Not to be confused with the Ford Festiva.

The Ford Fiesta is a front-wheel-drive supermini/subcompact manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company and built in Europe, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Venezuela, China, India, Thailand and South Africa. The current-generation Fiesta is marketed worldwide.

By 2010, the sixth-generation (Mark VI)^[1] Fiesta had been introduced worldwide, including in the United States and Canada-making it the first Fiesta model to be sold in North America since 1980.

The Fiesta has sold over twelve million units since 1976.^[1]

hen Ford of Europe began to design the car, the design proposals were named Iris, Beta, The Deutschlander (from Ford's Cologne studios), Mini-Mite, and the Blue Car (from Ghia). Codenames for the Fiesta prototype included Torino, but it became Project Bobcat.

The shortlisted names for the new car designed by the project Bobcat team (headed by Mr Trevor Erskine) were Amigo, Bambi, Bebe, Bravo, Bolero, Cherie, Tempo, Chico, Fiesta, Forito, Metro, Pony and Sierra. Despite more board votes for "Bravo", Henry Ford II personally overruled them and named the car "Fiesta". Several of the shortlisted names were later used on other cars, including "Sierra", which was introduced on the Cortina replacement in 1982, and Tempo which was used on a Ford small car in the United States market. Ironically the "Metro" nameplate was introduced by rival manufacturer British Leyland for the similar-sized Austin Metro in 1980.

The name Fiesta belonged to General Motors at the time; however, it was freely given for Ford to use on their new B-class car. After years of speculation by the motoring press about Ford's new car, it was subject to a succession of carefully crafted press leaks from the end of 1975. A Fiesta was on display at the Le Mans 24 Hour Race in June 1976, and the car was launched and on sale in France and Germany in September 1976: to the frustration of UK dealerships righthand drive versions only began to appear in the UK in January 1977.^[4]

[edit] Fiesta Mark I (1976-1983)

Ford Fiesta Mark I

Production	1976-1983
Assembly	Almussafes, Spain Dagenham, United Kingdom Cologne, Saarlouis, Germany
Body style	3-door hatchback 3-door panel van
Engine	Petrol: Kent/Valencia: 957 cc (58.4 cu in) 40-45 PS (29-33 kW), 1,117 cc (68.2 cu in) 53 PS (39 kW), 1,298 cc (79.2 cu in) 66 PS (49 kW), 1,597 cc (97.5 cu in) 84 PS (62 kW)
Transmission	Ford BC4 4-speed manual gearbox
Wheelbase	2,286 mm (90.0 in)
Length	3,565 mm (140.4 in)
Width	1,567 mm (61.7 in)
Height	1,360 mm (54 in)

Mechanically, the Ford Fiesta followed tradition, with an end-on four-speed manual transmission mounted to a new version of the Ford Kent OHV engine, dubbed "Valencia" after the brand new Spanish factory in Almussafes, Valencia, developed especially to produce the new car. Ford's plants in Dagenham, England, and Saarlouis and Cologne (from 1979) in Germany, also manufactured Fiestas. To cut costs and speed up the research and development, many modified Kent engines destined for the Fiesta were tested in Fiat 127s - at the time considered the benchmark car in the class, with which the Fiesta shares styling similarities. This also allowed covert road testing across Europe.

Although not the first Ford vehicle to feature front-wheel drive (the 1960s Taunus produced by Ford of Germany laid claim to that title), the Fiesta is widely credited as being Ford's first globally successful front-wheel-drive model. UK sales began in January 1977, where it was available from £1,856 for the basic 950 cc-engined model.^[5]

It was only the second hatchback mini-car to have been built in the UK at this stage, being launched a year after the Vauxhall Chevette, but a year before the Chrysler Sunbeam and four years before the Austin Metro. The millionth Fiesta was produced on 9 January 1979.

The car was available in Europe with a 957 cc (58.4 cu in) I4 (high compression and low compression options), either a 1.1 L and 1.3 L OHV petrol engines and in Base, Popular, L, GL (1978 onward), Ghia and S trim, as well as a van. The U.S. Mark I Fiesta was built in Cologne, Germany but to slightly different specifications; U.S. models were Base, Decor, Sport, and Ghia, the Ghia having the highest level of trim.^[6] These trim levels changed very little in the Fiesta's three-year run in the USA, from 1978 to 1980. All U.S. models featured the more powerful 1.6 L (98 cu in) Kent inline-four engine (fitted with a catalytic converter and air pump for lower emissions), energy-absorbing bumpers, side-marker lamps, round sealed-beam headlamps, improved crash dynamics and fuel system integrity as well as optional air conditioning (a/c was not available in Europe). In the U.S. market, the Ford Escort replaced both the Fiesta and the compact Pinto in 1981.

At the beginning of the British government's Motability scheme for disabled motorists in 1978, the Fiesta was one of the key cars to be available on the scheme.^[7]

A sporting derivative (1.3 L Supersport) was offered in Europe in 1980, effectively to test the market for the similar XR2 introduced one year later, which featured a 1.6 L version of the same engine. Black plastic trim was added to the exterior and interior. The small square headlights were replaced with larger circular ones resulting in the front indicators being moved into the bumper to accommodate the change. With a quoted performance of 0-60 mph (0-97 km/h) in 9.3 seconds and 105 mph (169 km/h) top speed, the XR2 hot hatch became a cult car beloved of boy racers throughout the 1980s.

Minor revisions appeared across the range in late 1981, with larger bumpers to meet crash worthiness regulations and other small improvements in a bid to maintain showroom appeal ahead of the forthcoming Mk 2.

In 1978, the Fiesta overtook the Vauxhall Chevette as Britain's best-selling supermini, but in 1981 it was knocked off the top spot by British Leyland's Austin Metro and was still in second place at the end of 1982.

Mk I specifications

Engine type(s)	Inline-4: Petrol, Ford Kent/Valencia OHV
Capacity	957-1,597 cc (58.4-97.5 cu in)
Power	40-84 bhp (30-63 kW)
Max. speed	85-106 mph (137-171 km/h)
Acceleration	0-60 mph (97 km/h): 10.1-17.6 seconds

[edit] Crayford convertibles

In 1982, coachbuilders Crayford produced the Fiesta "Fly"-a convertible version of the Mk 1 Fiesta 1300 Ghia, and a total of just fifteen vehicles were produced. The following year the more powerful 1600 Mk 1 Fiesta XR2 was the donor car, and a further seven convertibles were produced. The conversion involved welding the boot shut.

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