Ford Fiesta
It was a frightening time for the domestic auto industry. American automakers had been caught off-guard by volatile gas prices, an uncertain economy, and a customer base that was rapidly turning its emphasis from flash to thrift. The domestic manufacturers' most profitable products--the huge, outdated, gas-guzzlers that had sold like hotcakes for more than a decade--were suddenly out of step with consumer demand.
The market’s turn to smaller, more efficient cars exposed the domestic small-car catalog as obsolete and uncompetitive compared to the more refined and better-engineered offerings from the imports. American consumers reacted by purchasing the imports and excoriating the domestic offerings for their inadequacies.
Confronted with shrinking market share and even the threat of bankruptcy, the domestic automakers were under pressure to respond quickly with potent, up-to-date small cars of their own. Luckily for Ford, a contemporary and competitive subcompact was already available from its European division to bolster its sagging American small-car fortunes. Enter the savior ... the Fiesta.
Okay, time for a quick break to explain. Despite my best efforts to be clever, I'm guessing that the ambiguity of my language and the pictures of late-1970s Fiestas have tipped you off that I'm actually talking about the late 1970s fuel crisis and the 1978 Fiesta, not the current economic crisis and much-ballyhooed 2011 Fiesta. But I think the parallels between the two situations are fascinating, and it's very interesting that, 30 years later, Ford is once again importing a Fiesta to help revitalize its sagging small-car fortunes. Truly, what was old is new again.
The original Fiesta was only sold in the United States for three years, and it wasn’t an influential smash sales hit in America in the same way that the Volkswagen Rabbit was. For a car that Car and Driver called the most important Ford since the Model T, the Fiesta just didn’t make that big an impact--at least not the kind of sweeping market-changing impact one would expect of an efficient, front-wheel-drive Ford in 1978.
For people like me, though, the original Fiesta was an icon for perhaps the most important reason--because it was a blast to drive. Don’t confuse the Fiesta with the later, more polished, and more ponderous Festiva. While both had suitably festive names, only the earlier Fiesta backed that up with real fun.
With only 66 horsepower on tap from its unsophisticated 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine, the Fiesta wasn’t exactly a muscle-bound powerhouse with obvious performance potential. But with only 1,800 pounds of mass and an excellent manual transmission, the Fiesta was quick--at least by the standards of the time. An 11.9-second 0-60 time doesn’t sound particularly exciting today, but the Fiesta was comfortably quicker than the Chevrolet Chevette (13.0 seconds) and even the upmarket Honda Accord (12.6). The Dodge Magnum XE had a 400-cubic-inch V-8 for motivation, but it was only slightly quicker than the Fiesta at 11.0 seconds. The much more expensive BMW 320i was only slightly quicker at 10.5 seconds. Even the first-generation Lotus Esprit, tested in the same C&D issue as the Fiesta, only managed 9.6 seconds. The fact that a base 2006 Kia could smoke these cars isn’t nearly as important as the fact that, for its time, the Fiesta was a pretty swift little economy car.
The quality of the Fiesta’s handling dwarfed its accelerative capabilities. Like its archetypal predecessors, the original Mini and Rabbit, the Fiesta combined light weight, cat-like reflexes, and an eagerness to be pushed up to and beyond its limits. The Fiesta’s spunky agility made it perfect for close quarters cut-and-thrust; it was an urban warrior par excellence. C&D’s Pat Bedard called the Fiesta a “gifted broken-field runner.” The Fiesta may not have had a sports car’s ultimate level of grip, but as a fun, spritely little runabout it excelled.
I find the wrapper for this dynamic package extremely appealing. The simplicity of the Fiesta’s clean, angular lines and understated proportions make it a classic, like a saucier Rabbit/GTI, or a slimmed-down Lancia Delta. I much prefer the Fiesta’s styling to the swollen, overdone lines of today’s compact cars; if I could purchase a modern VW GTI that looked like a 1978 Fiesta, I’d buy it tomorrow.
Europe loved the Fiesta; Ford sold more than a million Fiestas in the first three years of production, and more than 10 million have been sold in the series’ life span to date. Unfortunately, Americans didn’t get the same chance to love the Fiesta. As mentioned, Ford withdrew the Fiesta after only three years; the larger Escort replaced it in 1981. Despite the Escort’s charms, I don’t think much of that trade; nor of the fact that we never had access to the sporty XR2i variant or all of the other interesting Fiestas made over the subsequent three decades.
