Thank You Ford for destroying the Fiesta ST. RIP 2014-17

[Zormecteon]

NO super cars made in the US? .. How about from Ford itself, the GT? Both the earlier and presently about to be sold ones? Exotic, limited production, extreme performance. How about the Corvette? I realize that they make them by the thousands, heck 10s of thousands, but the only things NOT exotic are the price and the pushrod engine, but the performance of a $90,000 Corvette stands up against the $200,000 cars from ... whomever. I realize there are makers in Europe like Spyker, Pagani, that make 10s of cars a year, but their price/performance ratio is nowhere near what our domestic makers CHURN out. I know, I know, when all out performance is the measure, price doesn't matter but....

 

[awwwww_shift]

NO super cars made in the US? .. How about from Ford itself, the GT? Both the earlier and presently about to be sold ones?

technically the new gt is made and screwed together by multimatic north of the states in canada....

 

[joesiris]

NO super cars made in the US? .. How about from Ford itself, the GT? Both the earlier and presently about to be sold ones? Exotic, limited production, extreme performance. How about the Corvette? I realize that they make them by the thousands, heck 10s of thousands, but the only things NOT exotic are the price and the pushrod engine, but the performance of a $90,000 Corvette stands up against the $200,000 cars from ... whomever. I realize there are makers in Europe like Spyker, Pagani, that make 10s of cars a year, but their price/performance ratio is nowhere near what our domestic makers CHURN out. I know, I know, when all out performance is the measure, price doesn't matter but....

no supercars???....check out my post earlier in this thread...theres more than just corvette and gt

 

[VICIOUSCLIPSE]

I don't know maybe because a FIST costs roughly $20k and upgrading a turbo to a x37 is like only $1,300. That leaves you roughly $8k to figure out how to add AWD and lighten the frame and upgrade to a stage 3. Easily done. But I'm sure my math is not dead on so...

Something else no one has said is Manufacturers arent going to compete with themselves. The car you just described Ford already has, its called the focus rs. Why would they make a second car that is almost a mirror copy just a little smaller.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Something else no one has said is Manufacturers arent going to compete with themselves. The car you just described Ford already has, its called the focus rs. Why would they make a second car that is almost a mirror copy just a little smaller.

True, although my guess is that there would be a waiting list for BOTH of them (IF made/offered side by side with each other), and the subsequent, $5K to $15K, dealer GOUGING "market adjustments".

 

[joesiris]

Something else no one has said is Manufacturers arent going to compete with themselves. The car you just described Ford already has, its called the focus rs. Why would they make a second car that is almost a mirror copy just a little smaller.

they probably wouldn't, but they kinda already did that with the focus st and fiesta st right?

 

[cctman]

Something else no one has said is Manufacturers arent going to compete with themselves. The car you just described Ford already has, its called the focus rs. Why would they make a second car that is almost a mirror copy just a little smaller.

Because the Focus RS weighs a porking 3459 lbs and a Miata weighs only 2,332lbs and a Lotus Elise weighs 2,010 lbs. There is no way AWD will cost you an additional 1,200 lbs in weight. Strip those addons down to bare necessities and you will have a Lotus Elise stateside without the import fees and limited production at an affordable sub $30k easily. It's not rocket science. You can have all that damn AC, radio, CD players, wiring, back seats, trade for aluminum or composite plastic and give me an AWD 300 hp 2,500 lb pocket rocket car that will decimate anything on the road. The Lotus Elise shouldn't even cost that much to be honest but at least they had the right idea.

 

[M-Sport fan]

Because the Focus RS weighs a porking 3459 lbs and a Miata weighs only 2,332lbs and a Lotus Elise weighs 2,010 lbs. There is no way AWD will cost you an additional 1,200 lbs in weight. Strip those addons down to bare necessities and you will have a Lotus Elise stateside without the import fees and limited production at an affordable sub $30k easily. It's not rocket science. You can have all that damn AC, radio, CD players, wiring, back seats, trade for aluminum or composite plastic and give me an AWD 300 hp 2,500 lb pocket rocket car that will decimate anything on the road. The Lotus Elise shouldn't even cost that much to be honest but at least they had the right idea.

I tend to agree with you (and WANT the same exact thing, and could not give an EFF about infotainment systems, and other luxury creature comforts), but to large manufacturers this IS "rocket science", and it's rocket science which their bean counters consider IMPOSSIBLE, and POISON, sadly enough.

The RS, to me at least, as much as I love it's concept and most of it's performance, IS way too big and heavy, and should be a lighter, shorter wheelbase/overall length, 3 door at a minimum.

 

[Intuit]

Miatas are TINY... wait... tiny by comparison. I would not buy it. It is anything but practical. I like the four doors. The Fiesta is just the right size. Not too small, not too big.

 

[enamelizer]

So much angst over a car that won't be released in the states.

