[PowerShift]

According to a Ford document posted here:

2011 MY order bank open date, Job #1 date & 2010 MY End Date!!!! IMPORTANT INFO!!! - The Mustang Source

Ford dealers can start ordering Fiestas on January 4. Scheduling starts March 19 and production starts April 26 (as stated earlier).

I'm trying to figure my game plan for getting a Fiesta (assuming I like what I see on reveal day). I'll definitely be in contact with a dealer before January. Ideally, I'd custom order one right down to the color, but I know that custom orders can sometimes lead to long waits. I'd rather get something that's about 95% perfect and have it come in the first or second shipment the dealer gets. I wonder what the best way to go about that would be? Maybe I could stick to the "RapidSpec" packages or just reserve one of the cars the dealer already plans to order.

 

[FiestaFan]

Gah, I wish I could go ahead and order a Fiesta right away. Sadly I'll need to get a part-time job and work off at least some of the difference between my scholarship and actual college cost first =(

So, optimistically, in two years or so...

 

[BRGT350]

I will probably be making up my mind after the unveiling in LA. I am about 90% sure I am going to go ahead with a pre-order. Still not sure of all the changes being made to the car, so I will want to spend some time sitting and touching everything. I wonder when the US online configurator will be available. I really want to know what options I can play with.

 

[FiestaFan]

Yeah I can't wait until the configurator is up.

 

[BRGT350]

Already started talking to my wife about selling the Focus and when to start finding a buyer. The dealership trade-in is probably so low, it isn't even worth asking about. As soon as the configurator is up, I will see what my Fiesta will cost and decide what to do. I don't want to wait and drive on first, then order it.

 

[mrbirdman330]

I will wait and see if I want to try and pre order when the configuator comes out. If not I'll be calling up my dealership and having a chat with a salesmen and autocrosser.

 

[PowerShift]

Just got a mailing from Ford saying that you can reserve a Ford Fiesta online starting December 2. No further details. I'm not sure what it means but it may throw a wrench into my plans.

The mailing also confidently states that the Fiesta will be out in Spring. Meteorologically that could be as late as June 21, but from a marketing standpoint it probably means before Memorial Day.

 

[mrbirdman330]

Hmm, they're really pushing production on the envelope here. Which means more than likely production will be in full scale by january in producing cars to head to dealerships.

 

[PowerShift]

The release from the Mexican factory said production would start in March, and Ford keeps sending out documents saying production starts April 26. I think what that means is that they'll start the lines in early March and hope to have cars good enough to ship out by April 26.

 

[mrbirdman330]

There will be small scale production starting in January for dealer promos etc... A few cars will be produced a day, starting in March you'll see 50% production speed and by late April, production at full speed.

 

[courtesi]

I will probably wait until 3rd quarter 2010. I know that anyone who has seen/driven the car has told Ford: "DNA" - Do Not Adjust. But I can't help but be weary that the bean counters are going to mess things up again.

The last time I was interested in buying a Ford it was the SVT Ford Focus. I'm glad I didn't because it appears that there are a lot of things going wrong with that car. The SVT Forum on Focaljet is full of horror stories! And yes, some of those are related to Ford being cheap with some of the assembly components.

Also, it seems like the first year of the SVT Focus was the most unreliable. Who is to say the Fiesta won't share the same fate?

I will say one thing though: Whenever I look at buying a new car I nearly tear myself apart trying to figure out which color I want. With the Fiesta its a no brainer: I want that exact bright neon green paint that they have in Europe!

If the Fiesta is a no deal I still make look at the next Focus hatch or Fusion-S 6 speed manual.

 

[FiestaFan]

Also, it seems like the first year of the SVT Focus was the most unreliable. Who is to say the Fiesta won't share the same fate?

Ford may cheap out on interior materials or something but with their track record of late the Fiesta should be very reliable.

 

[focusse]

Just got a mailing from Ford saying that you can reserve a Ford Fiesta online starting December 2. No further details. I'm not sure what it means but it may throw a wrench into my plans.