I’m looking forward to the new Fiesta coming Stateside, but the new car has big shoes to fill. The original Fiesta’s combination of high-mileage efficiency, hatchback utility, and eager agility made it one of the inspired used-car beater buys of the 1980s. I’m sure the new Fiesta will be a competent car; but will it be as fun as the original? Will it have the same spark? Here's hoping it will.
The top photo is an early Fiesta press shot; the second image is courtesy of Flickr user .Robert., the print ad comes from AdClassix, and the final picture is of a parts car from a Fiesta owner page.
--Chris H.
Bill on March 16, 2009 at 05:22 AM
The performance numbers don't tell the story. I knew of two of these cars, growing up. The owners loved them. Period. I got a chance to drive one of these on a fairly regular basis, and when stepped on, it would take most cars off a light and in handling, was light years ahead of the 76 Vega my mother gave me. In fact, this car was the inspiration for the purchase of my 84 GTI.
I Was wondering how long it would take you to get to this car.
That Car Guy on March 16, 2009 at 08:12 AM
My sister's family had a Fiesta like this, and we all really liked it! Yes, it turned on a dime and was a blast to drive, and I don't remember the numbers, but the mileage was great. Theirs was a reddish-orange.
The downsides were a cheap interior (Here comes those exposed metal doors again), dinky dash, and a "tinny" sound to the doors. Had the car seemed more solid, I think their trade to a Cutlass would have been delayed.
David Colborne on March 16, 2009 at 08:57 AM
My grandma had one of these - she absolutely loved it. Unfortunately, she forgot to change the hoses at 100,000 miles, which led to a rather nasty and fatal coolant leak not too long after that. In hindsight, having a Ford that lasted into 100,000 miles without any serious issues was somewhat revolutionary for the time. I still see a little red one running around here in Reno from time to time.
Also, I should have remembered you touched on the Magnum XE at some point - egads, that car was awful.
Joe Dennis on March 16, 2009 at 10:31 AM
My grandma also had one of these - a silver '78 or '79. That was my favorite of any of the cars my grandparents owned. I always liked watching Grandma row through the gears on the way to Chief's grocery store in Napoleon, OH. People have mentioned the styling (which I like) and the handling (Grandpa traded the Fiesta for a two-tone Horizon before I was old enough to drive), but what I remember is how the Fiesta was able to *stop* in such short distance after Grandma and me were almost run off the road by a wayward Delta 88. Thanks to German engineering (and by the grace of God), we lived to tell the story.
kenny on March 16, 2009 at 11:00 AM
I love the Fiesta. I knew of 2 people who owned one when I was 10 and 12 years old. I recall the exposed metal inside and the vinyl seats. It is hilarious to find ads for unsed 70's cars that say "leather" interior. lol
One of the 2 people was a teenage girl. It was yellow and was a replacement for her 81 Corolla. She had a Scirocco S soon following the Fiesta, so she knew "fun" cars after that Corolla.
The other my dad's best friend bought for his Mom cheap. It was also yellow and I think it was an S? I like the dashboard in these cars. Nice shelf on top and just pleasantly styled.
If I was short a Turbo Sprint and GTI 16v and needed a car...I would pick up a ultra clean one no problemo.
I here some parts are getting obsolete though? There is an after market for performance parts but I imagine it is not as well supported as a VW. Certainly more than my Turbo Sprint. ; - )
Jordan Ramler on March 16, 2009 at 11:05 AM
Wouldn't your sister's family also be your family?
That Car Guy on March 16, 2009 at 11:23 AM
@ Jordan Ramler - No, they have their own house and everything.
Chris Hafner on March 16, 2009 at 12:18 PM
Chuck: "The downsides were a cheap interior (Here comes those exposed metal doors again), dinky dash, and a "tinny" sound to the doors."
You know, if the trade-off for an 1,800-pound car is a tinny interior, I'm okay with that. Today's small cars are overstuffed and too heavy, for reasons we've already discussed ad nauseum. Imagine an 1,800-pound car, or even a 2,000-pound car (with safety upgrades) with a more modern engine.
Colin Chapman was right. Light weight is the best horsepower upgrade there is; it helps every dynamic aspect of the car.
Chris Hafner on March 16, 2009 at 12:19 PM
David Colborne: "Also, I should have remembered you touched on the Magnum XE at some point - egads, that car was awful."
You take that back!
Bill: "I Was wondering how long it would take you to get to this car."
