Ford's new mini-car may have verve, but don't call it that

When Ford unveiled the concept version of their new B-class mini car at the Frankfurt Motor Show it was called the Verve. The production version of this car, which is expected to debut next March at the Geneva Motor Show to replace the current Fiesta, appears set to retain most of the visual verve of the concept, but it looks like Ford is taking a lesson from the Taurus/Five Hundred fiasco when it comes to naming. Rather than flush three decades of brand equity, the new car looks like it will still be badged as a Fiesta. Whether that will carry over to the US market, which will get the car for 2009, is unknown since it's likely that few if any of the potential customers will even remember that the Fiesta was offered here, for a time, about two decades ago.

[Source: AutoExpress]