Ford Fiesta

No tae be ramfeeselt wi the Ford Festiva.

Ford Fiesta
Owerview
Manufacturer	Ford
Production	1976–present
Bouk an chassis
Cless	Supermini
Layoot	Front-ingine, front-wheel drive

The Ford Fiesta is a front wheel drive subcompact/supermini caur manufactured an mercatit bi the Ford Motor Company an biggit in Europe, Brazil, Argentinae, Mexico, Venezuela, Cheenae, Indie an Sooth Africae. The model is mercatit warldwide, includin Japan, Australasie an the Americas.

Bi 2010, the saxt-generation (Mark VI) Fiesta haed been introduced warldwide, includin in the Unitit States an Canadae — makin it the first Fiesta model tae be sauld in North Americae syne 1980.

The Fiesta haes sauld ower saxteen million units syne 1976.

History

In the early 1970s, European demand frae consumers for sma caurs wis risin. Even Ford's smawest model, the Escort, wis a conventional front-ingined, rear wheel drive caur; yet competitors wur launchin smawer, front wheel drive caurs, lik the Fiat 127 an the Peugeot 104. The effects o the 1973 energy crisis wur an aa increasin demand for smawer caurs. BMC (which haed syne merged intae British Leyland) haed entered the mini-caur mercat wi its Mini in 1959, while the Rootes Group haed launcht the ultimately less successfu Hillman Imp in 1963, but times haed moved on an fowk leukin for sma caurs nou wantit practical hatchbacks instead o conventional sedans. GM haed entered the modren supermini mercat wi its conventional Opel Kadett City/Vauxhall Chevette three-door hatchback twins early in 1975.

The oreeginal plans for the "Bobcat" wis actually signed aff bi Henry Ford on 15 September 1972, mair nor a year afore the Arab-Israeli War an the oil price surge that it triggered, sae the project is best seen as a response tae competitors than as a direct response tae the oil crisis. The plans specified a desire that the new caur cost US$100 less tae produce than the Ford Escort. In addition, the caur wis tae hae a wheelbase langer than that o the Fiat 127, but wi oweraw lenth shorter than that o Ford's Escort. The final proposal wis put thegither bi Tom Tjaarda at Ghia.

Bobcat wis approved in the Hairst o 1973, wi Ford's ingineerin centres in Cologne an Dunton (Essex) collaboratin. Customer clinics wur held athort Europe, targetin female buyers in parteecular.

Ford estimatit that 500,000 Fiestas a year wad be produced, an biggit an aw-new factory near Valencia, Spain; a transaxle factory near Bordeaux, Fraunce; factory extensions for the assembly plants in Dagenham, Essex, an Saarlouis, Germany. Final assembly an aa teuk place in Valencie.