They’re kidding, right?

This is about $1000 more than Yaris, $3000 more than Versa, $3000 more than Accent, and $2000 more than Aveo. The only car in the class that is more is Fit, and we all know that Honda can charge whatever they want.

Ford needs to start at about $11,500 to be truly competitive in this segment, I don’t care how much nicer their car is than any of the others. People buying these cars are looking for one thing… CHEAP.

agreed

Did you notice the 4-door Fiesta starts almost $2K cheaper than the hatchback? The least expensive Fiesta 5-door is only $800 less than the Focus sedan! I guess that’s how they plan to keep the pricey premium bits in the Euro hatchback, and will dumb down the sedan for us cheap Americans.

Most would say that we need to wait for the safety evaluations in the U.S., but Ford is seemingly offering more safety than its competition. That’s something that, overall, is what keeps people from buying the “egg-crate” autos. My sister still needs a new car after her ‘08 Civic debacle and ya’ll are right, she wants something cheap . . . but safety has kept her from buying all the cars RaineMan listed. That’s only one buyer, but I’m sure there are a few others. Pending some real-world data, I think Ford can command that higher price. Time will tell.

Many of the posters on this site have been begging for this car to arrive in the U.S. Ford wasn’t sure they could do it affordably. Maybe this is as cheaply as their bean counters say they can make it? Maybe they expect to have to put rebates on the things? Again, time will tell.

@Lionwithoutpride: If your sister wants “safe” tell her to buy a truck or truck-based SUV. Those things are built like tanks. All these little cars and “crossovers” fold like a house of cards in a collision. Airbags can help… but all the airbags in the world won’t substitute for solid steel construction.

the cars you listed are cheap foer a reason.Why don’t you go take a look before speaking. I would easily spend more for a product like the Fiesta.

Anyone option one out yet? I got one to over $20k without much work. A hatch SES w/Auto and a couple little things and it’s darn near $21k. That’s some coin for a B-Class Compact. I think the new Golf looks reasonable now…

And just how many of those $13,320 ones do you think will actually end up on dealer lots?

Seems like a good price considering what I’ve read about the car. It certainly doesn’t look like a cheap econobox. My only question is where this leaves the upcoming Focus. The Focus seems to have to fill a very narrow space between this and the Fusion. Can it be better than this but not as substantial as the Fusion?

@easyrider: That’s not the point. Ford is trying to compete in the entry-level subcompact segment. Their offering may be 10x better than any of the others, however with any entry-level car you are looking at cost being the #1 factor. Nobody really wants one of these itty-bitty clown cars if they can afford something larger… especially something from a Domestic manufacturer in a field created and dominated by the Imports.

The fact that anyone can spend $1000 more and get a larger car (Focus) with a lot more features and capability is a sure sign that you are charging too much.

The BMW 1-series is a prime example of this… and has suffered because of it. For only a few thousand more than a well-equipped 1-series, you can buy a well-equipped 3-series. Which is a lot more car for the money.

Why pay $18,000 for a fully optioned Fiesta when you can buy a Focus for $19,000 or a Fusion for $21,000?

Raineman. Nothing beats solid steel construction??
watch this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=joMK1WZjP7g
A larger car doesn’t mean a better/safer car… unfortunately thats the general thinking of americans

After being rear-ended in both a Ranger and a Cobalt… I will tell you that the Ranger barely had a scratch on the bumper, but the entire back end of the Cobalt had to be replaced.

It also depends on what you are being hit by. Most crash testing is done with the car hitting a wall. I don’t hear of many cars being driven into the sides of buildings that often… most cars are hit by other cars, in which case the larger/heavier vehicle typically wins. Simple physics.

Ford has said all along this is a Premium small car. Who in there right mind would pick a Focus over this? The Focus is way outdated(Built on a platform 2 generations old) It will be discounted and I can guarantee it will go for less then a Civic, Fit ,Corolla, or Cruz

Jake, go for Mini. It will hold value and feels much dearer then price suggests. And according to my buttocks and article in C&D next to Mini in handling and performance is Fit.

If you buy a Mini, just make sure you live close to a dealership as thats where it will be spending a lot of its time….

Borat, no one here trusts your buttocks.

