It might only be small, but the Ford Fiesta carries a heavy weight: a mass of expectation for a Ford Motor Company that's drowning in a potentially toxic combination of red ink, and gasoline that costs double what it did a year ago. In Europe, where Ford is actually faring pretty well, the Fiesta has the straightforward -- if difficult and vital -- job of serving as the next generation of one of the core products. But in North America, it's more than that.
The Fiesta is the testbed for the new process of designing and engineering cars for a global audience, and it's a strategic move into a new market segment. American car buyers are getting a taste of what the rest of the world has experienced for decades, and now appear more than willing to choose something small and efficient as opposed to large and thirsty. In a time of market upheaval the Fiesta could end up having to serve as a lifeline to beleaguered workers, dealers, and shareholders.
Luckily for all, the Fiesta is a superb little car.
Fiesta will arrive in the North American market in 2010 as a sedan, previewed by the Verve concept at Detroit Auto Show 2008. We'll will also get the hatchback we recently piloted for this story, which launches this fall in Europe. The Euro version's 1.6-liter engine, its chassis, its exterior and interior design, even its equipment, will barely change for the U.S. Funny enough, Ford sold another 1.6-liter compact hatch called Fiesta in the mid-70s. It was designed by Tom Tjaarda, then working at Ford's Ghia studio in Turin. It proved a strong seller in that fuel-starved decade, and the company is hoping the same good fortune will strike the new one.
Ford names the design theme 'Kinetic', and the same elements are now incorporated into almost the whole of the European Ford lineup. No such harmonization within the U.S. range though, where the Fiesta's dart-like profile will look out of place. It's an aggressive and emotional shape with strongly three-dimensional surfacing, but look closer and it's also very neatly finished and detailed. That reflects the whole car's personality -- it's zippy and a ball of fun, but equally it's thoroughly refined with a sense of depth to the engineering.
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