Ford unveils the B-Car
As reported in this column recently, a new line is being
built in the AAT factory on the Eastern Seaboard for the
B-Car of Ford and Mazda. It was known that the Mazda model
was going to be the Mazda2, which had already been released
in Japan; however, the Ford variant was still being kept
under wraps, but was rumoured to be the secret new Fiesta.
Ford
Fiesta
Ford has now admitted that their new B-Car will be seen at
the Geneva Motor Show and has released images of the new
vehicle. As expected it follows the concept Verve B-Car
which was shown in Frankfurt last year and Detroit.
Production of the new model gets underway in Ford’s Cologne
plant in Germany around September, and there will be a
second assembly plant in Spain. Ford will also make an
announcement about an Asian Fiesta production facility at
the Beijing show in April, and put your money down on this
being Thailand, though another factory in China could also
be on the cards.
The new Fiesta is based on the same platform as the new
Mazda2 but everything from the door sills up is Ford. It
will be offered in Europe with a choice of five petrol and
diesel engines.
In Europe it will be offered as a three door, but the car
that will be built here will be in four and five door
formats without the three door variant.
The Fiesta name has been used before in world markets, but
was always a boxy ugly duckling. This is not the case this
time around. Unfortunately, our local Fiesta will not be
available until early 2010, while the Mazda2 is scheduled
for the end of 2009. Judging by overseas reports, both these
cars are worth waiting for.
Ford says the new model brings a host of big-car features to
Fiesta for the first time, including a driver’s knee airbag
and an integrated “HMI” center stack inspired by mobile
phones (I can hardly wait), housed in the latest iteration
of the Blue Oval’s “Kinetic” design language. Unfortunately,
Ford comes up with these buzz-words, which mean very little
to anyone else! Remember the last major styling cue which
was called the “edge”? These seem to come from the Ford
design studio which is headed by a mysterious chap by the
name of J Mays. Nobody gets to know what “J” stands for, as
it appears to be a tightly held Ford secret!
The new Fiesta will be a ‘world car’, designed and developed
in Europe for sale in Europe, Asia, South Africa, Australia
and the Americas between 2008 and 2010. This new Fiesta is
the first major product of Ford’s new global product
development process.
“This new car embodies the very essence of Fiesta - fun,
vitality and emotion,” said the president and CEO of Ford of
Europe, John Fleming. “We know there isn’t a better name for
the new model, and we have over 30 years of investment in
the Fiesta brand to consider.” This means that your old
Fiesta baseball cap can be brought out from the back of the
cupboard!
“We’re confident that the combination of dynamic new
‘kinetic design’ exterior, great interior design and
craftsmanship, and a host of new technologies and features
will provide compelling reasons for a new generation of
customers around the world to take a fresh look at the Ford
Fiesta,” said Mr Fleming.
Unlike four door sedan versions of the new Fiesta destined
for Asian and US markets, European production of the Fiesta
hatch commences this year at Cologne in Germany. European
production will later be ramped-up with additional capacity
to come from Ford’s Valencia plant in Spain in 2009.
The new Fiesta retains its predecessor’s MacPherson strut
front and twist-beam rear suspension but gets Electric Power
Assisted Steering (E-PAS) for the first time - a move that
is claimed to contribute to a lower overall weight.
The five engines available in Europe include a more powerful
86 kW version of the Duratec 1.6 liter ti-VCT petrol four
and a 50 kW Duratorq TDCi diesel that produces less than
100g/km of CO2 emissions. A 1.4 diesel and 1.2 and 1.4 liter
petrol fours will also be on offer, also mated to five speed
manual or four speed auto transmissions.
New Fiesta technology includes keyless starting via the
‘Ford Power’ push-button, which is another of the ‘trendy’
ideas that I thought we had managed to grow out of when they
invented key starting. Now you have to put the key into one
slot and then push the button. Ah, retro engineering, I love
it! The Fiesta also will have Ford’s Easyfuel capless
refueling, USB connectivity and ambient interior lighting
(whatever that is).
Ford Australia spokesman said that the Fiesta would be
sourced from Thailand when the next generation model comes
on stream in less than two years.
Ford Australia will be able to take full advantage of the
free-trade agreement between Australia and Thailand, and
should also benefit from the two countries being under the
same Ford regional umbrella.
The Ford Australia president also spoke on the Ford Motor Co
and Mazda Motor Corp joint venture that will see more than
$A560 million invested in the new production facility in
Thailand. This was reported in this column a couple of weeks
ago.
According to a Mazda statement, the facility “will
incorporate Mazda’s production methods into each stage of
the production process,” which should ensure Japanese
standards of quality.
It also mentions the assembly of passenger cars rising up to
the midsize CD-segment, opening speculation that small car
based vehicles such as the new Ford Kuga SUV or its
derivatives may also be built at AAT in Thailand.
