The party's over... The Ford Fiesta Story

If it hadn’t been for Ford’s CEO, Henry Ford II and his right-hand man, Lee Iacocca pushing to build the Fiesta, Ford of Europe may well not have built it. It was big gamble to create a new front wheel drive platform that wasn’t needed for any of their other cars, and with Fords selling like hot cakes, and little profit in superminis, why take the risk? But take it they did, and it’s become the third highest selling Ford vehicle of all time. Why was the Fiesta so popular for so long, and why did it all end with the seven generation?

Sources:
Steve Saxty – Secret Fords vol 1 & 2

#bigcar

[TheHesK]

Absolutely crazy decision. It was only a few years ago when half the cars in the uk seemed to be a Fiesta

[techtinkerin]

Three friends and I crashed a fiesta into a telegraph pole at about 30mph. The copper who came out to help us stood by the fiesta with a telegraph pole stuck in its front end, looked at all of us totally uninjured and said firmly, " Tough little cars these!"

[themrmarkprior]

RIP Fiesta. What a terrible business decision to retire it. A wonderful vehicle that's still a class leader to this day, and such a great nameplate, Fiesta. My first car was a 1985 Fiesta 1.1 Popular Plus mk2 with white disc hubcaps. I can still remember the no. plate B76 MPH.
Tbh being a teenager back then i hated it, it wasnt sporty or fast and it was brown (i wanted an XR2i but insurance was unaffordable), but looking back it gave freedom, awesome memories, met friends, lost my virginity in it, filled it full of subwoofers, had great roadtrips and went everywhere with it as petrol was 0.74p a Litre it was super cheap.

[ThatEnglishGent]

I currently have my 2014 Ford Fiesta Titanium and I love it to bits. Plan to have it as long as possible. Incredibly reliable. Comfortable. Good sound system. Decent power and looks modern even 8yrs later.

[arsenic]

RIP Fiesta. The Fiesta sedan carved out a reputation here in India for being a lovely sporty handler with great styling, continuing on from the ‘Josh (strength) machine’ Ford Ikon’s legacy. Sadly, the Fiesta was eventually discontinued due to low sales, and Ford left the Indian market in 2021. Unlike GM when they left India in 2017, Ford had gained quite a fan following among car enthusiasts for making solid products with excellent powertrains, and hence many were unhappy when they shut shop. Thanks for covering this iconic nameplate!

[taxus]

Excellent summary of one of Ford's most popular cars. Now that Ford has ditched the Fiesta, I suspect its SE Asian/ AU/ NZ equivalent - the Mazda2 (which shares its platform with the 5th & 6th gen Fiesta) - is next on the chopping block. It's a pity that the Fiesta and small(ish), efficient superminis like it are disappearing because there are many who don't want/ can't afford SUVs or EVs.

[ichibanmanekineko]

There is no one better than you to mark the end of an era for a brilliant little car!

[acwdrivingservices]

Thank you, little Fiesta, for all the driving fun and memories you gave us, like a loyal puppy you were always there, always eager to go and eager to please. You may be gone but you will never be forgotten. Rest in Peace my friend, we won't see the likes of you again.

(Thank you, Big Car, for a comprehensive epitaph to one of the best "people's car" ever made)

[ThomasD]

So sad to see the Fiesta go. We thoroughly enjoyed ours from '15 to '18 with the 1.0 Ecoboost chipped to 145 bhp!

[scottbrown]

It's really amazing that in spite of how slow Ford was to make upgrades or even obviously needed competitive improvements, the buyers were waiting in a line for their next one!

[markjlewis]

My first car was a UK Mk1 that was registered on my birthday date in 1980, it was in "Solar Gold". It was a 1.1L (UK spec). I absolutely loved that car and did huge amount of miles travelling between South Wales and South Somerset many years ago. I kitted it out with a Sharp sound system, a graphic eq and Pioneer speakers with an aftermarket centre console. After many years of driving various Vauxhalls (Astras, Novas, Vetras), my wife got a lease car from work and I inherited her 2009 Fiesta Titanium that we had ordered from new with a 1.6 petrol engine. I'm still driving it today with 160k on the clock and the 1.6 engine still zipps along. Fortunately my commute is now only around 10 miles a day rather than the 130 miles I was doing a few years ago.

I am now planning to buy one of the last new petrol examples before production is ended as the Fiesta has been so much part of my driving history.

[BOABModels]

24:30 We had a B-Max when our first child was born and we absolutely loved it! Sliding doors are so practical for getting a baby in and out of the car! We were gutted when it was cancelled.

[JK]

17:38 the pre-facelift Mk4 Fiesta had such a sad face

[jameslonergan]

The Ford Fiesta and Focus were very good sellers here in the US. They started to have a bad reputation with the many automatic transmission failures. Where I worked we had a fleet of Ford Focuses more than half had transmission failures.

[gotham]

My mother had one of the earliest Fiestas in 1976. It was the absolute bottom base model, and even had the optional low compression engine with just 40Hp. Color was the dayglo green seen @ 5.28. I eventually inherited that car, and would thrash it flat out on the French Autoroutes driving between where I lived in London and my parents in Geneva.

[Johanna-itfl]

Ich habe einen Fiesta 1.25 mit 82 PS von 2015.4 Zylinder..
Ein super Auto. Noch nie was kaputt gegangen.
Sehr halbarer Motor.Immer noch modernes Design.
Ein oft sehr unterschätztes Auto.

[nadeemchaudhry]

Unexpected but brilliant video, with great timing.
Thanks for your hardwork.

[eastfrisian_]

My father always had a Fiesta from the early 1980s until 2000. I was driven home in a Fiesta after birth, I experienced my first holiday in a Fiesta, I experienced how my father pulled the choke swearing in the morning in winter and had a nylon stocking in the boot as a replacement for a broken fan belt and how scared I was at 130 kph on the motorway because the whole car shook and hummed. 😂

And then a few months ago I got a rental car paid for by the company because I had to go to a seminar. And I got a Ford Fiesta ST with 200 hp. I never had so much fun as on the (German) autobahn my whole life as with this car.

[jonntischnabel]

I owned an xr2, 205 GTi, and 5 GT turbo as a young lad, and despite its power disadvantage, there was something about that glorious exhaust note that made the xr2 a joy to drive.

[jeffallinson]

It's hardly a shock that the Fiesta was so popular as they were truly great cars. My First car was a Fiesta and with the money from her brothers will, my wife bought a 1999 Mk 4 (I think) when it was 3 years old and we owned it for a decade. It was a fabulous car being reliable, dependable and great fun to drive having the 1.2 zetec engine. the last 3 MOT's were pricey so we sadly let it go but it remains her favourite car to this day and I really loved it too. I am gutted that they have ceased production but I reckon we will see them on the roads for many, many years to come. This was an excellent look at a British institution, thanks for your effort, hugely appreciated.