Format: bullet cues only, reference not read-aloud. Hosts riff from beats, never teleprompter the page.
Scored as: 2016-2018, with verified head-gasket work · Total: 48/70 · Target runtime: ~7:00, hard ceiling 7:30
Channel note: this is the rebuild of the channel's biggest hit ever (44.6K, "REASONS NOT TO BUY A FOCUS RS"). The head-gasket story IS the de-risking content that made it work, so The Risk gets the most runtime here, not the usual split.
Title (curiosity gap): "Ford Fixed This For Free. Then They Stopped."
Thumbnail word: "EXPIRED" plus a big 48 on the Board
Order: Deal, Drive, Upkeep, Risk, Daily, Limit, Mods, Board, Verdict

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Hook, one sentence (~0:05)

Pick one. All lead with the expired fix, because that is the new information versus the original video.

1. "Ford used to fix the Focus RS's worst problem for free. That window closed in 2019, and now it is your bill."
2. "If you are shopping a used Focus RS, one piece of paperwork decides whether you just bought a bargain or a $3,500 repair."
3. "This is still a 9 on The Drive. It is also the one most likely to cost you."

Recommend #1: it is the single most useful fact on this page and it updates the original video rather than repeating it. Cut straight to The Deal on the last syllable.

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1 · The Deal, reveal 6 (~0:50)

Beats

• Who this car is for: wants the most characterful hot hatch, will actually use the AWD
• The floor: ~$28k clean private-party · wide spread from $22k to $40k
• Original MSRP $36,995 · pristine cars now past $45k, appreciating
• Scarcity is the whole argument: only ~5,000 US cars · ~85% 3-yr retention
• Trim map: RS · RS2 package · RS Edition (2018, ~1,000 units, the collectible one)
• Say the linkage out loud: the 6 is price AND risk together, not price alone
• Buy cue: a documented car deserves a real premium, pay it

On screen: $28k with the $22k-to-$40k spread · the ~5,000 US cars card · an RS Edition badge
Reveal line cue: "It holds its value, and the risk is priced into this score... The Deal, a 6."

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2 · The Drive, reveal 9 (~0:55)

Beats (joint-a Drive of 9 with the Supra, let it breathe)

• Numbers fast: 350 hp / 350 lb-ft · ~3,500 lb · 10.0 lb/hp · 0-60 4.7s
• Pivot immediately: the number is not the story, the character is
• The novel bit: rear-biased AWD can send most of the torque to one rear wheel
• Drift Mode is not a gimmick because of that hardware · plus launch control, twin-scroll turbo
• Say it plainly: this is a 9, level with the Supra, and it is the only front-engined hatch up there
• No caveat in this section. Everything holding the car back is elsewhere. Say that too

On screen: Drift Mode b-roll · the rear drive unit sending torque to one wheel · a 4.7s launch
Reveal line cue: "Most of the torque to one rear wheel, on purpose... The Drive, a 9."

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3 · The Upkeep, reveal 4 (~0:40)

Beats

• ~$5,700/yr all in. Frame it: this runs like a Supra or a Z, not like a hot hatch
• 22 mpg on 91 is the AWD tax · roughly $400/yr more fuel than a GTI
• The myth-buster beat: owners assume it insures like a Focus. It does not
  • RS trim specifically runs well above the base car (MoneyGeek), ~$2,600/yr
  • tell them to get a real quote BEFORE committing, not after
• The only relief: it is still a Ford, so consumables and common parts are cheap

On screen: the $5,700 stack beside the GTI's $4,380 · MoneyGeek's RS trim against the base Focus · "GET A QUOTE FIRST" card
Reveal line cue: "It runs like a Supra, not like a hot hatch... The Upkeep, a 4."

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4 · The Risk, reveal 5 (~1:20, the centerpiece)

Beats (this is the segment that made the original video work; give it the runtime)

• State the scope first: we score this as a car with verified head-gasket work
• The symptom chain: low coolant → white exhaust smoke → engine failure
• The cause, and it is a great story: Ford fitted some cars with the Mustang EcoBoost head gasket, whose hole-and-depression design let coolant stagnate and damage the head
• Affected: 2016-2017, build dates Aug 2015 to Jul 2017
• Ford did right at the time: Program 17B32, free head gasket AND head if it failed a pressure test, regardless of mileage OR mods
• The turn, and the reason for this video: that window closed January 31, 2019. Every car today either had it done or did not, and now it is your bill
• The bill: ~$3,500 head gasket + head · worse if the open-deck block cracked
• Buy-check, say it slowly and twice: paperwork proving 17B32, and pressure-test the cooling system regardless
• Fair framing: 5 is about a real catastrophic failure with an expired free fix, NOT about the car being fragile once sorted

On screen: the Mustang head gasket beside the RS one · the Aug 2015 to Jul 2017 build window · "PROGRAM 17B32 CLOSED 31 JAN 2019" stamp
Reveal line cue: "Ford fixed it for free, and that window shut in twenty-nineteen... The Risk, a 5."