What about the REAL price vs. a Fusion? I bet, no I gaurentee a new 2010 Fusion can be purchased for less dough in real dollars, not MSRP.

This could kill this car in the long term.

Thanks, beatus. I think I have to support myself for a living; I will not make it in life as Liberace’s boy toy with those sad assets.

So Borat, you WON’T be debuting your new Leftlane sn “SweetCheeksLuvsCars???”

The Focus ties up the ranks of the Ford lineup, and does so quite well.

What a bunch of whiny babies on this blog, its too this, its too that, whine whine whine, worse than a bunch of ole ladies….

The Fiesta is positioned as a “premium” B-class car with 40-MPG, better than all others in the segment with better driving dynamics and appointments, many of which are exclusive (SYNC, etc.) and one of the few offering leather, which is what many big-butt Americans want, plus, look at the size of the seats in the Fiesta, they are bigger and more comfortable that all others in the segment, plus 7 airbags is another exclusive.

Those buyers that want cheap cheap cheap can get a Fiesta-S with bar bones for $14K… very competitive, but most Americans WANT more and are willing to pay more, just look at Fords transaction pricing and its up over $2,000 average per vehicle because Ford is adding the optional features people are willing to pay more for.

Raineman,
“with any entry-level car you are looking at cost being the #1 factor. Nobody really wants one of these itty-bitty clown cars if they can afford something larger…”
It’s this kind of thinking why the Domestics have for decades failed in this segment and continued to get clobbered.

Cost is an important factor, but not the only one. Flexibility, efficiency, utility, and *quality* are just as important considerations. This is why the Fit “can charge whatever they want.” The only thing holding back Fit sales is constrained production, and Ford sees an opportunity in this segment. It’s not just entry-level buyers; most cars in this segment are bought by families as a 2nd or 3rd car. Here the idea is the best bang for the buck, not the cheapest possible product.

Wish they would offer a base S hatchback for under $14,000. Sorry, but that Focus sedan is the ugly stepsister in this Cinderella story. Maybe the Mazda 2 will have an affordable base hatch version instead.

Make that Fiesta sedan. Damn Ford “F”-ing naming policy.

I’m waiting for Ford to run out of names, forcing them to call one model the Ford Fart.

Note to Mazda marketing mavens: bring BOTH the 3 door and 5 door Mazda2 hatches here. Not everyone needs/wants the extra doors. Price the 3 door to start just under $13,000. You’re welcome.

Lion it was deduced already that my cheeks are not sweet enough for this crowd

this is nice.. it wouldn’t hurt to drop the base price $ 500 – 1000 dollars…. but overall, this is a definite solid contender in its market… they dont really have to…. it will sell…

@Greg: If I want a cheap “bare bones” car I am going for Accent or Versa for $9,999. Why spend $4000 more for the bare minimum?

Global_lightning. Couldn’t agree more. I have been planning on purchasing a new vehicle for sometime soon and was considering the Fit, until I heard the fiesta will be available. I’ll have to wait and see, but if I can get everything I want out of the Fit in the Fiesta, or even the Mazda2 I’ll buy that instead.

@Raineman – “most cars are hit by other cars, in which case the larger/heavier vehicle typically wins. Simple physics.”
Clearly you didn’t watch that video i linked… the 59 Belair is a hell of a lot heavier than the 09 G6 and comes out a hell of a lot worse. Modern vehicles, whether a subcompact or a SUV, are safe. The whole idea of bigger is automatically safer is ridiculous.

Seriously, Ford could have made a cheap B-car, but the past connection between “small” and “cheap” in the mind of the American consumer is what has nearly killed the small car in the US. I bet this car is going to follow the trend of the Fusion with increased transaction costs due to people opting for the goodies. How are those $11,000 Versas working out for Nissan? Selling a ton? Yeah I didn’t think so. They released that thing with a yawn and a tagline that said “It’s cheaper than everything else!” and then watched everyone NOT come running. Doesn’t help that it looks like ass compared to the Fiesta. The release of the Fiesta has been the most brilliant marketing campaign Ford has ever produced, and I normally HATE Ford marketing. They are finally starting to pull their weight and I look forward to lots of support after launch as well to keep the vehicles in people’s minds. The custom ones they showed at LA look hot. I think there’ll be a big market for tuners with this car. When was the last time you saw a customized Versa or Yaris?

