Great headline, and I'll take
Great headline, and I'll take the troll bait...
You don't really think it matters if the HRV was lost at the A Auto Show because it is, most likely, going to be the biggest mainstream success of the show...well maybe the Explorer.
They UT in the 1.8 AND have said the 1.5t is the new 1.8 when it's officially ready for launch. Frankly, given the hurdles the new Celaya plant has presented, they are probably better off putting in the third and true 1.8 until a midcycle refresh.
It's not really reasonable to say Ford has a competitor. The Focus still carries the "hatch" label and scares American when something like this is available. Mazda doesn't move the kind of volume as Honda, the Daimler twins might present the most "competition" but Fiat still has to find its way with Americanos and no Jeep still can't figure out that young boys and men love Wranglers, but the rest of the brand is forgettable. And how many people have said, "hey, I really love the underpowered Encore, but really want something with less refinement?" About six people in middle America I guessing.
It's not a show stopper, but it doesn't matter. In a year, you will see these everywhere, and isn't that the real gauge of whether it was a successful auto show debut?