A most important launch

Today at LotPro.com the big news is not the demise of Fritz Henderson, although that would certainly qualify as probably the biggest surprise. Today we’re talking about the intro of the new Ford Fiesta in its North American guise at the L.A. Auto Show press preview.

Ford has gone all out for this one. Beginning in July of this year with the anointment of “Fiesta Agents” as part of the “Fiesta Movement” social networking campaign, the company has poured millions into generating a grassroots buzz for its all-important B-segment vehicle due in showrooms next year.

As part of the buildup to its upcoming launch, the unveiling also included four uniquely customized versions of the 5 door hatch model that included:

Ford Racing Steeda Autosports Fiesta

Ford’s in-house racing division teamed up with Steeda Autosports to produce a track-inspired Fiesta complete with a cat-back exhaust system and cold air intake to maximize the performance of its 1.6-liter Ti-VCT 4-cylinder engine. Along with an upgraded suspension system, Ford/Steeda added Brembo front and rear brakes along with 17” multi-spoke Euro wheels.

H&R Special Springs Fiesta

“Sticky Jewell” graphics, Euro hood vents, upper hatch spoiler and the H&R Street Performance monotube coil-over kit all contribute to the looks and performance of this 2011 Fiesta. The H&R Fiesta also features height-adjustable shocks and whopping 18-inch OZ SuperTurismo GT wheels.

Ford Custom Accessories Fiesta

The tamest of the bunch, Ford claims that “nearly every styling component displayed on this white-hot Fiesta will be available from Ford Custom Accessories, Ford Licensed Accessories and Ford Racing Performance Parts.” Enough said.

3dCarbon and FSWerks Fiesta

From the sublime to the radical, this particular Fiesta features the FSWerks Stage 2 intercooled turbo kit, 2.25-inch exhaust and a 3dCarbon body kit. White racing stripes and matching custom alloy wheels, along with a body-colored upper rear spoiler complete the picture.

Here at LotPro.com, we’re always complaining, and rightly so, that Americans very rarely get to drive the good stuff – especially when it comes to some of the world’s best small cars.

But with a new mileage mandate from the feds and the gas price spike of two thousand and eight still on the minds of the world’s manufacturers, it appears that North American drivers will finally get the chance to join the rest of the world in enjoying some of the finest small cars on the planet.

And just as every journey begins with a first step; it appears that that first step will take place at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show.

L.A. 09

We should begin by stating that much of what is new to North American drivers will be old news to most folks in both Europe and Asia. Both the Mazda2 and the Chevrolet Cruze (not to mention the Ford Fiesta) have been around for a year or more on both continents. Nonetheless, they will soon be ours.

2011 Mazda2

Based on the DE platform which also underpins the Ford Fiesta, the Mazda2 (also called Demio in some markets) is the first B-segment Mazda since the Mazda 323 of the 90’s. Currently available in either a 3-door or 5-door hatchback body style, European Mazda2’s are available with the choice of a 1.3-liter four producing either 74 or 85 horsepower, a 1.5-liter four with 102 horses, or a 67 hp 1.4-liter turbo-diesel four.

The Mazda2 really is a good measure of the good stuff, as it was named the 2008 World Car of the Year.

2011 Chevrolet Cruze

Badged as the Daewoo Lacetti in Korea and the Holden Cruze in Australia, it is known everywhere else in the world as the Chevrolet Cruze. Already available in Mexico (Mexico?), the Cruze will go on sale in the US of A in the third quarter of next year.

The Cruze will be available with a plethora of engines (with expected fuel economies of up to 40 mpg) including a 1.4-liter turbo four. Available amenities will include navigation, Bluetooth, XM Satellite radio, OnStar and a total of 10 air bags.

At LotPro.com we see the dawn of a new era for Ford Motor Company here in the states. With the upcoming Fiesta, FoMoCo is bringing one of its best-ever small vehicles over from Europe pretty much intact. And as much as we welcome the new Ford Fiesta, we also yearn for its bigger sibling, the Focus.

Unlike the current mash up of a design that roams the byways of America, the European Focus is blessed with style, handling and, dare we say it, gobs of performance, especially in RS guise. But aside from all those good qualities, it also appears that the RS can be, ahem, quite frugal if you want it to be.

