My parents bought me a 2009 Focus for my first car a little over a year ago when I was 16. they did more research on cars than one would think possible and started nearly 6 months before i turned 16 and picked the Focus because it has EVERYTHING, incredible safety features and even looks. one thing they lied about this car for me as a teenager the Microsoft Sync is perfect because all from my steering wheel I could change the station and call people and it reads my text messages out loud and lets me respond back! but the important thing was yesterday morning I was driving to school and a lady in another car ran the stop sign and smashed into me at 35 mph when it ws a 25 mph zone and wasn’t even a four way stop, my car then spun and nearly flipped and the side curtain airbags went off. these airbags saved my head from smashing into the window and the seat belt kept me in the car because i was told i would’ve flown out of the car if i wasn’t wearing it. My body got limited damage i only had whip lash of my spin back and next and then the muscles around my spine are swollen and bruised which is putting pressure on my spine which is what is causing me so much pain. my car on the other and may be totaled because so far the Ford dealership is waiting on the insurance company to appraise it but its so far at $12,000 worth of damage but it did save my life because I was told if i was in a bigger car I would have flipped and some of the other cars we had looked at before they literally would have folded like an accordion. If your looking into getting a new car look at the crash test ratings from the government and it doesn’t matter how safe of a driver you are as my parents look at it you cant account for all the other idiot drivers out there who cant follow the rules. if my car is totaled my parents have already said they will not hesitate to buy another Ford and that will be the only make we will ever buy again because neither of my parents had ever been in an accident before so they never have fully appreciated the Ford for what its really worth before now. I am now a lifetime ford owner because not only is it American made it is also probably the safest and most sensible option out there especially for your teen because every teen needs Sync because its amazing.