Tasty said:
The Honda Fit styling blows that thing out of the water. There are still connotations of low quality and lame styling with the Fiesta name IMO. What sells well in Europe doesn't mean much in the states...
LOL. Really? No offense, but I think you may be the only person I've ever seen say that.
In my opinion, the Fit has ugly bug-eye headlights, awful, terrible window shapes that lend itself well to the horrific roofline. The car looks like a bubble about to pop! It's so tall and awkward it looks like it is about to tip over while standing still if the a small gust of wings picks up... but hey, maybe it is just me.
Of course there are negative connotations...the last Fiesta in the US was a total piece of junk. But what's your point? Are you saying the new one must be too since they share the same name, and nothing else?
As for the idea of what sells in Europe VS US, you might want to clarify in what sense? In the sense that sales trends in Europe may not be reflected in the US? If so, I agree. But I'm not sure what your point is? Are you saying that it doesn't matter that the Fiesta is such a strong seller in Europe at all? A place where the subcompact and compact cars reign supreme, and buyer standards are much, much higher.
If it meets their standards, I would think that would be quite a good thing for us...no?
Mark77 said:
I got a new Fiesta as a loaner and what impressed me the most was that it handles great and it's still comfortable. The interior looks better in the pictures than it feels for real. But for a small car it's pretty good.
I love the driving dynamics over anything. It's refined, yet sporty.
As for the interior, I was actually terribly unimpressed with the pictures, but extremely pleased when I got inside the car. As much as I love my French-stitched leather seats, I thought the cloth interior styling was very cool, too. I almost would have preferred it...almost
weekendwarrior said:
American compact cars are a joke. At least with Honda, the Civic has been around forever. With Toyota, the Corolla has been around forever.
With the American brands, they use a name, until the car becomes the joke of the segment (Escort, Cavallier), then come out with a replacement with a new name. Kind of hard to build buyer loyalty when you know the car you buy will be axed and renamed in several years. Also doesn't help resell any.
The Fiesta may be a nice car, but I'll take the rock solid reliability of a Civic SI (as well as the resell) any day.
With all due respect, I couldn't disagree more.
For one, you started with the classic and typical outdated statement that everyone uses to justify purchasing foreign cars. Well, 5, 10, or 15 years ago, I would say you had a point. But not anymore. Ford has been tied with Toyota and Honda for 1st in initial quality for over 2 years, and recently PASSED Honda. If you factor in blatant owner bias (from people who like you insist their Japanese cars are perfect and will last forever, and from owners of American cars who hear constantly how their cars are inferior and are programmed to believe it) I would guarantee Ford is actually AHEAD in true initial quality.
Times are changing, and people can continue to ignore that all they want, but reality will keep adjusting itself regardless of outdated perceptions. I spend considerable time tracking the media's coverage of the auto industry, as well as social media. I have seen a MASSIVE shift in the general response of people towards Ford in the last 6 months alone- in a year, it will be even bigger. Two years, larger still. People are starting to get the great new (safer, better built, more efficient) Ford cars in their hands and as time goes by
the public will slowly learn, just like they did with import autos as they slowly passed American autos.
Furthermore, you mention how Corolla and Civic nameplates have been "around" forever- so what? A name is nothing more than a name... they have nothing in common what-so-ever to the cars of yesteryear. But if you want to put stock in that, you could make the same exact argument for the Fiesta. The Fiesta has a LONG and storied history in Europe and around the world. It's a time-proven favorite and it only gets better with each iteration (as proven with recent sales records).
I will agree that IN THE PAST (I live in the present) that American autos have rested on their laurels and let models die (don't forget the Ranger, or Taurus). BUT, again, times are changing. They are not living in a world where they can just sell big trucks and ignore everything else anymore.
Your comparison of the Civic SI and Fiesta is, well, interesting, but hardly applicable. I could buy a Fiesta, twin turbos, a race suspension, wheels, tires, and a custom intake and exhaust for the price of the SI... and still get considerably better mileage, too. Pretty worthless example though...apples and oranges. (Compact sport model vs subcompact economy car?)
As for the resale value, expect that to change as well. It already started with independent groups and sites like KBB stating that they predict future resale to be stronger for models like the F150 OVER the Toyota Tundra. Toyota and Honda are now turning towards fleet, while Ford is turning away. Toyota and Honda just got caught resting on their laurels (Toyota just took a multi-billion dollar bailout from the Japanese govt..both posted first losses in years) while Ford is gaining market share and is generating more buzz in social media and normal media than ANY automaker due to their exciting and upcoming products.
It all ties back into my main point: perception is lagging behind reality. That lag is the cause for the problem with resale value (in addition to market dynamics like chasing fleet), and as it catches up and shifts, so too will the resale value.
That's my opinion anyway :har:
