New Ford Fiesta Sport Edition with Chassis Upgrades Launched in Europe

Ford is spicing up the new Fiesta's European range with the introduction of a new Sport trim level that will be available on the three-door models equipped with the 96HP 1.4-liter and 120HP 1.6-liter gasoline engines as well as with the 90HP 1.6-liter TDCi turbo diesel. Unlike most proposals of the sort where changes are limited to cosmetics and enhanced equipment levels, the Sport model actually benefits from a series of chassis upgrades that promise to further improve handling.

These include a nine millimeter lowered sports suspension with stiffer springs and new shocks, a modified steering wheel system and the addition of an electronic stability programme (ESP) that can be switched off completely.

Visually, the three-door Fiesta Sport is distinguished by a different lower grille treatment, dark headlamps, front apron, chunky side skirts, a rear apron with an integrated diffuser and new 16-inch alloys wrapped in beefier sport tires.

Inside, buyers can opt between two different trim colors (anthracite or blue) with special features including the front sport seats, leather sport steering wheel and gearshift knob and the enhanced equipment that includes a height-adjustable driver's seat, an on-board computer, electric windows and locks, and air conditioning.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

Quarter Million New Ford Fiestas Produced After Nine Months

In spite of the fact that the European market is experiencing a continuing decline in car sales, Ford's new Fiesta hatch has proven a runaway success for the ailing automaker becoming the fastest-selling model ever to wear that Fiesta name plate. In April the 250,000th example of the new Fiesta rolled off the firm's assembly line in Cologne, Germany, just nine months after the car went on sale in the Old Continent. According to Ford, no other previous generation Fiesta has reached this milestone in such a short period of time.

And the trend seems to be very positive for Ford as in March, the Fiesta's European sales climbed to 52,800 units, making it the best-selling car of the month according to automotive business consultancy, JATO Dynamics.

"The new Fiesta has been a tremendous hit with consumers since it went on sale all over Europe," said Ingvar Sviggum, vice-president of marketing, sales and service, Ford of Europe. "Customers are attracted to Fiesta by its design, the driving experience and affordability of the car."

Currently, Ford has shipped 100 five-door Fiestas in the U.S. that have been loaned for a period of 6-months to selected drivers / bloggers (generally people who are active in social media sites) that participated in the "Fiesta Movement" project. North Americas sales of the new Fiesta in will begin in 2010.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

VW Golf Remains Europe's Best Selling Car in Q1 2009, Ford Fiesta Closing in Fast

Despite the fact that for the first time in 2009, Ford's warmly received new Fiesta hatchback managed to top the Golf VI in sales in March, overall, VW's bread-and-butter model was crowned once again king of Europe in the first quarter of the year with a total of 119,651 units (-3.9% compared to Q1 2008) versus the Fiesta's 113,576 units (+15.7% compared to Q1 2008). The Fiesta recorded a 15.5% increase in volumes in March with 52,805 vehicles sold while the Golf remained stable with a 0.1% decrease at 46,415 units.

The depressed European market, which according to Jato Dynamics' data, fell 16.9% (or 691,350 units) in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period last year, to a total of 3,401,473 units, is definitely more favorable towards smaller cars.

In March, behind the Fiesta, the top ten places were rounded off by the VW Golf, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, Peugeot 207, VW Polo, Fiat Punto, Ford Focus, Fiat Panda, Renault Clio and Opel/Vauxhall Astra.

Overall in the first quarter of 2009, the European top sellers are the VW Golf followed by the Ford Fiesta, Peugeot 207, Opel/Vauxhall Corsa, Ford Focus, VW Polo, Fiat Grande Punto, Fiat Panda, Renault Clio and Opel/Vauxhall Astra.

And in case you didn't notice it, there's not a single Japanese or Korean model in the European bestselling car list...

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

Data: Jato Dynamics

New Ford Fiesta European Sales Approach 170,000 Units

In what could be seen by some as a direct answer to Kia's announcement that it has sold more than 5,000 Soul vehicles in Europe from the beginning of the year, Ford came out today and revealed that its European arm has pushed out nearly 170,000 units since the car was introduced last autumn, with 108,000 of those sold this year. Ford said that in March alone, the company sold 52,800 Fiestas making it the highest retail sales month ever for the new subcompact hatch that is due to be launched in the U.S. in 2010.

But all is not well as the economic crisis has hurt Ford's sales overall. In the first quarter of 2009, Ford of Europe sold across its Euro 19 markets 352,200 vehicles, down 69,200 or 16.4 percentage points versus 2008. On the bright side, the company's European market share rose half a percentage point to 9.4 percent which is the highest Q1 share the company has ever had since 1998.

source: http://carscoop.blogspot.com

First Ford Fiesta hatchbacks Arrive on U.S. Shores

The first examples of Ford's Fiesta hatchback arrived today at U.S. seaports in Baltimore and Oxnard, California. The 100 five-door Fiestas coming to America were built at Ford's Cologne Assembly Plant in Europe and will be loaned for six months to 100 drivers chosen from more than 3,300 applicants that participated in the "Fiesta Movement" project. Those picked to drive the European Fiesta will share their experiences online through social media sites such as Facebook, Flickr and YouTube to build buzz around the vehicle's North American market debut that is planned for early next year.

"We're really excited to be able to get our U.S. customers behind the wheel and experience this car," said Sam De La Garza, small car marketing manager at Ford. "It's all part of a plan to build excitement about the new Fiesta with the next generation of Ford customers."

ECOnetic Ford Fiestas take Part in the Monte Carlo Rally for Alternative Energy Vehicles - Huh?

We always thought that 'alternative energy vehicles' was a term restricted for cars powered by engines that run on... alternative fuels like biodiesel, ethanol, hydrogen, electricity etc, etc, and that a rally for 'alternative energy vehicles' would be exactly that. Well, apparently not as the organizers of the Monte-Carlo Rally for Alternative Energy Vehicles have created a class for fossil-fuel-powered cars with low emissions. "Technicalities" aside -we'll leave the comments to you- Ford will participate in the eco-friendly rally (that sound's better) with three diesel-powered ECOnetic Fiestas.

The Fiesta ECOnetic is based on the Fiesta 1.6 TDCi 90HP and it gets the usual green mods like low rolling resistance tires, a paritculate filter, lowered suspension, a higher final drive and a revised ECU for an average fuel consumption of 3.7l/100 km (mixed cycle) or 63.6mpg US with CO2 emissions of just 98g/km.

The 3rd Monte-Carlo Rally for AEVs (Alternative Energy Vehicles) will begin on Friday March 27 with the first challenge being a 'Concentration stage' that starts simultaneously from two different cities, Lugano and Clermont-Ferrand. The finish will be on Sunday March 29 on the Monaco harbourside.