Ford goes upscale with new Fiesta

Gerry Malloy

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

When Ford introduces its subcompact Fiesta to the North American market in 2009, don't expect it to be a cut-rate stripper.

As the Smart and Mini have already proven, bigger doesn't necessarily mean better and small doesn't have to mean cheap. Ford is banking on that shift in mindset to ensure that its new entry will be profitable.

Whether the principle will hold with a less upscale brand name like Ford remains to be seen. But Ford design chief Peter Horbury thinks it will.

Speaking to the press in Geneva, he observed that younger buyers now accept that it is okay to pay a premium for smaller things, citing as examples: mobile phones, MP3 players, laptops and the like.

The same principle can be applied to cars, he said. Consequently, Ford plans to position the Fiesta as a premium-priced product, with a loaded specification, rather than cutting content and material quality to keep the price low.

As a further attraction to young buyers, expect to see plenty of in-car connectivity with phones, iPods, navigation systems and the like when the Fiesta comes to market. Ford's Sync system, already available in the Focus as well as higher priced models, seems ready-made for the application.

Buick Invicta debuts in Beijing

General Motors has released a teaser photo of a concept car called Invicta that will be revealed at the Beijing Motor Show next month. China is now Buick's biggest market.

Invicta (Latin for "invincible") was the name applied to a full-size Buick model from 1959 to 1963 – a period that totally changed the brand's design direction.

But the luxurious Invicta concept incorporates design cues that hark back to the '40s and earlier '50s, including the traditional Buick "sweepspear," which dives down from the front of the car along the bodysides, then kicks up over the rear wheels.

The exterior also features Buick's signature vertical chrome waterfall grille, as well as a modern interpretation of its "portholes."

The show car was co-developed by GM design centres in North America and China to meet customers' expectations equally in the two markets, the company says.

"Using our virtual reality centres in Warren, Mich., and Shanghai, designers fused the best ideas from both cultures during the development of the Invicta," according to Ed Welburn, GM's vice-president of global design.

At this point, at least, the Invicta is just a concept, with no plans for production.

Fuel-cells pass cold test

One step at a time, fuel-cell powered vehicles are clearing the hurdles between their concept and production feasibility.

One of those hurdles has been their ability to start and operate at low temperatures, and Daimler says its latest, fuel-cell powered Mercedes-Benz B-Class test vehicles successfully met that challenge during recent winter tests in Sweden.

Satisfactory cold-start performance to -25 C had already been verified in laboratory testing, the company said, but lab tests don't always reveal what will happen in the real world.

For that reason the Daimler engineers' focus in Sweden was on the interaction between the different components under real-life winter conditions.

They also focused on road-holding in slippery conditions – specifically on adapting the car's Electronic Stability Program (ESP) to the special requirements of a fuel-cell vehicle. An electric motor exhibits different speed-governing behaviour from that of an internal-combustion engine, so the ESP programming must be revised to suit those characteristics in all weather conditions.

According to Thomas Weber, Daimler AG board member with responsibility for research and development at Mercedes-Benz Cars: "The results of the winter tests proved that we are on the right track with this innovative drive concept and have taken another important step on the road to reaching production standard."

Mercedes-Benz plans to launch small-series production of the B-Class F-CELL in early 2010, using a new-generation of fuel-cell drive that is more compact, more powerful and more fuel-efficient than earlier versions.

Among the powertrain's innovations are an electric turbocharger for air supply, and a new humidification and demisting system.

The zero-emission fuel-cell drive in the B-Class is said to use the equivalent of just 2.9 litres of diesel fuel per 100 kilometres.

While current fuel-cell powered vehicles such as the B-Class F-CELL are now truly roadworthy in every sense, two significant hurdles remain to be overcome: the cost of the system and the need for an environmentally friendly hydrogen supply and distribution infrastructure.

Scirocco a no-show

One of the highlights of the Geneva auto show was the revival of the sporty Volkswagen Scirocco model, which was popular here in the 1980s.

The new Scirocco will go on sale in Europe in late summer and in other markets in 2009 – but don't expect to see it here.

Not only is the low value of the U.S. dollar a disincentive to sending it to North America, it would probably cannibalize sales from the GTI, more than attracting buyers from other brands, so it is not seen as a positive business proposition.

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