A Twitter message. With that, Ford announced the retirement of a name. A name that put a smile on the face of millions of people. The party will be over in a year. The Ford Fiesta will soon be a relic of the past, because Ford is fully committed to building electric cars for Europe. And needs space for that. That is also why the Fiesta, the most successful car from the B-segment, disappears. We describe the first generation, which was sold in two companies from 1976 to the middle of 1983.
In the late 5s, a longer-lived idea at Ford became more concrete. And that idea was: to build a small car for a wide audience. A team led by Trevor Erskine worked on project Bobcat Meanwhile, the popularity of small front-wheel drive cars grew. And after the launch of the Renault 127 and the Fiat XNUMX, Henry Ford II was sure: go ahead. That happened. The new small Ford became a Supermini with front-wheel drive, making it the third European product from Ford to get this drive form. The Taunus P4 and Ford P6 models preceded him.
Not only Bobcat was in scaffolding. Ford wanted to build the car in the new factory in Spain, among other things. In 1973, Ford bought a large plot of land (2,7 million square meters) near Valencia, and in 1974 the foundation stone for the new factory was laid. Many Fiestas later rolled off the line there. Ford also assembled the Fiesta in Cologne, Saarlouis and Dagenham, UK.
Because that's what Ford's new asset was called: Fiesta. The name was also because of the Spanish connection– chosen by Henry Ford II. The new Ford had an elegant body. Tom Tjaarda (Ghia) drew a smooth and modern car, Uwe Bahnsen didtted the i's. And Ford approved a design in 1973 that could effortlessly compete with numerous small front-wheel drive hatchbacks. Bobcat appeared youthful and harmonious, and was very pleasant on the retina. In 1975 Ford made the arrival of the Fiesta subtle worldly. In the spring of 1976, Ford built the first examples in Almussafes.
There was a lot new about the small Ford, which, among other things, developed new engines for the entry-level Ford. The 1.0 and 1.1 engines (with triple bearing crankshaft) were different in design than the 1.0 and 1.1 copies in the Escorts. The technicians adapted the engines due to the application in combination with front-wheel drive, in addition, the stroke in the Valencia engines was longer. The new engines offered excellent performance. The chain-driven camshaft remained where it was traditionally: in the block. Incidentally, a low and a high compression variant of the 1.0 appeared.
The Fiesta chassis were not revolutionary, but they were well constructed. These ensured excellent road holding and pleasant driving dynamics. Ford installed, among other things, McPherson struts at the front and a rigid axle with Panhard rod, longitudinal arms and coil springs at the rear. The braking system consisted of a separate circuit, discs at the front and drums at the rear.
The Fiesta was well thought out, the total package was very well balanced. The car also had good aerodynamics, and the front was constructed in such a way that the effect of the airflows in the interior was optimal. The large glass surface was also an advantage. And the long wheelbase allowed you to fit four medium-sized adults in the Fiesta. Of course there was the increasingly fashionable large hinged tailgate and the folding bench. The cargo space was not only variable in that respect. Extra handy was the storage space under the liftable load floor in the luggage compartment. So the youthful Ford was practical too, though it didn't have the largest boot in its class. But the developers and designers had done a good job. And the Henry Ford II compliment was the icing on the cake. He made a test drive on the banks of the Rhine. His conclusion was clear: Good Job.
Critics thought the Ford Fiesta would play a modest role in the crowded small(er) front-wheel drive area, also due to its late launch compared to the competition. That turned out to be an advantage. Ford had been able to observe the competition well and took advantage of that. The moment of launch was also favorable: the oil crisis was over. And not unimportant: the Fiesta carried the Ford brand name, in addition, the hatchback scored well on many points. And as said before: the Ford brand name was already a flywheel for sales success. A new little Ford was big news, you wanted to be there. He created expectations. These came mainly in Europe. On May 11, 1976, the first Fiesta rolled off the production line. 31 months later, In January 1979, Ford built the millionth Fiesta.
In Spain, the Fiesta supplanted marca del mercada domestico and license builder SEAT after years of first place. And that was not least because the Fiesta in Spain also became the best-selling car among the women. Man or woman, single or family: Ford has built a suitable Fiesta for every buyer. Especially the S and Ghia versions were very pleasant. The Ghia was a very luxurious variant, the S was more than a version with optical sporty accents. He fulfilled the sporty aspirations (certainly with the 1.3 Kent engine) with his more rigid chassis. But those who just wanted a practical and modern designed car could also go for the other delivery variants (Custom, L, GL).
Ford also built the Fiesta Supersport. This version was equipped with, among other things, spoilers, fender flares, larger alloy wheels and spotlights. With this version (available with 1.1 and 1.3 engine) it was not only sportiness that struck the clock; the Supersport version also received a number of high-quality Ghia details, which were mainly reflected in the interior. Incidentally, Ford also had the necessary action models depending on the market. We were familiar with the Bravo, that initial action version that later became a permanent part of a number of model programs. Ford (or body shops) also produced one-offs, and considered serial production of a convertible with roll bar.
