RSS
Home
Ford Fiesta, Chevrolet Cruze chase world small economy car prize
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
The expression “world car” has been bandied about for decades and what it’s supposed to mean is one car that can be made and sold everywhere around the world. That worked for the Ford Model T which was shipped CKD (completely knocked down) for assembly in just about every corner of the globe. But despite promises, it really hasn’t since.
But here we go again. At its assembly plant in Cologne, Germany, Ford has just begun turning out a new generation of the Fiesta, a model dating back to 1976 and sold for a time in the U.S. but a mainstay of the Ford line in Europe since its beginning, with a total of 12 million sold since then. That Ford is playing the World Car music again isn’t really news, then, but that Ford is going to build it in North America—OK, well, Mexico—and sell it in the U.S. is news.But whether the car will be a World Car is a matter of definition. The Fiesta will, according to Ford, “be tailored to meet customer preferences for interior features, exterior colors, body styles and other options in each region of the world.” In other words, it’s the inverse of apocryphal any-color-as-long-as-it’s-black Henry Ford quote. In this case, it’s that they’re all the same except, you know, different.
Fiestas for America will be made at Ford’s Cuautitlan assembly plant that’s now screwing together the F-150. Ford says retooling the plant to make the small car will begin in December. We get two models, “the sporty European hatchback and sporty two-door sedan.” Competitors will be the Honda Fit, Nissan Versa and Toyota Yaris, among others.
Meanwhile, General Motors is firing up a new World Car too. To debut at the Paris Auto Show in October, the Cruze sedan will be available in Europe in March, 2009, with the Asia Pacific market following. In the U.S., the Cruze will replace the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 and will be built at GM’s Lordstown, Ohio, plant. GM is pouring $500 million into the plant to make the changeover.
A look at the Cruze shows current Chevrolet design themes. The new small Chevys will be offered with a 1.6-liter and 1.8-liter fours with sixteen valves and variable valve timing on intake and exhaust. The engines are rated at 112 and 140 horsepower respectively. A new 2.0-liter diesel rated at 150 horsepower will also be available for better economy and performance. Two transmissions, a five-speed manual and a first-for-Chevrolet in the small car market six-speed automatic, will be offered.GM’s not saying yet when the Cruze will go on sale here, but it will be sometime after the March, 2009, intro in Europe. Because GM is calling it a 2011 model for the U.S., however, that means it can't be offered for sale before January, 2010.
With the Cobalt selling like umbrellas during monsoon season, it’s not like GM, which has been known to extract every last penny from an existing model while forgoing dollars on new product, to be changing over at all. GM isn’t specifying what will be under the hoods of U.S. market Cruzes, only that the various global markets will have “regional-specific engine choices.”
Again, black…but black that will look like yellow in some places and red somewhere else, and yet blue somewhere else. Except of course where pomegranate and puce are preferred. But still, black.
Whether the Fiesta and Cruze are World Cars really doesn’t matter that much, not in the era of global platforms. What’s more significant, perhaps, is the way Ford and General Motors are reacting to the soaring oil prices. Which, he notes, have been going down.
Hey, Mexico, about turning off that pickup truck spigot…
For new car reviews, visit carbuzzard.com.
