At the moment I was given a sneak peek at Ford's sporty Verve concept, I knew it was love at first sight.
Here
before my eyes was a sleek sedan. It was sexy, shapely, sporty. It
looked fast and it had four doors. It answered my motherly personal
need for the function of a four-door with the price-point, performance,
and efficiency of a coupe.
It was presented to us at the Detroit
Auto Show as simply a concept showcasing "the style, technology,
premium materials, and substantial content that will set it apart when
Ford's new small cars go on sale in North America in 2010." That
statement, combined with the announcement at the Frankfurt Motor show
that a three-door version of this vehicle would be available for sale
in Europe, gave me hope that I might someday actually be able to own
this vehicle.
Ford explained that the Verve was developed through their new global
product development system, a program that builds on the manufacturer's
European small-car expertise to stake a bigger claim in this critically
important segment. For American's who don't know any better, Ford's
small-car lineup in Europe includes such popular top-sellers as the
Ford Focus, Fiesta, and Ka. The Verve was meant to be Ford's first
"world car" entry, the first vehicle manufactured to meet universal
safety, quality, efficiency, and design standards, regardless of where
it would be sold around the world.
Discussions
with fellow journalists made it clear that some changes would be
required, most notably the replacement of its beautiful all-glass roof
with a lighter, more conventional construction. Its pillarless side
doors would probably also require a more traditional design. I could
live with that. Some journalists were optimistically predicting that
this car would replace the Focus line in the United States, finally
answering the question that so many had asked: "When will Ford bring
the European Focus to the U.S.?"
I was hoping it would be available with a powerful but efficient
version of Ford's new EcoBoost engine technology, so I could have its
sporty performance as well as an environmentally friendly powertrain.
I WANTED TO OWN THIS CAR.
Ford
says momentum in small-car sales is outpacing overall industry growth
worldwide. Globally, Ford predicts small car sales will grow from 23
million units in 2002 to an estimated 38 million in 2012. In the U.S.,
sales of small cars likely will grow by 800,000 -- or 25 percent - to a
record 3.4 million units by 2012. With those cards in their deck, it
was clear that Ford was hoping there would be a whooooooooole lot of
people with the same sentiment.
Up to this point, I had nothing but good things to say. I was infatuated with this car.
Well, recently, Ford made an important announcement about the future of the
Verve, confirming that the production version of Ford's new-generation
global small car will be shown at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.
Fiesta will be its name and it will go on sale in Europe by fall 2008
in three- and five-door hatchback body styles. By 2010, the new Fiesta
will be on sale in markets across Europe, Asia, South Africa, Australia
and North America in a variety of regionally tailored models derived
from a common platform.
"Fiesta?"
FIESTA? I don't know who decided this car should be a poignant return
to Ford's 1980s Fiesta roots, but my first thought was that naming it
FIESTA WILL BE SUICIDE FOR THIS VEHICLE.
I screamed at my computer: "It should be named FOCUS. It should BE THE FOCUS!"
I
drove a Festiva in the early 1990s. (Festiva was the American iteration
of the Fiesta.) It was a cute little boxy thing that wasn't very
powerful, but it did get great 40 mpg. It was small and fun and nimble
and cheap and efficient. I paid $7000 for that car in 1989, put 117,000
miles on it in six years, and then gave it away just moments before it
imploded. It was my own personal roller skate on 14-inch wheels. It was
also built using Korean parts shared with Mazda and assembled in Mexico--even
back then it was a "world car."
My
immediate thought was that this would be like Honda developing a
stylish new Civic Si and calling it Fit. Or Toyota developing a new
Celica Supra and calling it Tercel. Two different associations, you
know? The Verve can be so much more than a Fiesta. It IS so much more
than a Fiesta.
A
quick email parry with Ford's director of social media revealed the
following interesting factoids: Fiesta has a lot of cachet outside the
United States. Of Ford's treo of European vehicles, Fiesta sold more
than 12 million units since its debut in 1976. (Focus has sold more
than five million vehicles in Europe since it debuted there in 1998,
and the Ka has sold more than a million in its 11-year lifetime.)
Who
am I to argue with the New York Times, who says "This time, Ford Motor
Company is keeping it simple - one car with one name for every market
in the world." They clearly don't have the same memory of the
Festiva/Fiesta that I do. Ford obviously knows more about this than I
do, but it seems a shame to try to convince the U.S. market that the
Fiesta is more than they remember, just because the name/brand was
successful in Europe.
I totally understand the conundrum. This
is going to be a world car, so it should be globally named. But in my
heart, I worry that Fiesta is going to be a hard sell to enthusiasts in
the U.S. and I fear the name could handicap the car in this market. But
when I learned the next factoid, I wondered if -- at 42-- am I just too
old for this car?
Ford is aiming this vehicle towards a group of
young people aged 13 to 28 years - dubbed "Millennials." Today, this
group stands 1.7 billion strong worldwide and will represent 28 percent
of the total U.S. population by 2010. None of them were alive when the
American Festiva/Fiesta was my mode of economic transportation.
As a group, these Millennials embrace eco-friendliness, stay in
constant touch using modern technology, and demand best-in-class
products from around the world. This group will grow from representing
19 percent of the driving public in 2004 to amassing 28 percent in 2010.
Every
day, 11,000 Millennials in the U.S. come of driving age. When it's time
to buy their first car, nearly half of this group shops the small-car
segment.
For those youngsters, I hope it won't matter whether
it's named Focus, Fiesta, Festiva, or Verve. I simply hope that -- like
me -- they will also fall in love with its a bold, modern, design;
sophisticated electronics and premium materials; surprising functional
space; and its fuel-efficient four-cylinder engine.
By Brandy Schaffels
Contributing Editor
automotive advice for women