It's been bouncing around in the back of my mind for some time - I just had to get around to it. Which sounds like a lot of things in my life, actually. :-)
Mochi Mochi on March 16, 2009 at 03:09 PM
chris h: "if I could purchase a modern VW GTI that looked like a 1978 Fiesta, I’d buy it tomorrow"
This was the exact reason I did NOT buy a new Golf GTI or other new car in 2001. In a time of personalization, new cars on the market on the market are a counter-trend in sameness and vagueness. The crisp sprightly lines of the Fiesta are gorgeous, cute, and fun. The visibility in this car is unimpaired. It is form following function and still having room for expression and fun.
A friend of mine and I were looking at these cars just last week and glowing over the way some have been modded and preserved. They're great little cars. This is what a car should be. Don't complain about the interior, be thankful that no one was loading these little beauties up with a lot of padded crap that obscures the car itself. Don't like the small amount of plastic? Don't care for the upholstery or carpeting? Yank it all out and put in a racing seat or two.
This car did so much with so little. It really was a wonder. No it did not have the sophistication of Rabbits in that time, and yes by today's standards the Rabbits of that time were crude, but it was SUCH a revelation. German Fords in this country! Probably the cheapest car that German Ford made, and so vastly superior to anything US makers were turning out at the time. It made one stop shouting "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more", something everyone was encouraged to do back in the 70s :)
As a kid, the car mags doled out details and specs that were like candied crack for me. I remember the one area of contention was about the rear suspension of the Fiesta, a solid beam axle, not quite as glorious as the trailing arms of the Rabbit. But it's acceleration and handling belied any crudeness in the suspension.
Its so funny to think back to those days. I remember the Road&Track performance comparison chart, 0-60, skid pad, slalom, braking, and quarter mile. I memorized it, I lived by it. Cars that approached that magic 10second 0-60 barrier were deified. The 320 was a real performance car back then. The 1st gen Scirocco too. The little Fiesta burst on to the market and muscled its way right in among a bunch of the top performance cars of the time.
I think in the end what this tells us all is that you can have a blast in a good car, no matter how fast it actually goes. But the Fiesta will hold a special place in the hearts of many enthusiasts. It was simply a great little car no matter what the time.
Great post, thanks Chris.
Patrick Carroll on March 16, 2009 at 04:35 PM
Have you ever covered the Fiat 127?
The reason I ask is I think the Fiesta (body shape at least) was lifted almost unchanged from the 127.
Punkindrublic on March 16, 2009 at 05:33 PM
Ah the memories. Got one as a rental at RAF Mildenhall for a day trip to London (with 3 other squadron guys along for the ride). It DID scoot once I mastered the "backwards" shifter. Of course the trip back was a bit more sedate with our load of booty; kept getting horned out of the right lane.
Bill Twist on March 16, 2009 at 06:08 PM
My parents had one when I was just learning to drive. The car was quick and agile.
My friends called it the "Flaming Orange Fester". We'd go driving in fields with it, it was almost as good as a 4WD truck.
Mike on March 16, 2009 at 06:15 PM
I owned not one - but two Fiestas!! They were orange inside and out. I purchased the fist one - a 1978 model - for 800$ and drove the proverbial crap out of it. On cold Montreal mornings when the dampness went right through you, that car would start every time. A few years later, I bought another one - same model and same colour - for 60$. It had been sitting in a garage for a few years and the owner wanted to get rid of it. It took a while to get it going - nothing mechanically obvious was wrong with it; I just had to coax it along (push it) with my friend's '78 VW Rabbit (an engineering marvel in its own right). Eventually, the carbon blew out of the carburetor and the car ran great for almost two years. The radiator was in serious need of replacement but I couldn't bring myself to spend 3 times the price of the entire car on a radiator so I never replaced it. One day while driving home from a softball game, the engine seized on the side of a downtown Montreal road. I pushed the car across the street to its final resting place at a mechanic's shop and took the bus home. That car in particular has become serious folklore to my friends back east.
Richard on March 16, 2009 at 06:19 PM
I owned a white Fiesta. 190,000 of the best miles I ever drove. My father loved it too, At age 68 he drove it from St. George, Utah to Hibbing, Minnesota in two days, changed clothes in the Phillips 66 station, and made it to my Uncle's funeral with 5 minutes to spare. (He got a speeding warning in South Dakota but not a ticket.) What a car.
