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Blogs:
Akron Law Café:
A Woman in the White House
The Heldenfiles:
"Opportunity Knocks" for Canton Family (Updated)
Patrick McManamon:
The Browns conclude preseason 0-4
Browns Bulletin:
Cliffs Notes: Bears vs Browns Review
Cleveland Browns:
Browns v. Lions: Fourth Quarter
Cleveland Indians:
Ten for ten. Playoffs possible?
Akron Aeros:
Aeros clinch wild card, celebrate
Akron Zips:
Zips top No. 3 Notre Dame
Varsity Letters:
Week 2 football scoreboard
Kent State Sports:
Kent State versus Boston College Preview
The Sports Mix:
Ohio State Buckeyes - BTN and TW Reach a Deal
Ohio Politics:
Ad Watch: Flashback to 2006, Stevens and Palin
All Da King's Men:
McCain Selects Sarah Palin For Vice President
Blog of Mass Destruction:
McCain's Faulty Judgment On Display With Palin Pick
HRLite House:
Friday HR Fun Thought - Couch-surfing
Akrocentric:
"Sunflower," a poem by Frank Steele
Akron Gamer:
A look at Madden NFL 09, pt. 2: Gameplay
BokBluster:
Barackopolis
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Connie asks about hotels and resorts near the lake.
Sound Check:
LeRoi Moore, Dave Matthews Band saxophonist dies
Tia's Trends:
Light at the end of the Tunnel?
Redesigned subcompact to return to U.S. market by 2010; new model lighter, greener than predecessor
By Frank Jordans
Associated Press
Published on Wednesday, Mar 05, 2008
GENEVA: Ford Motor Co. unveiled its redesigned Fiesta subcompact on Tuesday with hopes of snagging a bigger share of the market for fuel-stingy vehicles that emit less carbon dioxide — and said it will bring the nameplate back to the United States after a 30-year absence.
The new Fiesta, with swept-back headlights and a deep grill flanked by fog lights, emits less CO2 — one of the greenhouse gases thought to cause global warming.
And it gets up to 63.5 miles per gallon of fuel in the ECOnectic 1.4 liter diesel-engine version, Ford says.
Ford says the ECOnetic range, which will also be rolled out in the Focus and Mondeo models, delivers the fuel efficiency of a hybrid without the associated cost. Details on the fuel efficiency of other Fiesta models were not immediately available, but Ford spokesman Finn Thomasen said the company would be aiming for fuel economy of 47 mpg across the board.
The Fiesta has sold some 12 million units since it was introduced in 1976, and Ford has high expectations in the face of growing demand for smaller, more efficient vehicles.
While the name is familiar to customers in Europe, Asia and South America, the Fiesta was only sold in the United States from 1978 to 1980 — a difficult starting point from which to relaunch the brand.
''That was a very challenging discussion for us,'' Ford's head of small-car development Marin Burela said. ''In the end it became very clear to us that the name was something of value.''
The new model is lighter, improving its efficiency. ''These are not just carry-overs of the old Fiesta, these are completely new vehicles,'' Ford Europe chief John Fleming said.
''They're the same size, but they're lighter, and therefore greener,'' he said.
The three- and five-door hatchback versions show up in European salesrooms this fall and China by the end of the year. Other versions, including a four-door sedan, will reach the rest of Asia by 2009 and North America by 2010.
While subcompacts still make up less than 5 percent of the U.S. market — compared with 25 percent in Europe — the segment is one of the fastest growing in North America, with sales up 20 percent last year.
GENEVA: Ford Motor Co. unveiled its redesigned Fiesta subcompact on Tuesday with hopes of snagging a bigger share of the market for fuel-stingy vehicles that emit less carbon dioxide — and said it will bring the nameplate back to the United States after a 30-year absence.
Get the full article here.