More About:
New & Future Cars
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
When we saw the Volvo S60 Concept at the Detroit Auto Show last January, we proclaimed it production-ready. And with the release of the first official …
There are three questions people ask about the Nissan Altima Hybrid and for them we have four answers. The questions are, of course, what is it like …
- 2010 Reviews
- 2010 Audi R8 5.2 FSI V10
- 2010 Chevrolet Camaro 2LT RS
- 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor
- 2010 Ford Taurus Limited AWD
- 2010 Ford Taurus SHO
- 2010 Hyundai Elantra SE
- 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track
- 2010 Kia Forte
- 2010 Lexus HS 250h
- 2010 Lexus IS 350 C
- 2010 Lexus RX350
- 2010 Lexus RX 450h
- 2010 Mazda CX-7 i Sport
- 2010 Mazda Mazdaspeed3
- 2010 Mazda MX-5 Miata
- 2010 Mercedes-Benz GLK350 4Matic
- 2010 Nissan 370Z Roadster
- 2010 Porsche Panamera 4S
- 2010 Toyota Prius
- 2010 Toyota Prius II
- 2009 Reviews
- 2009 Acura TSX
- 2009 Audi A4 Avant 2.0T quattro
- 2009 Audi A6 3.0 TSFI
- 2009 BMW 135i Coupe
- 2009 BMW Z4 sDrive 3.5i
- 2009 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid 4WD
- 2009 Chevrolet Aveo5 1LT
- 2009 Chevrolet Kodiak pickup truck
- 2009 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible
- 2009 Chevrolet Silverado Hybrid
- 2009 Chevrolet Traverse FWD LTZ
- 2009 Dodge Journey SXT AWD
- 2009 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Quad 4x4
- 2009 Ford Fiesta
- 2009 Ford Flex Limited AWD
- 2009 Ford Fusion SEL I-4
- 2009 GMC Acadia SLT-2
- 2009 Honda Civic Hybrid
- 2009 Honda Fit Sport w/Nav
- 2009 Honda Ridgeline RTL
- 2009 Hyundai Genesis 3.8
- 2009 Infiniti G37 Convertible
- 2009 Infiniti M45x
- 2009 Jaguar XF Premium Luxury
- 2009 Jaguar XKR Porfolio Coupe
- 2009 Jeep Patriot Limited 4x4
- 2009 Kia Borrego
- 2009 Kia Borrego EX 4x4
- 2009 Land Rover LR3
- 2009 Lincoln MKZ
- 2009 Lotus Exige S 260 Sport
- 2009 Lotus Exige S
- 2009 Maserati Quattroporte S
- 2009 Mazda Mazda6 s Grand Touring
- 2009 Mercedes-Benz CL550 4Matic
- 2009 Mercedes-Benz SLK300
- 2009 Mitsubishi Outlander XLS 4WD
- 2009 Nissan 350Z Roadster Touring
- 2009 Nissan 370Z Sport
- 2009 Nissan Murano SL AWD
- 2009 Nissan NISMO 370Z
- 2009 Pontiac G6 4-cyl
- 2009 Pontiac G8
- 2009 Pontiac G8 GXP
- 2009 Pontiac Vibe AWD
- 2009 Porsche Boxster RS60
- 2009 Saturn Aura XR 4-cyl
- 2009 Saturn Vue 2 Mode Hybrid
- 2009 Scion xB
- 2009 Subaru Legacy 3.0R Limited
- 2009 Suzuki SX4 Crossover AWD Technology
- 2009 Toyota 4Runner Sport Urban Runner
- 2009 Toyota Camry Hybrid
- 2009 Toyota Highlander/Hybrid
- 2009 Toyota Matrix XRS
- 2009 Toyota RAV4 Limited 4-cyl. 4WD
- 2009 Toyota Sequoia Platinum
- 2009 Toyota Sienna XLE AWD
- 2009 Toyota Venza 4-cyl. AWD
- 2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI
- 2009 Volkswagen Tiguan
- 2009 Volkswagen CC VR6 4Matic
- 2009 Volkswagen Touareg 3.0 TDI
- 2008 Reviews
- 2008 Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell
- 2008 Bentley Continental GT
- 2008 BMW X6 xDrive 5.0i
- 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe Hybrid
- 2008 Kia Amanti
- 2008 Lexus IS-F
- 2008 Mazda MX-5 Miata Grand Touring PRHT
- 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MR
- 2008 Nissan Cube JDM
- 2008 Saturn Vue Green Line
- 2008 Scion xD
- 2008 Volkswagen Passat Turbo
- 2008 Volkswagen Toureg V8
- 2008 Volvo XC70 3.2
- 2008 Volvo XC70 D5
- 1971 Honda N600
