Ford will unveil its iosisMAX multi activity concept that may prove to be the design direction of the companys next C segment vehicle at the 2009 Geneva auto show this week.

Ford looks to Europe

2001 Ford Focus

2001 Focus ZX3

Ford Motor Company’s most successful small car in recent memory was the first-generation Focus. That particular vehicle was based almost entirely on the German Ford Focus (3-door and 5-door hatchbacks were identical to their European cousins). And until Ford decided to go cheap on the 2005 re-design, Americans were able to get a taste of just what they had been missing all those years from the Blue Oval: small cars that were fuel efficient, space efficient and a blast to drive.

Ford Focus RS

European Ford Focus RS

 Meanwhile, Europeans received a new platform in 2004 and a stunning facelift of the same platform in 2008 based on the company’s kinetic design philosophy.

Ford iosisMAX

New Direction

With any luck, hindsight will eventually prove that one of the many benefits of last summer’s spike in gas prices was the decision by Ford to bring many of its best small cars over from across the pond to grace our shores. With this in mind, the new iosisMAX concept that will be unveiled in Geneva this week may very well portend the general look and feel of a Focus-sized MPV that we’ll see here in the U.S.

iosisMAX

Highlights

Ford calls this latest concept a multi-activity vehicle that now only showcases the latest in design solutions – such as new door opening concepts, advanced aerodynamics and lightweight materials – but also engineering solutions that include Ford’s EcoBoost engine technology:

iosisMAX

•    B-pillarless construction with conventional front doors and rear-sliding doors for more efficient rear seat entry and egress
•    1.6-liter 177 hp turbocharged, direct-injected EcoBoost engine coupled to a new auto-start-stop system (system will see production next year)
•    “flying buttress” c-pillars act as spoilers channeling airflow as close as possible to the tailgate glass for optimum aerodynamic efficiency
•    Six-speed double-clutch automated manual gearbox

iosisMAX