Pains me to say this, but I think Ford, in Europe, is a bit stuffed. Ford used to be the people’s champion. It had loads of cars in the top 10 sellers. It won rally championships. We adored generations of hot hatch Cosworths and STs and RSes. Even when Ford would launch an everyday car – aMondeo say – we’d stick it on the cover and run an eight-page road test inside, because everyday Fords were anything but mundane to drive.
But Ford is about to roll over and play dead. Or at least mortally wounded. It has lost its sparkle. The Mondeo, once a dominant force in family cars, has departed. The Galaxy too. The S-Max will surely follow. When did you last even see a newish one? Ford wants to migrate you into a seven-seat Grand Tourneo Connect instead. Me neither.
And here’s the shocker: reliable sources tell me that the Fiesta will go out of production next year. With no replacement. Ford simply can’t turn a profit on it. The Focus will join it in the graveyard soon after. These have been bestsellers for decades. Our driving test cars, our first cars, our neighbours’ cars, our hire cars, our hot hatches of choice. But Ford sales are wilting because it seems everyone now wants some premium badge, or a Korean nameplate with spectacular warranty.
“SHOCKER – RELIABLE SOURCES TELL ME THE FIESTA WILL GO OUT OF PRODUCTION NEXT YEAR”