Ford's B Cars

[silvrsvt]

Please lets drop the whole "E" and "F" naming... Escort was always a car, and was around up until 4 yrs ago. So there's an ingrained public perception of what a Escort is... Why swim against public perception, when there's enough public perception isues with the companies financial position.

 

Sure the B-class would be smaller than a 1980 Escort, but not so sure about earlier versions in Europe... My thoughts are that for a great many years the Escort was Ford's budget car. Yes you could name the B-car the Feista, but there's no market penetration for that name now. The general public knows at a glance what an Escort is and who makes it. And anyway the past has shown that car companies have moved names up and down the size scale without any trouble, as long as there is a perception link between the previous-and-currernt version. Great example is the T-Bird, which up to the latest successfully moved up and down the size scale and even moved from convertible to coupe successfuly.

 

 

Goes both ways...Escort is a small car and its name would lend itself well to Ford's SUV naming conventions, which predate the stupid F naming convention that started with the 500. I was under the impression that the Escort name was dropped in 02 MY when they where just making the Coupe model, the ZX2. The Fiesta had its name butchered in the Early to late 1990's and the original model went way in 82 or 83 in the States. Either name works well, but calling a Cute Ute a Fiesta X would be assine!

[sa_seahawker]

How bout the "PUMA"?

 

[Biker16]

orginally posted by Igor on Focaljet

 

 

 

From: Auto Express:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/au...rd_fiesta.html

 

a couple quotes:

Quote:

Our images, which are based on top-secret information, show how the car will look when it makes its debut in March next year. We also have the first scoop pictures of a pre-production prototype model being given a thorough work*out by engineers at an unnamed race track.

 

So far, Ford has only dared to drive boxy prototypes in public. But behind the scenes, designers have already put the finishing touches to a supermini that insiders have described to us as the most spectacular looking small car the firm has ever built.

 

Quote:

At launch, the car will offer a five-strong engine line-up. Petrol-powered cars will come with a range of 1.3, 1.6 and 1.8-litre Duratec SCi engines, which feature direct injection for improved fuel economy. Two diesels will be available - a 1.4 and a 1.6-litre TDCi, which have been developed with Peugeot. It's thought both oil-burning units will employ the latest pollution-reducing particulate filters.

 

Quote:

However, the story will not end there, as Ford has some big plans in store. The development of the new Fiesta is central to a much wider plan of action when it comes to the company's small car line-up.

 

This will see the Fusion replaced at the same time by a fresh model, which is expected to be badged the B-MAX. It will rival the new breed of supermini-MPVs such as the Nissan Note and Skoda Roomster.

 

The B2xx platform will also be used in the US for the first time with a car called the Ecosport. And it has even been rumoured that Volvo - which is part of the Ford family - is considering an entry into the supermini market with the same chassis.

 

The only thing I question is that we are getting ONLY the EcoSport .. we are very likely getting the EcoSport .. it has AWD, looks like an SUV, and offers a lot of utility is such a small package. But I am expecting the Fiesta to come along with it. I am not sure how much of the actual sheetmetal will be carryover, but greenhouse and the handsome sloping shoulder will remain - nose will almost definitely be "americanized" with at least a hint of the 3 bars .. and maybe slightly more angular headlights - think Reflex. We are probaly going to only see one of the engines - and it won't be any of the Diesels .. depending on the MPG either the 1.8l or the 1.6 with DI even the 1.6 should be able to get well north of 100hp

 

US Production begins in 2009 - it will probably be revealed in New York in April 2008, or in LA in December 2008.

 

Enjoy

 

Igor

[Ford Jellymoulds]

 

 

The Ford Escort - Most successful rally car in the worldIn 1968 the newly launched Escort Twin Cam kicked-off a 30 year winning spree with a spectacular first season scoring enough international rally victories to secure the coveted World Rally Championship for Makes. Ford Escorts of all types, competing at all levels, were successful rally winners up to the turn of the century, and even today are still occasionally winning events all round the world. When those original Escorts first appeared, Ford cars were already known as fine rally cars, following high-profile victories in the world's most important rallies - Monte Carlo, Safari, Acropolis and RAC. The birth of the Escort was to boost Ford's motorsport fortunes still further: by any measure it would go on to become the world's most successful rally car.In 1968 the original 1.6-litre Escort Twin-Cam started its competition career in an astonishing opening season - by winning the Circuit of Ireland, Dutch Tulip, Austrian Alpine, Acropolis and Scottish rallies, all within eight weeks. By the end of its first season, the Escort had also won the famous 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland, which helped Ford secure the World Rally Championship for Makes. Ford Escorts won the World Championship again, in 1969.The 'works' Twin-Cam Escorts continued to win all round the world in 1969 and 1970, while special overhead-valve-engined cars dominated the worlds toughest ever event the 16,000-mile London-Mexico World Cup rally of 1970, taking first, third, fifth, sixth and eighth places. As a result of this victory, the Escort Mexico production model was developed.As the Ford Escort was developed through the 1970s, the 1.6-litre 16-valve RS1600 took over from the Twin-Cam. By this time, the cars had an amazing reputation for strength and reliability. Engines for motorsport were progressively enlarged, first to 1.8-litres with 205 bhp, and later to 2.0-litres with up to 250 bhp.By 1975, RS1600s had won world-class rallies as different as the East African Safari (1972, when Hannu Mikkola and Gunnar Palm became the very first European-based crew to win this long and gruelling event), the British RAC (three times in succession, 1972 - 1974), the Finnish 1000 Lakes (five times), the Arctic Rally in Finland and New Zealand's Heatway Rally. No matter what the competition, the surface, the conditions, or the nation, the Escort was always successful, at all levels of the sport. Near-standard Group 1 Escorts (this is the 1970s equivalent of today's Group N 'showroom' category) were also often victorious, memorably with three consecutive outright wins in the 1974, 1975 and 1976 Tour of Britain events, which combined racing with rallying. Throughout this period, drivers used Escorts to win hundreds of events at World, European and National Championship level. The Ford Escort was also unbeaten in the British Rally Championship for eight consecutive years, from 1971 to 1978.In 1979 the Ford Escort then made a clean sweep of the World Rally Championship. the British RAC Rally being won for the eighth consecutive occasion. When Ford needs all the help they can get at the moment whist restructuring, our UK Ford Chairman in Britain, can’t do enough to put Ford down in the Daily Mail last Saturday saying that Fords have a “BAD REPUTATION”, how much did Toyota pay him to say that, mind you never believe everything printed in the Daily Mail.What Ford needs is a winner like Escort again with a “BAD REPUTATION” for winning everything in sight including sale charts, being Ford’s best ever selling car in Europe, so to bring back the Escort name back, but it will have to be a smaller hybrid 100 MPG eco warrior in Europe, as cars are being priced off the roads by the European Union and British Government at the moment. Everybody seems to be shifting into French made Eco box's in Europe at the moment, a French made car used to be a rare sight on British roads it's about 1 in 4 now and growing, just like you won't see a Ford on French roads, not to mention anything else, as the French only love the French. It would be nice to see Ford kick the French right where it will hurt them the most, you have a Jap Crap problem in the US, maybe a 130 MPH 100 MPG Hybrid Mustang might do the same and nuke the Japs crap sales.

Edited February 22, 2007 by Ford Jellymoulds

[ebritt]

Why cant we have this car???

Is it too hard to make over here? What gives???