It's been a while since we've heard about FoMoCo's development of large rear-wheel-drive vehicles for Ford and Lincoln – no surprise considering the current climate. With fuel prices continuing their upward trajectory and CAFE standards looming on the horizon, Ford is apparently reevaluating the efficacy of offering RWD vehicles in a market starving for fuel efficient whips.
Click image above for a photo gallery of the Fiesta Zetec S
While the official unveiling of the 2009 Ford Fiesta is still a couple weeks away, that hasn't stopped Ford from tossing sneak peeks of a sportier Fiesta Zetec S out to the hot-hatch followers. Nowhere near as aggressive as the Focus RS, the Zetec S is differentiated by its body kit with new front splitter and side skirts. The European Fiesta will be offered with five different engines, but the Zetec S will feature only the Duratec 1.6-liter rated at 118 hp. Tuned for efficiency, yet designed to be fun-to-drive, the new hatch will scoot to 62 mph in less 9.9 seconds and squeeze an impressive 50 miles out of a single gallon of gas.
Click for hi-res gallery of the Ford Fiesta Zetec S Red edition
The Ford Fiesta is one of the best-selling vehicles in the UK. But before it's replaced by the new model, the Blue Oval's British subsidiary isn't about to let it go out without a... well, we'd hardly call it a bang, but at least a last desperate plea for attention before it's retired.
The imaginatively named "Red" edition comes in any color, as long as it's – you guessed it – red. Colorado Red, to be specific, with a black-and-white checker-board roof and black accents on the mirror caps, door handles, moldings and roof spoiler. The special edition is based on the Fiesta Zetec S, powered by a "zesty yet thrifty" 1.6-liter four pushing out 100hp. Leather seats, 16" alloys, air-con and heated electric side-view mirrors round out the package, of which only 400 will be offered at a price of £13,000 to British customers who really should be waiting for the new Fiesta.
Click above for a gallery of the Euro-market Ford Focus
Finally. The European Ford Focus will go into production in the United States in 2010 along with the Fiesta. This has been officially confirmed by Ford, which will offer the Euro Focus here in both four- and five-door body styles. That's not the only news, either. Production of large trucks and SUVs will be further dialed back for the remainder of this year, and the introduction of the new F-150 pickup truck has been pushed back two months to "late fall". The catalyst for all this? Expensive gas, the new boogeyman that has people running from trucks and SUVs en masse. The F-150 delay is designed to give dealers more time to thin out existing '08 truck inventory before the new pickup arrives in the fall. On the flipside, Ford will add shifts to increase production of the current Focus, Mariner/Escape, Edge/MKX, and the new Flex. In the end, however, expect more red ink on the balance sheet, as Ford states that its pre-tax Automotive results will fall short of 2007's, and follows that up with an announcement that it expects Ford Motor Credit to post a loss, as well. You can read the full release after the jump.
Ford's recent announcement to reduce its white collar workforce costs by 15% shows that Mulally & Co. are dead-serious about turning around the Dearborn, MI automaker. The newest twist in the FoMoCo saga takes the situation from serious to near desperate, as plant managers and union leadership are convening in Dearborn to discuss switching factories from truck to car production. Such a move is much easier to make in one of Toyota or Honda's flexible manufacturing plants, but Ford has plenty of facilities that are hardwired to build only one or two products. Analysts say that costs could be $250 million a year or more, which would make for a huge dent in Ford's already shrinking bank account.
The good news is that Ford is looking at its European products as the vehicles it needs to build State-side. We enthusiasts have been drooling over the Euro Focus, Fiesta, Mondeo, S-Max and Kuga for quite a while, but their fuel-efficient ways will have the masses finally thinking Ford first if they come here.
Ford won't announce its plans until July, and some details will be held back for months more, but The Detroit News has it on good authority that the Michigan Truck and Louisville plants will be part of the shift away from gas guzzlers. Louisville, which currently produces the Explorer, would shift to a unibody facility that produces cars and CUVs. Michigan Truck, which produces the Navigator and Expedition, will make room for the F-100, which will be smaller and likely more efficient than the F-150 on which it's based.
It's amazing what $4 per gallon gasoline can do to U.S. manufacturing, no? Ford just may be on the verge of the largest shift in the company's 105-year history, and we're all here to witness it. Here's hoping the plan works.
Click above for gallery of high-res Ford Fiesta spy shots
The question of whether or not Ford will offer the upcoming Fiesta in the U.S. as a three- or five-door hatchback is still unanswered, but we do know that a four-door sedan version is on the way. And here it is, recently snapped by spy photographers in Dearborn, MI. Though this prototype is wearing heavy cladding, its clear that the design will stick closely to what was previewed with the Verve sedan concept. Also note the sharp forward rake of the beltline, which gives the car a very high rear trunk lid and might lead to a sense of claustrophobia for rear seat passengers who can barely see out. Nevertheless, we're ready for Ford to reenter the small car market with a bang when the production Fiesta sedan arrives sometime later next year.
China will undoubtedly be an important market for the new Ford Fiesta. Originally unveiled in European spec at the Geneva Motor Show last month, the Chinese version has just made its debut this week at the Auto China show in Beijing. The Chinese Fiesta is scheduled begin production before the end of the year at Ford's $510 million Changan Ford Mazda Automobile (CFMA) plant in Nanjing, China.
Styling is by and large the same as its European counterpart, only the Beijing show car, displayed in S trim, features a sportier, more aggressive trim package that could preview what a future hot-hatch Fiesta ST or RS could look like. Did Ford hit the sweet spot in Geneva or in Beijing? Take a look at the Chinese and European versions in the galleries below and share your thoughts in the comments.
Click above for more high-res spy shots of the Ford Fiesta five-door hatch
We can't wait to see the production three-door Ford Fiesta in person tomorrow at the Geneva Motor Show, though there are plenty of other model variants planned for this Mazda2-based B-segment car, including this five-door hatchback caught testing near the slopes of Sweden. As the photographers noted to us, adding an extra pair of doors does dampen the sleekness of the three-door model, but with the same front and rear end, as well as identical surfacing on the sides, even the five-door model impresses us with its outward attractiveness. While there are plans to sell the new Fiesta in the U.S., don't expect either hatchback to be offered. Ford hinted at what model would be sold in the States when it showed off a new version of the Verve four-door sedan concept in January at the Detroit Auto Show. Thus, we Yanks should expect a saloon version of the Fiesta and that's it, but we can always hope.
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.
It seems like America is the only place where American cars aren't popular. Buick has huge numbers in China, and Ford's having a lot of success in Brazil. Sales of the Fusion sedan took off to the point that it now leads the midsize segment there. Riding high on the Fusion's success, Ford's sending the Edge below the equator. The Edge will join a lineup that includes the new Ka compact, the EcoSport small 'Ute, and the Fiesta.
Ford's also pumping $1 billion into it's Brazilian operations to keep the stampede going. Ford do Brasil has had 15 quarters of profit and earnings are up 72-percent over last year. The infusion of cash will go into Ford's local products, which will help the rest of their lineup come closer to the Edge's excellence.
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