Faces of Ford

We’ve all heard some variation of the saying “the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” This old time proverb pretty much sums up how I feel about Ford Motor Company. Don’t get me wrong I truly love Ford. I once owned a 1966 Mustang and am absolutely tickled that one day I can buy an F-650 and fulfill my childhood dream of owning Bigfoot.

Now when most Americans hear Ford they conjure up images of Henry Ford and his streamline assembly process, the tank sized Expedition, or the classic Mustang. While those images certainly make for a lush lawn I can’t help but look across the pond and see the Focus RS, Escort Cosworth, StreetKa, and the allusive RS200 making my yard look rather pale. This is of course not limited to Ford. Almost all car companies have done it including GM, Land Rover, and Nissan. The majority of these oversea goodies that we miss out on are usually stopped at US Customs because of safety or emission regulations. For the remaining cars that do pass these hurdles but still aren’t sold in the US is because some accountant told the CEO that sales would be poor. I won’t lie, that angers me. I truly believe if these companies would bring over their small sporty vehicles they would sell and do rather well on US soil. Look at the new Fiat 500. It came out in Europe in 2007 and we are just now parking next to them at the grocery store. By the way they are selling rather well too. Don’t forget that the same thing happened with the Mini Cooper. I understand we have cars here that are equally just as compact, fast, and probably more affordable but it doesn’t change the fact that I want a Renault Clio V6 sport or a SEAT Leon Cupra. I get it that the GTI and Mazdaspeed 3 are just as good and a break away from the mundane hatchback driver’s world of cardigans and build-your-family stick-figure windows decals, but I can’t help wanting what I can’t have.

To wrap things up I truly think the future of Ford is bright for any performance loving American. With the success of the Ford Raptor, an IRS Mustang on the way, and the EcoBoost that keeps showing up under the hood of new models; Ford in the States is starting to look rather attractive. The grass is still probably greener in the UK though; I hear it rains a lot. 

Photo of Focus RS & StreetKa by CoreForce (Falk Lademann)  

http://www.flickr.com/photos/coreforce/3603167862
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0