For Loveland, Ohio lawyer Doug Nienaber, Ford has always been a family name. “We’ve had Fords
in my family for as long as I can remember,” says the 38-year-old
father of two. “My dad was a business manager at a Ford dealership, and
he was always bringing home demo vehicles. We got a lot of attention.
One time he brought home an early Taurus. Sometimes he’d bring something
even more exotic.”
He brought home a Mustang
in 1979, the year it was the pace car at the Indy 500. “That was
amazing,” Nienaber says. “The car had a graphic logo on the side, and
everybody wanted to know more about it.”
And while Nienaber loved the glitz and glamor that rolled into the driveway with each new Ford his dad brought home, he always felt a deeper connection to the Blue Oval.
“We’ve always been attracted to the quality,” he explains. “The first
car I ever had was an Escort that I bought from my dad back when I was
in college. It wasn’t a muscle car by any stretch, but it served me well
for a long time, gave me a lot of great memories—I dated my [now] wife,
Jennifer, in that car—and it never let me down.”
That Escort carried Nienaber to the purchase of his first Focus
in 2002—a car that, he says, became a trusted member of his family. “I
bought it the year I graduated from law school, and it was the first
time I bought a new car with my own money. It endured 130,000 miles and
took me through everything my twenties had to offer. I brought my
daughter home from the hospital in that car!”
In fact, he loved that Focus
so much that he didn’t want to part with it. “I cared for it like it
was one of my kids. I changed the oil, did the repairs. I didn’t want it
to leave the family, so I sold it to my cousin. It still rides like
it’s brand new.”
What’s new in his garage is a 2013 Focus ST.
He wanted something that he could depend on, but that would also be
exciting to drive. “It’s a lot more powerful and a lot faster [than my
2002 Focus], but it’s got a similar feel and the same reliability,”
Nienaber says. “It’s reminiscent of the old car, but it’s modern. My
kids love it.”
“It’s also great for hauling around all the kids’ stuff and friends,” he
explains. “I coach my son’s T-ball team, and we can fit all the
equipment in the back.” The five-door hatchback makes loading and
unloading the kids easy.
No matter the task at hand, the Focus ST always adds a little Ford fun for the Nienaber family.
