It's the Ford Fiesta's birthday
Blue Oval's starter car hits 30
Born in the mid-1970s, Ford Fiesta has become ingrained in the European experience. It is a brand that everyone knows. For some, Fiesta has represented that important first car. For many others, Fiesta is a practical, dependable stalwart, just the right size for fun and personal transport.
Although today's Fiesta is different in many ways -- like bigger and heavier -- from the original Fiesta that went on sale in 1976, it shares many of its fundamental attributes.
"Fiesta's birthday gives us the opportunity to celebrate three decades of change," said Ford's European boss John Fleming. "Fiesta represented change when it came on the automotive scene, and while it has moved with the times and fashions over the years, it has remained steadfast in its dedication to providing economical, practical and dependable transportation for people of all ages. That mission is just as relevant today as it was in 1976."
Generations
Fiesta made its debut in the same year in which British Airways and Air France began transatlantic service with their new supersonic flagship, Concorde. It was also the year that a fledgling company, Apple Computer, was founded. Who could have imagined that 30 years later, Concorde's dream of routine supersonic air transport would be retired, Apple would be a household name and a new Fiesta would be introduced for the iPod generation?
Introduced earlier in its anniversary year, the latest generation Ford Fiesta has a fresh new face that communicates likeability and fun and a bright new interior filled with colour. Its optional capabilities, like plugging an MP3 player into its audio system or Bluetooth voice control, would have been the stuff of science fiction three decades earlier.
Times were different in the 1976 world of compact motoring. Today's Fiesta offers 'big car' features, including air conditioning, power folding mirrors, satellite navigation, rain-sensing wipers and an array of other customer friendly technologies. Its look is contemporary, offering customers an appealing choice of exterior colours and a broad model range topped by the rally-inspired Fiesta ST performance car.
Today's Fiesta has grown in size from the original model, reflecting trends in customer wants for more roominess and greater luggage capacity, traits in which Fiesta led at the time of its original introduction.
| Dimension | 1976 Fiesta (m) | 2006 Fiesta (m) | Difference (mm) |
| Overall length | 3.565 | 3.924 | 359 |
| Overall width | 1.334 | 1.685 | 351 |
| Overall height | 1.36 | 1.432 | 72 |
| Wheel base | 2.286 | 2.486 | 200 |
Another place where Fiesta has kept up with the times is in consumer acceptance, measured by sales data. Sales of Ford's popular small car have increased year on year for the past five years. Annual car sales in 2005 of 358,931 units made it Fiesta's best sales year since 1998.
And the pace of sales growth has continued in the first half of 2006. Sales of the Fiesta between January and June 2006 were 205,200 units, up 10 per cent versus the first half of 2005. More than 12 million Fiestas have been delivered into customers' hands in Fiesta's colourful 30-year history.
My first car was a MK2 957cc with XR2 wheels. I drove it for three years whilst at Uni. I never serviced, maintained or cleaned it. If it wasn't broke it didn't get fixed. It drove remarkably well without oil and broken engine mounts and never died on me - just the odd wear and tear moment that's all. I even managed to get a smidgen over a ton on my drives home down the M4. Bloody amazing car!
A few years later I bought a Puma, one of the most memorable cars I've driven, always meant to pick up a 5-year old 1.25/1.4 Zetec Fiesta as a daily shed, hopefully will do so soon...
. 
12 x 5.5 Mistral (minillite copy)wheels
175 70 Vredestien sprint st 70 tyres
Janspeed Exhaust/manifold
KN filter
Sparkomatic ignition booster
Eldon Alarm
Tim Tacho
Smiths Volt gauge (small alternator+ big light bulbs)
reversing light
RS rear spoiler
Sharp PLL radio Cassette
Alpine Graphic equaliser/ booster 25 WATTS per channel(2)
Philips dual cone 12cm front speakers with philps add on tweaters
Pioneer 20watt 2 ellement rear pod speakers
Italovolanti steering wheel
Cibie Dipping Oscars on rally Brackets 100/80 bulbs
I still miss it , flat out nearly everywhere!
I will never condemn the Saxo brigade (but would question the sanity of the Nova Boys)
that was me 24 years ago
Always felt like it was unscrewing itself at anything remotely near the national limit, but used to love going out driving in it, just because I could. Saw it a few years after I sold it, sitting in a workshop with half the front end stoved in. I was actually quite sad, as it was a cracking little car.
Indeed, will hopefully do well when released... Anyway, suppose you were unfortunate enough to have been driving a new model fiesta for a few days, and bored by its obesity, floppy handling, and gutless engine you kicked the sh*t out of it on a b-road at the weekend, only for it to make a metallic creaking sound each time you press/depress the clutch pedal. This is on a 16k miles 54 plate, BTW.
What would that indicate?
If i only had enough money to buy a Fiesta, I'd get a moped instead. Much less embarrassment when you tell folk how you get from A to B.
Gassing Station | Ford | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff