how many north american fiesta st sold?

[Ford ST]

Where did you see the word fine in my posts? Don't make up crap dude.

Take a chill pill. When you say you paid over $3,000 in failed inspections I thought there must have been some type of fine attached. Not making crap up I made a assumption based on that insane amount of money.

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[jmrtsus]

That insane money was on my daughters Audi.....5-8 hundred a year, every year before she dumped it. And an $850 exhaust for our old truck. My wife paid almost $200 in NC to get her dads old Focus to pass recently. If you have older cars it will cost you $$ to keep them passing.

 

[Ford ST]

That insane money was on my daughters Audi.....5-8 hundred a year, every year before she dumped it. And an $850 exhaust for our old truck. My wife paid almost $200 in NC to get her dads old Focus to pass recently. If you have older cars it will cost you $$ to keep them passing.

So you're talkin about how much it cost to get them fixed? Not the actual cost of the inspection?

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[Scotman2]

Focus SVT sold about 5000 units in two body styles over the entire run. Those cars are becoming difficult to get parts for. I have decided to gather parts while I am able to get them. Parts like driver's seat upholstery for a Recaro, rear disc brake caliper frames and brackets,those disc brake specific parking brake cables, the auto temp control heads and sheet metal parts like the rocker panels that are punched to accept the side skirts, the side skirts and those removable reliefs for jacking. All will become scarce in five to seven years.
I own my cars for a long time. I plan to be my own "go to guy" for many parts as they age.

 

[Plainrt]

I’m loving this thread lol. So much butt hurt over a
Mountune mod.

 

[Scotman2]

I’m loving this thread lol. So much butt hurt over a
Mountune mod.

It's the age old argument regarding the value of a modified car versus an original. I would be more concerned about how complete, functional and presentable the car is. This holds true if it's five years old or forty five years old. The term "day two" is being mentioned a lot more these days regarding the changes made to muscle cars back in the day. I think this applies to our cars as well.
So, let's not butcher them. If you pull parts off or replace them with aftermarket stuff, box up the original parts and shelve them, those parts might very well be quite valuable or badly needed in just a few years.
I get much more enthusiastic about buying a car that includes ALL it's parts and some upgrades too.

 

[Ford ST]

I keep all of my parts. I may need them in the future for myself, or maybe years and years down the road somebody else will need them.
The only reason I would ever sell this car would be due to physical limitations of driving a manual.

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[CrystalWhite]

Oh, I'm sure somebody would rather have a recaro seat than more legal horsepower........somewhere, somebody.

In 10-15 years a prospective buyer for these cars are going to want a Fiesta ST to hoon and modify. They aren't going to give a hot shite about an old expensive factory option that gave a marginal boost in power,legal or otherwise. I can say if I was buying my fiesta again I'd take a Recaro Green Envy over a non Recaro white/magnetic/black one with a mountune package. No disrespect intended to those good colors of course .

In regards to the cars future desirability I see it becoming a future Suzuki Swift GTi. The Fiesta ST is very similar to the GTi in terms of its underdog quality and its unapologetic need to have fun at all times. I own a modified restored example that has a small community of devoted members. When GTi's come up for sale they are quickly snatched up and are worth 4 times what a regular Metro goes for. That being said they aren't ultra valuable and even my nicely restored one would probably sell for less than $5000.

Buy a car for its current value and character, not for what it might sell for decades in the future.

 

[Intuit]

Interesting that they sold more in each of the first 3 years. That's kind of unusual for a car of this type. Not many were sold overall. It makes me wonder about the potential availability of unique parts for the FiST and even things like appropriately sized tires, in say 5-7 years.

Yeah I noticed that. 500 up every year. That's over 10% increase each year... even with people's confusion about the PowerShift... and with a STICK shift no less. Just think if they actually marketed the vehicle and the few dealerships that carry or/and were willing to fetch them, weren't consistently trying to push people into larger vehicles that they already had on the lot.

 

[Scotman2]

Yeah I noticed that. 500 up every year. That's over 10% increase each year... even with people's confusion about the PowerShift... and with a STICK shift no less. Just think if they actually marketed the vehicle and the few dealerships that carry or/and were willing to fetch them, weren't consistently trying to push people into larger vehicles that they already had on the lot.

Most dealerships really wanted nothing to do with the Fiesta. Even less so for the ST. The FiST got a marketing budget, it came in the form of enthusiast media, Motorsports promotion and the Octane Academy.
Things fell apart at the sales floor level. Many dealers had no demonstration cars or refused to allow them for that. Salesman were uninformed or unwilling to get knowledgeable. Many dealers did not see a good value proposition in the Fiesta ST from an inventory position. Many buyers expectations included a large rebate which didn't help endear the Fiesta to sales managers who's primary metric of desirability is gross profit.
In a nutshell, the Fiesta in North America was a niche vehicle. The Fiesta ST was a niche within a niche.
When you view it all from the perspective of it being a very, uhhemn, focused offering, the numbers make more sense. It was like being able to buy a certified Angus steak sandwich at McDonald's. Available for a limited time only.

 

[M-Sport fan]

In 10-15 years a prospective buyer for these cars are going to want a Fiesta ST to hoon and modify. They aren't going to give a hot shite about an old expensive factory option that gave a marginal boost in power,legal or otherwise. I can say if I was buying my fiesta again I'd take a Recaro Green Envy over a non Recaro white/magnetic/black one with a mountune package. No disrespect intended to those good colors of course .

In regards to the cars future desirability I see it becoming a future Suzuki Swift GTi. The Fiesta ST is very similar to the GTi in terms of its underdog quality and its unapologetic need to have fun at all times. I own a modified restored example that has a small community of devoted members. When GTi's come up for sale they are quickly snatched up and are worth 4 times what a regular Metro goes for. That being said they aren't ultra valuable and even my nicely restored one would probably sell for less than $5000.

Buy a car for its current value and character, not for what it might sell for decades in the future. View attachment 23957

I remember back when there were people rallying those in the Production class (not boosted, 2WD, minimal mods allowed) when SCCA still sanctioned rallying in this land.

 

[CrystalWhite]

I remember back when there were people rallying those in the Production class (not boosted, 2WD, minimal mods allowed) when SCCA still sanctioned rallying in this land.

They are fun cars stock, but become mental with bolt ons. Mine has cams, exhaust, chipped ECU, lightweight crank pulley, springs and shocks, and a civic short shifter. It pulls like a frieght train over 5000rpm right to its redline of 8400 rpm. As much as I like my Fiesta the Suzuki weighs 1000lbs less then it and feels completely mechanical and raw. I smile every time I drive it and probably my favorite car I've ever owned.

 

[benarmato]

I had a 1992 Swift GT (Suzuki could no longer use "GTi".) Great car. Zero issues. Had it until 1999 and 110.000 miles. Only sold it to get something new. I had to comment as no one knows about these wonderful cars.

 

[CrystalWhite]

I had a 1992 Swift GT (Suzuki could no longer use "GTi".) Great car. Zero issues. Had it until 1999 and 110.000 miles. Only sold it to get something new. I had to comment as no one knows about these wonderful cars.

Its a shame they were viewed as disposable pocket rockets. Most were beaten to within an inch of their life and scrapped. Suzuki sold barely any, nobody knew they existed . They were niche even at the time and have been mostly used up and forgotten. Unfortunately this is exactly how i see the Fiesta ST panning out over the coming years and its why I wanted to buy one when they were still relatively new and in good shape. I spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours saving my Suzuki. Once the STs are sub $7000 cars they will be subjected to hell and most will be ruined and then crushed.

