Further proof that future Fords will have Euro flair
There has been plenty of support for Ford to bring its rest-of-the-world products to the North American market, and with the truck market doing a Roscoe P. Coltrane E-brake turn away from profitability, the Blue Oval's global efforts are becoming increasingly important for its survival. The plan going forward is to utilize small and medium sized vehicles from Ford's European arsenal globally. In North America, the cars will be spiffy, though Ford will be robbing Peter to pay Paul on that count -- spreading the costs of America's premium cars over the breadth of the entire program's worldwide scope.
According to Automotive News, we're getting a big list of Euro-Ford based cars in the near future. The Fiesta will slot in under the Focus, and will share a new platform with Mazda. Also on the Fiesta's underpinnings could be a small crossover or minivan. The Euro Focus will finally get here in 2011, when the next generation drops. 2012 will bring the C-Max, a Mazda 5-ish people mover. The Fusion moves to the EUCD platform, though we hope it doesn't grow too much, lose its joyous demeanor, or come up short on fuel economy. It looks like Ford's going to try to stack the B, C, and D segments with sedans and MPV-type offerings, as well as seriously tweaking all of its offerings to match the new and looming reality.
[Source: Automotive News - Sub Req]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
C.W. 8:32AM (7/17/2008)
awesome news. kudos Ford
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Daniel 11:19AM (7/17/2008)
Bring the Euro stuff over as Mercurys. Mercury, Mercury Mercury - damn it.
Alex 2:00PM (7/17/2008)
@Daniel:
Then Ford is still stuck with the crap it currently has. Mercury can't save Ford.
RG 8:34AM (7/17/2008)
If Ford really adopts this philosophy and seriously attempts to bring their Euro offerings over here, they may be in a better position than Chrysler and GM in terms of having a future.
The European Ford lineup is quite nice and over there their offerings are considered to be better than comparable GM offerings.
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Randy 3:35PM (7/17/2008)
Amen!
Kumail 8:40AM (7/17/2008)
i am happy that ford is bringing the fiesta here, and since it is slotted lower than the focus, not only does it look better, it will be cheaper too. before, ford was out of the question for me, know, i would have to consider them
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Red Star 10:15AM (7/17/2008)
Yep, that's me.
By buddy is Serbia recently got Focus Ghia 2.0L (131 hp). That car is amazing.
Red Star 10:22AM (7/17/2008)
Sorry, wrong quote.
Red Star 8:42AM (7/17/2008)
I just came back from Europe and although I really liked Ford's lineup there, I'm not sure that Americans will feel the same, especially when it comes to power.
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Darius 9:04AM (7/17/2008)
Well they could look at the Aussie Ford cars if they wanted power : )
Landy 9:28AM (7/17/2008)
You can't have it all! if you want cars that consume less gas you'll have to live with less power. An average Fiesta in Europe has 80hp from a 1.4 4cyl. engine. Will US customers think this isn't sufficiant? I don't know? Tell me!
Red Star 9:35AM (7/17/2008)
Well I just came back from Europe where my rental was a Fiat Grande Punto with 77 hp engine.
Maybe I'm just used to more powerful vehicles (I currently own a Mustang, F-150 and a Fusion), but that Fiat was very underpowered, especially while driving through hills where you have to drive it in the 2nd gear @ 4,000+ RPM in order to get some power.
Landy 9:49AM (7/17/2008)
Redstar.
I agree, that a fiat Grande Punto with 77 hp is quite lame! The Grande Punto should have 100 hp at least.
The main thing will be that US customers should try to switch to manual gearboxes to get enough power out of smaller engines.
Maverick128 10:11AM (7/17/2008)
Hey Red Star, you're on Brad's Mustang Source aren't you? I'm living in Greece right now and absolutely love my new Ford Focus 1.6. It's got just enough power and is a blast to drive. Seeing as I'll have to leave it behind when I move back to the US this October, I really hope Ford hurries up with the Euro models. Oh and the 77hp Grande Punto is extremely underpowered. You gotta go with the 1.4L 16v 120 hp T-Jet. It's much better.
Markus 10:59AM (7/17/2008)
Engine size is vastly overrated in the US. Given the option and ability to use a manual transmission and some rudimentary driving skills, you don't need a 100hp engine to propel a compact or subcompact car.
Down here in southwestern Germany we have it all: extremely dense downtown traffic, no-limit-Autobahns, crappy old 1930's parts of the Autobahn with two lanes and shortened onramps, steep slopes, snow, heat, rain.
And you know what? It has never been an issue. Not with our old 1.1l/55hp VW Fox, not with the 1.3l/60hp Fiesta, not with an 1.4l/75hp Mitsu Colt, not with the 1.6l/90hp Nissan Primera (=Infiniti G20) and certainly not with our current 1.9l/100hp Skoda Fabia TDI.
All of these let you merge onto a two-lane Autobahn uphill, all of them reach 100mph/160km/h cruise speed on straights eventually, all of them were sufficient. Not necessarily sporty or always fun, but always sufficient.
And for some weird reasons, all of them are less powerful than what is considered minimum engine power needed to safely merge onto an american 4-lane 65mph highway...weird, isn't it :D?
216 8:49AM (7/17/2008)
Just pleeeeease make the Interceptor....there's still a market for BOLD vehicles like that
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P.V. 9:29AM (7/17/2008)
FPV Falcon, anyone?
Alex 9:48AM (7/17/2008)
I'm going to the bearer of bad news... it ain't coming. They'll tell you its because of the looming CAFE restrictions...
Nightcrawler 12:44PM (7/17/2008)
You say there is a market for bold vehicles like the Interceptor based on what? Personally, I strongly doubt there is enough market to make the Interceptor profitable for Ford.
Patrick 5:11PM (7/17/2008)
Alex, the CAFE restrictions have been overcome by events. Any car company planning to stay in business will need to meet the CAFE MPG levels a couple of years before they are required.