Ford Fiesta 2011 News

The Australia Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has commenced legal proceedings against Ford Motor Company of Australia.

An automatic transmission designed to save fuel has increased complaints among Ford customers who claim it's not a smooth operator.

Ford’s Fiesta ST is already arguably the king of the light hot hatch set, but a new report out of the UK suggests that an even hotter RS version is under development. AutoExpress suggests that a RS-badged Fiesta could be followed by the much-anticipated third-generation Focus RS, if a business case can be made for the models. Ford has been toying with the idea of a Fiesta RS since at least 2004, with a pumped-up concept based on the previous generation model shown at the Geneva motor show that year. Stranding in the way of the number crunchers though is the current economic woes of the Ford hatches’ European-market heartland, and the plans are reportedly far from being locked in. If a green light is given, tradition suggests we’ll see the new RS models towards the end of the Fiesta and Focus model life cycles, which could result in a Fiesta RS arriving at least 12 months ahead of as Focus RS – and as soon as 2015. The likely power source for a Fiesta RS would be an uprated version of the ST’s 134kW/240Nm 1.6-litre turbo, producing in the order of 172kW to trump the existing 160kW/320Nm Mountune-enhanced version available overseas.  A tricky diff is possible to help put such power to the ground, along with widened tracks, monster brakes, and pumped wheelarches and other agressive body enhancements to help link it with the RS-liveried Fiesta WRC racer. Development mules have already been sighted of a Focus with the same treatment, with the likely motive source a version of the 2015 Mustang’s circa-227kW 2.3 litre EcoBoost engine. This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn  

Scheduled to go on sale here towards the middle of 2013, the Ford Fiesta range will kick off with the tiny 1.0-litre turbocharged three-cylinder EcoBoost engine that claimed the World Engine of the Year award a few months ago. “We’ve confirmed the three-cylinder turbo for the Fiesta,” Ford spokesman Neil McDonald says. “Originally it was going to be the EcoSport SUV  but Fiesta will beat it to market by several months. The turbocharged engine is offered in two levels -- 74kW/170Nm and 92kW/200Nm – but there’s no indication yet of whether we will get both. “It’s a little bit early to talk what the engine line-up will be,” McDonald says, although agreeing there would have to be consideration of whether the local market would go for two 1.0-litre versions or would expect to see a larger unit in the upper spec cars. The leaked official images show the main styling changes are focused on the nose, which gets the Aston Martin-flavoured grille shape -- already worn by the overseas Ford Fusion (Mondeo) – set off with a new front bumper and headlight clusters featuring LED running lights. McDonald says it’s also too early to discuss whether price and specification levels will change markedly from the current range, which opens with the $16,990 CL and tops out at the $23,490 Zetec – or whether they will be joined by the Fiesta ST seen overseas. “There’s been a Fiesta ST concept vehicle shown in Europe but we haven’t confirmed it for here,” he says. “For the rest of the range, it’s too far out to talk about price, but we plan to remain competitive. The Fiesta has been doing quite well -- around the 700 per month. It’s been a pretty strong seller for us.” While the release of fresh metal can often mean extra demand that constrains supply of some imported cars, McDonald points out Asian production means it won’t be a problem for the Fiesta. “Our vehicles are built in Thailand so I don’t think supply is going to be an issue,” he says.  

Ford has taken out three of the six categories in the CarsGuide People’s Choice award.