I think, for what you get, the price point is right where it deeds to be. I have read reviews that state that the fiesta clearly drives better than almost all of it’s main competition….I would gladly pay a tiny bit more for that! And if you seriously can’t afford that extra difference, why are you even looking at buying a new car???

@Ic3m4n: You can’t just go and compare a car made in the 50’s with a modern vehicle. It doesn’t work like that.

Of cars made in a similar era to comply with similar safety standards, the larger ones are safer. I will put money on a 2008 Silverado coming out of a wreck looking better than a 2008 Civic.

@RaineMan

I would not be so sure of that. The Fiesta will have Boron steel, and will be made of 55% of high strength steel. Below is a test of how strong the Fiesta really is.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/06/11/the-other-neff-autoweek-writer-escapes-harm-after-rogue-tire-ta/

Now look at this article about a Smart four2 that got hit by 2 trucks.

http://jalopnik.com/389911/smart-fortwo-punted-by-delivery-truck-returned-by-van

And now for the last one, check out this Mini and the Tahoe match.

http://jalopnik.com/5096933/chevy-tahoe-messes-with-texas-mini-cooper-pays-price

So your theory basically sucks wind.

@Raineman: just two days ago, LLN has reported a case where Ford has to pay 83 million to a women who became paraplegic by doing a rollover in her SUV.
Secondly, in modern cars, when it craches, the engine completely crushes itself, because it is designed to do so; so that your body has to absorb less kinetic energy. However the habitacle is designed to remain rigid, to protect the passengers. So your bet that the silverado will come out looking better than a civic is certainly true, but it will just show that the silverado will make YOUR body absorb more energy, leaving you with injuries, where you would be totally OK in the civic. e.g. your heart, lungs, stomach, when you drive at 100mph, they are also moving at 100mph, and when you crash, they continue forward and crash inside your body.

Against another normal vehicle, i would prefer to crash in a civic than a silverado, for sure. The only case where I would prefer the silverado, is if i crash into the rear end of a big truck, because it will completely cut the upper part of the civic and take my head with it.

Why is the sedan cheaper than the hatch? It is bigger so why cheaper?

mitzo, they’re rigging the game. They want to be able to say ‘look at how the sedan outsells the hatch… so why would we bring in a 3 door hatch when we can’t even move the 5 door ones’.

Of course they’re not going to say that. Maybe Mark Kleis can enlighten us as to the ‘real’ reason.

A lot of you are forgetting a certain demographic that is buying a $18-22k personal vehicle because they can’t get certain options, or a certain level of decency or refinement in a small car. People who are looking for the cheapest thing on wheels are going to look at used cars, and a few of them maybe cars previously listed (Yaris, Versa, Accent, etc.)
., etc.). But then there’s people who just need a second car that’s good on gas, but still want creature comforts. These people move up the scale to things like the Yaris, Fit, Versa, Aveo, etc.. Many of those people would buy one of these Fiesta’s.
But I think what Ford is counting on most is people that refuse to buy a small car because they just don’t have enough power, features or content/quality. The only thing they can currently buy that’s remotely close to what they’d like is the Fit, which as we know sells well.

*that are buying $18-22k personal vehicles, such as midsized sedans and compacts,

the price of the fiesta is fine, it’s targeted at the fit…expecting an 11k msrp is pure lunacy…read the features…11k? riiiiiiiight…so unrealistic…

Johnnycanuck: “mitzo, they’re rigging the game. They want to be able to say ‘look at how the sedan outsells the hatch… so why would we bring in a 3 door hatch when we can’t even move the 5 door ones’.” This is it – and so I stand by my earlier prediction that in a few years this will be sedan only, which will languish on the market for 10 years. This is Ford, after all.

I’d agree that a silverado will come out looking less damaged in an accident compared to a civic, but you won’t necessarily be safer. Having a body-on-frame design you reduce the amount of area for the crumple zone. Less crumple zone means your body has to absorb more of the impact

Now all we need is the Fiesta RS!

Cost should be another 15% – 20% lower considering the point of Assy.. The forementioned cars that average $1500 – $2000 less are made in countries with very similar pay scales to ours. This Fiesta is to be built in Mexico with wages at 1/8 those of the United States, Japan, or Germany. The “true” pricing should be at the 10K to 12K levels.

