The Fiesta is dead

[dmb]

Er let me get this right...i had a svt, and i loved it. it would do 70mph in 2nd gear. then i got the turbo bug, bought a 2002 wrx from a asian doctor. it was very fast. then i sold the svt to a kid. he wanted a test ride so i took the kid on a closed radius fwy onramp on 3 wheels i sold it right there. scared the money right out of him.

 

[jhiggi83]

i had a svt, loved it it would do 70mph in 2nd gear. got the turbo bug, 2002 wrx from a asian doctor very fast. sold the svt took the kid on a closed radius fwy onramp on 3 wheels sold it right their. scared the money right out of him.

What?

 

[valiantjared]

What?

he buy turbo car like turbo car
buy another turbo car
sell first turbo to kid by drive fast on road

 

[jhiggi83]

he buy turbo car like turbo car
buy another turbo car
sell first turbo to kid by drive fast on road

Actually understood that translation

 

[D1JL]

I may be lucky and not need another car for some time.
We have 3 now and my '14 FiST is the oldest.
If I do need another car I may just have to back to a Mini as I had before My 2 Fiestas.
Or I probably could get an American made car, like a Toyota or Honda.


Dave

 

[Chalz]

The ultimate version of those cars was either the ZX3 2.3L manual or the wagon with the 2.3L manual. Cosworth had a number of parts for that engine that really made it come to life. The ZX3 and wagon with the 2.3L and manual were crazy hard to find. I know of only a few, with one being the CosWagon SEMA car.

IIRC, all Foci from late 2003-2004 contained the 2.3 Duratec...so when the "ST" came out a few years later I was kind of disgusted with Ford, particularly Fields and his smarmy announcement about how cool it was. At that time you could buy a gently used late '03-04 Focus with decent miles for $5k-9k (or better) and get the same engine, better styling (not that "let's make it look sort of like the Euro but with our bumper depth requirements" crap), better interior...basically a higher overall quality vehicle without an Auto Zone bumper and wing kit that looked like it came out of a 90's Buddy Club catalog.

...on a side note, which Focus was the factory model that came prepped and plumbed for nitrous where you'd void your warranty if you even hooked up a tank? Was that the Roush?

 

[BRGT350]

IIRC, all Foci from late 2003-2004 contained the 2.3 Duratec...so when the "ST" came out a few years later I was kind of disgusted with Ford, particularly Fields and his smarmy announcement about how cool it was. At that time you could buy a gently used late '03-04 Focus with decent miles for $5k-9k (or better) and get the same engine, better styling (not that "let's make it look sort of like the Euro but with our bumper depth requirements" crap), better interior...basically a higher overall quality vehicle without an Auto Zone bumper and wing kit that looked like it came out of a 90's Buddy Club catalog.

...on a side note, which Focus was the factory model that came prepped and plumbed for nitrous where you'd void your warranty if you even hooked up a tank? Was that the Roush?

It was the Saleen N2O Focus.

I am sure the 2.0L SPI and 2.0L Duratec existed along with the 2.3L. I don't know if the 2.0L Zetec lasted after 2004. I just can't remember how that all shook out with the Focus after 2004. I do remember those SAP (street appearance package) 2005+ cars that were just horrid with all the lick and stick parts stuck on them. I think those all went away when the ZX3/5 was retired. There was the terrible coupe Focus with the SVT EAP wheels and silly rear window spoiler.

I don't know if you have read American Icon about saving Ford, but there was a paragraph in there about why the US Focus became a POS while the European car was far better. The managers all gave Bill Ford some answers about markets, regions, and refresh cycles. Bill called them out on their BS. I felt better knowing that Bill Ford realized the Focus was ruined during the refreshes. Ford is notorious for doing this. Come out with a great car, do a minor refresh, and then do another that lasts way too long and they just keep pulling cost out of the car. They wonder why sales keep slipping and just kill the car. I look at our 2013 Escape Titanium and it looks and feels vastly more upscale than my sister's 2017 Escape Titanium. Everything just looks and feels cheaper, there are less options, and you get less value out of the car. Yet, it costs more.

 

[Quisp]

Anyone else get an email invite to Ford's drivers connection opinion survey ?

 

[Dpro]

It was the Saleen N2O Focus.

I am sure the 2.0L SPI and 2.0L Duratec existed along with the 2.3L. I don't know if the 2.0L Zetec lasted after 2004. I just can't remember how that all shook out with the Focus after 2004. I do remember those SAP (street appearance package) 2005+ cars that were just horrid with all the lick and stick parts stuck on them. I think those all went away when the ZX3/5 was retired. There was the terrible coupe Focus with the SVT EAP wheels and silly rear window spoiler.

