Autoblog

Towards the end of 2003, Ford unveiled the Freestar. It was a lousy minivan, and its name wasn't much better. From there the f-bombs started pouring in with the Freestyle, Five Hundred, and Fusion. Ford had a Shakespearean stranglehold on alliteration, but outside of the decent success of the Fusion, Ford's effed-up naming convention brought little name recognition to the Blue Oval's car lineup. When Allan Mulally came to town, he scrubbed the Freestyle and Five Hundred names for the much more recognizable and respected Taurus and Taurus X, but unfortunately the basic shape of the family haulers didn't change enough for customers to want them.

Detroit News Columnist Daniel Howes accurately points out that Ford is back to effing up the names of its vehicles. The Flex arrives this summer, and the Fiesta arrives in 2010. The News says Ford marketing head Jim Farley questioned why the Flex name would adorn Ford's full-size crossover, but even the ex-Toyota wunderkind is unable or unwilling to lose the F. We don't understand the fixation Ford has with the sixth letter of the alphabet. The Dearborn automaker's two most successful cars of the past 40 years are the Taurus and Mustang, both of which are decidedly sans F. As a matter of fact, the Camry, Civic, Accord, Impala, and Malibu are all alliteration-free. Sure, if the Flex and Fiesta are great products they'll sell no matter what they're called, but we'd like for Ford to give us an effing break.

[Source: Detroit News]

click above for more high-res pics of the 2009 Ford Fiesta

With two and a half weeks to go before the Geneva Motor Show, Ford has finally released details on the production version of its new global small car. After the Verve concept debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show last September, the speculation began about what it'd be called when it arrived in showrooms. Ford's marketing team decided that more than three decades of brand equity was too much to throw away, so this car will be called the Fiesta everywhere in the world that it's sold, including the United States. US fans probably shouldn't get too attached to the 3-door hatchback shown above, though, as it's all but certain that we'll be getting a four-door sedan instead.

As spy photos in recent months have indicated, the production Fiesta stays remarkably true to the Verve concept. Aside from some detailing of the light clusters and framed side glass replacing the concept's flush glazing, the production car is virtually identical to the concept on the outside. This good news continues when you open the door, as the basic interior design is the same as the concept's, but with slightly less flashy-looking switchgear. Underhood, the Fiesta gets a range of five gasoline and diesel-fueled four-cylinder engines. Like the new Mazda2 with which it shares its architecture, the Fiesta is the same size as the car it's replacing, but high-strength steels allow it to be lighter. Production kicks off this fall in Cologne, Germany, to be followed by a second assembly plant in Spain. An Asian facility will be announced at the Beijing show in April, while a site for North American models will be announced later. We have bemoaned the dearth of small car choices here in the US and vilified Ford for keeping its Euro offerings away from us for a long time here at Autoblog. While we still have a bit longer to wait, the emergence of the new production Fiesta is reason to be very enthused. Put simply, it's exactly what we've been asking for. And it's coming.


[Source: Ford]

Ford's European-developed Verve will go on sale in the States sometime in 2010, aimed to capture some of the burgeoning small car market. Making money on small cars is always the sticking point when talk turns to subcompacts, and Ford's eyeing Mexico as the production location for the Verve. The Detroit Free Press has spoken with insiders who concur that while it'd be tough to build the Verve in the United States, Cuautitlan, Mexico makes more sense.

US automakers have been building cars in Mexico for years. The wages are lower, OEM suppliers are following the car companies across the border, and the government is happy to deal. Mexico is also ideally positioned to send cars north to the US and Canada, or move vehicles down to South American markets. Brazil has also been mentioned as a potential production location, but that doesn't seem as practical as Mexico, according to the Freep's moles. One thing is for sure, when the Verve arrives, there'll finally be some stylish Ford cars to buy here in the U.S.

[Source: Freep]

Click the image above for a gallery of the Ford Verve Sedan concept.

Ford's Verve Sedan concept rappelled to the ground in a smoky haze here in Detroit and the four-door concept proved to be a bit more squat, and less dynamic, in person. The Kinetic design language melds well with the compact sedan, looking more like a Mondeo at 2/3rds scale, which isn't a bad thing. But we're hoping for something a bit more sporting (like it's little brother that ran around the stage) and the Verve didn't quite deliver.

