Ford Sport Compact West Car Show 2017

Article and photos by James Stanley
A whole lot of Mazda’s, gay furries having simulated anal sex on the hoods of Focus’, and the stars of the show were the all new Ford Fiesta. The salt air from the ocean was a welcome respite from the heat of the summer as crowds gathered to inspect the damage on several of the Mazda’s from an accident caused by a BMW cutting off one of the caravans coming from Los Angeles. (Imagine that, a BMW not using their turn signal…).  It was a bit of a wild show the last time FSC West was held more than 6 years ago. Much has changed since this last show, and the differences were quiet noticeable, but in the end, it was still the same.

The Santa Paula Airport holds a cruise and fly-in event the first Sunday of each month, and for the Month of October, the a local Porsche club had taken the spot. After speaking with the coordinator of the event for a few hours several months ago at one of the monthly events, I asked if the FSC West car show could be held there. He hesitated at first, but eventually agreed to welcome the group. To everyone’s surprise, and much to my excitement, the Ford Sport Compact section was 10 times the size of the hand full of Porsche vehicles. The line seemed to stretch the entire length of the hangars and it was a sea of MK3 Foci and Fiesta STs.

No vehicles from Mazda, Mercury, Merkur, or Volvo was at the show this year, but the lineup was still impressive as is. The RS and ST name plates dominated, but the O.G. nameplates of SVT and KONA were also in attendance as a reminder to all the new kids what the original modern FSC is. It was kind of sad to see that there were only 2 MK1 Foci in attendance as I was expecting more, but at least they were two great examples of them.

The winners of each category were all stunning with some incredible modification, and some stunning after-market parts combinations. The new bar has been set very high, and next year’s show will be even bigger and better with it being the 20th Anniversary of the Focus.

A very special thank you to all of our vendors, sponsors and supporters. Without their help, this show couldn’t have happened. Please take a moment to check out their offerings sites!

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James Stanley