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5 · The Daily, reveal 8 (~0:35)

Beats

• 23.3 cu ft, more than the GTI · 5 seats · 4 doors
• AWD makes it a genuine year-round daily, real winter capability
• Why it is still behind the GTI, and it is not space: very firm ride, loud cabin, heavily bolstered Recaros
• Honest cue: fantastic for twenty minutes, wearing on a long highway slog
• Buy advice: go sit in one for a while before committing

On screen: 23.3 cu ft loaded, more than the GTI · the Recaro bolsters · a noise meter on a highway shot
Reveal line cue: "More boot than a GTI, and a longer drive than you want... The Daily, an 8."

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6 · The Limit, reveal 8 (~0:50)

Beats

• 0.98 g grip · 158 ft from 70 · Brembos, Recaros, launch control, Drift Mode
• The AWD advantage: get on the power absurdly early out of a corner
• Rallycross and damp track days: close to unbeatable at the money
• Cap #1: heavy at ~3,500 lb, AWD drag builds through a session
• Cap #2, and connect it to Risk: Brembos boil their fluid after repeated hard laps (documented), and sustained track heat matters more than usual given the cooling history
• Shopping list before track use: high-temp fluid, better pads, watch coolant temp

On screen: 0.98 g and 158 ft · an AWD corner exit · the boiling brake fluid callout with the temp gauge
Reveal line cue: "Absurdly early on the power, and the brakes get hot... The Limit, an 8."

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7 · The Mods, reveal 7 (~0:45)

Beats (the counter-intuitive one, set it up as a warning not a shopping list)

• On paper it looks like a bargain: ~$800 tune = ~400 whp · bolt-ons push past 440
• Large aftermarket, shared EcoBoost/RS community
• The asterisk that makes this a 7: unlike the Supra or Z, cheap power here stacks onto a stressed engine with a gasket history
• The true ceiling is structural: the open-deck block cracks under sustained high boost. Not a fueling limit, a block limit
• Invert the usual advice: handling, brakes, cooling FIRST · big power last, if at all
• Payoff line: chasing 500 hp means stacking boost on the exact weakness the car is famous for

On screen: the $800 tune to 400 whp · an open-deck block cutaway with the crack line · "HANDLING FIRST, POWER LAST" stamp
Reveal line cue: "Four hundred wheel horsepower, stacked on the one thing it is famous for breaking... The Mods, a 7."

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The Board + Verdict (~0:55)

Beats

• Total lands: 48 / 70
• The shape of the score, say it out loud: a Drive of 9 with the Supra, strong Limit and Daily, then gives it back on Upkeep and Risk
• Segment caveat: hot hatch, NOT part of the sports-coupe ranking
• The direct cross-shop: the GTI is the sensible one and scores higher (50) for less money. The RS is the "more" one, and the risk is the price of that
• Verdict, condition attached: "Buy, but only with the head gasket sorted."
• Skip case, stated fairly: if you want a low-worry daily, or cheap speed, buy the GTI
• Callback to the hook: the free fix is gone, so the paperwork IS the car

On screen: the 48 hits the Board · RS slots below the Supra · Buy stamp with the 17B32 condition line
Close cue: no long outro · one line to the Board · end

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Runtime + notes

• Sum is roughly 7:00, longer than a standard episode because The Risk carries this one. If it runs long, pull from The Deal and The Mods first. Protect The Risk above everything.
• This is a rebuild of the channel's biggest video, so lead with what has CHANGED (the expired fix window) rather than re-telling the original story.
• Every score is a proposal until you and Dan reconcile independently. The two most likely to move: The Risk (5, whether an expired-fix catastrophe should sit below the GR86's rarer but pricier bearing) and The Deal (6, how much the risk should be allowed to drag a price score).
• The brief flags two older open items on this car: a Limit conflict (Car and Driver published 154 ft / 1.04 g against our 158 ft / 0.98 g, tire spec unresolved) and an insurance conflict (MoneyGeek implies $5,784 against our ~$2,600). The graph figures are used here; resolve before the ranking video.
• Title and thumbnail share zero words per channel rule. Verify before publish.