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Automotive News & Views What is "wrong" with these new subcompacts?
8701 messages, Last post on Dec 09, 2009 at 7:16 AM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: eldaino2 (Sep 21, 2009 9:50 am) I like that the Fiesta will give us more choices in the subcompact segment: a performance option to the "performance lite" Honda Fit (and the higher-priced "performance premium" Mini). With a $15K starting price tag now for the Fit (and probably for the Fiesta too when it arrives), there is still plenty of space for the cheapos in the field (Versa, Yaris, Aveo, Accent, Rio) to make money, providing a low-priced commuter car that is frugal with gas. I heard an ad this weekend on the radio for $8995 Rios from a local dealer.....
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Replying to: nippononly (Sep 21, 2009 10:18 am) |
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Replying to: steve_ (Sep 21, 2009 10:00 am) 
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Replying to: tifighter (Sep 21, 2009 2:52 pm) Define dumbed down. So in Europe, their radio stations go in half-hundreds. For example the radio stations there are 103.15 as opposed to the North American 103.1. Would you like Ford to change that or would you rather it take twice as long to tune so you know you are getting EXACTLY what they have in Europe? After paying a gazilion dollars to engineers in Europe to design and build a "global vehicle," do you really think our non-bailout taking, mortgaged to the hilt friends in North America have the time/money/people to redesign the car? I would say the no diesel is about as bad as its going to get with the down dumbing.
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Replying to: lilengineerboy (Sep 21, 2009 5:59 pm)  They always add weight when they federalize it (longer bumpers, side protection, etc), which slows it down and makes the handling even worse. They always remove all the nifty features the European model has and give you crank windows and no A/C in the base model, because "Americans won't pay more than $12,995 for a car this small". They probably will this time too. Dare we hope they know the meaning of their statement when they say they are going to bring the European model here as unmolested as possible? Maybe. I say 50/50 odds, since they seem to have gotten religion of late. But if not, the Mazda2 will be everything the Fiesta failed to be, so it's probably OK.
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Replying to: nippononly (Sep 21, 2009 9:05 pm) Besides deleting the summer tires, for all-seasons, and probably down an inch in diameter at that, we'll also probably see an inch taller suspension with giant wheel gaps highlighted by the smaller rims. Then the clumsy looking bumpers front and rear. Plus delete the side markers (if it has 'em, I don't recall). Voila! Perfect for Hertz. I hope I'm wrong.
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Replying to: ateixeira (Sep 22, 2009 7:06 am) Beginning to sound like a little bundle of fun. I do, however, hope that they have learnt the lessons of the past, (the only sort, duh), and you folks get the versions we get in EU-land. We were on vacation last week, around the beautiful English Lakes and my wife, who is not a car buff, made comment on two cars : o New Fiesta : "That would be quite nice but for the over-heavy sculpting and the hideous green colour". o Porsche Panamera : "I wonder what the designer's guide dog thinks of this heap?" I think that's known as unbiased public reaction. At least she noticed them. 
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Replying to: alltorque (Sep 22, 2009 7:24 am) |
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Replying to: nippononly (Sep 21, 2009 9:05 pm) Bumpers have to comply with the law, so Ford can't be blamed for that one. Like Juice said, the suspension will likely be raised to meet US minimum bumper height requirements too. I've seen one of the 'Fiesta movement' cars driving around town, and it looks sharp. Let's hope it translates over here in a few months.
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Replying to: tifighter (Sep 22, 2009 9:52 am) |
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