I don't know if you have read American Icon about saving Ford, but there was a paragraph in there about why the US Focus became a POS while the European car was far better. The managers all gave Bill Ford some answers about markets, regions, and refresh cycles. Bill called them out on their BS. I felt better knowing that Bill Ford realized the Focus was ruined during the refreshes. Ford is notorious for doing this. Come out with a great car, do a minor refresh, and then do another that lasts way too long and they just keep pulling cost out of the car. They wonder why sales keep slipping and just kill the car. I look at our 2013 Escape Titanium and it looks and feels vastly more upscale than my sister's 2017 Escape Titanium. Everything just looks and feels cheaper, there are less options, and you get less value out of the car. Yet, it costs more.

Actually its funny you mention this. I have a 2012 Focus SE and the seats in it feel better seating position wise & bolster wise vs all the rental 2016-2017 Focus’s I rented on trips. I guess the bean counters at Ford have full control and it explains a lot of the missteps Ford NA seems to make.

Though honestly while the Fiesta is a great handling great driving car with good gas mileage...Ford really blew it with the interior sizing. Granted the Europeans seem to accept it one has only to look at the Honda Fit and see where Honda got it right with a roomy interior for a sub compact.
The other factor was while advertising the Focus quite a bit they never advertised the Fiesta. It definitely would have helped. As well as pushing the ST specifically as the Hot Hatch.

Of course again bean counters come into play here as well as they probably said not enough profit off the car not worth spending money on advertising.

 

[Intuit]

Anyone else get an email invite to Ford's drivers connection opinion survey ?

Just ran a search on my email. Nada. Think I got something around the time that I paid off the car, but that was snail mail, and snail mail annoys me.

 

[M-Sport fan]

the other factor was while advertising the focus quite a bit they never advertised the fiesta. It definitely would have helped. As well as pushing the st specifically as the hot hatch.

of course again bean counters come into play here as well as they probably said not enough profit off the car not worth spending money on advertising.

precisely!!

 

[XR650R]

precisely!!

Unless you got a manual. They're all quite reliable. Americans don't buy manuals.

Europeans do, which is why the Fiesta is so popular there. The base model handles well, and has adequate power for their needs.

 

[Intuit]

Should also point out, getting one is actually a hassle. The Ford dealerships don't really stock them, and blow you off, if you're not buying what they already have on the lot.

A local Woody Sander appeared to stock them; an exception. Unfortunately I had totally forgotten that location and ended up buying mine from a location that was like 240 miles away. If I had it to do over...

 

[Dpro]

Should also point out, getting one is actually a hassle. The Ford dealerships don't really stock them, and blow you off, if you're not buying what they already have on the lot.

This is pretty much quite true and was my experience for the most part.... Till I found a dealership that actually had one incoming that I was going to buy . It got sold right after it came in just as I was about to roll on it. They wound up ordering one for me with all the discounts available in place. This was of course the Fleet manager that handled it for me.

 

[Quisp]

Just ran a search on my email. Nada. Think I got something around the time that I paid off the car, but that was snail mail, and snail mail annoys me.

It's probably about amenities wanted in autonomous pods.

 

[BRGT350]

I got the survey yesterday as well.

 

[Scotman2]

IIRC, all Foci from late 2003-2004 contained the 2.3 Duratec...so when the "ST" came out a few years later I was kind of disgusted with Ford, particularly Fields and his smarmy announcement about how cool it was. At that time you could buy a gently used late '03-04 Focus with decent miles for $5k-9k (or better) and get the same engine, better styling (not that "let's make it look sort of like the Euro but with our bumper depth requirements" crap), better interior...basically a higher overall quality vehicle without an Auto Zone bumper and wing kit that looked like it came out of a 90's Buddy Club catalog.

...on a side note, which Focus was the factory model that came prepped and plumbed for nitrous where you'd void your warranty if you even hooked up a tank? Was that the Roush?

That was the Saleen Focus. I also believe they got nipped by the EPA over some compliance issue with it. I've only seen two Saleen Foci ever.

 

[JimRN]

Most of us had to wait several months for our cars to be built anyway. Because dealers didn't have what we wanted, if they had any Fiesta at all.
Just finding one for a demonstration drive was nearly impossible. Let alone one with the desired features or color. Any one of the 100 most frequent participants on this forum probably has more knowledge of the Fiesta product than the top 500 Ford sales people in the entire continental U.S. i am dead serious.

Yes! I did manage to drive a Titanium hatch at the dealer just to get a feel for the visibility and sense of position. I had no problems with the size of the car even though I am driving a 2015 Taurus SEL right now. Some people think the Taurus interior is small yet, I grew up with Beetles, a 914, a Gti and a few Subarus. The dealer wasn't really aware of the ST and, of course, I had to order it.

 

[Scotman2]

You got lucky! At least they had one available to T-D. The current intenders can often test drive a used Fiesta ST off the lot. Early on, tbere were no used ones and damn few new ones available. If it had not been for the literally glowing and fawning buff magazine coverage of the Fiesta ST around the world, this car would have been invisible in North America!
The loss of all the unique marketing possibilities around this product is just staggering.

 

[XR650R]

Yeah. With all the press praising the car, you'd think it would have been better known. I guess manual transmissions really are that big of a turn off.

Every magazine and youtuber out there loved it. No one noticed.