NICK Percat is the early leader in the Fujitsu V8 Supercar championship after two strong results at the Clipsal 500. Cancer fighter Jason Richards and youngster Andrew Thomson took the individual heat wins but Percat's 2-3 weekend for Walkinshaw Performance gave the Commodore driver the overall lead ahead of Tim Blanchard with 4-4 results in a Falcon and Scott McLaughlin with 7-2 finishes in his Ford.DAVID Brabham came home second for Acura as the fancied Audi and Peugeot factory cars stumbled at the Sebring 12-hour sports car race in the USA. Brabham has a mix-and-match race program this year, including V8 Supercar duty with Stone Brothers Racing, and started well with Highcroft Racing as the privateer Peugeot driven by Olivier Panis-Loic Duval-Nicolas Lapierre won at Sebring.MARCOS Ambrose is up to 18th in the NASCAR championship after a solid 15th place in the gruelling 500-lap contest on the high-banked Bristol oval last weekend. Ambrose qualified 14th with his Ford Fusion and led a lap in a race won by Kyle Busch.YOUNGSTER Tom Williamson was a race and round winner in the Formula Ford contest at the Clipsal 500. Cameron Waters won the first heat but Williamson's victory in the second-heat crashfest got him maximum points for the weekend ahead of Jesse Fenech and Nick Cassidy.CHAD Reed is now second in the AMA Supercross standings and closing on series leader Ryan Villopoto after another podium for his TwoTwo Motorsports team last weekend. Reed finished second in Jacksonville Florida on his Honda as Villopoto failed to score.JOHN Bowe took top points from the opening round of the Touring Car Masters series at the Clipsal 500 meeting. The former V8 Supercar star was the pacesetter on the streets of Adelaide with his Ford Mustang and finished on top of a quality field including fellow legends Jim Richards and Andrew Miedecke.A huge hit in the rain-lashed fourth race didn't stop David Sieders taking first-round honours in the V8 Utes championship in Adleaide. He limped over the line in the final race of the weekend to take top points ahead of Ryal Harris and Chris Pither.Aussie youngsters Molly Taylor and Brendan Reeves begin their junior challenge in the World Rally Championship this weekend as part of the Pirelli Star Driver Academy. Both are driving Ford Fiesta R2s in the Rally Portugal, Taylor with Rebecca Smart as her co-driver and Reeves with his sister Rhianon Smyth alongside.

A street version of its Fiesta RS World Rally Championship weapon for 2011 is "under consideration'' - the first sign that the Blue Oval is prepared to rekindle memories of the XR4 edition of the early 2000s. "We would love a high-performance Fiesta,'' says Ford Australia's general marketing manager David Katic.  "We're looking at al opportunities (the WRC car can bring)." He describes the XR4 as a "great car''.  But no-one at Ford Australia is talking about timing, pricing or even the name. It is possible it could wear the ST moniker to share with the hot Focus hatch that is also a possible for Australia. The talk in Europe about a hot Fiesta is stronger. Spy shots show a three-door hatch with twin exhausts and an intercooler peeking through the front bumper inlets. It is believed that adding the turbocharger and intercooler to the 1.6-litre engine will produce up to 130kW. That should be sufficient for a 0-100km/h time of about six seconds. The hot Fiesta would be built in Europe, alongside the ECOnetic diesel. Other Fiesta models for Australia are now made in Thailand.

It's a motor show, but not the way we've ever known them in the past.  This one is limited to just 17 cars.The reason why there are so few cars involved is that they must all be green cars.  And that's the reason it has such a big future.As time passes, and carmakers expand their green fleets with all sorts of lean-burn petrol engines, high-tech diesels, hybrids and electric cars, the Green Zone Drive promises to become a significant event for people who want to change their motoring priorities.The event is the idea of a couple of motor industry veterans led by John Kananghinis, formerly a public relations chief and marketing boss at BMW Australia.  It's not just a stand-and-look show, either.The idea behind the Green Zone Drive is to have people get behind the wheel and actually drive the cars, around a special circuit laid out in the centre of Melbourne.  It's claimed as a world first and a major innovation in green motoring.The event has picked up a lot of backing, from the Victorian government and Melbourne city council to EPA Victoria, Future Climate Australia, Shell and even the driver training experts at Murcotts.  Nine carmakers are involved, which is not very many with more than 50 brands on sale in Australia today.But the number is sure to grow and the current list - Audi, BMW, Citroen, Ford, Hyundai, Mini, Mitsubishi, Toyota and Volvo - shows a good spread across sizes, prices and classes.The obvious hero car is the first plug-in electric car on sale in Australia, the Mitsubishi iMiEV.  But the spread of cars runs from the locally-made Toyota Camry hybrid to the Volvo C30 DRIVe, the super-economy Ford Fiest ECOnetic and a range of diesels wearing Audi, BMW, Mini and even Hyundai badges.Of course, the Toyota Prius is also there.  The course for the drive takes green car fans around Melbourne's Docklands region and its no coincidence that it starts and finishes outside the Fox Classic Car Collection, home to one of Australia's best lineups of landmark cars.The event runs for just eight days but it's a start and has obvious potential to expand in coming years, not just in the car lineup but also its location. It could easily go on an Australia-wide tour and perhaps even head overseas.If you want to know more, take a look at www.greenzonedrive.com.au

