Just this once, I'm taking my pathetic blog into the realm of CARS. James got me hooked on a BBC show called "Top Gear". It's a car show that ANYONE can watch and be entertained, and education sneaks in between the laughs and dumbfounded looks. That show got me hooked on cars, so here we are. As I get older and more practical-minded, I find myself drifting toward the rice-rocket as my affordable/practical/fun ride of choice. I've been eyeballing the Ford Focus coupe, but as I was clicking through Ford's website, I found something amazing. Wait for it....wait for it! The Fiesta is coming back to the U.S. in early 2010 (as a 2011 model). Feast your eyes on the 5-door hatch model:
And the posterior of the same:
Ford say they're going to power it with a 1.6 liter four-banger cranking out about 120 horsepower. It will offer a 5-speed manual or 4 speed auto transmission. I'll have the manual, thank you. Any boy-racer worth his salt will pick the manual. But it gets better. Ford lets you play around with building your own Fiesta, choosing 3 options you'd like to see on the final production car here in the U.S.. The three that get my gears shifting are: a turbocharger(!), stiffened sport suspension (yes, Ford, oh goodness, YES!), and a racing body kit (seen on the two cars above) which includes a chin spoiler, a spoiler on the top of the hatch, and lowered skirting on the back end. And the best part? They make it in "Tuxedo Black" with brushed aluminium trim.
The Brits have had this car for maybe three years now and they adore it. It's cheap (about $15,000USD nicely equipped), it's reasonably powerful with the basic engine, and a bit of tuning turns it into an axe-murderer dressed in business casual. Oh, and you can afford to drive them! In Europe, in absence of CAFE standards, they get 40+ miles per gallon. Hopefully the U.S. model is close in MPG to its European cousin. If it launches here in the U.S. with similar or the same stats as the Euro-style Fiesta, I'll have one without a second thought. I want a runabout that's cheaper to run than my beloved Ford Ranger XLT 4x4, which struggles to break 22mpg on the highway and about 14mpg in town. Of course, I'll be willing to fill up a bit more often if it comes with the turbo (*drool*), sport suspension, and the sharp looking body kit.
Way to go, Ford. No wonder you don't want bailout money. Now go build it!
The Brits have had this car for maybe three years now and they adore it. It's cheap (about $15,000USD nicely equipped), it's reasonably powerful with the basic engine, and a bit of tuning turns it into an axe-murderer dressed in business casual. Oh, and you can afford to drive them! In Europe, in absence of CAFE standards, they get 40+ miles per gallon. Hopefully the U.S. model is close in MPG to its European cousin. If it launches here in the U.S. with similar or the same stats as the Euro-style Fiesta, I'll have one without a second thought. I want a runabout that's cheaper to run than my beloved Ford Ranger XLT 4x4, which struggles to break 22mpg on the highway and about 14mpg in town. Of course, I'll be willing to fill up a bit more often if it comes with the turbo (*drool*), sport suspension, and the sharp looking body kit.
Way to go, Ford. No wonder you don't want bailout money. Now go build it!
2 comments:
Always keep in mind that those damn Brits make their gallons bigger than ours. Leave it to them to take something perfectly acceptable and ruin it.
Er, wait. Chicken...egg...hmm.
Anyway, multiply by .8 and you'll get approximate mileage here. Even then, it will be worse because they have higher octane fuel than us.
Ooh I found a good copy of Jeremy's road test as well.
You just have to suffer through a 20 second commercial towards the start.
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