Ford Ka 1999 News

However, Ford Australia boss, Marin Burela, has left the door ajar if a self-shifter becomes available. "The fact is that 95 per cent of that market is automatic," he says. "We don't have an auto in the Ka so that's the first problem. I'm not sure it would work (as a manual). "I think what we'll do is see how we go with Fiesta first. "Let's get some traction there and then we'll look at whether or not we need to complement Fiesta with anything underpinning it below the D segment." Since taking the top job Burela has turned his focus on the light, small, medium and large car segments and believes there are opportunities to plug gaps. A car like the new Fiesta-based B-Max, just announced in Europe, is one car that could fit into the local scene. Ford of Europe has confirmed that production starts on the sporty B-Max wagon in Romania from 2010. It will replace the slow-selling Fusion. "I actually think Australia has an opportunity that hasn't been exploited," he says. "If you look at the demographic changes and ageing population, one of the things that is missing is a stylish looking vehicle that gives you a high H-point with easy ingress/egress for older people. "That actually doesn't exist." Burela says older buyers are restricted to a big van or off-roader "but the other area in between could present an opportunity". The Ka, which shares its underpinnings with the Fiat 500, was part of Burela's portfolio of European cars he was responsible for launching. It's this car Burela thinks might have legs in Australia. "It's an opportunity that has not been exploited here," he says. "One of the things missing is a stylish bigger car with a high H-point (hip-point)." Burela is also taking a close look at the local small car scene. Like one of his predecessors, Tom Gorman, Burela has identified the Sydney metropolitan area as Ford's toughest market for Fiesta, Focus and Mondeo. "In fact 50 per cent all car sales within the Sydney metro area are pretty much small to medium cars," he said. "That's an area that we're not achieving the level of penetration that we'd like to and we're working with our dealers on how to change that dynamic. "Some of it's driven by brand, some of it product offering and some of it's driven by way we actually go to market." He says the Mondeo is "one of the best kept secrets". "We have to get to work on how to make the Mondeo more relevant versus the Camry and the other competitors," he says.  

A FIRST-UP failure has virtually ended any chance of a second baby Ka for Australia. The tiny new city Ford has just been unveiled in Europe, ahead of sales from a Polish factory in the second half of the year, but even its impressive style has had no effect at Broadmeadows. Ford Australia still remembers the failure of the original Ka, which was too small and cost too much in the 1990s, and says — even though everyone from Hyundai to Toyota is looking to go smaller — there is unlikely to be a place for the new car here. “Fiesta remains our light-car entry and we have no plans to change that in the foreseeable future,” Ford spokeswoman Sinead McAlary says. “In fact, we're looking forward to the launch of the new Fiesta in the months ahead.” The new Ka comes 12 years after the original, which struggled with everything including the pronunciation of its “car” name. It was sold in Australia for four years, from 1999 to 2003, but was far too costly at $16,600 at a time when Korean imports were $13,990 driveaway. It was eventually succeeded by Ford's own Korean contender, the Festiva. But Ford Australia then switched its small-car strategy to Europe and took on the Fiesta and Focus, which are both brilliant cars despite sales that could be a lot better. Ford has just revealed a glitzy Fiesta, as well as a high-performance Focus RS, which is being considered for Australia. The new Ka is mechanically twinned to the equally-as-cute Fiat 500 and Fiat Panda and has a range of engines including a 1.2-litre petrol four-cylinder and a 1.3-litre Multijet turbodiesel. A hot KA ST is tipped for the future with a 112kW turbo motor and lowered, sports-tuned chassis. Full details of the Ka will be revealed at the Paris Motor Show in October.  

The smallest Ford of all, the Ka city car, is being primed for an Australian comeback. The Ka failed when it first came here in the 1990s, but Ford Australia design director Scott Strong believes the time could be right for another run. “The way the world is turning these days it does highlight that we need to start thinking about more responsible approaches to commuting,” says Strong, who helped design the Ka. The Ka arrived in Australia in 1999 and, despite strong sales in Britain and Europe, it never hit the spot. Only 5700 were sold in four years before it was dropped. But the Ka, classified as an 'A-class' car, below the B-sized Fiesta and C-sized Focus, would be welcomed back by Strong, who says a new model is coming soon after a 12-year run for the original design. “I'd like to see it here,” Strong says. “When it came to Australia I was a bit disappointed it didn't really find as much success as it had in Europe. Strong says the environmental focus is brightening the spotlight on smaller vehicles. “Whether we talk about Ka or any other A segment of light vehicles, right now it's more relevant than ever to be talking about smaller cars,” he says. “I know, for example, that in the US, where for years and years they would contend you couldn't sell anything smaller than a (mid-sized) C segment car. That's no longer the case.” Strong says that if Australians switched from big sixes and even small cars such as the Focus to Ka-sized light small vehicles, the traffic jams would be half as long, burning much less fuel and belching out much less by way of emissions “That's a big step forward, isn't it? I think it's part of what the world needs to do,” he says. “But human nature is that we want to have our cake and eat it, too, and we're pretty clever about making that happen." “What you'll see happening now is some amazing power trains that are smaller displacement and milk every bit of energy out of a drop of fuel, but deliver the performance that you normally associate with a much larger car.” He says small cars provide a lot more than just fuel efficiency “Having led the design of the Ka, and being a small car lover in general, I just love the B-segment size,” he says. “They're fun to drive, easy to park, more sprightly, they've got so much going for them.”