This afternoon I had the chance to race a guy in a Ford Focus SVT. Did'nt notice him at first. He came flying up at the rear of my car. The lane narrows to 1 lane up ahead, so he swings in the right lane and along my side and revs his engine, looking at me like he has what it takes? Please, it wasn't even close. I should not have wasted my gas.

This afternoon I had the chance to race a guy in a Ford Focus SVT. Did'nt notice him at first. He came flying up at the rear of my car. The lane narrows to 1 lane up ahead, so he swings in the right lane and along my side and revs his engine, looking at me like he has what it takes? Please, it wasn't even close. I should not have wasted my gas.


Sweet! Good kill, those things are junk. They need to get with the game and put a turbo or superchager on them.

Given they aren't as fast as their boosted domestic brethrens, they are far from crap! This comin from a Chevy guy too so Im not big on givin Fords credit. They are fairly nice cars, and several S/C's are produced for the SVT's, they only listed at like $17K, thats a LOT less than the SS OR the SRT-4, and they got a six speed!! WITH heated seats and HID's!!

Given they aren't as fast as their boosted domestic brethrens, they are far from crap! This comin from a Chevy guy too so Im not big on givin Fords credit. They are fairly nice cars, and several S/C's are produced for the SVT's, they only listed at like $17K, thats a LOT less than the SS OR the SRT-4, and they got a six speed!! WITH heated seats and HID's!!

I can't get past the looks. So they're okay for the price. Still can't see dropping that kind of money on hatchback.

I just don't like them.
But that was a unfair race. LOL

Im not a hatch back guy either nor would I ever buy an SVT, but there isnt really a whole lot of reason to bag on em, just cause they are slower than boosted cars. Im gunnin for a black or blue SS.... MAYBE just MAYBE a red one but I doubt it, more than likely black! Oh yeah forgot, good kill! Chances are he wasnt BONE stock so good race.

Im not a hatch back guy either nor would I ever buy an SVT, but there isnt really a whole lot of reason to bag on em, just cause they are slower than boosted cars. Im gunnin for a black or blue SS.... MAYBE just MAYBE a red one but I doubt it, more than likely black! Oh yeah forgot, good kill! Chances are he wasnt BONE stock so good race.

I really don't disrespect the car, it's tt who's the hater.

P.S. You need to get to the Milwaukee/Chicago area. I think I've seen all the colors but sunburst orange.

Im in West TN, thats not too far away I guess, plus I have a friend that either lives in Indiana or Illinois, cant remember one of those "I" states... I could road trip and stay with him for the weekend, have to get in contact with him first though. His dad still lives right down the street from me.

I just don't like them.
But that was a unfair race. LOL

Hey, he egged me on for the race!! What, should I have let him pass me? NOT!!!

the words SVT and Focus should have never came together...

Unless it was RWD and had a V8, but then it would smoke the Cobra so that isn't going to happen... A turbo or s/c version would probably give a GT Mustang all it wanted as well, so I wouldn't hold my breath...

I think they were decent cars, and excellent SPORT COMPACT cars. Still wouldnt buy one though....

If you want a fast hatch, get a VW Golf 1.8T and drop a GT28rs in that hooker!!!! Now that is a fast hatch! It can take the boost!!!

I had one before my Red line. It wasn't fast but that thing wasn't made to be. It could take a curvy road at much higher speeds than a few Porsches and had all the goodies with it.

It did need a small turbo and a LSD to get sales and stoplight victories.

I still miss how connected to the car you felt while driving it. It was more of a pure driving experience than my STi. IMHO

I had one before my Red line. It wasn't fast but that thing wasn't made to be. It could take a curvy road at much higher speeds than a few Porsches and had all the goodies with it.

It did need a small turbo and a LSD to get sales and stoplight victories.

I still miss how connected to the car you felt while driving it. It was more of a pure driving experience than my STi. IMHO

Wow that thing most of been fun to drive :eek: I haven't drive anything that come pairs to my STI ;)

Wow, tomt..."junk", huh? I'm not even going to start.

Thatchevyguy....just like SS and cobalt should;ve never came together, right?

And yes, vortech makes a kit for my car with 9lbs of boost..advertised at 276hp..not bad. My car is actually a nearly perfect car as far as handling and creature comforts. All it needs is some FI, and it's a n easy keeper for 5-10 yrs.

And yes, vortech makes a kit for my car with 9lbs of boost..advertised at 276hp..not bad. My car is actually a nearly perfect car as far as handling and creature comforts. All it needs is some FI, and it's a n easy keeper for 5-10 yrs.
Ditto! My buddies car was AWESOME!!! You'll not find HID's or heated seats in any other American sport compact OR a six speed! You can add a blower for cheap, but to add a six speed, the ONLY company I have EVER seen that will custom build a six speed priced it at around $17K!!!! NO BULLSHIT!!!! And YOU still had to do SOME of the custom work yourself!!! F THAT!!!!

