Autoblog

Click the image above for high res images of the new Ford Fiesta

When it comes to the 2010 Fiesta, Ford has promised the buying public the moon and stars, with great fuel economy, expensive-looking sheet metal, quality interiors, and a rewarding driving experience. That formula is already a smash hit overseas, where customers are willing to pay a premium for a quality small car. Here in the States, however, we pay for our cars by the pound, and word on the street is that Ford will comply with a starting price under $15,000.

A lot of amenities that make a car exciting for the next generation of car buyers puts a dent in the MSRP, but Ford is working with suppliers to create great looking, high-quality materials that don't break the bank. The Blue Oval will also likely offer a full range of options that can push the price-point over $20,000 for those of us with a bigger budget and a strong desire to achieve 40 mpg on the highway.

Right now the B-segment isn't exactly bursting with great products, and only the sporty Honda Fit and more expensive Mini have stood out in the crowd. The Fiesta will surely add some soul to the competition, but even at a mere $15,000, it'll be priced at top of the segment. If Ford can deliver on everything it has been promising, however, we're sure there will be more than just 16-29 year-olds that will be more than happy to pay $15k and more.


[Source: Inside Line]

The Dodge Hornet is about to be officially a go. Dodge's Euro B-segment entrant will be produced with Chinese automaker Chery, and won't have a Chrysler-branded counterpart. The show car, from the 2006 Geneva show, had a supercharged 4-cylinder with 170 hp, and got to 60 in 6.7 seconds. Autocar believes the production version may bow as early as this September at the Frankfurt Motor Show, though we think that's a bit optimistic.

The good thing is that the Hornet's impending production is part of Chrysler's 3-year, $3-billion product renewal program, which has been "confirmed" since Cerberus bought the company. Though it will likely debut at a European auto show, we have high hopes that Chrysler will bring its Chinese-built B-car to the U.S., as well.

[Source: Autocar]

Click image for photo gallery

No longer content to just pump out hatchbacks and crossover-y little MPVs any more, Spanish VW subsidiary SEAT is getting ready to dip a toe into the highly-competitive D-segment, taking on the likes of the Ford Mondeo and Peugeot 407. That's some pretty stiff competition, but if the sketches SEAT prez Erich Schmidt (above right) released this week are any indication, the larger SEAT's styling is going to be mature and forward-looking while (apparently) shedding some of the brand's overt visual quirkiness along the way.

In fact, the head-on sketch reminds us of the the new Mondeo, with touches of the Jaguar C-XF concept car and the current Aussie-market Ford Falcon thrown in for good measure. That's not a bad thing at all, and as demonstrated by the new Mondeo, styling matters The new car will be offered in sedan and wagon variants, and it'll be built at the company's Martorell plant, when it ultimately bows in 2009.

And now, we wait...

UPDATE: We don't know why the PR refers to the B-Segment. As a commenter points out, the Mondeo, et al are D-Segment competitors in Europe, so we updated the post to reflect that.

[Source: SEAT]

Chery officials say the pause in their discussion with Chrysler was so the Chinese company could get a better idea of the American's future. Now that Cerberus has taken over, Chery sees the coming years filled with puppy dogs and lollipops.

And in their giddiness, someone at Chery leaked a few details of the project to Automotive News. Chery will build two cars for Chrysler, to be sold under the Chrysler brand. Chery is already building one of the two in China (possibly the A1?), but for Chrysler it will be shipped in kit form to South America where it will be assembled for that market.

The other Chery-built car will, in fact, be the Hornet, according to AN's anonymous sources. The car will be based on Dodge's show car, but engineering will be handled by Chery in China. Hornet production could begin as soon as 2010.

It's good to see these two playing nice again, even better to hear the Hornet may actually reach production.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req.]

click above image to view pics of the current-gen Ford Fiesta from Europe

We've begged for Ford to begin selling some of its perceived-to-be excellent international wares in the U.S. and today we've learned our wait is over. Motor Trend is reporting that the next generation Ford Fiesta will be sold in the U.S. by late 2008, about a year after it's introduced in Europe. The new Ford Fiesta is based on the same platform as the Mazda2 that was officially introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March. We lamented at the time neither the Mazda or its Ford counterpart would ever be sold on U.S. shores, but apparently Ford had decided before the Geneva show that the Fiesta would be bound for the U.S.

The Ford Fiesta is a B-segment vehicle that will slot neatly below the current Ford Focus. Though we don't know exactly what the next-gen model will look like, MT is reporting that Ford of Europe's "kinetic" design language will not be tinkered with much during its transfer. That means we're not likely to see the Fiesta wearing a three-bar chrome grille, which is hardly tragic considering Ford of Europe's "kinetic" cars are equally if not much better looking than their U.S. counterparts.

Though the profit potential of selling the Fiesta in the U.S. is likely very weak, the arrival of a small car fills a gaping hole in Ford's lineup. The Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris, Chevy Aveo and more are competing fiercely right now in our domestic small car market. To say the arrival of a European-bred Ford Fiesta will be interesting is an understatement, to say the least.

[Source: Motor Trend]

Despite rumors that have been floating around since the debut of the Hornet concept in Geneva this year, Volkswagen will not be providing Dodge with a platform to produce a B-segment vehicle.

According to an article that's due for publication this Monday in the German magazine Automobilwoche, VW's bid to share its Polo's underpinnings was too high for the German-American automaker. However, DaimlerChrysler's plans to produce the Hornet or a similar vehicle will not be thwarted, as D.C. is still the process of negotiations with Chinese, Japanese and European manufacturers.

Although this may be a small hurdle for Dodge's new sub-compact, the relationship between VW and Dodge to produce a mini-van has been left intact.

[Source: The Auto Channel and Automobilwoche via The German Car Blog]

Related Posts:

• Geneva Motor Show: Dodge Hornet concept world premiere
• Dodge Hornet buzzes for partners; narrows it down to three
• Chrysler taking its time selecting small car partner

Back in January at the L.A. Auto Show Mark Fields promised the audience at his keynote speech that Ford would soon be unveiling a new product to compete in the fast-growing subcompact (or B-segment) market in the U.S. Well, here we are in August and Ford is still without the promised small car to compete with the Chevy Aveo, Toyota Yaris and Honda Fit. What happened?

Well, it turns out that Ford was rushing to market a version of the Fiesta-based EcoSport small SUV (pictured) that its subsidiaries sell in Mexico and Brazil. According to The Detroit News, the already fairly basic EcoSport would have been stripped down even further as Ford tried to come up with a price leader for the market. Fields (wisely, in our opinion) canned the project, saying this week that he'd rather wait for Ford to "come in with a product that's distinctly Ford" and not "just another econo-box."

[Source: Detroit News]