Wait till all automakers Japanese, German (already producing some), Korean etc.. kick in their assembly operations south of the boarder. We will then see the Japanese and Koreans come in with 6K to 8K versions of the Fit, Yaris etc..

It’s too bad, manufacturing in the U.S. is faltering for even the transplants. The old saying of producing the car in the market where it will be purchased is gone. Soon “all” of these mid level manufacturing jobs will be gone. We will then be happy for the 6K vehicle from Mexico.

Nice idea by Ford, but, what a surprise, poorly executed by The Blue Oval

Nobody hates Ford more than me, because they are dumb as a stump, and twice as ugly!
But when I saw the Ford Verve Concept 3-door hatch in 2007, I was amped!
A phenomenal city car for those who can’t swing a GTI or miss the old CRX

But of course Ford is too dumb to bring the 3-door, but bring the 5-door hatch, when there are too many on the market already

Why start it for the same price as Focus?
It will just cannibalize sales of the Focus, and as sorry as the Focus is, that will probably cut into your profit margins

The right move is bring the 3-door hatch starting at $12,900, the sedan at $13,900, and the 5-door at $14,900, like they used to do with Ford Escort
They couldn’t keep Escorts on the floor!
They made the pricing easy, and you got what you paid for

Welcome to Ford, where we can screw up a good thing better than GM
DrFill

Focus always has at least $1000 on the hood…so its priced right with that in mind for Fiesta as well.

If the car is meant to compete with the Fit, the pricing is pretty spot on. Most Fits are going out the door in Sport guise between $17-$18k. At least Ford is offering an optional power moonroof. Honda makes you go the dealer accessory route for one.

Neither Fit nor Fiesta should be bought for more than $16k
Very little value above that
You can get more room, power, and features elsewhere
These are entry-level cars only
DrFill

Johnny is on to something.. manufacturers are constantly telling us that US buyers don’t buy hatchbacks, yada yada yada.. then when they do offer one, it’s only as an upmarket version with a price higher than the notchback version! Ford’s Mazda arm started this when the 323 hatchback and Protege sedan became the Mazda3.. and no base version of the hatchback was offered! I’m guessing the 6-speed auto trans standard in the Fiesta hatch is part of the reason.. the base Fiesta sedan and Mazda2 will both have a 4-speed, so the Mazda2 should be much cheaper.

Oops.. what I meant to say was 5-speed auto will be offered in the Fiesta 5-door.. sorry!

Fill, you are so predictable and boring… kinda like Toyota! Blah blah blah, Ford is dumb, durrrr. We’ve heard it a thousand times. Shut up already and go polish your new, non-lethal, gas pedal. You seem to think that car companies should just make what you are into and nothing else. Sorry, but the rest of the buying public doesn’t buy 3 doors. Period. Car companies try to make cars that will conceivably make money. In this day and age if a certain car is projected to not turn a profit, it doesn’t get made. Unless you plan on buying 100,000 of them, which as we know, is impossible, because, even if you had the money, which you don’t, you wouldn’t buy one because “Nobody Hates Ford As Much As You”. Even the 5 door is risky because Americans historically don’t buy hatches, but Ford is taking a gamble that I hope pays off.

Secondly, in case you hadn’t heard, there is a new Focus coming next fall to be revealed at the Detroit show, and its moving upmarket. I would say “wait until you see it” but I know you’ll just indiscriminately piss all over it like some half blind ****er spaniel. It will be the best looking, best driving, and best equipped compact on the market but it could come standard with a solid gold Megan Fox in the passenger seat and you’ll still get on here and bitch and moan about how the solid gold Megan Fox isn’t wearing any solid gold panties and you’ll be damned if you’ll spend THAT MUCH for a vehicle with no solid gold Megan Fox panties.

And I love how you bemoan the horrible Fords that they keep forcing everyone to buy and love, and give awards to, and yet you wax nostalgic for the days of the Escort. Are you really that idiotic? You’re a joke. Nobody takes you seriously.

Mutt
Wow!
What does “A New Focus” mean?
You mean they’re only going to go 10 years between redesigns?
I though they were going to bronze the current one!

