Domestics Abroad: The Internationals From Ford
by
Corey Lewis
Published: May 19th, 2017
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Welcome to the first entry in a new series, Domestics Abroad. We’ll be taking a look at the international models proffered around the world that wear a domestic company’s badge on the grille but are not offered in their brands’ domestic markets. This is ground zero for “you can’t get that here.” All nameplates you’ll see in this series are current production models.We kick off the series with Ford, which has the largest number of other-market vehicles than any other domestic manufacturer despite its “One Ford” mantra.
B-Max The European market receives the B-Max, which is a tiny minivan on the Fiesta platform. It has been on sale since 2012. Not bad!
Cargo Moving on to South America, you can find the Ford Cargo — a cab-over semi truck. Keen truck observers may already know Ford sold the Cargo in North America from 1986-1993, but the company discontinued it here due to poor sales.
EcoSport Here’s a piece of short-term forbidden fruit. Ford will introduce the subcompact EcoSport in the United States in 2018, but the company has sold it in Brazil since 2003. The current generation you see here has been around since 2012.
EscortA familiar-but-deceased nameplate to Americans, much like Tempo and Tracer, the Escort has been on sale in China since 2015. The Escort is classed as a compact executive car in that market (whatever that means) and positioned below the Focus. That’s interesting when you consider the Focus was a direct replacement for the deceased Escort.
EverestSubject of some discussion on TTAC in past times, the Everest is a rear-wheel-drive SUV marketed by Ford in most other markets — but not North America. First based on the Mazda B-series pickup truck, it’s now based on the Ranger that we’ll soon see here. The Everest is surprisingly expensive, ranging from just over $39,000 USD in Australia for a base model, up to a heady $63,000 USD. Everest, indeed.
Focus Wagon Europeans (and New Zealand) have a Focus Wagon to turn to when the regular Focus just isn’t large enough. North Americans had this option through just 2007. It’s not difficult to find a few enthusiasts pining for this particular Focus solution. Note the example above is actually an ST variant.
GalaxyMost of you will recall the not-so-good Ford Freestar and Mercury Monterey vans as the last minivans on offer from the Blue Oval on our shores (salty shores, where rust happens!). Other countries presently have the Galaxy van. Ford developed the first-generation Galaxy in conjunction with Volkswagen and SEAT as the Sharan and Alhambra, respectively. Two generations have debuted since then. The Galaxy is a big brother to the S-Max (below) and almost American-sized, but its lack of sliding doors might limit North American success were it to arrive here.
Ka/FigoThe Ford Ka is a perennial European subcompact favorite, on sale since the mid 1990s. The first one was odd looking (there was even a convertible, the StreetKa), but the current model forgoes those wacky styling tendencies and adopts a Fiesta look. India and Mexico get this model as the Figo.
Mondeo Now we all know Ford sells the Mondeo here as the Fusion, and before that it sold the same car as the Contour and Mystique. But for modern reasons (CUV-shaped ones), there are two Mondeo formats we do not get here: the wagon and the liftback. The wagon is shown above, teasing you mercilessly in pewter metallic. Your local Ford dealer asks you to come in and check out the Edge.
RangerThe North American Ranger was not the same as the international ranger, seen above in modern quad cab guise. Many people (and stores like NAPA Auto Parts) lamented when the Ranger left our shores after the 2011 model year. The truck you see here will be the basis for the return of the Ranger to North America in 2019, soon followed by a new Bronco in 2020.
S-MaxAs I mentioned above, the S-Max is the smaller sister of the Galaxy model — a smaller van. In typical European option fashion, gasoline or diesel is available, in manual or automatic guise, with front-wheel or all-wheel drive.
Taurus While our unpopular (D3 platform) Taurus would seem to be tottering toward the end of its life, China already gets a next-generation model based on the CD4 platform. That’s the very same platform you find underneath the Lincoln Continental. Currently, Ford only produces and sells the CD4 Taurus in China — and no matter where it goes from there, North America won’t be getting it.
Tourneo Courier Bringing up the rear (alphabetically speaking), there’s another little European van we here in North America don’t receive. It’s called the Tourneo Courier, and it shares a platform with the B-Max, Ka, Fiesta, and EcoSport. To borrow a phrase from Jerry Seinfeld, it’s a stylish European Carryall, and smaller than the smallest Transit we get here.
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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The previous generation Mondeo's "liftback" version was a genius design. It looked like a sedan from most angles, but the boot and back window lifted up to a huge opening (not unlike say... a recent Skoda Octavia). I would have loved to have seen that here as well. Current gen pretty much differentiates its look from the familiar sedan version.
Love the Transit Courier! Could be a great competitor for the Kia Soul!