Would you drive this?

[Ant]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_7280000/newsid_7280600/7280652.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&asb=1&news=1&bbcws=1

Popular as hell over here in Europe but do you think that you (meaning in huge broad sweeping - you 'muricans - terms) would drive something like this? Or do you think Ford has dropped the ball on making this decision to unify the markets?
I've read a few of the threads regarding cars and Ford etc and I must say that over here Ford are very competitive, their cars are good quality and their range covers pretty much every useage scenario you could want. I just wonder whether the US is ready for the Fiesta

Oh and it was engineered over here in Europe, you guys obviously weren't trusted with it lest it become twice the size and a V10 Just don't put much faith in the parking brake... Not that I have anything to do with that... No no no no.... (wanders off whistling)

[miles]

The Focus has sold well here since its inception.  I see no reason this car shouldn't, too.

[Ant]

The Focus has sold well here since its inception.  I see no reason this car shouldn't, too.

The Fiesta is a step down in size from the Focus so I just wondered whether it would be a step too far so to speak.

Oh and just in case anyone doesn't realise, despite the tongue-in-cheek language in the post I am genuinely interested in how you think this car will be received in the US. As someone who works in the auto industry I see a lot of development being done for smaller cars (smaller being up to saloon sized) and I just wonder how much of what I read about SUV and "trucks" is the norm over in the US.

[chornbe]

I hope a new Fiesta is better than the last one. And the Festiva. They were around when I was working on cars. Thank you, but no.

[cjgauthier]

       It's no surprise that as our fuel prices move up to Europe's that our car choices resemble theirs. We definitely need a commuter car. The gov't here could give us reduced registration costs for anything that gets fifty+ mpg..

[sleazy rider]

I drive a Focus and love it.  It's just big enough for a commuter and gets pretty good mileage to boot.  The rear seats fold down for the occasional larger load and it's even got heated seats.    As to the Festiva and Fiesta, they were rolling tin cans that rusted quickly and never impressed me.  When I drop that kind of money, I expect a vehicle to last more than two years.

[Ant]

I'm not sure what a Festiva is but it sounds like the Fiesta you guys get is a different beast to the one we get. The Fiesta is a good little run about car that can do longer distances as well and they last a good long while. What model year is the Fiesta you're talking about?

[phoenix]

It will depend a little on the specs, but I would give it more than a fighting chance. Scion seems to do well in areas where there are Scion dealers. Other sub compacts survive. And yes, fuel economy (and other things) seem to me to be pushing people in this direction.

http://www.ford.co.za/servlet/ContentServer?cid=1132849271513&pagename=FMCSA%2FDFYPage%2FDefault&c=DFYPage


and also, if you add a racing stripe to it, you can sell damn near anything here



EngineFeature 1.4i 5dr 1.4i Trend 3dr 1.6i Trend 3dr 1.6 TDCi Trend 3dr 1.6i Ambiente 5dr 1.6i Ambiente Auto 5dr 1.6 TDCi Ambiente 5dr 1.6i Ghia 5dr 2.0 ST 3dr
Type Sigma Sigma Sigma  DV6 Sigma  Sigma  DV6 Sigma  Duratec  
Capacity (cc) 1 388 1 388 1 596 1 560 1 596 1 596 1 560 1 596 1 999
Bore and stroke (mm) 76 x 76.5 76 x 76.5 79 x 81.4 75 x 88.3 79 x 81.4 79 x 81.4 75 x 88.3 79 x 81.4 87.5 x 83.1
Compression Ratio 11.0 : 1 11.0 : 1 11.0 : 1 18.0 : 1 11.0 : 1 11.0 : 1 18.0 : 1 11.0 : 1 10.8 : 1
Power (kW) @ rpm 60 @ 5 500 60 @ 5 500 74 @ 6 000 66 @ 3 900 74 @ 6 000 74 @ 6 000 66 @ 3 900 74 @ 6 000 112 @ 6 500
Torque (Nm) @ rpm 128 @ 3 500 128 @ 3 500 146 @ 4 000 204 @ 1 500 146 @ 4 000 146 @ 4 000 204 @ 1 500 146 @ 4 000 190 @ 4 500
Fuel system Sequential electronic multi-point injection Sequential electronic multi-point injection Sequential electronic multi-point injection Common rail, direct injection with turbo Sequential electronic multi-point injection


of course, if you sell it with some hottie included, I will be first in line.