Here is the latest from Ford in that regard:

BRENTWOOD, Essex, October 2009 – Ford’s fastest-ever European production car, the 163mph Focus RS, added a surprising new figure to its remarkable performance statistics – an average fuel consumption of (US) 32 mpg.

More than half of the UK’s Ford Focus RS allocation has already been sold, with each priced at $42,956 on-the-road.

The way-back machine

Marking another milestone in the company’s history, Ford announced today that the North American version of the 2011 Ford Fiesta will be revealed at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show in December.

Truth be told, this latest announcement harkens back to a similar vehicle launch 10 years ago with the original Ford Focus. By bringing the Focus to North America virtually unchanged from its European counterpart, Ford was gambling on the premise that the average American small car driver would immediately notice the quantum leap in style, quality and driving dynamics between the new car and the vehicle it replaced, the Escort.

The gamble paid off. The Focus received rave reviews from the automotive press for its affordability, nimble handling and excellent fuel economy. Car and Driver magazine named it to their “10 Best” list five years in a row.

That list of “10 Best” appearances ended, not coincidentally, when the Focus was re-styled in 2005 and Europe received an all-new model based on the C1 platform while North America was stuck with the aging C170 architecture. A less-than-stellar re-design for 2007 resulted in a vehicle with agonizingly plain sheet metal whose singular saving grace seems to be the Microsoft-developed Sync system residing on the dashboard.

They’re baaaack

Flash forward and, once again, here we are contemplating driving the good stuff from Ford without having to fly Lufthansa in order to get our hands on one.

With plans firmly in place to have the vehicle in dealer hands by next summer, Ford has chosen the all-important (nee all-import) state of California for the first official look-see of the North American version of the 2011 Ford Fiesta.

“This is the perfect time to show the North American Fiesta,” said Sam De La Garza, Ford Fiesta marketing manager. “The Fiesta Movement will have wrapped up, and after hearing so much about this car leading up to the reveal, everyone will finally get to see what we are so excited about.”

The Fiesta movement?

Yes, indeed, the Fiesta Movement. Earlier this year, Ford brought over 100 European Fiestas and assigned each one to a “technologically adept, socially outgoing” Fiesta agent. These “100 young trendsetters” lived with their Fiestas for 6 months, with each month requiring a “mission”. During October, the final month, these missions will include:

• Visiting Turn10 Studio, Microsoft’s racing studio, to get a look behind closed doors at the making of the latest Forza race game featuring the 2011 Ford Fiesta. The agent will get to design his or her own Fiesta, then climb into a three-screen simulator complete with hydraulics to put the new game to the test.
• A behind-the-scenes glimpse into the production of a music video with Izza Kizza. The hip-hop artist is creating his music video for the song “They’re Everywhere,” and one lucky Fiesta agent will get to be right there, front and center, for the fun.
• Hanging out in the recording studio with Jukebox the Ghost. The indie pop group is recording its new album; a Fiesta agent will be checking out the band’s new tunes right along with them.
• Several missions for football fanatics, from checking out a Detroit Lions game with a former player, to watching a Philadelphia Eagles warm-up, to hanging out for the team’s game and meeting the broadcast group for the Eagles.

Certainly not a bad job and, aside from the Lions game, maybe even fun.

Note to Ford: This time, keep bringing the good stuff over here.

Small cars and gas prices

It’s no secret that many of us here at LotPro.com are big fans of small cars. Especially after spending two weeks in Italy last summer, we were left with the question, “Why does Europe and Asia get all the great little cars while here in the U.S. they are just an afterthought?”

The answer, of course, is the price of gasoline. Last summer when gas prices spiked at over $4 per gallon, car buyers flocked to dealer showrooms to purchase Focuses, Civics and Priuses. This year, with gasoline selling at or near $2.50 a gallon for most of the summer, sales of small cars have, once again returned to normal levels (except for the brief blip caused by “Cash for Clunkers”).

But just as surely as the sun will rise tomorrow, once the current worldwide recession begins to fade in the rearview mirror, gas prices will once again rise and, this time, could easily top last summer’s high.

