Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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Take a look at Steve Saxty's "Secret Fords" books at stevesaxty.com

How did Ford produce such a great car after the turkey that was the 5th generation Escort, and what spiritual successor topped the sales charts in 2025, 27 years after the Focus first launched?

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Sources:
Steve Saxty – Secret Fords Volume 2: stevesaxty.com/ford-shop
Escort mk5/mk6: aronline.co.uk/opinion/the-cars-we-got-wrong/ford-escort-mk6
Richard-Parry Jones: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Parry-Jones
Ford Focus: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Focus_(first_generation)
Ford Escort (North America): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Escort_(North_America)
1999 car of the year: caroftheyear.org/winners/1999
1999 Focus group review: youtube.com/watch?v=DBiBqvxn7zo
1998 Focus review: youtube.com/watch?v=FDgsMd05KBQ
1998 Focus review: youtube.com/watch?v=JGVSEAo2Qo0
Fairlane: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Fairlane_(Americas)
1999 Focus review: caranddriver.com/reviews/a69112559/2000-ford-focus-zts-archive-test
1995 Escort stats: auto-data.net/en/ford-escort-vii-hatch-gal-afl-1.8-i-16v-115hp-7402
1998 Focus stats: xezii.com/en/xe/ford-ford-focus-hatchback-i-1-6-16v-100-hp-1999-2000-2001-2002-2003-2004-2005
Focus RS WRC: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Focus_RS_WRC
mk1 Focus platform: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_C170_platform
2nd gen Focus (EU): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Focus_(second_generation,_Europe)
2nd gen Focus (NA): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Focus_(second_generation,_North_America)
3rd gen Focus: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Focus_(third_generation)
4th gen Focus: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Focus_(fourth_generation)
Fusion (EU): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Fusion_(Europe)
Fusion (NA): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Fusion_(Americas)
2nd gen Focus (NA): autoweek.com/news/a2101561/ford-us-likely-wont-get-new-global-compact-car-platform-focus
Focus Sales: carbuzz.com/ford-focus-dead-production-end