truth about domestics

This lil beast of a car is powered by a 2.0L Duratec that produces 280 horsepower and 192 pound-feet of torque.  It’s called the Ford Fiesta S2000 and it looks like one heck of a car.  See more for yourself in the video above!

There is simply no other way to describe it.  Ford is getting serious about its car business, as you can clearly see after the success of the Ford Fusion and Fusion hybrid, and the all new Taurus.  Now Ford is turning its attention to its smaller cars, namely the Fiesta and the Focus.  Well, according to marketing exec, Jim Farley, Ford could bring somewhere around 10 versions of the Focus to the United States.  The versions range from the base sedan to a coupe, three- and five-door hatches, wagons and small crossovers!  The new Focus is set to debut in Detroit this January so stay tuned for the latest.  For now, head on over to Car and Driver.

(Image source: Ford)

On Friday night, around 10:00 PM, I parked next to one of the 100 Fiesta Movement vehicles in the parking lot of a P. F. Chang’s in Lansing, Michigan.  ”How cool!” I thought, what are the odds that I would run into of the 100 vehicles that were handed out as part of the Fiesta Movement?  Then to my surprise, I ran into the owner, Fiesta Agent 22, Bryan Redeker from Grand Haven, Michigan!  Another box can be checked off my list of things to do before I die.  Not only was Bryan enthusiastic about meeting me, a Ford engineer, but he is totally pumped for the U. S. launch of the Fiesta!

Why wouldn’t he be?  It’s one of the best looking B cars that will be available anywhere, and on top of that, it is fun to drive!  For more on the car, head on over to the Ford Vehicles website.

(Image source: Fiesta Movement)

The European Fiestas that have been running around the country as part of the Fiesta Movement are very impressive!  Not only are they stylish but they are fun to drive and get rather impressive gas mileage!  Well the Fiesta is finally coming to North America next year, and this appears to be the first shots of what the NA Fiesta will look like.  In my opinion, it is still a very sharp looking vehicle, with very little large changes between the European model and the U.S. one.  For more pictures, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: Autoblog)

Fiesta agent, Ryan Dembrosk, took on the mission of visiting the “Will it blend?” studio in Orem, Utah to try and blend a piece of boron steel. Boron steel is used extensively throughout the structure of the new Ford Fiesta because of its excellent strength to weight characteristics. In fact, more than 50 percent of the new Ford Fiesta body structure is made of high-strength steel. But despite the high strength, the material is also very light, helping the vehicle achieve higher fuel efficiency.

Long story short, the amazing Blendtec blender was not able to blend the piece of boron steel; this dude might need to find a new job now! Check out the video for your entertainment.

For more information on Fiesta’s use of boron steel, take a look at this old post.

2009 Ford Fiesta

Led by the success of the new Fiesta, Ford of Europe increased its market share across Europe’s 19 main markets by more than half a percentage point to 9.3 per cent, the highest January share since 2004!  The overall industry sales declined 27.2 per cent, however Ford fared slightly better, posting only a 23.1 per cent decrease in sales compared to the same month last year.  Ford was the market leader in the UK, Hungary and Ireland, and among the top three in 14 other European markets.

The slew of new products and improved quality, technology and fuel efficiency are all responsible for Ford’s improvement in Europe.  The good news for us folks across the pond is that several of the European models will be coming here in the next few years, beginning with the Transit Connect van this year, followed by the Fiesta next year, and a combining of several platforms over the two years after that.  It’s going to be an exciting time for auto enthusiasts!