So true. Take care of your car, it takes care of you. But that said, yes I take good care of my car, but its easy to take care of when its such a great and reliable car.

But hey...maybe I'm wrong, you know? I guess all those awards and accolades were for nothing then, I mean all those automotive press guys and design experts could be wrong too, maybe the Focus is crap after all? Damn...I've been duped! I knew I should have paid more for that slower and less equipped Honda!

FORD FOCUS AWARDS

The Ford Focus is the first vehicle ever to receive, both the North American Car of the Year and the European Car of the Year awards.
North American Car of the Year 2000: A jury of 47 independent journalists from Canada and the United States selected Ford Focus as the North American Car of the Year. They selected Focus because it set a new standard for the small car segment.

European Car of the Year 1999: Fifty-five journalists in 21 countries voted in the 1999 COTY program and 42 of the 55 journalists scored Focus as their first choice. Focus scored 444 points to the second-place winner's 272.

North American awards

Automobile Journalists Association of Canada awarded 3 Best New Car Awards 1999: Focus ZTS accepted the winners' hardware for Best New Family Sedan (under $25,000), and Best New Economy Car went to Focus LX. In a tie for first place (with Honda Civic SiR), Focus ZX3 completed the hat trick in the Best New Sports Coupe Category.

Popular Science 1999 "Best of What's New" Grand Award: The editors of popular science review thousands of new products, technology development and scientific achievements. One hundred products are selected for distinction as "Best of What's New." Ten Grand Awards are given across 10 categories-Focus won the Grand Award in the Cars category.

AAA 's Top Car under $15,000: Ford Focus received this award from a special AAA committee.

Road & Track Ten Best: Ford Focus was named one of the "Ten Best" vehicles in 1999.

Detroit Free Press Car of the Year: Ford Focus was named "Car of the Year" by auto critic Tony Swan of the Detroit Free Press. "I'm also impressed by this car's blend of supple ride and responsive handling, which conspire to give it a comfort quotient that's near the head of its class," said Swan.

The Detroit News Personal Favorite: "Of all the new passenger cars introduced this year by American, European and Asian manufacturers, the Focus may be our personal favorite. It comes in three distinctly different body styles-a sporty coupe, a more conservative sedan and a practical station wagon… Even the Japanese could learn something from this well-executed small car."-The Detroit News, Wednesday, January 5, 2000.

European awards

Goldenes Lenkrad (Golden Steering Wheel): Twenty-six jurors of automotive experts and celebrities awarded Focus first place in this German competition with a total of 1,281 points, 67 points more than its closer competitor.

Scottish Car of the Year 1998/99: Focus is the first-ever winner of this award presented by the Association of Scottish Motoring Writers. Focus also won the "family" category.

Car of the Year 1999, Denmark: Ford Focus won this award from the Danish Association of Motoring Journalists with a total of 201 points. The next closest competitor received 121 points from the jury of 24 journalists.

Ricerce Formale: Focus won this Italian award for a new design approach in the automotive business. It is presented by an international jury that decides the winner for "l'automobile più bella del monde" (World's Most Beautiful Automobile).

Car of the Year, Estonia: Awarded first place by Estonian Car Journalists.

Irish Semperit Car of the Year for 1999: Focus won this award from the Irish Independent with 138 points, the highest margin of votes in the history of the award. Twenty-four of the 30 jurors awarded Focus first place.

Family Car of the Year, 1998, Sweden: Focus won this award from Swedish motoring magazine Motorföraren. Eight of the 10 automotive journalists on the jury voted Focus as the winner.
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