Ford’s Fiesta: Pricing to start below $15,000

Besides the Camaro, and the occasional high-performance European
thoroughbred, the cars that are on consumers’ minds are mostly green. Vehicles like the Volt, the Prius and the Tesla Roadster are
top priority, and second to these alternatively powered vehicles are
extra-thrifty small cars. The B-segment (subcompact) is booming,
not only because vehicles belonging to this particular classification
are thrifty to run, but because they’re affordable to buy in the first place.

Without
question, one of the most anticipated arrivals in this B-segment is
Ford’s Fiesta. After seeing the Verve concepts on which the production
Fiesta is based, and the public receiving them well, it’s safe to say
that when it arrives here before 2010, Ford is going to have a hit on
its hands.

According to Inside Line,
when it arrives the Fiesta will come in at no more than $15,000. And
while today’s Focus is priced in that range, keep in mind that the new
Fiesta will be an international car, built to international standards.
Having seen the positive response from journalists and new car buyers to General Motors’ new Saturn Astra, which is nothing more than a rebadged Opel Astra, there’s little doubt that Ford will want to garner such accolades when the Fiesta shows up in North America.

While Ford hasn’t been
represented in this category since the mid ‘90s with the
Korean-designed and built Aspire, this is no reason to believe that the upcoming
Fiesta won’t measure up to the competition. Ford has had plenty of practice with the
Fiesta, as it’s long been one of their strongest international sellers, and,
with its introduction to North America, its sales figures are bound to grow.