Last week, we traveled to California for the Los Angeles Auto Show and to drive the 2013 1.0-Liter Ford Fiesta, which is making its entry into the North American market.
With the Fiesta, Ford is going after young, first-time car buyers. It is the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid car sold in North America, thanks to the EcoBoost engine Ford has already put under more than 500,000 hoods.
The 1.0-liter Fiesta, set to hit the US market in the second half of 2013, is made to target young buyers who love to drive. In a nearly unheard of move in the American car market, Ford is not offering an automatic transmission. It is a risky move that limits sales to buyers who can drive a stick shift.
(Of course, the other Fiestas will come as automatics. "We haven't gone completely crazy," one Ford rep told us.)
To prove how much fun driving the Fiesta 1.0-Liter can be, Ford set up a route through the mountains and canyons outside Los Angeles, with a stop at a track to do some competitive driving.
Because we drove European models, we cannot speak to the car's interior or various features. But we can definitely say we had a lot of fun.
Disclosure: Ford paid for our travel and lodging expenses to drive the Fiesta and attend the Los Angeles Auto Show.
About 15 Fiestas were waiting for us at the airport where Ford presented the new 1.0-liter.
It's a bit odd-looking, but we do not find it ugly. The color, by the way, is 'hot mustard.'
We drove European spec cars, so there are little differences from what the American version will look like.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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