For all the details on the Verve Sedan you check out our previous post, and enjoy the two galleries of live and press shots below.

click above for more high-res images of the Ford Verve Concept

The rise in gas prices has increased demand for smaller, more fuel efficient cars in the American market, a call to which Ford has so far only paid lip service. The debut of the 2008 Focus at last year's Detroit Auto Show following the debut of several recent European market models like the Mondeo also caused people to call on Ford to bring its European Kinetic design to the U.S. Ford has finally responded on both counts, or at least it will for 2010 when the production version of this concept finally goes on sale here.

The Verve debuted as a three-door hatch at the Frankfurt Motor Show and then grew a trunk at a Chinese show last fall. It now comes to Detroit with a revised front fascia and taillights. The Verve certainly brings a new level of style that small US market Fords have lacked for a long time. Ford doesn't specify which fuel efficient 4-cylinder engine the Verve will get, but the 1.4L EcoBoost and the PowerShift dual clutch transmission would seem like a prime choice for the US market.

UPDATE: Gallery now contains 34 high-res pics

[Source: Ford]

Spy shooters abroad have snagged a handful of pics proving once again that Ford's next generation Fiesta will be influenced by the Verve concept shown in Frankfurt. The automaker's Kinetic design language will influence every aspect of the five-door's exterior, with a cleanly stylized front clip, tautly drawn headlamps and a steeply raked windshield. The boxy persona of the outgoing model will be dispatched in favor of more curves and sculpted lines, and while the rear spoiler may be a bit of a stretch on this prototype, we'd expect something closer to the concept's to make it to production.

It's expected that the Fiesta will find its way to the States once the hatch meets U.S. crash regulations and the styling fits in with Ford's other American offerings. Our only concern is how the three-bar grille treatment will affect an otherwise faultless front end.

[Source: World Car Fans]

With the opening of their second plant in China, the Blue Oval is talking about exporting cars outside the world's most populace country. China exports are appealing to automakers because of the cheap labor costs, but as of yet, most cars made in China, stay in China. Ford CEO Allan Mulally thinks the new plant, which is currently making the Mazda2 and may soon produce the Verve/Fiesta, would be a good place to start China exports, and if it means either product will hit U.S. shores, we'd tend to agree with him.

Ford's going to have to deal with an abstinent and pissed off UAW as soon as an agreement is struck with GM, and Mr. Mulally may be setting the stage for negotiations. We're just guessing here, but we think the UAW may have an issue with Chinese-made Fords on U.S. highways.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

Our friends over at World Car Fans procured a series of shots showing the next generation Fiesta undergoing testing, but this time it's sporting an extra set of doors. The five-door model, like its two-door sibling, will take cues from the Verve Concept that debuted last week in Frankfurt and gets an Iosis-inspired front end, complete with drawn-back headlamps and a steeply raked windscreen. The beltline moves northward in Florida-retiree style, terminating in an upswept D-pillar, while the roof-mounted wing may portend the future of a hot hatch version.

You can check out all the shots from WCF here, and compare it to its concept counterpart by checking out gallery below.

[Source: World Car Fans]

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.

It's car debut week, apparently, for Autoblog Podcast #76. As we start winding up for the car show season, news is beginning to break. We start with the Ford Verve, Ford's B segment concept that will be the new Fiesta in Europe. It will be coming to the US, as well, even though Ford Europe's designers didn't imbue it with the three-bar grille. Just send it. We also saw the production result of Chrysler's JC49 in the surprising Dodge Journey CUV. It's got some very cool packaging in the interior, and the styling is successful, if not heart-pounding. Cross your fingers that it doesn't get saddled with the same materials in the rest of Chrysler's interiors - you know, plastic that makes milk jugs laugh. We finally got to see the Jaguar XF sans camo, too. Let's hope it runs like a scalded cat (with the AJ V8 in supercharged and naturally aspirated forms, it should do pretty well), because it's got the face of one. The amalgam of borrowed cues work well together, and it's a huge improvement from the overtly retro S-Type. Maybe it will serve as a tipping point, moving Jag from a nostalgically styled brand to a bolder, more cutting edge look, Last but not least, we're competing in the 24 Hours of LeMons. We've got an '88 RX-7 that's going to get torn to shreds. We can hardly wait, look for updates on the preparations, as we head toward the event on October 20th and 21st. And we're out - 44 minutes of punditry.


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