Autoblog

Click image for photo gallery

The Mazda2 sedan isn't the only new notchback on display at the Guangzhou Motor Show. It's got some company in the form of its Ford-branded cousin, the Verve. Parked onstage along with the 3-door unveiled in Europe earlier this year, the Verve notchback sedan sheds its predecessor's rear hatch and gains two doors and a trunk. The new rear treatment is extremely evocative of the Mondeo, and that's a good thing. In fact, the Verve (in this particular Autoblogger's opinion, at least) is better-looking than the similar Mazda2 4-door that also made its debut today. The Verve trifecta will be completed at the Detroit Auto Show in January, where we'll see the Americanized version in concept form. After looking at the 2008 Ford Focus, we fully expect every cool Ford Europe kinetic design feature to be jettisoned in favor of a ham-handed implementation of the "bold" American-market Gillette Mach 3 cues. Here's hoping we're wrong.

[Source: Ford via EGMCartech]

click above image to view live high-res shots of the Ford Verve Concept

Ford of Europe's upcoming new small car will no doubt incorporate the automaker's "Kinetic" design language, and the Verve Concept is supposed to preview for us what it will look like. In fact, the Verve is really meant to elicit feedback that will ultimately shape the final production form. What's good or bad about the design? Sound off in the comments, as Ford is listening. For our part, while we've always been a fan of the "Kinetic" design language, the Verve takes those cues and cranks them up to 11, particularly on the front end with that gaping grille. The Iosis-inspired headlights are always appreciated, but on the wee tiny nose of the Verve they're a bit overwhelming. That said, we'd guess those elements would be toned down before it hits the showrooms, so there could be a very handsome production car hiding inside this concept.

We've also learned the Verve is the first of three concepts that Ford will be unveiling in various markets this year, the next two coming in Asia and North America. The one destined for North America will probably debut at the Detroit Auto Show in January, and we're betting it's the Fiesta Concept that will preview a production Fiesta for U.S. consumption in a few years.

Check out our live shots of the Verve in the gallery below and Ford's official press release after the jump.

click above image for gallery of high-res pics

Behold the Verve Concept, Ford of Europe's B-car concept that will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month. Sketches of the car appeared yesterday, and judging from our gallery of high-res pics, they seem to have been accurate. Pegged as the precursor to Ford's upcoming redesign for the Fiesta, the Verve Concept blends "Kinetic Design" elements inspired by the Iosis Concept that have trickled down into production cars like the new Mondeo and S-Max. In this case, the cat-like slit headlights dominate the small car's front end, along with a rather oversized lower grille. The rear features taillights above the belt line, a center-mounted exhaust, and small lip spoiler above the hatch. We can also see that the Verve's roof is all dark-tinted glass. Aside from the out-of-proportion front grille, our only gripe with the Verve are those chrome plated wheels that look decidedly aftermarket, and not in a good way.

Clearly the new Fiesta will be toned down compared to the Verve when it arrives late in 2008, but this concept is not hiding much. The Fiesta will share a platform with the new Mazda2, and eventually cross the ocean to be sold in the U.S., as well. Considering Ford's current financial strain, and regardless of clashing design themes (Kinetic vs. Three-Bar), we expect the European Fiesta to arrive for sale in the U.S. with little alteration.

[Source: Motor Authority]