Ford claims its factory in Saarlouis in Germany cannot keep up with the demand for orders of the 350hp Focus RS hot hatch. An estimated 220 orders worldwide have had to be shunted back from the current production year into 2017 as Ford has realised that it won't have time to build them all before the summer shutdown.
According to website thetruthaboutcars.com, Ford had initially claimed that the delay was due to "economic turmoil in Europe" before subsequently coming clean and admitting that it's simply down to not having enough time to build the cars.
Several owners have reported that they’ve suffered delays already in getting their ordered RSs but Ford has moved to reassure those holding orders that there will only be a minimal waiting time and it hopes to keep any delays as short as possible.
Australian ban
Not everyone is quite as keen on the Focus RS however. Safety experts in Australia are up in arms over the RS's "Drift Mode". The technology, which when enabled helps and encourages you to slip and slide your RS in the manner of a rally ace, has drawn the ire of Harold Scruby, head of the Pedestrian Council of Australia. In a statement, Mr Scruby said: "We urge Ford to reconsider its decision, recall these vehicles and disable this driving mode. Ford cannot absolve itself from its duty of care to road users and its customers with a disclaimer in the dashboard. A disclaimer is not going to stop an idiot from trying this on public roads."
Ford hit back at the claims, saying: “Drift mode is targeted for track use only – a disclaimer appears on the instrument cluster when switching modes. We believe the drift and track modes are appropriate for racetracks, and that typical Focus RS customers will understand the need to deploy these features under controlled and safe conditions such as during a track day.”
Drifting
In most Australian states, the deliberate loss of traction of the wheels of a car, which essentially covers all forms of drifting, is illegal on public roads, and Ford has already run afoul of that law down under, when it was forced to disable the “Line Lock” feature of the Mustang coupe and convertible. Line Lock is a system that holds the car on the front brakes while you mash the throttle and light up the rear tyres, in a move known as a burnout. In spite of the fact that the car remains stationary while Line Lock is engaged, Australian lawmakers ruled it illegal.
Australia is famed for its zero-tolerance approach to speeding and poor driving, especially in the relatively populous coastal cities and towns. Strict enforcement and stinging fines had driven road traffic fatalities there to a 90-year low in recent years, but this year deaths on the road are up significantly, by 14 per cent, to 551 fatalities.
