logo
The Ford Focus ST Reaches the End of the Line

The Ford Focus ST Reaches the End of the Line

Motor 1a day ago

Ford announced earlier this year that it was
ending Focus production
in Europe this November. That includes the coveted Focus ST, one of the last hot hatchbacks sold with a manual transmission, but your opportunity to order one is dwindling. Ford has filled the order books for ST production in the United Kingdom.
Ford UK told
Autocar
, "There are no new factory orders available for the Focus ST at the moment." That comment suggests the automaker could reopen the order books before production officially wraps six months from now, but there's no way to prevent the inevitable. The Focus and the Focus ST are dead by the end of the year, and the company has no direct successor ready to take its place.
The inability to order a new Focus ST in the UK won't prevent you from buying one. The automaker also told the publication that there were around 170 STs unsold in the dealer network.
Motor1
reached out to Ford to see if the Focus ST is still available to order elsewhere in Europe. We'll update this story if we hear back.
Ford
has been killing off its sedans and hatches for the last few years. Mondeo production, which was the Fusion in the US, ended in 2022, two years after Ford pulled the model from American showrooms. The
Fiesta
died in 2023, and now it's the Focus's time to exit the brand's portfolio, including the fun and enjoyable Focus ST.
Here's More Ford News:
Here's the 2026 Ford F-150 Lobo Totally Undisguised
A Supercharged V-8 Ranger Raptor R Exists, But Not From Ford
Get the best news, reviews, columns, and more delivered straight to your inbox, daily.
back
Sign up
For more information, read our
Privacy Policy
and
Terms of Use
.
Gallery: 2024 Ford Focus ST Edition
32
Share this Story
Facebook
X
LinkedIn
Flipboard
Reddit
WhatsApp
E-Mail
Got a tip for us? Email:
tips@motor1.com
Join the conversation
(
)

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

‘All Stars 10' Reminds Us That Drag Race Verses Are A Brand Strategy
‘All Stars 10' Reminds Us That Drag Race Verses Are A Brand Strategy

Forbes

time18 minutes ago

  • Forbes

‘All Stars 10' Reminds Us That Drag Race Verses Are A Brand Strategy

RuPaul's Drag Race, like many other reality competition shows, has recurring challenges that fans eagerly anticipate each season. For example, in addition to Drag Race contestants needing to bring looks to fit their runway themes, there are several challenges that they have to prepare for. Of course, some challenges are meant to be fresh and new to keep the audience engaged, but every fan of Drag Race knows there's going to be 4 challenges that the queens are going to have to survive if they want a chance at winning the crown. The first being the sewing challenge where queens have to make an outfit from scratch, the second being the snatch game where the contestants have to do a funny improved impersonation of an iconic character or personality alongside their competitors, the second being the roast where the queens have to make fun of a particular host, guest, or their fellow contestants, and the final challenge being the girl group challenge where the contestants music work together to make a convincing song with their teammates and still manage to stand out. MILAN, ITALY - NOVEMBER 12: Mistress Isabelle Brooks performs RuPaul's Drag Race: Werq The World ... More Tour at Mediolanum Forum of Assago on November 12, 2023 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by) This time around, RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars 10 elected to combine the roast challenge and the girl group challenge, dubbing it the 'Rappin' Roast.' The queens were tasked with performing a song where they rapped and roasted their fellow contestants. This added a new layer to two already iconic staples in the Drag Race franchise that had already shown in prior seasons to be difficult for even the best of competitors in the show. Stacked with masters of shade like Mistress Isabelle Brooks, Nicole Paige Brooks, and Jorgeous, this challenge required not only wit, but cadence and memorable verses. From iconic songs in Drag Race's history like Break Up Bye Bye made famous by the Frock Destroyers in the first season of Drag Race Uk and the legendary Read U Wrote U from the final four of Drag Race All Stars 2, the contestants are no strangers to the opportunities that songs on the show can bring. There isn't a single long-time fan of Drag Race that doesn't know the lyrics 'Yekaterina Petrovna Zamolodchikova, but your dad just calls me Katya.' That line, again from Read U Wrote U, gave Katya of Season 7 of Drag Race, All Stars 2, and Unhhh fame a direct link to her fans to show them her persona, creativity, and branding all at once. These songs, which later get added to streaming platforms, keep queens top of mind with fans and keep them engaged for if said queens ever release music on their own. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 1: In this image released on October 1, Shea Couleé is seen ... More onstage during Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 2 presented by Amazon Prime Video at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California; and broadcast on October 2, 2020. (Photo byfor Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Show Presented by Amazon Prime Video) Shea Coulee, from season 9 of Drag Race and the winner of All Stars 5, released an EP after performing Category Is… with her castmates. Doing that offered her an avenue that inevitably led to her first EP Couleé-D while her season was still top of mind, building upon her brand and showing fans that she versatile in more than just her looks on the runway. With All Stars 10 steady underway and queens teasing new music, alongside other queens, like Megami from season 16 of Drag Race and Ocean Kelly, a well known performer and rapper in the Drag Race orbit, who aren't on the latest season of the show but are branding themselves by admitting they helped write and shape several of the verses fans are hearing on the stage, expanding their platforms and clientele if the verses are well received and future contestants come to them for ghostwriting. What started as a fun and quirky challenge has turned into an entire expansion for queens to build their brands and start their musical platforms. All Stars 10 continues to prove that these challenges are always more than just being about winning or losing; they're a vehicle for reinvention.