Ford has switched the source of its Fiesta hatch and new sedan to the shared Ford/Mazda factory in Rayong. But Ford Australia marketing general manager David Katic is coy about speculation over the future supplier of Australian Focus variants. "We haven't said anything about Focus and we're not going to," he says. But the Blue Oval is building a new $500-million factory adjacent to its AAT Rayong plant to build Focus for the Asia-Pacific region, which would logically include Australia. Currently the Focus models sold in Australia are shipped from Pretoria in South Africa - although it was planned to build them at Broadmeadows until those plans were canned last year. "We've had some supply issues with Focus out of South Africa, and that high variation of Focus sales is a result of that," Ratic says. "If you speak to our dealers about that they would say they just need to get some more... we haven't been able to get consistent supply, we're hoping to get some consistency," he says. The company is getting cost and tax gains from bringing the Fiesta into Australia from Thailand and would benefit from a similar price break with a Focus sourced from the same region. The company is keen to increase its small car slice of the market, starting with cutting order turnaround times and increased supply to get more cars to consumers. "We're at the stage where our dealers can't aggressively market the Fiesta product because they haven't got them - our dealers will be able to carry more stock. They are desperate for more stock because they see people come through the showroom door every day looking for a car quickly, the dealers are excited because they know what it means for supply for them," he says. "We're changing sources but they haven't just taken the European car and started building it here, they've improved it and we're confident that we're getting a better car with more features and we'll do even better," he says. The Ford small car hero, Fiesta Econetic, remains a European sourced vehicle but is expected to receive some of the spec upgrades of the Thai-built Fiesta later this year. Katic says the frugal diesel has made big changes to the Ford brand image and the brand was looking at ways to expand the Econetic. "We did some research just after we launched that car, people were saying that they had no idea Ford had this sort of capability when it comes to green, that's why we see the Econetic tag as a powerful thing going forward," he says. "We're looking at strong, fuel-saving technologies across the range, however we get there, Econetic or something else ... the Fiesta has told us there is a strong market there for us."

Ford Australia decided to pass on the LPG-powered baby car to concentrate on Econetic, the fuel-efficiency sub-brand it will eventually migrate throughout its showroom models. The Econetic Fiesta is already tested and confirmed as Australia's most fuel-efficient new car - even topping the Toyota Prius hybrid - and demand is so strong that Ford cannot get sufficient stocks, even though the car is relatively costly at $24,990. The president of Ford Australia, Marin Burela, was part of the original Fiesta development team in Europe before returning home for the top job and knows all the detail on the LPG program. "I'm very familiar with the Fiesta LPG. At the time of developing Fiesta, I was adamant that we had to deliver Econetic and LPG derivatives," Burela says.  "The LPG was specifically targeted for Italy, the Netherlands - not as strong - as well as potential in the UK and a few in Germany. All of this was driven by the infrastructure that was available in Europe to support LPG and the fact that the Italian market has accepted LPG as a very viable and competitive alternative fuel."  But he says it was easy to go down the Econetic road in Australia, leaving LPG for the Falcon. "In Australia we elected to go for the Econetic derivative as our fuel leader. The strategy has worked extremely well with demand for the vehicle exceeding supply."  Despite the potential for a gas-powered baby car, Burela says the Fiesta is not currently on the shopping list. "At this stage we have no plans to introduce a LPG derivative," he says.  "However, as always  . . .  you never say never in our business. As we continue to evolve our plans we will continue to watch this space.  "The market will tell us if there is any potential for a LPG derivative in the future."