Yeah Ford’s trophy case is pretty scary
Like a Haunted House

No one is waxing nostalgic about about Escort
But if you knew anything about auto history (obviously not)
You’d know that was the last time Ford was solvent and making money on it’s cars!

SURE they were making monkey crap, but it was profitable monkey crap!
LOL
DrFill

Doc, the guy’s talking about solid gold panties for god’s sake. Don’t discourage him… I want to see where this ends up.

And Zoom, they only offer a 6 speed auto or 5 speed manual on ALL trim levels. There is no 5 speed auto anywhere. Go build one online and you’ll see. The 6 speed dual clutch certainly beats the hell out of anything offered from Toyota or Honda and it comes available in their cheapest model.

It could be that the hatch costs more because, first of all, it requires more hard trim to finish out the hatch area. I’m sure the giant one piece, metal and glass hatch isn’t a cheap item either. Add into that the fact that the hatch model was pushed through at the last minute and required extra work above and beyond the sedan to get it ready for the North American market.

Lastly, and stay with me on this one… people who buy the cheapest version of a car usually do so for PRICING reasons and not STYLING reasons. The customer for the hatch is probably viewed by marketing as someone who REALLY wants a hatch and will pay a premium for it. You and I may disagree with that assessment but I can certainly see the logic of it. Mazda did the same thing with THEIR 5 door Mazda3 and I see a TON of those things around here.

Trust me, I wish they had a cheaper hatch too, but I can definitely see possible reasons WHY it is more expensive. At least, reasons that make more sense then Ford execs saying “Muhahaha, lets sabotage sales of the hatch so it FAILS!” Genius whoever thought that one up.

This should sell very well.

Yeah and that profitable “monkey crap” is what led them to near bankruptcy because people had such bad experiences. My Dad bought two late model escorts (TWO!) and now he’ll never buy another Ford. You of all people should know that just because something seems to be making a profit in the short term doesn’t make it good for the company in the long term. I mean that’s pretty much the condensed explanation for why American automobiles and consumer confidence are in the ****ter.

If you want to go on believing that car companies can’t change then more power to you, but Ford has already stated it is increasing the frequency of it’s refreshes and redesigns to better emulate the industry leaders. They’ve also been putting more effort into their refreshes to make them more competitive, case in point, the Fusion. Compare that to the recent refreshes of the Japanese mid-sizers (new headlight lenses?) and it’s almost like a completely new car. New enough to win a slew of awards anyway. I’ll grant you that they NEEDED to give it a significant refresh, and the leaders have less need to do so, but at least they are trying and succeeding to inject life into their line-up.

muttonchops, I’m willing to give you the benefit of the doubt since…

“At least, reasons that make more sense then Ford execs saying “Muhahaha, lets sabotage sales of the hatch so it FAILS!” Genius whoever thought that one up.”

… was probably directed at moi.

I want to hear from an automotive engineer why it costs more to build a hatchback as opposed to a sedan.

Show me the money.

This thread makes comments from NMOFGM look intelligent

I’d probably go for a Mazda 2. If Ford sets the price this high, GM would definitely lower price on their Spark model.

Wow, this thread went downhill.
The only reason why a hatch may cost more than a sedan is due to the design of the rear crumple zone. In a sedan you can design the entire trunk compartment a discrete and isolated section from the passenger compartment. This allows reinforcing the structure where the two compartments join, leading to simpler and less costly design. In a hatch, you have to design the rear crumple zone continuous with the passenger compartment, isolating passengers from impacts without the benefit of the reinforcement. This requires more analysis and a more thorough design. See the Honda Fit in this thread for an excellent example:
http://fiestafaction.com/forums/fiesta-foes/11-do-you-own-b-segment-car-already.html

As far as materials go, the difference between the added glass and sheetmetal in a hatchback is small, and the rear hatch itself is usually designed as a simplified door. At the most a couple of hundred of dollars, definitely not thousands.

Now, this is all just _cost_, as opposed to _price_. Price is determined by supply and demand. Ford had done their homework and determined that more people will prefer a hatch to a sedan, which is why these will cost more. Furthermore Ford’s research probably showed that the demand for a base S hatchback won’t justify its production costs, which is why it won’t be built.

