thais seem to take a set against some makes and models, for instance in Bangkok you can buy a Mazda Tribute only a year or two old at a huge discount to the original dealer price. Ford Escape is the same.

With regards the Escape and the Tribute, who wouldn't "take a set against them"? They are tired, old, out-of-date and boring motors. Nothing to do with Thais having anything against Ford in this case - just simply a bad product, by today's standards anyway.

[raro]

As I said in another post, I test-drove the Focus 1.6 and was not much impressed about the interior. Yogurt cup springs to mind. Or Trabbi.

[Pdaz]

I'd love to buy a Frod Focus.. But as usual the largest capacity version on comes with an auto gerbox.. It has sporting pretentions, spoiler, alloy wheels etc but a crappy slush box cos Thais are either too lazy to change gear or think an auto is 'HiSo'

If only Ford (or any manufacturer) would make the two door versions of their cars available here.... The Focus ST or RS would be great..Not to mention the Civic type R and a plethora of other 'hot' hatches...Nope bring on the boring four door family boxes.. Why is anything even slightly 'sporty' hugely overpriced and taxed ? Surely there is a market for a Thai assembled sporty hatch ?

[nidge]

But as usual the largest capacity version on comes with an auto gerbox.. It has sporting pretentions, spoiler, alloy wheels etc but a crappy slush box cos Thais are either too lazy to change gear or think an auto is 'HiSo'

My Focus has an auto gearbox and it's great. There is an option on the gear shift to change gear manually but for me it's pointless.

I was in the UK last month and i wanted to hire an automatic car but it was more than double the price of a manual so i ended up with a manual one. I was driving in Brighton which has many steep narrow streets. Exiting a steep uphill narrow road onto a main road was a nightmare. You need one hand on the handbrake, another on the wheel and a third to change gear. A foot on the clutch another on the brake and a third on the accelerator. If i was in my own car i would have 2 hands on the wheel and only need one foot. Is that lazy or HiSo? No, it's efficient and safe. Unless you are planning on racing and getting every last ounce of acceleration out of your car there is no reason not to use an automatic gearbox.

[madjbs]

Ehh.. you can drive perfectly safely and efficiently with just two arms and legs. Manuals are more fun than autos on the open road if you like driving.

[Plus]

There's no market for sporty cars in Thailand. Honda considered introducing its Civic TypeR here but they needed to sell at least 100 cars per month to justify the production. Their marketing division said they can forget about it.

Toyota couldn't sell even one hundred turbo Vioses they introduced as an image booster, and the price was just above the regular model.

[Pdaz]

There's no market for sporty cars in Thailand. Honda considered introducing its Civic TypeR here but they needed to sell at least 100 cars per month to justify the production. Their marketing division said they can forget about it.

Toyota couldn't sell even one hundred turbo Vioses they introduced as an image booster, and the price was just above the regular model.

Funny I saw the turbo Vios mentioned in an article soem Months ago.. I asked my girlfriend at the time ( a Toyota salesgirl) and she knew nothing about the model.. Saw that the price was hardly more expensive than the other and it had a manual box..

As for the guy that couldn't negotiate a manual car thru Brighton Where did you get your driving licence ? Thailand.. What you need is clutch control, coordination and some spatial awareness.. Maybe you'd be better of walking ?

As has been said before manuals are more fun and you have more control over the car... Yes I know many fancy top end performance cars come with auto/flappy paddle boxes (yes I know the latest change gears quicker then a manual) but for me the feel of car with a manual box is much better... if you drive in heavy traffic and only go 5 mins to the shops auto is fine.. If you are an enthusiatic driver they are pish... Also I'm not so old that I can't be bothered to operate a clutch yet..