Ford had a good product in Europa. The Ford Escort Cosworth. That was and still is a bad ass machine. Ford has so much more better products in the European market. So is GM all the other ones.

Wow, tomt..."junk", huh? I'm not even going to start.

Thatchevyguy....just like SS and cobalt should;ve never came together, right?


I stand by my word, JUNK :D

I had to use the lemon law on the last ford that I owned and will never buy a ford product if it's the last thing on earth!

FYI
My Yamaha SRX snowmobile has more horsepower then the SVT focus!

So my 3 cyl WaveRunner has more hp than my truck, and your snowmobile is a 4 cyl right, from the Yamaha Crotch Rockets? ;)

If my WaveRunner was a 4 cyl it woud have approximately 207 hp!!! :D More than the "rated" hp of a Cobalt SS!!

Good kill! Any specs on the Focus - what mods did he have, color, etc.? I know of a few SVT's in that neck of the woods... It may have been stock! But who cares what a vehicle does in a straight line? Good for you that the SS can go straight quicker than and SVT - on the street to boot! Street racing is bad! :mad:

I bet the driving experience in the SVT is better than in a SS. Something about having independent suspension in the front and rear and a quick steering response seem to help. More power would be nice, but anybody can drive a straight line!

I dunno about some people. They let brand loyalty blind them. The people who say the SVT Focus sucks have never driven one to their potential - and probably never will! Also, every manufacturer has lemons.

I won't say the SS is crappy yet, though I do dislike the styling.

tomt...OWNED BY COBIZZLE!

The people who say the SVT Focus sucks have never driven one to their potential - and probably never will!

Wow that's news to me, the SVT Focus has potential. I should sell my car and get one of these :D



tomt...OWNED BY COBIZZLE!


Yes, yes he was :rolleyes:

So, tomt...tell me how "SS" and Cobalt go together? Cuz you say that SVT and Focus shouldn't, cuz it's not V8 and RWD?

So, tomt...tell me how "SS" and Cobalt go together? Cuz you say that SVT and Focus shouldn't, cuz it's not V8 and RWD?


What the hell are you talking about?


Read all my posts and then remember that all I said was that the SVT focus is JUNK! This is still my opinion, until you can change it or some other Ford junky can!

FYI
I like 4 cylinders that go fast!

SVT Focus handle decently, but theyre nothing special. A Mazdaspeed protege handles better, is faster, and has more cargo room. Ford needs to really get their SVT guys in gear.

So, tomt...tell me how "SS" and Cobalt go together? Cuz you say that SVT and Focus shouldn't, cuz it's not V8 and RWD?

Yeah, I forgot about the "cause it's not V8 and RWD". Hate to break it to ya, but the Cobra motor fits under the hood quite nicely and there is a kit to convert it to RWD. Also, because it's SVT doesn't mean it has to have a V8 or RWD - forget about the Contour? Anybody can drive in a straight line!

Here's a link showing specs where the Focus RS8 beats the Gallardo in every category other than 1/4 mile. RS8 vs. Gallardo (http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=1480336)

LOL I remember when Ford tried to pull that w/ the Corvette and STILL got beat!!!! LOL And it was a BASE Corvette (Not even the Z06)!! :D It was still FWD and 4cyl however, I cant recall how much they spent on the car, but it was a LOT more than the cost of a Vette! :eek: I dont know HOW they screwed that up but I could take nearly ANY sport compact car spend $50K on it and smoke a Vette/Viper, etc!!!

The only catagory that ford beats chevy in is the supercar. Ford GT pwns any [non modded] chevy. But...thats a supercar.

Focus SVT < Cobalt SS < Mustang GT < Camaro SS < Vette < Ford GT

IMO

Hmmm..so for 24k I can have a SS...or for 26k I can have an '05 mustang GT..gee that's a tough one.

BTW, the SS will probably never have the options the SVTF had. Those of you who say "yea right." have never seen an SVTF

P.S...the interior of the SS looks like a rip-off of the svtf.

That I dont really agree with, they may havve similar designs but I wouldnt say they were copied.

Just went to the dealer today, and DAMN the SS's are nice! tried to buy one today.

Just went to the dealer today, and DAMN the SS's are nice! tried to buy one today.
Are you serious?!?! Youre not BSing? Why didnt ya get it?!?!

Cuz they wouldn't give me enough for my car on trade-in. Because of that, my payments went up $20 a month, so I got pissed and walked out.

