As an automotive enthusiast, I spend a criminal amount of time browsing car related blog sites and message boards. Time and time again the conversation turns to the issue of what gets sold in North America compared to what the rest of the world receives.

Back in the 1980s and 90s the grumbling was primarily directed at companies like Porsche and Ferrari. Instead of spending the time and money to crash tests limited edition models, of which only a handful would be built, these companies simply didn’t offer North American customers the choice of purchasing their more exotic machinery on this side of the pond.

Realizing that North Americans had gobs of cash, and thought little about blowing a half million on a Ferrari Enzo or Porsche Carerra GT the exotic car makers reversed their previously stodgy positions and began importing all manner of exotic machinery to our shores.

And the enthusiasts rejoiced.

But, needing something new to grumble about, the bloggers and message boarders turned their ire toward manufacturers like Ford and Chevrolet, who for years had sold choice vehicles in Europe, while saddling us North Americans with drab, soul-sucking eco-boxes, like the Escort and Cavalier. Enthusiasts demanded to have access to the European alternatives, and assured the manufacturers that if they imported it, profit and respect would be abound.

Unfortunately this is was not the case. The problem? Cars in Europe are expensive, and people who buy Fords and Chevys aren’t willing to spend $20,000 on a compact car, regardless of where it’s built.

The most dramatic examples of this situation can be found in the stories of the Ford Contour (re-badged Ford Mondeo) and the Saturn Astra (solad as an Opel/Vauxhall Astra in Europe.) Cars plucked directly from Europe, and sold in North America.

In an attempt to minimize costs, the buzzy and efficient European suspension systems, engines and transmissions are all too often swapped out for their lazy and clunky American cousins, ruining what the enthusiasts were enthusiastic about in the first place.

There have been success stories too, the previous two generations of the Focus and current Malibu are shining examples of this. Ford and Chevy took plans and tooling for a soon-to-be-replaced European car and built it here in North America, saving money on the costs of engineering and transportation, not to mention labour.

Ford has now announced that the fourth generation Ford Focus will be a world car, the exact same car in London, England as in London, Ontario. Considering the Focus retails for CAD $25,723 in England, and CAD $14,999 here, one of two things is probably going to happen. Either the North American car will be built to such a pitiful standard, in an effort to save money, or the Europeans will be paying about CAD $11,000 more for what is essentially a CAD $15,000 car.

Either way, this feels like a mistake to me. But Ford has demonstrated in recent years that it has gotten it’s groove back, and I’m curious to see how they pull this one off.