Ford, Small Cars, and Me

Part of my renewed interest in blogging stems from a recent project that I've submitted myself to: the Fiesta Movement. In essence, its a very grassroots campaign by Ford Motor Company to raise the public awareness of the upcoming 2011 Ford Fiesta. Ford is offering 100 people the opportunity to drive a European model Fiesta for 6 months, well in advance of the initial public release of the car sometime in mid-year 2010. In return, those individuals who receive vehicles will comment on their experiences with the car, and engage in monthly missions to raise public awareness of the upcoming Fiesta.

Before we get too far into this conversation, I want to make sure that everyone is clear that we're not talking about a Festiva here. In conversations that I've had with several people, there has been some confusion about why I would want a boxy little hatchback that generally looks like a partially smashed soda can on wheels and barely gets out of its own way, much less the way of others. Don't get me wrong, I actually have a soft spot for Festivas (why wouldn't I, right?), but the car we're talking about here has a longer, more storied history.

Ford developed the first generation Fiesta in the mid- to late 70s. The car was one of Ford's first "world cars", a European design that was sporty, stylish, and economical in light of the fuel crisis of the '70s. This first generation vehicle was in direct competition with the first Volkswagen Rabbit, and for a car produced in the late 70s, was very stylish.

By the 80s, the fuel crisis had abated to a degree, and as a result, small vehicles were not in demand in quite the same way as they had been just 5 years previously. The larger, domestic automakers have a tendency to chase the dominant market, whereas import automakers, like Volkswagen and Honda know what they do well, so they stick with a few models, which manage to sell well because there is a lot of development in refining the quality of those few models (I know I'm digressing, that's one of the things that I do well). Long story short, Ford of North America pulled the plug on Fiesta in the early 80s, started building Fox Body Mustangs, trucks and Taurus'. The rest, as they say, is history. Most connoisseurs of automotive culture and design will (should?) tell you that the 80s should be removed from all history books. The only things of automotive importance are Chrysler's K-car (which literally saved the company, think Reliant, Dynasty, Duster, New Yorker, Caravan...all based on the K-car platform) and the introduction of the 1988 Ford Taurus, which is probably the most ubiquitous vehicle in the United States (I think my parents owned at least 6 from 1989 until the present). They were great cars, but truly uninspiring to drive.

Now, I'll try to sum up the last 20 years in a few sentences instead of rambling as I just have. Ford tried the world car approach a few times with the Merkur lineup, and with the Contour/Mondeo, but these vehicles were not received with the fanfare and open arms that comparable European models had received. However, in 1999, Ford nailed it with the introduction of the Focus! Here was a vehicle so far departed from mainstream automotive design of the time, that the entire world couldn't help but stop and look. The look polarized people, but the handling spoke for itself. The automotive media was abuzz with this European Ford, which was brought to Ford's home-market, virtually unmolested from its initial design (aside from slightly larger bumpers for crash testing...thanks Canada!). Unfortunately, a number of recalls from the first couple of years tarnished the image, and the fact that they can be found on most rental car lots with a lackluster automatic transmission and a soft, supple suspension to gloss over Detroit's pothole ridden surface streets did nothing to speak for the genius of the European styling. In 2005, it looked like the Focus was going the way of the Escort...when Europe received the new Focus (which was slightly bigger, and offered a high performance 2.5L Volvo engine in the top of the line model), the North American market received a mildly facelifted version of the existing car (albeit with slightly healthier engine options from the Duratec lineup). The most crushing part; allegedly the face of the North American Focus was revised because "older drivers were unable to tell where the front of the vehicle was when parking". Great, there goes the youthful exuberence of the Focus!

Meanwhile, Ford of Europe kept churning out smaller vehicles to suit the driving habits of their local drivers. Such names as the Mk.1 Escort 1600 RS, Sierra Cosworth, Escort Cosworth RS, Focus RS, the Ka, and of course the Fiesta are tossed around with their motorsport heritages. Obviously, I mentioned a lot of the RS models, which were typically turbocharged, AWD vehicles which could easily be turned into monsters by swapping a few bits and injecting more fuel.

In 2007, Ford unveiled the Verve concept vehicle. Personally, I was smitten with the lines of the body, the roomy, futuristic interior, and the compact size of the vehicle. My interest in the vehicle was intensified when the word came out that the 8th generation Fiesta was going to be based off of the Verve concept, and would likely be coming Stateside! At the 2008 Cleveland Autoshow, I had the opportunity to look into the car in the flesh at close proximity. That night, I knew what my next car had to be. With Ford having seen some tough times in the past few years, and Mulally making significant changes in short order in order to right the ship, I had hoped that Ford would accelerate the Fiesta timeline and do a simultaneous global release in 2009. Unfortunately, it was not to be and initial reports were that the Fiesta would be released mid-year 2009 as a 2010 model, which now looks to be mid-year 2010 as a 2011 model.

I guess this post pretty well sums up my opinions on the last 40 years of Ford's small vehicle history. I'll try to post up this afternoon in regards to who I am with respect to Ford and the nature of my current Focus project. In the mean time, I leave you with a significant chunk of reading and I hope that its not something that turns you off from further posts. I had no idea that I had so many thoughts on this.

-Seth