Saab CEO sees Europe streamlining defence demands amid spending push
Saab CEO sees Europe streamlining defence demands amid spending push

Yahoo

time32 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Saab CEO sees Europe streamlining defence demands amid spending push

By Jun Yuan Yong SINGAPORE (Reuters) -The European defence market needs to align requirements and demand in order to create scale as it attempts to boost capability, the CEO of Swedish defence group Saab said. "The important thing is that you cannot have every country, sort of tailoring the requirements to different sorts of versions, then it becomes difficult," Micael Johansson told Reuters in an interview on Saturday on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting in Singapore. The European Union's 23 members are expected to agree at a summit in June to raise the defence spending target above the current 2% of national output as countries bend to pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to spend more. "Europe has a big catch up to do in terms of capability that we need to have in place to take care of our own security," Johansson said, adding that defence capabilities will still need to be built up even if a peace deal in Ukraine is achieved. Beyond improving capabilities in Europe, he said that he has seen a greater willingness for collaboration between countries other than the U.S. for defence products, and that European players are prepared to establish sovereign capabilities in the countries they partner. "That's what we're prepared to do, if we're part of this of course, to help, and that includes technology transfer and collaboration, and not just selling," he said. The Thai Air Force chose to purchase its Gripen fighter jets in August last year, selecting Saab over Lockheed Martin's F-16 fighter jets even though Thailand is a security ally of the United States. He also noted that the company's fighter jet programme is building more unmanned capabilities as air defence systems and lethal weapons capabilities improve. "Because of the congested environment that you have to operate in, the suppression of enemy air defence systems, you have to take bigger risks and you have to think about attrition. Then you don't want to send your fighter pilots into something that's really, really dangerous," he said.

Liverpool line-ups as Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and more transfer decisions made
Liverpool line-ups as Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and more transfer decisions made

Yahoo

time39 minutes ago

  • Yahoo

Liverpool line-ups as Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and more transfer decisions made

Liverpool have made an aggressive start to the transfer window, securing the signing of Jeremie Frimpong for £29.5m from Bayer Leverkusen and agreeing a £10m deal with Real Madrid to allow Trent Alexander-Arnold to make the switch to La Liga early. Advertisement And what's more, the Reds have submitted a £109m offer to sign Bayer Leverkusen's highly-rated Florian Wirtz, with Richard Hughes leading negotiations to seal a blockbuster transfer after the 22-year-old indicated that he would like to move to Anfield. Milos Kerkez is another transfer target as Liverpool consider their options at left-back, and outgoings are expected with Darwin Nunez admired by clubs in the Saudi Pro League. So how could Liverpool line-up with some of their new additions? Our writers take a look.. READ MORE: Liverpool transfer business is only getting started as more targets emerge after Florian Wirtz READ MORE: Liverpool consider options for Arne Slot new assistant as John Heitinga departure confirmed Advertisement Ian Doyle: One of the real assets about Liverpool's recruitment in recent years is they sign players for a specific reason. They know what they want them to do, even if it doesn't always work out in such a manner for varying reasons. That should be a bit of a given for every club, but occasionally others are so determined to make a glamour signing they don't really know what to do with them once captured. Frimpong and, as it seems, Wirtz won't have that problem, with both very much made aware of where they will be expected to feature under Arne Slot. Kerkez, should he follow, already knows what his role would be. And with Liverpool's next competitive game - well, of sorts - the Community Shield against Crystal Palace in mid-August, that will provide a first real indication of where they will line up. Advertisement I would start all three if available in that game. And with the current personnel, that makes for some intriguing calls - although it wouldn't be a massive surprise if a new number nine arrives in time for Wembley. My team (4-2-3-1): Alisson; Frimpong, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo; Diaz. Joe Rimmer: Liverpool are clearly not content to rest on their laurels having lifted the Premier League title just a week ago. And after a year getting settled in at Anfield, Richard Hughes is starting to show why he is held in such high regard. Jeremie Frimpong offers Liverpool flexibility, with his ability to play right wing or right-back and should Milos Kerkez join the club from Bournemouth, you'd expect him to eventually make the left-back position his own. That's not to count out Andy Robertson, who, I'd suspect, would still start the season as first choice. Advertisement But Florian Wirtz could truly be a transformative signing. Where he plays is open to debate, but I'd expect him to be given a role in the centre of Liverpool's attack, freeing up Luis Diaz to compete with Cody Gakpo on the left. Liverpool's midfield was the basis of the title charge and while strength in depth in that department would be welcome, no major surgery is required. Ditto in central defence, so long as Liverpool secure Ibrahima Konate on a longer-term contract. Fail to do that and we could see further changes in that department before the summer is out. My team (4-2-3-1): Alisson, Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Kerkez; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Wirtz

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store