Went to Ford India. Apparently the Figo, which still has a fictitious interior, is the only model they sell there, which is hard to believe, but its the only model on their website, which oh by the way, is the WORST. WEBSITE...IN THE WUUURLD, what with its glacial loading time and underwhelming, cheesy "road of life" intro that presumes to map out some Indian Joe-Sixpack's life...which is totally out of order! Everybody knows, marriage comes BEFORE romance, THEN sportsmen!!! They even left out reincarnation, for shivassake!
@bmoreDLJ: I count about 5 models including an SUV. You sure you went to right website and not one of those model specific micro-websites?
Link: [www.india.ford.com]
I agree with you on the format though, not the greatest one around.
I like how Ford isn't skimping on design just because its a developing market. Despite the fact Mullaly said he'd phase out model names that start with "f", this kicks the nausea-inducingly hideous Chevy Agile's ass within an inch of its life, at least in looks.
@bmoreDLJ: To me it looks like they've tried to mate the current Fiesta face to the old Fiesta body, and it looks quiet awkward. But there are definitely worse designs out there.
@Syrax: This car does age better then Pam Anderson. But you're right, it's clearly a rebadged previous-gen Fiesta. However, this being a car for the Indian market, I wonder if this car has the front impact protection Pam has.
Chennai used to be called Madras and is home not only to some really spicy curry, but also to some pretty cool plaid-style shirt designs. So maybe the car will include some of the latter native seat patterns just in case you partake in the former and end up on a bumpy road.
@dal20402: It seems to me someone did a study a while back that demonstrated a serious lack of knowledge about where consumers' cars brands were based and where their cars were manufactured. Case in point: my brother used to date a girl who was forced to drive Fords, because her dad worked for Ford. What did she drive? A Hecho en Mexico Fusion, of course, because it's "American (Fuck Yeah!)".
Ahem: "young, well educated, and affluent for their age" does not indicate that these people are smart, especially regarding cars. I wonder how many in this demographic bought Daewoos ten years ago.
Although I would prefer to buy a new Lada 2110 "Classic" as my next new car, I would also be open to a nice Maruti Suzuki (Chevy Sprint) or a Tata Nano as my next new car as well. It's just a shame that it is no longer possible to buy a new Trabant 601 anywhere in the world as I would take that over anything this side of a 2CV or Renault 4.
@Maymar is breaking in the commenting system...: Sadly it seems the rest of the world is following us in our need for over complicated, bloated crap that is expensive to maintain and dies an early death. I really can't see a new Prius from today living to be 20-30 years old. It just has too many expensive things to go wrong. A Lada, Trabant, Zaporozhetz, Beetle, Fiat 500, etc. however is so simple that anyone can understand it and keep it going indefinitely. You could probably find a Trabant in a Bulgarian barn somewhere that hasn't run in 30 years and get it going for around $10. Try that with a similar "Barn Find" hybrid when they get that old. After all, it's rare to see a 1st gen hybrid on the road today. They just cost too much to fix, and help contribute to our throw away society that values fashion over utility.
09/23/09
The "cool" word in italian is "fico".
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[www.india.ford.com]
09/24/09
Link: [www.india.ford.com]
I agree with you on the format though, not the greatest one around.
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09/23/09
Sue Ford!
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09/23/09
I don't see the cost-saving benefit of selling old cars to developing countries if they're going to spend money on restyling the whole car.
09/23/09
Plus, they're just slapping a new front end. All the side and rear panels are the same.
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09/23/09
@Syrax: This car does age better then Pam Anderson. But you're right, it's clearly a rebadged previous-gen Fiesta. However, this being a car for the Indian market, I wonder if this car has the front impact protection Pam has.
09/23/09
09/23/09
What about... rear... impact?
09/24/09
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07/28/09
I think it would be interesting to survey those buyers, asking where their cars were made.
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07/28/09
Do you think any country would be willing to trade all of our crossovers for all of their simple econocars?
07/28/09