That first Fiesta was modified for model year 1982. New interiors, and new, larger bumpers were some of these changes. And Ford also used these innovations to add the sporty top version to the program: the XR2. In addition to various sporty accents, this also received the 1.6 Kent engine, which was good for a power output of 84 DIN hp. The first Fiesta generation (including the changes for 1982) continued until the summer of 1983. Numerous generations followed, the Fiesta became and remained a much sought-after concept. Certainly in Europe you could not ignore the Fiesta within its playing field. Not even in terms of driving characteristics, especially the last generations are unparalleled in their class in that regard. Anyone who drove or drives it knows what we mean.
In 1976 Ford hit the bull's eye with the first Fiesta. Now, in a European sense, it is responding at a very early stage to the electrical needs of politics. In terms of time, there would certainly have been room for a next Fiesta generation. For the time being, this is not in the Ford pipeline, hope also lives against better judgment. Fortunately, Ford produced over twenty million units of the model within several generations, which became Europe's best-selling B-segment car. And that might have been different if that first, lidy and simply delicious Fiesta hadn't become such a great success. Bravo, Fiesta!
After my Renault 4 turned out to be completely rotten in 1978, I bought my first new car for F12.500. Indeed, the Ford Fiesta 1,1L. Dark beige. And what fun I had with this “party on wheels”. Compared to the Renault 4 (which I also liked) it was a real car, with solid doors and no rattle. And tear!! According to the official test figures, it reached 16 km in 145 seconds and the top speed was 180 km per hour. But according to my own findings, he was much faster, I saw 100 on the counter. (Perhaps it was staged?). My then girlfriend and current wife lived in Groningen and as a Rotterdammer I traveled many kilometers in my "party on wheels". If I maintained the then maximum speed, just like now 19 km/h, I reached one in 20./XNUMX, as well as on long holiday trips to the French Ardeche and the Croatian coast. Various winter sports trips also went well.
In 1982 I traded in my DF-85-DF for a brand new Escort, but while that was one step up, the Fiesta has always held a special place in my heart.
The 1.1 OHV 'Valencia'. Blokje has served for years. Even the '89er version of the Fiesta and the penultimate Escort version were equipped with these beetles. They became more economical with Ford's VV carburetor (variable venturi -> vacuum carb), but not faster. With all the luxury and safety, the Fiesta kept getting heavier. Would rather be in a Fiesta in terms of safety than in the possibly more practical Visa, which was based on the Duck in terms of look.
It has never been my choice, actually I only like the last generation. The Escort appealed a lot more.
sure !!!
And the Visa is the cheapest and the most practical car
I personally think this is a nice modest role of the Fiesta in the car advertising of the time
And the Visa is the cheapest and the most practical car
We have driven a 1.1 here for years. It was so feisty that a 2-litre BMW at the traffic light just got a wipe out of the pan. No matter how hard you tried, the Fiesta wasn't exactly economical. Especially not in relation to his weight. With a small loss in performance, fitting a carburettor from a 1.0 led to noticeably better fuel consumption figures! Something that is unfortunately not specifically mentioned in the article is the storage space that was located under the liftable floor of the trunk. That space was genius. And if you had a rotten exhaust, a child could do the laundry. Loosen two bolts on the manifold and the rear rubbers and it was on the ground because it was mounted under the rear axle. Again genius. It was just a really nice car. Do not rev too much because the 1.0 and 1.1 had a crankshaft bearing only 3x bearings. They didn't have it that much on tour.
Hi Maurice. Thank you for your response. Indeed, the storage space under the loading floor was an extra handy, that's right. I will of course mention that. And yes, those 1.1 engines were able to provide the Fiesta with fast performance. An uncle of mine also bought a 1977 L in 1.1, a white one with blue RS striping. I myself also had a 1.1 L, which was thirteen years old and served as a student car for a while. White, with a red tailgate and Marlboro sticker on it. The Ford was technically at its end, but motorally really fine. I made good progress with that. Short, nice memory.
Correct Eric. The engines were pretty good, provided top speeds were avoided. Other than that, they were also very reliable and attractively simply built cars. Bizarrely enough, you also found the weak point in that ingenious storage space. What had come of age, it turned out that there was often a view to the asphalt around the hinged suspension of the hinged cross bar that had to keep the rear axle in its position laterally. Once completely rotted loose, that resulted in a pretty dangerous situation. Welding in a 2mm thick plate over a larger circumference in order to weld that hinge point firmly back to it and to preserve everything properly again, resulted in something that was sturdier than the original and that lasted for years. We ourselves had a silver-grey 1.1 S. The 1.1S that my wife had before, turned out to have been stolen one morning. It was found two days later as a burnt-out wreckage. Bah! The gray Fiesta also served as a student car afterwards. Cool, right?