Unbeknown to some, the Ford brand has had a long history in our little sunny island, Singapore. Ask anyone who was of legal driving age in the 1970s, and they’ll fondly recall Ford models such as the Cortina that were ubiquitous on our roads.
These models were churned out by the Ford Motor Factory that stood on Upper Bukit Timah Road that began operations in 1941, just before World War 2 broke out. Nearly 40 years later, the Ford Motor Factory closed its doors for the last time, heralding an end of motor vehicle manufacturing in Singapore.
Regardless, car enthusiasts always have Ford on their radar – there’s been a long list of fast Fords throughout the years that have made a name for themselves. The Capri RS2600 touring car legend of the 1970s, the Sierra XR4i everyday hero of the 1980s, the Escort RS Cosworth rally monster of the 1990s, and in modern times, the Focus RS hot hatchback.
In modern times, the majority of the cars enthusiasts know and love are designed and built by Ford’s factory in Europe. It is they who are responsible for churning out cars that oozed global appeal – compact, exciting to drive, fuel efficient, yet capable of sustaining high speeds on the Autobahn.
This Ford Focus here – a product of Ford Europe – belongs to Mr Ho, a veteran in the construction industry and a formerly staunch supporter of Japanese sedans. For the past three decades, he’s switched from one Japanese sedan to another, choosing to stick with vehicles that were familiar to him.
His previous vehicle’s Certificate of Entitlement (COE) was due for renewal at a rather untimely moment, in the middle of 2016 when COE premiums were at its high. It was due to this that Mr Ho was introduced to the Focus by his son, who suggested it on the basis that it offered more value for money than the Japanese makes that were on sale at the time.