Ford and India

To that end, we would like to introduce Ford Motor Company’s latest small car that will not make it over to the U.S. Dubbed the Figo (Italian slang for “cool”), the company’s latest entry in the subcompact B-segment is based on the same architecture that underpins the Fiesta. According to Ford, it will be built at the company’s Chennali plant in India (located on the country’s southeast coast).

Underscoring the importance of the new model that includes a $500 million investment in assembly plant renovations and upgrades, Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally was in Delhi, India, as the exterior was unveiled earlier today.

“Our exciting new Ford Figo shows how serious we are about India,” Mulally said. “It reflects our commitment to compete with great products in all segments of this car market. We are confident the Ford Figo will be a product that Indian consumers really want and value.”

Commitment, indeed. Just like many other emerging vehicle markets, the small car segment in India represents nearly 70% of the market. Tapping into this vast pool of consumers is vital to Ford’s long-term viability.

Is it really cool?

Comparing the Figo to other Indian vehicles in its segment, it is, indeed, cool. Basing its design on the company’s “Kinetic” language that spawned such vehicles as the Mondeo, the Focus and the new Fiesta, Ford chose to tone down some of the curves found on those vehicles in order to make the Figo a more efficient people mover.

Although its snout still displays the signature oversize lower air intake found on the Fiesta, the Figo’s greenhouse is more upright with larger windows. At the rear, the rounded curves of the Fiesta have been supplanted with C-pillars that are closer to the vertical, more like the previous-generation Fiesta. With the Figo, style needs to take a bit of a back seat to utility.

“We’re confident that the new Ford Figo will be extremely attractive to Indian car buyers,” said Michael Boneham, president and managing director, Ford India. “It’s going to be very competitive with the current market leaders and offer a tremendous value story for our consumers. We believe Ford Figo is a big game-changer for Ford that will help transform our brand into a volume player in India.”

America’s second-oldest motor sports race

While practically everyone has heard of the Indianapolis 500, not nearly as many folks (unless they are die-hard race fans) have heard of the Pikes Peak hill climb or the mountain on which it is held.

Named after Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike who first attempted to ascend it in November of 1806 and first documented it as part of then-President Thomas Jefferson’s orders to determine the borders of the Louisiana Purchase, the peak which dominates the western horizon behind Colorado Springs, Colorado was not successfully summitted by a European until the spring of 1820.

A carriage road to the summit was built in 1888. Once the first automobile reached the top on August 12 of 1901, it took less than 15 years for the first organized race to the summit – an event that was held between August 10th and August 12th, 1916. The rest, as they say, is history.

The hill climb

Covering a distance of 12.42 miles, the course of the annual “Race to the Clouds” begins at Mile 7 on Pikes Peak Highway (9,390 ft) with an average grade of 7% and winds its way (there are 156 turns on the course) up 4,721 vertical feet to the finish at the summit.

The current overall record is held by none other than Nobuhiro “Monster” Tajima of Japan who blew through the course in 10:01.408 on July 21st of 2007 at the wheel of a 1,000 hp purpose-built Suzuki XL7 “Hill Climb Special” (ya think?).

Ford Fiesta Rallycross

This year, Ford’s new Fiesta, although not due in showrooms until 2010, will make its U.S. racing debut on July 19th, as the Olsberg Motor Sport Evolution team from Sweden brings over two new Fiesta Rallycross cars to compete in this year’s event.

“The new Fiesta is an engaging, fun to drive car that is off to a very successful start in Europe and Asia,” said Jim Farley, Group Vice President, Ford Global Marketing and Communications. “Thanks to Andreas Eriksson, we’re able to introduce the Fiesta to racing fans in the U.S. ahead of its launch in 2010.”

Both cars will be competing in the Unlimited Class in an attempt to break Tajima’s record as well as the 10-minute mark and will be driven by Eriksson and legendary rally driver Marcus Grönholm.

Although Ford Racing North America will not be directly involved, it will assist the team with logistical support.

“We’re pleased to have a top independent team like Olsbergs MSE coming to the U.S. with their Fiesta Rallycross cars to take on the challenge of Pike’s Peak,” said Brian Wolfe, director, Ford North America Motorsports. “This will be a great chance for enthusiasts here to see in this unique setting what a lot of the rest of the world is already talking about – that the Fiesta is a great road car and a great race car.”