Mutt
Injecting life into the Ford lineup is like watching Return of The Living Dead
It’s still really dead bodies running around acting alive
Better than 10 years ago, when Focus and Exploder were creating dead bodies

Ford’s basic common denominator, then and now, is poor management
They blew it with this car
VW, Honda, Toyota have always used 3-door hatches to get you started, with Rabbits, Golfs, Yaris, Civics, and CRXs
And charging more than $15-$17k for this will not bring them the traffic it should
This should mirror the Yaris pricing step-for-step, and model for model
Then they’d get results

This is the one model that showed me Ford could actually turn the corner and threaten GM and Toyota
So than god Ford is still Ford!
The more things change, the more they stay the same
DrFill

global, I was thinking that too when it comes to structure but it isn’t exactly as if this is the world’s or Ford’s first hatchback. A lot of people equate hatchback with cheap. And as you say about the difference in material costs being negligible I don’t think the design aspect would add significantly to the overall build cost either.

Now do you really believe more people are going to buy the hatch as opposed to the sedan over here? It just seems against the trend. Fortunately it won’t be long before we have some actual statistics to back up out theories.

One last thing, if the mission is to move as many cars as possible why would you make the one you think is going to be the biggest seller more expensive? Aren’t you taking the risk of forcing some would be customers away from the product simply because of the price point?

fill… FAIL sorry buddy.. but umm if you read the article and you might know that they arent charging more than 15k-17k for this

unless you buy a fully loaded model with auto and aren’t smart enough to attempt to negotiate a little bit.., AND unless there aren’t any incentives, which most likely there will not be at first… but surely will be in time..

i love most toyotas… but dude… you are fool if you think this is not better than a yaris for the same money
or even marginal amount more… ($1000-2000 depending on trim / equipment levels of both vehicles)

no offense, but a base yaris or dead even model price-wise to a base fiesta …
… will look and is like DOG SHYT compared to the firsta…
and of course comparing hatch to hatch, sedan to sedan, otherwise the comparison is mostly irrelevant, being that many sedan buyers dont like and hence won’t buy a hatch, and vice versa! <<coincidence,

(vice versa<<coincidence)

fiesta* not firsta

then again the fiesta is brand new to the market while the versa has been a contender for quite a few years, to be fair

Johnny, like I said, Ford may be thinking hatch buyers (in the US especially) specifically look for hatches because they like them more than sedans and will be willing to pay more. I know I would. Sedan buyers, especially at the low end, just want something cheap. It makes sense even though I don’t like it. I personally think they would be better off with a cheap version of the hatch but I can live with the decision.

It’s similar to the reason I think they aren’t designing a new Ranger. They know the small truck market has shrunk. And the vast majority of Ranger buyers buy it because it’s the cheapest form of transportation they can find. If you redesign it and add in a bunch of cool features that raise the price you effectively alienate your customer base and end up losing money.

And the only problem with comments on this thread (and auto sites in general) is people who blindly hate on ALL a company’s offerings just to piss people off or stroke their egos. I may like a lot of Fords but I have no problem pointing out things I dislike about them or about Fords in the past. Personally I think it’s a travesty what they did to the manual shift boot in the Fiesta. Would probably make me choose the auto just because it looks so bad. Does it make the car a failure? Not in my book. I can also see the good in other company’s offerings. Personally I think the Toyota FT86 looks sweet and the new 4Runner looks pretty nice, especially in rally form. I still like the Honda Fit. Pretty much everything else from Honda looks like crap currently, but you can’t fault their quality.

This is a funny thread.

When I was in high school many thousands of years ago, I drove a 1992 Ford Escort 5-door. I loved that little car, because it was like a Timex – it always kept ticking. Since I was in high school, though, I did the unthinkable and built an earth shaker in the “trunk.” This little experiment taught me something about hatchbacks: Thumping hatches don’t rattle as much as thumping sedans.

Muttonchops, I’m confused. Wouldn’t Dr. Fill’s Focus with the solid gold Megan Fox cost *more* for the version without panties? This just seems to prove Ford’s problems pricing their vehicles appropriately.

