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Ford Fiesta XR2 Cars

Mechanically, the Ford Fiesta followed tradition, with an end-on four-speed manual transmission mounted to a new version of the Ford Kent OHV engine, dubbed "Valencia" after the brand new Spanish factory in Almussafes, Valencia, developed especially to produce the new car. Ford's plants in Dagenham, England, and Saarlouis and Cologne (from 1979) in Germany, also manufactured Fiestas. To cut costs and speed up the research and development, many modified Kent engines destined for the Fiesta were tested in Fiat 127s - at the time considered the benchmark car in the class, with which the Fiesta shares styling similarities. This also allowed covert road testing across Europe.

It was the first Ford vehicle to feature front wheel drive, and when it went on sale in the UK in January 1977 it was available from £1,856 for the basic 950cc engined model.

It was only the second hatchback mini-car to have been built in the UK at this stage, being launched a year after the Vauxhall Chevette, but a year before the Chrysler Sunbeam and four years before the Austin Metro. The millionth Fiesta was produced on 9 January 1979.

The car was available in Europe with a 957 cc (58 CID) I4 (high compression and low compression options), either a 1.1 and 1.3 L OHV petrol engines and in Base, Popular, L, GL (1978 onward), Ghia and S trim, as well as a van. The U.S. Mark I Fiesta was built in Cologne, Germany but to slightly different specifications; U.S. models were Base, Decor, Sport, and Ghia, the Ghia having the highest level of trim. These trim levels changed very little in the Fiesta's three year run in the USA, from 1978-80. All U.S. models featured the more powerful 1.6 L Kent (97 CID; 1597cc) inline-four engine (fitted with a catalytic converter and air pump for lower emissions), energy-absorbing bumpers, side-marker lamps, round sealed-beam headlamps, improved crash dynamics and fuel system integrity as well as optional air conditioning (a/c was not available in Europe). In the U.S. market, the Ford Escort replaced both the Fiesta and the compact [Ford Pinto|Pinto] in 1981.

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Ford Fiesta XR2 Cars

When Ford Fiesta of Europe began to design the car, the design proposals were named Iris, Beta, The Deutschlander (from Ford's Cologne studios), Mini-Mite, and the Blue Car (from Ghia). Codenames for the Ford Fiesta prototype included Torino, but it became Project Bobcat.

The shortlisted names for the new car designed by the project Bobcat team (headed by Mr Trevor Erskine) were Amigo, Bambi, Bebe, Bravo, Bolero, Cherie, Tempo, Chico, Ford Fiesta, Forito, Metro, Pony and Sierra. Despite more board votes for "Bravo", Henry Ford II personally overruled them and named the car "Fiesta". Several of the shortlisted names were later used on other cars, including "Sierra", which was introduced on the Cortina replacement in 1982, and Tempo which was used on a Ford small car in the United States market. Ironically the "Metro" nameplate was introduced by rival manufacturer British Leyland for the similar-sized Austin Metro in 1980.

The name Ford Fiesta belonged to General Motors at the time; however, it was freely given for Ford to use on their new B-class car. After years of speculation by the motoring press about Ford's new car, it was subject to a succession of carefully crafted press leaks from the end of 1975. A Ford Fiesta was on display at the Le Mans 24 Hour Race in June 1976, and the car was launched and on sale in France and Germany in September 1976: to the frustration of UK dealerships righthand drive versions only began to appear in the UK in January 1977.

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New Ford Fiesta XR2 Cars

Ford Fiesta XR2 Cars the early 1970s, European demand from consumers for small cars was rising. Even Ford's smallest model, the Escort, was a conventional front-engined, rear wheel drive Fiesta XR2 Cars. yet competitors were launching smaller, front wheel drive Fiesta XR2 Cars, like the Fiat 127 and the Peugeot 104. The effects of the 1973 energy crisis were also increasing demand for smaller Fiesta XR2 Cars. BMC (which had since merged into British Leyland) had entered the mini-car market with its Mini in 1959, while the Rootes Group had launched the ultimately less successful Hillman Imp in 1963, but times had moved on and people looking for small Fiesta XR2 Cars now wanted practical hatchbacks instead of conventional sedans. GM had entered the modern supermini market with its conventional Opel Kadett City/Vauxhall Chevette three-door hatchback twins early in 1975.

The original plans for the "Bobcat" was actually signed off by Henry Ford on 15 September 1972, more than a year before the Arab-Israeli War and the oil price surge that it triggered, so the project is best seen as a response to competitors than as a direct response to the oil crisis. The plans specified a desire that the new Ford Fiesta XR2 Cars cost US$100 less to produce than the Ford Escort. In addition, the car was to have a wheelbase longer than that of the Fiat 127, but with overall length shorter than that of Ford's Escort. The final proposal was put together by Tom Tjaarda at Ghia.

Bobcat was approved in autumn 1973, with Ford's engineering centres in Cologne and Dunton (Essex) collaborating. Customer clinics were held across Europe, targeting female buyers in particular.

Ford estimated that 500,000 Fiestas a year would be produced, and built an all-new factory near Valencia, Spain; a transaxle factory near Bordeaux, France; factory extensions for the assembly plants in Dagenham, Essex, and Saarlouis, Germany. Final assembly also took place in Valencia.

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Ford Fiesta XR2 Cars

The Ford Fiesta is a front wheel drive subcompact/supermini car manufactured and marketed by the Ford Motor Company and built in Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, China, India and South Africa. The model is marketed worldwide, including Japan, Australasia and the Americas.

By 2010, the sixth-generation (Mark VI) Fiesta had been introduced worldwide, including in the United States and Canada — making it the first Fiesta model to be sold in North America since 1980.

The Fiesta has sold over twelve million units since 1976.