 

[Scotman2]

Its a shame they were viewed as disposable pocket rockets. Most were beaten to within an inch of their life and scrapped. Suzuki sold barely any, nobody knew they existed . They were niche even at the time and have been mostly used up and forgotten. Unfortunately this is exactly how i see the Fiesta ST panning out over the coming years and its why I wanted to buy one when they were still relatively new and in good shape. I spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours saving my Suzuki. Once the STs are sub $7000 cars they will be subjected to hell and most will be ruined and then crushed.

Many fans of the hot hatch concept were/ are aware of them. I knew a guy that had swift turbo and somehow managed to find/trade/aquire a Canadian Suzuki Firefly. It had been sideswiped but ran. He couldn't ever title it but used the drivetrain to make another one. Suzuki dealers were few and far between in the states. Service quality and parts were scarce and expensive.
GM drove the final nails into Suzuki' of America's coffin by supplying them with Daewoo built cars that effectively killed their reputation! I always refer to those cars as Woozuki's. Every one of them is like buying a hand grenade without a pin, on monthly payments.

 

[XR650R]

Many fans of the hot hatch concept were/ are aware of them. I knew a guy that had swift turbo and somehow managed to find/trade/aquire a Canadian Suzuki Firefly. It had been sideswiped but ran. He couldn't ever title it but used the drivetrain to make another one. Suzuki dealers were few and far between in the states. Service quality and parts were scarce and expensive.
GM drove the final nails into Suzuki' of America's coffin by supplying them with Daewoo built cars that effectively killed their reputation! I always refer to those cars as Woozuki's. Every one of them is like buying a hand grenade without a pin, on monthly payments.

I have wonderful memories of my 3 cylinder '95 Metro. It was slow, but indestructible. I still see old Geo/Suzukis running around. Can't say that about comparable cars. My '84 Colt Turbo's tranny wasn't built for the extra boost, and they all failed there. I would have preferred the GTi.

That said, I didn't want the Recaros, and the MP215 is brilliant. Really woke it up, and it got tested, and will pass a smog check.

 

[CrystalWhite]

Many fans of the hot hatch concept were/ are aware of them. I knew a guy that had swift turbo and somehow managed to find/trade/aquire a Canadian Suzuki Firefly. It had been sideswiped but ran. He couldn't ever title it but used the drivetrain to make another one. Suzuki dealers were few and far between in the states. Service quality and parts were scarce and expensive.
GM drove the final nails into Suzuki' of America's coffin by supplying them with Daewoo built cars that effectively killed their reputation! I always refer to those cars as Woozuki's. Every one of them is like buying a hand grenade without a pin, on monthly payments.

such a shame, Suzuki made killer stuff in the 90s that was inexpensive, well built, reliable and fun. The Samurais and Sidekicks/trackers still command good money around here. It boggles my mind why they used terrible GM product when stuff like the Ignis, Swift Sport and Jimny were available and were actually good cars.

 

[Scotman2]

such a shame, Suzuki made killer stuff in the 90s that was inexpensive, well built, reliable and fun. The Samurais and Sidekicks/trackers still command good money around here. It boggles my mind why they used terrible GM product when stuff like the Ignis, Swift Sport and Jimny were available and were actually good cars.

Suzuki didn't have the money to develop, safety and emissions certify and market cars in America. GM provided Suzuki with Daewoo product. It was a disaster. The only good thing to come from the whole debacle is that Mazda ended up getting the testing center formerly owned by Suzuki.
I consider that to be the silver lining in that dark cloud. Mazda got that property well below market value. Mazda is not much better off than Suzuki was. But they are more established and have a bigger dealership and customer base than Suzuki had.

 

[superstu101]

Sorry to resurrect this (very derailed) thread from the dead. Was just wondering if anybody ever accessed the IHS database / has more information on production numbers for each model year?

Thanks!

 

[Scotman2]

I have never found a definitive breakdown of production from Ford Cautitlan plant. General consensus has been roughly 4,500 ST per year.