Production capacity is projected to be 100,000 units per
year, adding to the 175,000 light trucks - chiefly the Ford
Ranger and Mazda BT-50 - the AAT plant currently assembles.
Mazda Australia is also now expected to switch its
production source of the newly released DE-series Mazda2
from Japan to the new Thai site from 2009, a move made
possible because the light car was co-developed (in Japan
and Germany) with the next-generation Fiesta.
Ford Australia’s president said he had absolutely no
concerns at all with quality, as there have been no issues
with any Thai-sourced vehicles to date.
In addition to the range of Japanese one-tonne pick-ups
built in Thailand for Australian consumption, Honda
Australia uses it as the production source for most of its
volume-selling passenger cars, including the Jazz - a key
Fiesta and Mazda2 rival.
New Zealand, South Africa and other ASEAN (Association of
South East Asian Nations) destinations are also set to
receive the next Fiesta from Thailand, while plants in
Germany and Spain are expected to continue supplying Europe.
All in all, a great pat on the back for AAT in the Eastern
Seaboard, and it looks as though AAT will be busy for a few
years yet!
RR brings out the
Phantom Coupe
The epitome of everything British (but German
owned) automaker Rolls-Royce revealed first details and
images of its new Phantom Coupe for the Geneva motor show
next week.
Production of the fourth body style derivative to emerge
from the BMW-developed Phantom model range, which will be
one of the world’s most expensive coupes ever and is claimed
to be the most driver-orientated Phantom to date, begins at
R-R’s Goodwood manufacturing facility in England from
mid-2008.
R-R
Phantom Coupe
As such, the new two-door Roller will feature a number of
“subtle but significant” modifications to differentiate its
character from the short-wheelbase Phantom sedan and
convertible Drophead Coupe models with which it will share
many components. Together, they are claimed to make the
two-door fixed-roof Phantom “noticeably more dynamic, whilst
still offering incredible levels of comfort”.
Among the changes will be a 25 percent increase in fuel
capacity over the Drophead Coupe to improve its driving
range, notwithstanding the fact Rolls-Royce claims its
carryover 338 kW/720 Nm 6.75 liter V12 offers class-leading
fuel consumption. As if anyone who could afford this thing
would really care; however, they would want to get to the
destination without having to refuel constantly.
The Phantom Coupe’s rear-hinged “coach” doors (please do not
call them “suicide” doors) are designed to improve ease of
access to the rear lounge seats, but R-R claim it also
improves the torsional rigidity by allowing for an
uninterrupted A-pillar.
Since you will be getting Jeeves to drive you to the country
for sandwiches and champers, there is also what R-R
describes as a spacious picnic boot, which offers a
relatively tight 395 liters of luggage space and is accessed
via a split tailgate - the lower section of which “provides
a comfortable seating platform for two adults when lowered”.
Just erect the picnic table and bring it up to the tailgate,
and pop the champagne cork.
The chassis is the same hand-made aluminium chassis used in
other Phantom models, including the now five year old sedan,
the Extended Wheelbase launched in 2004 and the Drophead
Coupe released in 2006.
“Rolls-Royce has always been about pace, performance and
style,” said Rolls-Royce Motor Cars chief designer, Ian
Cameron, attempting to cash in on Jaguar’s “Grace, Space and
Pace”. “For the Coupe design we gave the quintessential
Rolls-Royce design a dynamic twist. This adds a sense of
drama to the outstanding engineering and drivability that
are fundamentals of Rolls-Royce cars.” One wonders if the
chaps who dream up this verbal drivel actually get paid each
month! “A sense of drama” - are they kidding me?
However, Rolls-Royce experienced a 25 percent sales increase
in 2007 (31 percent in the Asia-Pacific region), when it
sold 1010 Phantoms to easily outsell its most direct rival
Mercedes-Benz’s Maybach, which attracted just 401 customers
last year. The first Phantom Coupe deliveries for
Asia-Pacific customers are slated to begin in the fourth
quarter of this year. Price here? Try offering about 30
million baht, but be prepared to haggle a lot.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I wrote that the first Citroen 2CVs came in
one color only. I asked what was it? And it wasn’t black! It
was grey!
So to this week. What do the initials AC stand for, in the
auto world. (And not Alternating Current.)
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Mercedes to crash test
C-Class
The news has just come through that Ralf
Schumacher has accepted a position with Mercedes-Benz as
chief crash-safety tester for the marque. After many years
in F1, and honing his skills in crash instigation with
Toyota, Ralf resigned from F1 last year to take up the new
position in the DTM series, driving a C-Class Mercedes-Benz
racer.
Mercedes boss Norbert Haug has said that initially Ralf will
have to get used to starting in the last third of the grid
in the DTM formula, apparently conveniently forgetting that
Ralf has generally been starting on the back row of the grid
with Toyota for the past couple of years. However, with
Toyota having finished their crash testing program, they did
not beg Ralf to stay when he made noises about leaving them
at the end of last year.
