I think it is mighty brave of you to wade into these pirhana infested waters! A little damage control, even if it is on an unofficial and personal level, is clearly needed. You'll have to stick it out here for a while though, if any good is to come of it. Another hit-and-run will only make matters worse.
As you can see, many SVT owners feel like they have been been given the heave-ho without even so much as a kiss goodbye. It isn't JUST that there are few Ford authorized performance parts or trinkets available. Or even the magazine which, for many, was the coup de gras. Rather, they feel that the whole market segment has been found unworthy and abandoned. They now drive orphans and have been swept under the rug. With the sole exception of the Contour, SVT has concentrated on vehicles that are impractical for us. The Lightning has the small cab, Focus has only 2 doors, and the Mustang, for most of us, isn't even a blip on our functional-oriented radar screens.
We all understand that when it comes to vehicle offerings that your voice ( and ours, for that matter) is but one of many. Likewise, we understand that the Focus was the obvious choice for SVT's next mission. Make no mistake, many here feel the SVT Focus is brilliant. I suspect that quite a number of us would pony up for one if we had a choice of body styles. Which begs the question: where is Ford's ( and more specifically SVT's ) sport sedan? Where will the current CSVT owner go for a follow-up vehicle? I doubt that there is a member here who eyes don't get all misty and glazed over at the thought of the new Mondeo being offered here, especially in SVT form. Volkswagen is feasting on the sport sedan market, now Subaru (!) has joined the table in a big way and we suspect that Mitsubishi is next. All you have to do is read a few of the posts here to understand the impact that the WRX has made here. I understand that you are not a marketing honcho and again, I understand that you are here on your own. But please, if you have any voice at all, let it be known that CSVT owners desperately want to feel that they were not just an SVT experiment that didn't go much of anywhere and that SVT understands that those of with 4 door needs do not want to be left sitting on the bench. Or worse, shopping elsewhere.
Unfortunately, in a moment of weakness I chickened out and opted for the less visually arresting route and chose an SE. In the eyes of many, this will make me unqualified to post on this thread. To those that feel that way, I apologize and beg forgiveness. That said, build me a true sport sedan, support it, nourish it and I'll step up to the plate.