The reason i want this car is cuz it's pretty much an svt focus with a blower. I mean, as far as interior, and creature comforts. So i think it's a fun car.

dude u should scoop one ud love it ive had it for a month and its a blast...quicker than ud expect it to be too

Hmmm..so for 24k I can have a SS...or for 26k I can have an '05 mustang GT..gee that's a tough one.

BTW, the SS will probably never have the options the SVTF had. Those of you who say "yea right." have never seen an SVTF

you can be out the door with an SS for prolly under 20k....try looking into it before you open your yap.

Yea, I'll open my yap and say no you can't right now. The cheapest you can get one (this includes GMS discount, no moonroof, no Onstar, no XM satellite) is 20.6K

Try having a better attiude, man.

well, im a gm employee and i get gms anyways, and last month i got mine with onstar and xm 20,410 because of a 1000 dollar rebate from the hotbutton contest...so its just all about timing and u can easily get on without those 2 options under 20k...theres just not a whole lot of mark up

I don't want a base model SS. Then I'll be downgrading from the car i have.

I have handed SVT focus's thier a$$ on more then one ocassion, and I have a car that out weighs it by atleast 800lbs. Of course I also have an engine thats twice the size with some nice mods, it doesnt make it not fun though!

I have handed SVT focus's thier a$$ on more then one ocassion, and I have a car that out weighs it by atleast 800lbs. Of course I also have an engine thats twice the size with some nice mods, it doesnt make it not fun though!


I have no idea what your SS's are capable of?

the svt focus was not designed to be a race car. it was a focus designed with a decent amount of power over its fellow foci, and some sport tuning (suspension and whatnot). i think it was priced right for the fun factor it produced. I was looking into getting one before i decided on my cougar. i like the car all around... i am dissapointed that ford discontinued them. haha, although i would much rather have the ss over the svt focus and my cougar alike :grin:

4th gen Monte Carlo SS "Stock" runs and average of 15.5-16 in the 1/4 which is slow as balls but can be changed very easily with the right setup. I like the setup I have now, I havnt ran it because my trans is downshifting really hard. I keep trying to adjust the TV cable but it looks like I will have to drop the pan and see whats goin on. I dont know if you have seen my mods list, nothing real impressive but enough to change 1/4 times for the better.
Right now I am running Stock High output 305, Hooker comp headers, High flow cats, 3 chamber mufflers (True duals) 700r4 Camaro transmission, 3.73 posi rear, MSD ign, K&N 5" open element air cleaner in a 2" goodmark fully functional Col induction hood. All of the pollution controls have been removed including smog/air pump, the AC has been removed (didnt work anyway) but 2 less belts makes a noticable difference in hp gain. The stock hp for 4th gen MCSS is 185hp(Which blows), mostly because of all of that restrictive pollution sh*t I ripped out. The torque the 305 stock produces is pretty sick already. The car weighs 3500lbs

Alls I know is Ford isnt bringing much to the table with the Focus, I think my old 89' Taurus beater car w/nothing but CAI I used to have is faster then those things. Either that there are some people in serious need of driving/racing lessons. The SRT-4 is a wicked little car along with the Cobalt SS and the WRX but the Focus isnt much in the GO department.

The SVT Focus is a great car. Go-kart handling, and a good top end. Doesn't even reach full power until 7k rpm! Makes it even more fun when you add a turbo or vortech blower to that, making over 250whp @ 7500rpm! And it has HID's, which is rare for a car under $20k. The only reason I bought an SS is cuz my wife wanted me to have a car with a blower in it covered under warranty.

the words SVT and Focus should have never came together...


That could just as well be said about The Cobalts and SS.

That could be said about anything, the newer SS's RT's SVT's its just a marketing game of what they think will help sell the damn cars. An it works in alot of peoples cases, many people I know believe that the Cobalt doesnt deserve the SS badges but I disagree. The SS package was originally introduced as an upgraded trim package, alot of people think it was used Just for fast V8s. Very untrue, there where 6 cylinder impalas and novas with the SS badges in the early 60's that where not fast by any means. My car is an SS and it has less HP then the Cobalt does stock, now it has more then a stock Cobalt SS but I was just happy that a V8 car like my monte survived through a time of fuel crisis and raised pollution standards. Its all a matter of opinion.

true, supersport.

Now, the Buick Grand National was a rule breaker as far as performance in SuperSports car era!! That V6 turbo could and still does fly!!

The the GN was an amazing car, a v6 that beat almost everything it came up against in its time and still gets kicka$$ ga$ milage. Most of the car people I hang out with have 4th gen montes and GN's, we just had a big car show last weekend with 150+ G-bodys in attendance.