Photos courtesy of Ford Motor Company and Subaru of America

Fiesta news

Here at LotPro.com, we want you to be aware of a number of vehicles currently being sold in Europe that are on their way over to the U.S. Among those cars, the Ford Fiesta stands out because it will be one of the first to reach our shores and it is currently being sold in many overseas markets.

A best seller

This week marked a milestone for Ford of Europe’s newest vehicle, the Ford Fiesta, as April 23rd marked the day the 250,000 example rolled off the assembly line in Cologne, Germany. Even more remarkable is the fact that it has been just nine months since the car first went on sale. According to manufacturing data, no previous Fiesta model has reached this milestone in so short a time.

According to the consulting firm JATO Dynamics, European sales in March totaled 52,800, making it Europe’s best-selling car and marking the best sales performance for the nameplate since August of 1996.

Currently being built at Ford’s Cologne facility as well as the company’s assembly facility in Valencia, Spain, March also marks the fifth consecutive month the Fiesta has been the best-selling model in the U.K.

New U.K. model

Speaking of the U.K., one version of the Fiesta that we probably won’t see over here is the Fiesta Van. Designed as a (very) small commercial vehicle for the towns of Europe, it is probably too small for most businesses over here and, in any case, Ford plans on marketing the larger Transit Connect to these customers.

Those arguments aside, though, a particularly intriguing version of the Fiesta Van was recently launched in the U.K. Called the Fiesta Van ECOnetic, it will go on sale in Britain in August of this year and it joins ECOnetic versions of the Mondeo, Focus, Fiesta (the non-van standard version pictured) and Transit in Ford’s green car lineup.

It features a 1.6 liter turbocharged direct-injected diesel that produces 88.8 horsepower and 147.5 lb.-ft. of torque at 1750 rpm. Using aerodynamic tricks such as a lowered ride height, low-drag wheel deflectors and low rolling resistance 175/65 R14 tires as well as a longer final drive gear ratio, the Fiesta Van ECOnetic manages to score 51mpg in city driving, 73mpg in highway driving and a combined 63mpg on the European driving cycle.

Ford ahead of Honda in quality

Here at LotPro.com, we wanted you to be aware of some of the good news coming out of Detroit:

In a quarterly quality survey conducted for Ford by RDA Group of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, Ford surpassed Honda in customer satisfaction in initial vehicle quality for the first time. The survey, called the 2009 Global Quality Research System (GQRS) measured 2009 model year vehicle initial quality in two areas: the number of “things gone wrong,” and customer satisfaction with the quality of their vehicles during the first three months of ownership.

“This is truly a significant accomplishment for us,” said Bennie Fowler, Ford group vice president, Global Quality. “Honda and Toyota have claimed bragging rights for years, but now we are seeing our hard work pay off. It’s evident in study after study.”

During the first quarter of 2009, the number of things gone wrong for Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles fell by 5 percent to 1,228 per 1,000 vehicles. This compares with 1,422 things gone wrong per 1,000 vehicles for Honda and 1,150 things gone wrong per 1,000 vehicles for Toyota.

The following Ford vehicles led their respective segments in the survey:

•    Ford Mustang – initial quality and customer satisfaction for sports cars
•    Ford Taurus – initial quality for large cars
•    Ford Taurus X – initial quality for crossover utilities
•    Mercury Milan – initial quality for midsize cars
•    Ford Ranger – initial quality for compact pickups

Ford Fiesta is What Diesel? Best Small Car and Car of the Year

Meanwhile, over in the U.K., the new Ford Fiesta (a car destined for our shores) beat out 26 other vehicles and 8 class winners to be crowned What Diesel magazine’s Car of the Year for 2009.

Ian Robertson, editor of What Diesel magazine said: “The Fiesta is simply the best small diesel car available on the market right now, and judging by the sales figures, the UK public agrees. It feels solid, well-built and is great to drive.”

Although Ford’s new B-segment car won’t go on sale in the U.S. until the spring of 2010, it has been on sale in the U.K. since September of 2008 and has racked up sales of over 36,000 already.

