New Fiesta Gets 73 MPG, But Ford Says It’s Not For The U.S.
Back in July, Ford released the details of a new Fiesta it plans to begin selling this November. The new car is based on Ford’s ECOnetic platform and can get 63 mpg in the city and 73 mpg on the highway. So why is it only available in Europe? It’s a diesel, and Ford doesn’t think Americans will ever adopt diesel cars.
According to Businessweek, Ford lists a littany of excuses why they could never market this car in the US. Chief among these excuses is that they don’t think they could ever sell enough of them to make a profit. Ford says that in order to produce them for the US market they’d have to build a new plant and then make at least 350,000 of them a year.
If there’s no way to make a profit on these cars and Americans won’t buy them, why are so many European and Asian car makers bringing these new “clean diesels” to the U.S. starting next year? When I see news that Mercedes, Nissan, Volkswagen and even Honda are all building clean diesel cars with excellent fuel economy for the US market, Ford’s excuses start to seem pretty hollow.
- » See also: Teenage-Built Diesel Hybrid Does 0-60 in 4 Seconds, Soon to Break 100 MPG
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Why is it that in the face of going bankrupt, U.S. car makers are so willing to maintain the status quo and slowly die a painful and agonizing death? Look, I understand some basic economics and that a company that is doing its shareholders right won’t take unnecessary risks, but the time for trepidation has past. Get on board or risk losing everything.
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Meanwhile, all I can do is hang my head and shake it. I want to be able to buy American cars again. In fact, every time one of the top U.S. car makers has some crazy desperation sale, I go online and take a look at the line-up… but I can never find a car I’d actually buy.
It’s not that the cars are ugly, or that I don’t trust their reliability — it’s that what I’m looking for is a fuel efficient vehicle that won’t break the bank and looks nice. And when I say “fuel efficient,” I don’t mean 30 mpg. I don’t even mean 40 mpg (my puny Yaris can already pull that one off). I want something with a drastic fuel economy improvement.
I want a car that in some way shows I care about the planet and understand that our future and our childrens’ future depends on drastically changing our habits now. But I also want a car that shows I support buying locally (in this case domestically) and that supports the economy of my own country.
And I know there are millions of other people like me. That’s why I want US car makers to wake up and start selling the cars people want.
You see, in my world I have a fantasy in which I purchase a nice little chunk of farmable land — say 10 acres — grow my own oilseed (like Camelina), crush it and make all of the biodiesel I would ever need (plus some to give my friends). In my fantasy, my operation would be powered completely off of wind, solar and geothermal and I could continue to make my own fuel even if the rest of the world went to hell in a handbasket.
So please Ford (or GM or Chrysler), make my dream a possibility. Take some chances. Stop applying band-aids in a last ditch defense of crusty old shareholders and go on the offensive. That’s how you built the company in the first place, and that’s how you can save it.
Posts Related to the Re-tooling of the US Auto Industry and Clean Diesels:
- “Producible” Chrysler Plug-In Hybrid: 0-60 in 4 Seconds
- VW Clean Diesels Get $1,300 Federal Tax Credit
- Clean Diesel Cars Coming to US This Fall: 2008-2010 Timeline
- Like GM, Ford Decides They’d Better Start Producing Smaller, More Fuel-Efficient Cars
- How to Build an Electric Car Charging Infrastructure: Smart Grids, Fast Charging and Universal Access
- Prototype Ford Escape Plug-in Hybrid: 88 MPG on 85% Ethanol
- Camelina - The Next Generation Biofuel?
- Japan Finally Gets a Clean Diesel Car
Image Credit: Ford
Source: Businessweek
Unfortunately, Ford may be correct. I am no elitist but I think the average american doesn’t see the incredible value in the new diesel vehicles. But I don’t agree with them not bringing this car here. I am kicking myself for not buying the VW Golf Diesel back in 2005 when they still had one here. Ford should have this car as we need good high mileage diesels in our mix so consumers can have choices.
So, they took away the several thousand comments that were here a day ago. They certainly were’nt as kind as ‘Steve-Os’ comment- for good reason.
Not sure what you’re referring to Jay Tee?
I just got back from an Italian vacation where I drove a Jetta TDI wagon that got well over 50 miles per gallon. I’m not buying any car in the US until I have the same range of choices that every Italian, Frenchman, German, etc. has on an everyday basis when it comes to shopping for high-mileage cars.
Is there any truth to the argument that cars like the Fiesta aren’t sold in the US due to small differences between US/California regulations and European Union regulations? In other words, could the US government “call the bluff” of car companies by passing an emergency measure to allow any car to be sold in the US, as long as it conforms with US *or* EU regulations?
US car companies should be able to choose either a) current US regulations, or b) current EU regulations under which their cars would be accepted for registration in all 50 states. What could possibly be the negative impact of using EU regulations? Has anyone done a thorough comparison between these two sets of regulations to see exactly what the differences are? I haven’t read ANY coverage on just exactly what the delta is between US / California regulations and EU regulations. Somehow, I don’t think a temporary adoption of EU regulations would suddenly plunge the US roads into a state of heightened danger, increased auto-accident fatalities and pollution.
Instead, selling EU-compliant cars in the US would allow us to get cars like the Fiesta next year, instead of the oft-quoted “3 model years from today”.
Fully agree with BackFromItaly… and perhaps food for a future blog post. Thanks!
the us govt wont let these high milage cars sell due to the decrease in tax revenue they would receive from gas taxes at the pump. Think about it, the govt makes somewhere in the neighborhood of 40cents per gallon. Increase mpg overnight by selling these cars which most americans would jump at in a heartbeat with the price of gas today and the govt gas taxes are decreased drastically. This is why Ford isn’t selling these in the US. They are restricted by the US govt. That’s my logic…and i’m sticking to it. We will probably see a car like this in America when cars are taxed on miles driven, similar to toll roads.
Seriously? You believe that the government is holding back car companies so they can make forty cents on tax per gallon of gasoline? While in turn trying to prop up the US economy which is strained by high gasoline prices? Your logic makes no sense, unless we’re going on conspiracy theory logic here where the government always has some sinister plan.
“I want a car that in some way shows I care about the planet and understand that our future and our childrens’ future depends on drastically changing our habits now. But I also want a car that shows I support buying locally (in this case domestically) and that supports the economy of my own country.”
Funny–I guess that’s why we drive different cars. I want a care that says: Fuck you. Don’t bother me. I’m rich, and you’re not.
Taxing based on miles driven would be a bad idea as it would discourage consumers from considering cars for economical/environmental reasons. I believe many countries in Europe and Asia (Japan at least) tax based on engine size and then of course at the pump as well. No wonder consumers in other countries have taken a more economical and environmental approach to car buying. If our car manufacturers here would have been motivated by an interest in such cars, we would have wider range of choices. However, car manufacturers like any other manufacturer has to have insight and make decisions based on long-term outlook and not just making short-sighted decisions. No wonder car manufacturers are in the position they are in…
I don’t know guys….Here in India…Fiesta gives better mileage than 75mpg…..Ford claims a mileage of about 22km/litre…which I guess is about 84mpg….yeah this figures are for disel cars…..And tell you what Skoda Octavia that I own also gives about the same mileage…..diff the Fiesta is a 1.4 litre engine..and Skoda is a 1.9 litre engine