Ken Block’s Fire-Breathing Ford Fiesta
01-27-2010, 06:45 AM
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Ken Block’s Fire-Breathing Ford Fiesta
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A couple weeks ago we broke the news that Ken Block made a jump from the Subaru Rally Team to the new Ford-backed Monster World Rally Team. Announcements are fine, but we wanted to see the car! Voila - here it is in all its Monstery goodness. In case there was any doubt, this isn't your mom's Fiesta.
The Monster World Rally Team's US-Spec Ford Fiesta will be will be seeing its first action this weekend at Sno*Drift, Round 1 of the 2010 Rally America Championship in Atlanta Michigan. As the name implies, this is a snow rally - the only official snow rally in the Rally America Championship calendar.
Traditionally this hasn't been a strong event for Block. In 2009 he started strong, leading Day 1, but an offroad excursion put an end to his chances for a podium finish. Instead, victory went to his teammate at the time, Travis Pastrana.
Pastrana isn't a sure thing for the 2010 winter event, however. Last weekend he broke his collar bone (no doubt doing something crazy on a motorbike) so he'll be driving through excruciating pain. This may give Ken Block the edge he needs for a top placing finish in the new car -- but with Antoine L'Estage, Andrew Comrie Picard and Andi Mancin all in the hunt, it's going to be quite a battle.
In spite of these odds, one thing is for certain: This is one damn fine looking rally car.
The Monster World Rally Team's US-Spec Ford Fiesta will be will be seeing its first action this weekend at Sno*Drift, Round 1 of the 2010 Rally America Championship in Atlanta Michigan. As the name implies, this is a snow rally - the only official snow rally in the Rally America Championship calendar.
Traditionally this hasn't been a strong event for Block. In 2009 he started strong, leading Day 1, but an offroad excursion put an end to his chances for a podium finish. Instead, victory went to his teammate at the time, Travis Pastrana.
Pastrana isn't a sure thing for the 2010 winter event, however. Last weekend he broke his collar bone (no doubt doing something crazy on a motorbike) so he'll be driving through excruciating pain. This may give Ken Block the edge he needs for a top placing finish in the new car -- but with Antoine L'Estage, Andrew Comrie Picard and Andi Mancin all in the hunt, it's going to be quite a battle.
In spite of these odds, one thing is for certain: This is one damn fine looking rally car.
01-27-2010, 10:54 AM
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i'm so glad their bringing it over.
I've always thought that domestic companies could boost sales or at least call some attention if they brought some of their cars in from other markets, like the ford falcon.
I've always thought that domestic companies could boost sales or at least call some attention if they brought some of their cars in from other markets, like the ford falcon.
01-28-2010, 11:41 AM
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I've always thought that domestic companies could boost sales or at least call some attention if they brought some of their cars in from other markets, like the ford falcon.
this is called "rebadge engineering". all cars are designed for specifically targeted markets. a good example is the SEAT Leon, which is available in Europe, and exported to S. America, but not America.
Holden attempted this with the Monaro the Astra, Sky, and a few others and got nowhere. Hyundai did this once with the Entourage, Krafcik admitting complete failure and that they would never sell a Kia with a Hyundai badge again.
this is why Hyundais reputation before 1999 was so bad, because their lineup was pushed to all markets worldwide, India, America, Korea, S. America, Europe. The 3-Door Excel and Accent were #1 sellers in Australia, before any other car and considered a great car. After 2000, they realized what other companies were doing, take Ford & Ford Europe S.A. They split off into two separate companies, Hyundai USA and Hyundai Motor Europe GMBH. That is why we have cars like the H100, Starex, Galloper, the i10, i20, i30, Atos, just to name a few. Hyundai saves money by selling 2 or 3 different models under one chassis.
FIAT and Alfa, Skoda, Citroen, Renault, SEAT, are made specifically for Europe. in order to sell in America, they have to have VERY good marketing. otherwise it's not worth it for them, even if they have a large car to offer. Alfa, Renault, and Daewoo in America are great examples.
02-01-2010, 03:42 PM
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Update, with a video of it running on a snow rally.
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02-01-2010, 07:35 PM
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yeah man i know how car markets work. I'm just saying American tastes are changing I think. Nissan finally brought us the Cube and now Ford is bringing the Fiesta. I think they need to not stop there. There's some butt ugly asian and european cars for sure, but there's some cool ones out there that would suit American tastes and might save some money for car companies by bringing them over instead of designing or redesigning new cars.