Evan on March 16, 2009 at 06:20 PM
Yeah, I owned a '78 Fiesta, bought used in 1983 for over a decade 'til it got run into the ground. It was a fun drive and a real trooper, though I did have my fair share of maintenance problems. Still, it's probably more influential than you'd think since a lot of the thinking that went into the original Taurus was based on concepts Ford of Europe pioneered on the Fiesta. One of the nice things was all the European-spec "goodies" you could get to fit your Fiesta out your way; I know I had some good stuff installed in mine and, when I had to get the engine rebuilt, a lot of Formula Ford pieces fit right in.
cottus on March 16, 2009 at 06:46 PM
I feel like the small child in the story about the Emperor with no clothes: There are a number of automobile classics that combined low initial cost, great reliability and ease of mantenance.
So why can't they continue to manufacturer those vehicles? old fashioned can openers are still available why not cars?
That Car Guy on March 16, 2009 at 07:01 PM
Cottus, some people can make money building small cars, others can't. Why? Well, that can be debated for years.
The Fiesta, VW Beetle, and others fit the bill you are talking about. Let's hope "The Next SMALL Thing" is right around the corner!
Tom on March 16, 2009 at 07:06 PM
My first new car was an '80 Ford Fiesta, $5200 with an AM radio. Oh it was the Jimmy carter era so my financing rate, on a new car, was 14% . The week after I bought mine a rival dealer called me with an offer of special factory financing ....10%!
Dan Palmer on March 16, 2009 at 07:07 PM
I drove a '78 4-speed my senior year of college (1987). It was bright green when we bought it, but for my birthday my father paid ($400 I think, not much less than we paid for the car itself) to have paint it to virtually the same shade of yellow as the car at the top at Earl Scheib (I kid you not).
Spring break '87 it took me, my girlfriend, and 2 others from Central Illinois to Ft. Meyers Florida and back with no drama.
It died a year later when my girlfriend's brother borrowed it while we were out of town and managed to vaporize a piston.
Of the 25 or so cars I have owned the Fiesta ranks in the top 5 based on fun-to-drive and basic toughness.
daxx on March 16, 2009 at 07:10 PM
I had two Fiestas in years past in Europe. The first was a 1980 model I bought in 1988 which after some initial problems (alternator, starter, carburetor) ran fine for three years until it was totalled. The second, a 1987 "S" model bought in 1995, was basically the same as the first but had a different front end, interior and a 1400cc CVH engine with a 5-speed gearbox. That one ran well until the floorpan rusted out from under it by the time it was eleven years old. Great little cars, but lousy build quality.
The one thing they both had going for them was their handling. While they didn't have huge quantities of grip, they steered like go-karts with great steering feel thanks to the lack of power assistance. Just the thing for zipping down English country lanes. I miss those cars sometimes.
...m... on March 16, 2009 at 09:41 PM
...i very nearly had one of these as my first car in 1988, but at the last minute pounced upon a straight-six t-topped '81 mercury capri instead; i think i was happier for the change...
SteveS on March 16, 2009 at 10:05 PM
I had a 1978 Fiesta S. Bought it new for $4000. Drove it over 200,000 miles. Along the way it got turned into an autocross car while still being my daily driver. Placed 10th in C/SP at the Solo II Nationals.
It still has the place as my favorite car I've ever owned. If only my sister's boyfriend hadn't totaled it...
I've told many a person that this is the kind of car we need today. Even the current Fiesta is too equipped. If you built something truly equivalent, and could sell it for perhaps $8000 today...
Bryan Frymire on March 17, 2009 at 01:36 AM
So Patrick Bedard called the Fiesta a "...gifted open-field runner..."? Was this before or after he scrambled his brains in that horrific crash at the Indy 500?
Okay - I only kid a little for dramatic effect. I'm sure it's a neat little car but I just can't get over those zero-to-sixty times! I guess I'm just spoiled from reading comparable times for hot muscle cars. I still remember reading about the Buick Grand National Turbo and its scorching 4.9 second 0-60 time. Now THAT'S quick. It's been a long time since I've done any physics equations but I'm guessing that the Fiesta couldn't match that sort of acceleration unless it was dropped off a cliff. Come to think of it... Nahh. That's just cruel. They were nice cars. There. I said it.
Whitehall on March 17, 2009 at 04:59 AM
I never bought one but I did cherish and use the driving gloves the dealer gave me for taking a test drive.
I had an organge BMW 2002 tii at the time.
I later had a 1984 GTI and have loved VW but refused to buy either VW or Audi so long as they had that REALLY stupid "shield" grill. Like my new CC a lot - it reminds me of the 2002 tii in having that Teutonic purposefulness - it is the bottom of the line with vinyl seats and a 6 speed.