“Now do you really believe more people are going to buy the hatch as opposed to the sedan over here? ”

Yes, for several reasons. First, ironic, was people’s experience with SUVs. They’ve gotten used to these vehicle’s utility and flexibility. What people don’t want is the high cost of ownership (payments and gas) and bulk. Hatchbacks (in the U.S.)are seen as a continuation of the crossover (in decades past, we called these ’station wagons’).
2nd is the demographic shift. Hatchbacks are targeted at younger buyers who weren’t around to experience the first round of horribly bad domestic hatches. Ironically, most are being bought by parents in their 30’s-40’s and a growing number of empty-nesters (see SCION). Both these groups are willing to pay a little more for a quality product that won’t disintegrate after three years.
3rd, the U.S. is getting more urbanized. SUV’s, fullsize cars, and minivans may be at home in rural areas and the suburbs, but in the city these are very inconvenient and expensive (fuel economy, insurance, repairs). These Japanese and European hatches were designed for this environment.

Ford’s pricing will make more sense in about 12 months when pricing for the 2012 Focus is released.

Remember, for years Ford said they could not bring the Euro Focus over her due to cost. With the Fiesta in place slotting just below where the US Focus sits now, it allows them to bring the Euro Focus over here at at slightly higher price to justify the higher development costs of that model.

When that happens, the new Focus will slightly overlap the current US Fusion. Then the same thing will repeat itself. Within 12 months, the current Fusion will have a Euro-sourced Mondeo replacement at a slightly higher cost than the current Fusion.

This will have the result in slowly giving us a better quality product, and inching the pricing (and margins) up in a slow, incremental way that the average American consumer will barely feel or notice.

It’s brilliant if you ask me. But nobody asked me, so I’ll leave it at that.

Focus better stay where it belongs
At a lower price than Civic and Corolla
You’d have to be pretty dumb to pay more for a Focus
Or get one
DrFill

mitzo: “and so I stand by my earlier prediction that in a few years this will be sedan only, which will languish on the market for 10 years.”
I don’t think so–Ford NA is tying with FoE (Ford of Europe) with their releases, so when Europe gets a new Fiesta, North America is bound to follow.

Notice how Ford NA is getting so many European models lately!
* Transit Connect
* Fiesta
* 2012 Focus
* Grand C-Max (Focus platform)
* Kuga (Focus platform) (built in Kentucky and shipped ‘back’ to Europe!)
* and possibly the next Fusion/Mondeo.
Now how about replacing the aging E-series with the Transit van?

No, actually, you would be dumb to buy a toyota. It’s stupid to buy one because of their perceived reliability and forget about how they hide all their problems, and pass any fault to the consumers! Toyota fails, they should only be bought by women or gay men! They yaris, fit, and everything else have such cheap interiors that it makes a kia look like a Bentley!

You are not smart enough for a Toyota
You need a to buy a rental Focus at auction
With Lay-A-Away
DrFill

I’m not used to cars in this segment looking like there was actual work put in to the car.
(aside from the Fit)

But this is a bit pricey for this segment as well… but it looks like this will still sell.

-cereal

I guess this car is targeted at the MINI/BMW-1 audience: small car but not cutting on features and drivability, yet cheaper both the MINI and 1 series. You know, some people like the luxuries and features of large cars, but simply don’t have the space on the drive way or in the city streets.

DrFill, you aren’t fooling anyone with the, “Dr,” part of your name. The way you write your responses, with “DrFill” on the bottom, all the time, is ILLEGAL! Bet you didn’t know that! Unless you actually posses some kind of masters degree, you are at the same level as a con-artist…a liar and a low-life! Your ways of replying to comments is pathetically weak…if you really are someone who can put the “DR” in front of their name. All you do, when replying to a comment, is flip whatever was said to go back against the OP………LAME!!!

I would be surprised if you actually come up with something clever, in what seems to be, a sun-flower sized, brain of yours! Take your time though, because my expectations of you are pretty damn low!

Idrino
You, uh…………seem to be pretty upset at me, and my name
Care to talk about it?
Tell us how you really feel
What’s going on inside you right now?
DrFill

This car doesn’t exactly make you think of throwing a fiesta so I disagree with the name but overall it seems decent for a ford.

Chevyman
“Seems decent for a Ford”
Sounds like you have one hell of a billboard written
DrFill

@Chevymanc6:
But it will be built in Mexico.