When?
> > Odd. I just bought a 2000 Focus. I asked the salesperson what he had
> > without ABS brakes. All he had were 3 Foci one with manual trans. If you
> > know how to drive ABS brakes suck especially in snow. There are just times
> > when you want to lock all four.
> >
> > DG
>
> When would that be?
>
> > Benjam> > : > >
> > : >Found ABS very hard to
> > : >find on any Foci on lots around here and side airbags (which i would > have
> > : >sprung for) impossible to find.
> >
> > : I see nothing much has changed in the past two years. I went to my > local
> > : dealer in Florida, and asked to see a Focus with ABS. "Oh, well then > you
> > : want a ZTS," said the salesman. Of course, in the 2001 model year you
> > : didn't *have* to get a ZTS to get ABS; it's just that they didn't have > any
> > : ABS-equipped SEs. (For the benefit of non-US readers: ZTS is the
> > : top-of-the line model, SE is the middle-level car.) I suspect the only
> > : reason he even had a ZTS with ABS was that they came as standard > equipment.
> >
> > : It was the same deal with side airbags. I wanted these because two > other
> > : cars I was looking at, the VW Golf and the Mazda Protege ES, both had > them.
> > : The dealer searched his network and found a whopping *one* car in a
> > : two-county area that had side airbags. I'm told that sidebag-equipped > cars
> > : also come with two headrests mounted on the rear seats. To get an idea
> of
> > : the scarcity of this option, look in the back window of the Focii you > see
> > : driving around town. *Try* to find one with rear headrests. Don't hold
> > : your breath while looking.
> >
> > : This doesn't seem to be limited to Ford, either. The Mazda dealer said
> he
> > : could probably find one. A Nissan dealer I talked to told me flat-out > he
> > : couldn't get one, even though ABS is prominently mentioned in the Sentra
> > : brochure. Attention automakers: It's not enough to offer an option; > you
> > : actually have to get these cars into your dealers' hands!
> >
> > : Funny that you had trouble finding ABS in Syracuse. The excuse the > dealers
> > : gave me was, "The factory shipped all the ABS cars up north, since they
> need
> > : it more up there."
> >
> > : >I agree with others that the sound of the turn signal is a bit jarring
> [...]
> >
> > : Is this the same muted click the 2001 models have? I liked it from the
> > : start. It sounds like something you'd find on a more expensive car. > >
> > : >I love the telescoping steering column
> > : >and the feel of the small diameter, beefy, leather-wrapped steering > wheel.
> >
> > : Me too. The steering wheel is the part of the car you touch the most, > so
> > : it's important to get this right. I think the small diameter is sporty
> > : feeling.
> > : --
> > : Benjamin Robinson
> snipped-for-privacy@freenet.tlh.fl.us
> > : This message may or may not contain sarcastic content; your burden to > decide
> > : "I'm a reasonable man, get off, get off, get off my case.
> > : I'm a reasonable man, get off my case, get off my case." -- > Radiohead
> >
> > --
> > Dave Grimshire
> > Technician Dalhousie University
> > (902) 494-2012
>
>
>