 

[M-Sport fan]

So much angst over a car that won't be released in the states.

Probably correct.

 

[TrickSTer]

Nobody should be buying a new car with the mind set of what the resale value will be.

I disagree; there are times you have to consider it:

Case in point: I was actually going to buy my wife a Fiesta Titanium. I reconsidered when it became obvious that it's resale value was shiite due to the lousy reputation it has thanx to the double-clutch auto tranny (I can't believe, after all this time, Ford still can't get that right). Cancel that plan; bought me my FiST instead! (She can't drive a stick anymore.)

 

[TrickSTer]

Something else no one has said is Manufacturers arent going to compete with themselves. The car you just described Ford already has, its called the focus rs. Why would they make a second car that is almost a mirror copy just a little smaller.

Ford has a hot little hatchback called the Focus ST. Why would they make a second car that is almost a mirror copy just a little smaller?

Aren't we glad they did!

Maybe a FiRS would work for them!

 

[Noodles]

I disagree; there are times you have to consider it:

Case in point: I was actually going to buy my wife a Fiesta Titanium. I reconsidered when it became obvious that it's resale value was shiite due to the lousy reputation it has thanx to the double-clutch auto tranny (I can't believe, after all this time, Ford still can't get that right). Cancel that plan; bought me my FiST instead! (She can't drive a stick anymore.)

What I meant was, don't BUY the car because you think the resale will be good. You chose not to buy because the resale sucked. Even if you would have bought a brand new MK4 Supra TT, hid it away for for 20 years, and now wanted to sell it. You MIGHT break even if you account for the maintenance cost, storage, cost adjustment for inflation, etc. Cars, by default, are not an investment.

Sent from the Canyon's Edge

 

[cbizz]

So much angst over a car that won't be released in the states.

What's the states getting? We keeping the big block (4 cylinder) in North America? or is the next gen fiesta st only for Euro crowd?

 

[imhenry66]

I feel like we're passing judgement before the car is actually available. I understand that on paper, the 3 cylinder has less potential to make huge horsepower, but in practice, what's the percentage of the cars being built into such, arguably, ridiculously high power output? Personally, I like the small displacement and small turbo as is, since it's meant for easy day-to-day commute, and it's engineered in a good balance. And as emission becomes more strict, the environment demanding more eco-friendly emission, rising oil prices, and the gradual migration toward alternative energy cars, Ford's move on the new Fiesta ST seems like the inevitable direction. In fact, I actually appreciate that the car is attempting to make more power with less.

If it really is about high horsepower project cars, there's always the option of motor swap? Can a Focus ST motor fit?

 

[M-Sport fan]

Even if you would have bought a brand new MK4 Supra TT, hid it away for for 20 years, and now wanted to sell it. You MIGHT break even if you account for the maintenance cost, storage, cost adjustment for inflation, etc. Cars, by default, are not an investment.

A better example would have been an original, big block side oiler Shelby AC Cobra with all matching numbers and such, bought in the mid to late '60s, almost no miles put on it, and stored meticulously.

THAT, even taking into account the expenses you mentioned above, WOULD have been an "investment".
(~$8K then to well over what, ~$1.5 MILLION now? )

 

[M-Sport fan]

If it really is about high horsepower project cars, there's always the option of motor swap? Can a Focus ST motor fit?

Will a Focus RS engine fit, (bolted to a FWD transaxle of course)?

 

[imhenry66]

Will a Focus RS engine fit, (bolted to a FWD transaxle of course)?

Right? My point is, if you're screwing with the balance of the car intended by the original engineers, then the stock motor can be a no-issue.

 

[Intuit]

A better example would have been an original, big block side oiler Shelby AC Cobra with all matching numbers and such, bought in the mid to late '60s, almost no miles put on it, and stored meticulously.

THAT, even taking into account the expenses you mentioned above, WOULD have been an "investment".
(~$8K then to well over what, ~$1.5 MILLION now? )

Sounds more like a "best case scenario" than a better example. While there are some exceptions, in general Noodles is right in that regard.

One of the exceptions is when one plans to resale the vehicle within three or five, maybe seven years. Obviously the more you can get back on it, the less you'll have to roll into the next vehicle loan.

The other good example of where resale value comes into play, is if a wreck occurs. You're a little less likely to be upside-down on the value of the vehicle and insurance is less likely to "total" it, versus repair it. In the event the company decides to total the value, a higher aftermarket value will fetch a higher return. That will be more money down on the replacement. (but still a big fat net loss none-the-less)

As to whether the Fiesta ST in nearly sixty years time, will ever be anything like that best case scenario, we really really doubt that. I suspect it will ultimately be as valued as the 1.8L Ford Escort GT is today. I suspect they're able to squeeze more out of these engines, in part due to their "low friction" design elements.