InTheDriversSeat Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Ford desperately needs a high mileage car in the U.S. lineup to compete with Aveo and Yaris. Gasoline prices are going to keep going up. Why hasn't management done anything in the mini/city segment for the U.S. market?! Ford used to sell the Aspire (from 1994 to 1997), Festiva (1988-1993), and Fiesta (1978-1980). Ford stopped selling these cute, affordable, high mileage small cars in America because of the low profit margin...and the MPG of the entire car lineup was good enough to meet Federal regulations without them. But now is good time to sell a mini/city in America again. The quality of these cars has greatly improved. Does anyone know if the replacement for the Ka that Ford is developing with Fiat will be sold here? What about a derivative of the Mazda2 / Demio? Here are some photos I found of the 2007 Fiat Grande Punto which was co-developed by Ford. The platform for both vehicles is the Fiat Panda. Both will use Fiat powertrains. They will be built at a Fiat plant in Poland. The back-end looks like a Focus I, and the front-end borrows a little from Aston Martin. The Ford and the Fiat versions are supposed to be 'highly differentiated': 2007 Fiat Grande Punto Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark B. Morrow Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 The Focus 5-speed gets better mileage than the Aveo, and is very close to the Yaris, in a bigger more sportier package. You can get them at comparable prices, as well, since Ford routinely has customer cash on the hood. Ford should be marketing the Focus as a bigger, safer alternative to the Aveo, Fit, Yaris et. al Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker16 Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Ford should be marketing the Focus as a bigger, safer alternative to the Aveo, Fit, Yaris et. al yeah.... how about price? B-cars exist so that C-cars can make money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sixcav Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 The Focus 5-speed gets better mileage than the Aveo, and is very close to the Yaris, in a bigger more sportier package. Yes but most cars sold today are AT, especially when you are talking about a commuter car in mostly city driving. People don't want to the hassle of a stick shift in heavy traffic even if it does get better mileage. Now it's no secret I'm not fond of the Focus body design, but compared to a Yaris it's awesome. The Yaris is pretty ugly I think. The Matrix I don't mind, but the Yaris? yuck. Anyway, I still would much prefer to see the euro style Focus here. I really like that one. I think it would sell like crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Ford should be marketing the Focus as a bigger, safer alternative to the Aveo, Fit, Yaris et. al Or maybe they should just be marketing the vehicle!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcsario Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 The Ka is a sub-B car... way too small for the US, the rear seats are basically useless. Makes the Mustang feel like a three row SUV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edsel Posted October 31, 2006 Share Posted October 31, 2006 Ford should be marketing the Focus as a bigger, safer alternative to the Aveo, Fit, Yaris et. al Ford should be making or importing the Focus that is available in Europe!!!! Far superior and a Diesel option to boot. :shrug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker16 Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 The Ka is a sub-B car... way too small for the US, the rear seats are basically useless. Makes the Mustang feel like a three row SUV. no the mustangs seat is useless, the ka's is adequate for small adults, in the back on short trips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRyanC Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 Well I'd buy a KA right now if I could. It would be a fantastic 2nd vehicle or in some cases a 3rd/4th. Now where do I put my deposit? Thats right NA sucks for cheap car choices. Anybody know whats involved importing a car from Mexico. I can find how to from the US on the net but not Mexico. DRyanC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted November 1, 2006 Share Posted November 1, 2006 no the mustangs seat is useless, the ka's is adequate for small adults, in the back on short trips. I don't think so, if anything they are equally as horrible Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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