People of a certain age may well remember the Ford Fiesta as perhaps not Ford’s finest moment. The Fiesta of 30 years ago was a boxy, poorly built sub-sub-compact that rusted out quickly but often didn’t last long enough mechanically for that to be an issue. Now, with the memory of $4.50 gasoline still on the minds of Americans and the economy tanking faster than anyone imagined, Ford is planning to bring back the Fiesta for 2010. Happily, the 2010 Fiesta is not your mother’s high school graduation car.
The Ford Fiesta has been available overseas for years, will come to America in a sleeker, sturdier, more fuel-efficient form that is made to last and also to appeal to a wide spectrum of cost-conscious buyers. “Take the five-door Fiesta,” says Ford global design chief J Mays, “and graft on the trunk of the Verve sedan concept, and you’ll be 99 percent there.” Watch for it late in 2009.
Tags: 2009, Europe, ford fiesta, Restyled