Ford eyeing Mexico for Fiesta production
Ford has been teasing us with a US-bound Fiesta for years, and the Blue Oval has only said that the well-executed B-car would be built in North America. With time to start producing Fiestas running short, Ford appears ready to publicly announce where the vehicle will be built, and it looks like the Fiesta will be made south of the border. The extremely low cost of labor in Mexico makes building inexpensive economy cars there a no-brainer, and Ford's Cuatitlan plant already builds the current Euro Fiesta and a Fiesta-based vehicle for the Mexico/Brazil markets.
The Fiesta is scheduled to appear Stateside by 2010, but with the radical shift towards smaller, more efficient vehicles, we wouldn't be surprised if Ford bumped up that timeline.
[Source: Detroit News]
Reader Comments (Page 2 of 2)
psarhjinian 11:17AM (5/30/2008)
It's not the name "Fiesta" per se, but the closeness of said to "Festiva" and the images that inspires. What springs to my mind, and likely to many other consumers, is the two-box Kia rebadge of ill repute.
That aside, Fiesta just isn't a good name for this market. In Europe it works because there's positive brand equity for the product. Here, there's nothing, and the name "Fiesta" just doesn't strike me as a good starting point. The same applies to the Kuga: good product, but that name won't fly here.
Ken Stamper 2:21PM (5/30/2008)
I don't think "Fiesta" has any equity, negative or positive really- remember, this is a car that will be marketed mostly to the 18-34 crowd. None of those people are going to remember the original. It's not as if the original was an infamously bad car (like the Pinto).
Also, gotta disagree strongly on the looks/performance thing not being important- pretty much everyone I know (who are roughly between 22-32 yrs old) like small hatchbacks IF they are well-done- I think the "dorkbox on wheels" stereotype of small hatches is dying. My buddy bought a Fit and he gets nothing but positive comments on it from people I know because we all think it looks cool (same for another friend who has a Mini Cooper). But then, he lives in Portland. Maybe in the deep south/midwest you still have to have an F-150 or whatever to be cool.
psarhjinian 2:36PM (5/30/2008)
Actually, I own a Fit myself, bought as a second car (the first being an '02 Saab 9-3--I know from dorky). I love the car.
My point about the dorkbox shape isn't so much derision as a statement about the market: every car in this space looks, from the outside, more or less the same. It's like a minivan in that there's very little stylistic choices you can make in a vehicle designed to be utilitarian. You can change details, sure, but major changes in shape result in serious compromises in utility (dropping the roof, sloping the hatch) or economy (xB/Cube/Element-style aerodynamics with the resultant mass), which this market isn't going to make.
ford427 10:38AM (5/30/2008)
Dear Ford; Stick your Mexico car where the sun don't shine. With Thousands of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan who desperately need a middle class paying job, your loyalty is to $3 dollar an hour workers in Mexico?. Please, Please go out of business you selfish human beings.
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Austin 10:47AM (5/30/2008)
You do know that we have a all-volunteer military right. This means that when they come back they will still be in the military. Now if we had a draft that would be different, but we dont. And by the way the military is actually expanded the military in terms of personal because of new threats of terrorism, China, N Korea, Iran, etc that we might have to fight within the next few years.
John 11:02AM (5/30/2008)
Eh, hmmm. Lets see. Ford needs a cheap, reliable, well built b-car. They need to keep overhead DOWN to bring it to market at a competitive price. Mexico, not a great choice, but when the alternative is your home market and UAW workers who make between 60-80 dollars an hour (With benefits figured in) for the same work and frequent stoppages because the union wants more money...some how I think that a 15k car wouldn't happen if build here. But maybe thats just me using reason.
Bottom line, you want more Jobs here, kill the UAW.
psarhjinian 11:21AM (5/30/2008)
Considering the Iraq veterans are essentially fighting for Exxon et al more than they're fighting for America, why not lay the cost of proving decent jobs to vets at the feet of the companies directly benefiting from the war?
MTU 5.0 11:37AM (5/30/2008)
psarhjinian,
What an utterly stupid remark.
Judy Zik 12:47PM (5/30/2008)
Great. Bad Ford not building their small car in the US. How about we boycott them instead we will buy a Aveo....oh wait made in Korea. Accent? Damn Korean too. Yaris, Versa, Fit??? Crap none of them are made in the US either.
The entire segment is made elsewhere. They are cheap cars. How do you build a cheap car? You keep your costs down by building where labour is cheap.
Personally I don't care where it is made as long as it is.
1) Well made
2) Cheap to buy and drive
3) Get's here ASAP.
If it does these things it will be a huge hit for Ford and might end up in our driveway.
KT 10:32AM (5/30/2008)
I doubt many if any of the demo for this vehicle have any idea there was a Fiesta sold here in the 70's. Most of that generation wasn't born until the mid 80's.
What most ppl that post here forget is the the buying public know nothing about their cars. If CR or some other website says it's a good car they'll consider buying it.
That being said, Ford must move the timeline on this vehicle to be introduced 3Q09 or 4Q at the latest. Even with the Fusion/Milan hybrid coming later this year, they can NOT afford to go another 1.5 years w/o a B-car offering.
BTW, the pic above is very very much like the production.
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KT 10:34AM (5/30/2008)
Oops...you posted while I was typing the same thing! But we are both correct!
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psarhjinian 12:12PM (5/30/2008)
Oh, come on. You and I both know it's far more complex than jingoistic catchphrases like "War for Oil/WMDs/Terror/Freedom", but it doesn't mean I can't poke the administration in the eye, especially when it's in response to nationalist sentiment like the grandparent's post.
The art of political criticism is dead in America since people started investing so much ego in their particular ideology. Its sad, really: you can't take a poke about George Bush (pro or con, it doesn't matter) without some sycophant on either side of the debate taking personal offense.
DesiAuto 11:47AM (5/30/2008)
"... why not lay the cost of proving decent jobs to vets at the feet of the companies directly benefiting from the war?"
100% agree.
In any case, it's not Ford's business to employ war veterans, it should be the gov who sent them to war in the first place.
2004m3driver 11:59AM (5/30/2008)
This is for all those people shouting BUY AMERICAN. I really don't think there is many 100% American car out there. If you want to help the economy, just spend most of your money and stay out of debt.
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John P. 2:26PM (5/30/2008)
I don't buy the "looks don't matter in this segment" BS. Looks ALWAYS matter in cars, especially those for a younger cost conscious audience.
This is gonna be a great value if recent Ford Quality is maintained, Fuel mileage comes in close or above 40mpg, and if it looks like the pic.
Ford has a potential winner here, now hurry with it already. Oh, and those who drove/owned Fiestas and Festivas (320,000+ trouble free miles on my 1989), know what great cars they were, for what they were.
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Cornholio 2:53PM (5/30/2008)
I got 34.3 MPG in my 2004 Focus SVT last weekend on a trip between Portland and Seattle - this at 75-80 MPH the whole way.
I would hope that mileage in the 37-40 MPG range is possible for the new Fiesta when it (finally) makes it here. If it handles well (like the Focus SVT) and is reaonably quick, it should do well.
Just don't cheap out on the details, Ford. Premium small cars will sell if done right and marketed appropriately, and given time to capture market share.
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criticalninja 8:19PM (5/30/2008)
Even with these being built in Mexico, I'm sure the profit margins on them will be razor-thin. If Ford built this car in America, they'd lose money on every one they sold for $15K.
For you who are complaining about this car not being built in America...would you buy it if it were U.S. built but cost $5-6K more?
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