Filed under: Hatchbacks, Ford
Ford's Jim Farley wants the Fiesta hatchback in the US
by Sam Abuelsamid on Feb 23rd 2008 at 9:01AM 
Click the Fiesta for a high-res gallery
Until recently, Ford had only planned to sell the new Fiesta small car as a sedan in the US market. Judging from the reaction of readers in the comments here when we showed photos of the production version of the car, which is based on the Verve concept, most people disagreed. The vast majority of commenters chiming in said that they wanted the stylish little hatchback. Apparently, they aren't alone. When the Verve sedan concept appeared at the Detroit Auto Show, it was supposed to be shown alone. A last-minute change of plans was prompted by new Ford marketing chief, Jim Farley, who insisted that the original three-door hatchback concept from the Frankfurt show be displayed as well. The hatchback concept was on a European tour and was detoured for a stateside visit to judge reaction from American showgoers. It now looks like there is indeed a very good chance that the hatchback will be offered to US drivers in addition to the sedan.
Gallery: 2009 Ford Fiesta
[Source: Ford]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Will 9:09AM (2/23/2008)
Thank goodness. I can't imagine a sedan version of the Fiesta looking good at all, and hatchbacks tend to handle better and be more practical anyway.
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MixiM 9:33AM (2/23/2008)
The 5-door version of this looks really good, although the sedan probably wont. Uhm, the current fiesta here in europe isin many ways inferior to the current Focus we get here. The current interior is in some ways like this one, and compared to the EuroFocus not so up-scale but hey seems better than the US-Focus either way. And one more thing, the rear light make it look identical to a Hyundai i30!!!
naggs 1:59PM (2/23/2008)
seriously, thank goodness
i really want that 3 door and there is a good chance that i would buy one if it were available but i just dont want the sedan or even the 5 door hatch at all
if ford is going to take small cars seriously, they need to do what mazda and toyota have done and offer a sedan and hatch for their small cars.
PJ 10:24PM (2/24/2008)
Thank goodness indeed. And thank goodness Ford's strongly considering bringing it here.
This move may finally drag GM, kicking and screaming, into selling a competitive subcompact in the US. If and when they do, they oughta send Ford a thank-you card.
Rocketboy 9:14AM (2/23/2008)
Please tell me that at the last minute someone at ford is going to remember that "Festiva" is not a well loved name. Festiva Name = Low End junk sub-compact.
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010111 9:42AM (2/23/2008)
this is a Fiesta though. two different words.
phonics > sight-reading.
Jay 9:44AM (2/23/2008)
"Festiva Name = Low End junk sub-compact."
Guess you never owned one, correct?
But anyway the car is a Fiesta (Euro) as apposed to the Festiva (Asian)
John P. 9:04PM (2/23/2008)
First off, the Festiva was not a junk, it was low end, but at over 300,000 trouble-free miles on mine, I finally put it to rest, my dad put another 30k plus on it, and it still wasn't dead. The Fiesta when it was here in the late 1970's was also a great car. Ford never gave either car the attention they deserved. Ofcourse, once you sold one, they never went back to the dealer because nothing ever broke on them.
PJ 10:24PM (2/24/2008)
Funny thing about the Festiva was that it was a rebadged Kia Pride, built in South Korea.
Jay 10:34AM (2/25/2008)
The Kia Pride/Festiva/Mazda121 was a Mazda mechanicals & design with most units assembled in Korea to keep the low price point.
A 4 door version is still buit in Iran.
http://www.saipacorp.com/Fa/products/saba/image/pride_saba_(4).jpg
94 taurus owner 9:18AM (2/23/2008)
I think it would be a good Idea to sell all three models (3-5 door hatch)(4 door sedan) in the USA.
Mainly because the wider range will appeal to a
wider audience,provide competition to the Aveo/Yaris/SX4/and versa.All four offer sedan and hatch models why not Ford.
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Matt 2:13PM (2/24/2008)
Dude,
You own a 1994 Ford Taurus.
I'm *so* sorry.
Ligor 9:25AM (2/23/2008)
that interior will do Ford proud.
this car looks 1000x better than the butttt ugly Focus we got (inside and out)
and they should bring in a 4-door hatch and a 4-door sedan, especiall if they are already considering tooling up for all three in Europe, why not all three varinats in the US
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iSpec 9:32AM (2/23/2008)
Jim Farley is a smart guy to want that here. Just change the name already. If he was really smart he would tell Ford to quit with the 'F's'. Frig, even their employees have 'F' names. Some would say Ford is F****d.
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Tom Fjord 2:08PM (2/23/2008)
I agree. Even though "Fiesta" is a classic nameplate, it sounds kind of silly. Hopefully Ford will come up with a new name for the North American market.
Joe K. 9:32AM (2/23/2008)
Finally someone gets it!
Maybe this will once and for all kill the myth of "Americans don't buy hatches" because for once we will have a hatch worth buying. If they make a 5-door hatch I will finally have a worthy replacement for my Protege5...
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naggs 2:13PM (2/23/2008)
agreed, americans dont buy crappy hatches that are bad cars that never should have been built
we will buy well thought out, nicely executed, high quality hatches that look great on the inside and out, are a blast to drive and get great mileage.
the mazda 2 weighs 2100 lbs, if the american version is even close to that, it will still weigh hundreds of pounds less than a mini cooper. this thing is going to be ridiculously fun. i am officially excited about a future ford product.
weird
Throwback 9:32AM (2/23/2008)
Jim farley has already earned his money for this year.
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naggs 2:02PM (2/23/2008)
amen to that
MixiM 9:35AM (2/23/2008)
The Huyndai i30, from the rear Ford clearly got a bit too inspired by this korean car!
http://images.paultan.org/images/MS-Design_Hyundai_i30_Sport.jpg
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