Winners to be announced at the New York Auto Show

The WCOTY competition was established just six years ago and marks the culmination of the big auto shows held in the U.S. The World Car Awards are different than most of the other awards that are bestowed on manufacturers at the other shows. Unlike those given out at, for example, the North American show in Detroit, World Car nominees aren’t required to be marketed in North America. As such, many of the vehicles that appear on the list of finalists will be, if you pardon the expression, “foreign” to many U.S. enthusiasts (as well as to a few here at LotPro.com).

2009 award nominees fall into four categories: 2009 World Car, 2009 World Performance Car, 2009 World Green Car and 2009 World Car Design of the Year. Here’s how they shake out:

Ford Fiesta

2009 World Car. In order to qualify for the overall award, the vehicle had to be in production as well as available for sale on at least two continents during 2008. It also must “excel in a broad range of attributes.” The three finalists for this award are:

Ford Fiesta
Toyota iQ
Volkswagen Golf VI

Nissan GT-R

2009 World Performance Car. Unlike the overall award, the performance car must “demonstrate a specific and overt sports/performance orientation” while still satisfying the criteria of model production and availability. Vehicles in this category also must satisfy a minimum annual production rate of 500. The three finalists for this category are:

Corvette ZR1
Nissan GT-R
Porsche 911 Carrera

Honda FCX Clarity

2009 World Green Car. Unlike the other two categories, vehicles in this category only needed to be available in one major market in 2008. In addition to production models, prototypes were allowed as long as at least ten or more were released for individual or press fleet evaluations during the year. Emissions, fuel consumption and powertrain technology aimed at increasing a vehicle’s “environmental responsibility” were all taken into account during the selection process. This year’s candidates are:

Honda FCX Clarity
Mitsubishi iMiEV
Toyota iQ

Fiat 500

2009 World Car Design of the Year. Taken from the broad list of World Car candidates, a panel of four judges that included Silvia Faruffaldi, Robert Cumberford, Akira Fujimoto and Tom Matano recommended a short list to jurors who then voted on the three finalists, which are:

Citroen C5 Sedan/C5 Tourer
Fiat 500
Jaguar XF

Stay tuned, as the awards will be announced on Thursday, April 9th.

Pizza a´ go go

It’s a fact that drivers in the U.K. and the rest of Europe get all the best stuff when it comes to small cars. Historically high gas prices have led most drivers across the pond to embrace small cars as a way of life while high-mileage diesel engines are de rigueur across the continent. But lest you think this in any way inhibits the pleasure of driving on narrow European roads, think again, for both conditions have spawned an environment for tautly suspended small vehicles that are incredibly fun to drive.

A case in point is the newly-introduced Ford Fiesta SportVan. Ostensibly produced in order to fill out Ford of Europe’s lineup of urban delivery vehicles (that includes the Transit and Transit Connect), this latest of Fiesta variants could certainly turn the everyday drudgery of delivering pizzas into a tantalizing urban autocross event.

Special Sauce

In order to create the Fiesta SportVan, Ford started with a basic Fiesta then added 16” alloy wheels, sport bumpers, a sport grill and a large rear spoiler. The rear windows were also swapped out for solid panels that match the body. Inside the cabin, the standard front seats were swapped out for sport seats (with a partial leather option) along with a leather-wrapped 3-spoke steering wheel. Also standard is air conditioning and a multi-function trip computer.

In the interest of cargo space, the rear seats were removed, extending the rear load floor and turning the area behind the front seats into 35.5 cubic feet of storage space (roughly 4’ 4” long, 4’ 2” wide and 3’ 1” high) capable of hauling up to 1,135 pounds (that’s a lot of dough). This area is shielded from the driver by with a half-height bulkhead and DIN-compliant tie-down hooks are standard.

Under the hood is a 1.6 liter turbo diesel engine that produces 88.5 hp and 156 lb.-ft. of torque at 2,000 rpm and rewards its driver with European fuel economy figures of 67.3 mpg.

The standard Fiesta chassis of McPherson front struts and a rear twist-beam suspension has been revised with stiffer and lower ‘Sport’ suspension settings. Brakes are four-wheel disc and the system includes ABS, Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD) as well as ESP with Emergency Brake Assist (EBA).

Where not to place your order

The Fiesta SportVan will, unfortunately, probably not make it over here, so dream on, pizza delivery guys, dream on.