The mailing also confidently states that the Fiesta will be out in Spring. Meteorologically that could be as late as June 21, but from a marketing standpoint it probably means before Memorial Day.

I, too received a fold out brochure in the mail today from Ford Motor Company in regards to the all new 2011 Fiesta. It talks about the LA Auto Show debut in December and says you can reserve a Fiesta starting December 2, 2009. It provides quotes from some of the Fiesta Movement agents. I thought an interesting quote came from Hilary M (BrooklynHilary) who has put on the most miles in her Fiesta: "My Fiesta has become an extension of me. When I have to return it, I fear it'll be like an amputation." Very cool comment. Funny how there are no pics of the sedan in this brochure like there was in the first brochure that I received back in the spring. Things are really rolling along at the Ford Motor Company. Debut in LA just about a month from now. MKIII Focus time is almost here also. It's going to be one tough choice for me next year: 2011 MKIII Focus or 2011 Fiesta? Both will be excellent, driver oriented cars.

 

[golf strom]

Yes the new MKIII Focus should be very nice, but I am guessing that Ford is probably considering the US market extensively with this new version (MKII was never meant for the US market) and I fear that this "consideration" might dull the edge when it arrives no matter which market it is sold in. Could this be likely. Gosh, I hope not. But it seems that any time a car MFR enters the US market into the equation of a global product the dynamics and "goodness" tend to suffer greatly. We will get to see this scenario with the debut of the US spec Fiesta...I have faint hope that the car will be anywhere near as good as it is in the RoW. Sure cheapening out on the interior quality may not affect the driving dynamics of the car but it kills the "cohesiveness" of the product, and this will always take an BRILLANT product and make it just good. There is quite a difference, Ford probably hopes that the US buyer is too dull to notice. At least that is what they used to do.

 

[Marc]

Some tidbits I found here and there.


Samuel M. de la Garza on Twitter:
RT (you'll see some cool stuff at the LA Auto show!) @essvid I'm wondering, @FordFiesta...any chance of seeing Mountune package as option?
RT (We'll have some news at the LAAutoShow on 12/3) @tomraines I hope the Fiesta gets the same great fuel mileage here as it does in the UK!


MotorTrend:
With sales through September totaling 470,000, that means that more than 30,000 Fiestas have been sold worldwide in October alone. Of all those 430,000-plus cars sold in Europe, Ford reports that a full 40% have been the "Titanium" and "Ghia" higher trim levels.
[...]Spain, for example, prefers "Hot Magenta" while China prefers "Passion Orange." "Panther Black," though, seems to be the most popular color worldwide.
[...]
While the European-spec car we recently drove wasn't equipped with Ford's impressive, Microsoft-based Sync system, we're told that the U.S.-spec Fiesta will offer the $395 option, which for 2010 comes updated with 911 Assist, Vehicle Health Report and Traffic, Directions and Information (TDI). TDI comes standard and is free for three years, after which a subscription for the service costs about $100 per year.


Wired:
The winning team will install the programs in a Ford Fiesta for American Journey 2.0, a road trip to show off the car at next year’s Maker Faire, the world’s largest DIY convention.


FoxNews:
Style and Substance
Electrics and EcoBoost


European bumpers suck: http://twitpic.com/nlz1e/full

 

[GhiaFan]

European bumpers suck: Twitpic - Share photos on Twitter

I disagree, EU bumpers are designed much better in the sense that the bumpers are designed to absorb most of the shock or energy and lessens the force/energy to the passenger/s,
hence the crumple zone technology.

How about the N.A. bumper IMG_0441 on Flickr - Photo Sharing! that ran into Dartanion's Fiesta. You can see that there is little crumple, hence the energy is directed through the whole vehicle and passenger/s.

 

[Marc]

Heh, I was just kidding.
(Hey, I live in Europe! Have you seen how the bumper on Fiat barchettas like mine shatter? )

 

[mrbirdman330]

Had that Fiesta had a larger impact bumper that SUV would have slid over the bumper and right into the back hatch. I know this because when I rear ended my friend's Saturn with the Explorer I was borrwing thats exactly what happened. Right over the bumper and into the trunk.