Design and engineering
Codenamed CW170 during its development, and briefly known to some Ford contractors as the Ford Fusion[citation needed] , the original Ford Focus took its eventual name from a Ghia concept car which was shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 1991. Certain elements of the design had been seen even earlier in prototypes used by Ford to demonstrate forthcoming safety features, such as the eye-level rear lighting clusters. Initial spy photographs of the car seen in 1995 showed a continuation of Ford's New Edge styling philosophy, first seen in the Ford Ka in 1996, and Ford Cougar in 1998.
The decision to call the new car the Ford Focus was made in early 1998, as Ford's overheads had been planning to keep the Ford Escort nameplate for its new generation of small family cars.
The Ford Focus also introduced a fully independent multi-link rear suspension (marketed as "Control Blade" suspension) derived from Ford Mondeo estate and intended to give class leading ride and handling. Although fully independent multi-link rear suspension may be costly, Ford designed and produced the suspension cost effectively using pressed metal techniques. At the time, other cars in the class had used Twist-beam rear suspensions, or other beam type suspensions.
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