[Flyer]

This was the Festiva:

It was a horrid little sardine can of a "car" that would rust out in a weekend, but got great mileage..,
One motoring generation ago, Ford never really did themselves any favours with their small cars. It was almost as if they were offering them grudgingly, and they'd really rather you bought a Town Car.
Across the pond, you take your small cars much more seriously, and the new offering Fiesta looks cool as heck. Sporty, well styled inside and out, and the Zetec series motors have a pretty good rep. over 'ere.
You have to remember too, your idea of a commute over there is barely to the end of the driveway over here, where folks think nothing of commuting three hours/day at interstate (and well above)speeds.

[garry]

What model year is the Fiesta you're talking about?

Per Wikipedia:

The US Mark I Fiesta was built in Saarlouis Germany but to slightly different specifications; US models were Base, Decor, Sport, and Ghia, the Ghia having the highest level of trim. These trim levels changed very little in the US Fiesta's run from 1978 to 1980. All US models featured the more powerful 1.6L Kent (1598cc) 4 cylinder engine (retrofited with a catalytic converter and air pump for lower emissions), energy-absorbing bumpers, side-marker lamps, round sealed-beam headlamps, improved crash dynamics and fuel system integrity as well as optional air conditioning (a/c was not available in Europe).

[Chips]

I'm confused.  Wasn't the Escort supposed to be their first world car?

And speaking of confusing... the 'rest of world' Focus is built on a different platform than the North American Focus.

[ksann]

It would have been high on my shopping list a few months ago before I bought my Civic.

The Civic is bigger than I needed (but the Fit was too noisy).





ken

[Ant]

And speaking of confusing... the 'rest of world' Focus is built on a different platform than the North American Focus.

Yeah, the NA Focus uses the much older C170 platform (and will be doing until 2009) whereas the rest of the world has used the C1 since 2004.

[Ant]

Actually when I think about it the Mondeo was a "world car" too
Trying to think what it was called in NA (why do you guys always have to have different names to the rest of the world!?  )

Edit: Scratch that, a little Wikipedia investigation shows that actually you guys got something that just looked a little like the Mondeo but shared nothing technologically and it was called the "Contour".

[Lazarus]

Edit: Scratch that, a little Wikipedia investigation shows that actually you guys got something that just looked a little like the Mondeo but shared nothing technologically and it was called the "Contour".

And it was also a crappy little car...  I was running a rental car fleet at the time and got saddled with a few.  I'm 6'2 and could barely wedge myself into the driver's seat and handling and acceleration were a joke.  Noisy little bugger too.

[Tar Snake]

I hope a new Fiesta is better than the last one. And the Festiva. They were around when I was working on cars. Thank you, but no.

I disagree. The only car I ever bought brand new from a dealer was a 1994 Ford Aspire, which used pretty much the same drivetrain as the Festiva, but came in the more popular at the time 1990's jelly bean shape.

It ran well, got 39mpg on the highway had a 5-speed manual, A/C, no radio but the wires were already ran for speakers so it was easy to put a nice system in it (did it myself). I'd probably still have it but I got in an accident and found out the hard way it was a "disposable" car. My insurance totalled it.

A brand new car for 10K out the door, I couldn't complain.

[Ant]

It's no wonder you (as a nation) are jaded towards the smaller cars! Any half way decent small car that gets taken to the US seems to be bastardised and made generally shit before it is allowed to hit your shores Is this because of some sort of legislation that is in effect?  

[Iceburg98]

We had the Fiesta once... we gave it back...

On that note, I do drive a Focus and love it - great little car - although i was a bit miffed to learn it wasn't the same one that the Europeans gets, but then we always get the "toned down" versions of European cars over here. I don't think most Americans drive well enough to have "earned" the better European versions yet (although I still wanted a European SVT focus with AWD and 20-some more HP than the American version   )

[chornbe]

I'm not sure what a Festiva is but it sounds like the Fiesta you guys get is a different beast to the one we get. The Fiesta is a good little run about car that can do longer distances as well and they last a good long while. What model year is the Fiesta you're talking about?

Oh, late 70s, early 80s. Absolutely horrible.



And later, the Festiva

[Tar Snake]

I replaced the totalled Aspire with one of these for $2300, and loved it. I think it has good lines, and was a fun car to drive:

A 1990's Dodge Colt (Mitsubishi Mirage)