Sunday, August 30, 2009

The Ford Fiesta is NOT a Festiva!

When we tell everyone about the new Ford Fiesta, they think we're talking about the Festiva. We don't want you to make the same mistake.

On the left you will find the stunning Ford Fiesta -- on the right is a ratty old Festiva. (Hood scoop gives it a few points.) No comparison!



Just wanted to make that clear.

46 comments:

Jill said...

ha ha....love it!

Summit Jingles said...

No comparison is right! If the fiesta is half the car the festiva is it will be a good one. I've seen 7 festivas now with over 500,000 original miles. I've seen dozens in the 300,000 and 400,000 mile range. Yes I know you are surprised. Everybody is. Gas mileage can get into the 50's. Yet the 0-60 is about like my honda element. About 10 seconds. Not fast but not scary slow like the competition. Here's one turning over 500,000 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz_Yto_-PMs
They are also huge inside. Good luck getting a lazy boy or washer or dryer into the fiesta. See the roominess of a festiva here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6eMNvsvWH0
And then we get to the high performance festivas. EASY and CHEAP to make them smoke most anything. One friend has 3 in a row fastest time of the day at autocrosses with his festiva. And here are some festivas beating a new GTO a WRX and an old hot rod chevelle AT THE TRACK! Festiva FTW!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzd5MXt0ZVA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r26ywMXwVIw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xA75IVcfmy8

love,
neanderpaul

Anonymous said...

You're right, there is no comparison- I'd rather have the festiva, thanks!

Anonymous said...

Paul is hardly ever wrong. I have two almost finished Festivas and wouldn't trade them for four Fiestas.
Chuck

Anonymous said...

Man... Im digging that festiva.

Anonymous said...

Festivas are great!!

Biglay5150 said...

you can keep your car payment. Ill keep my Festiva!!!!!

Anonymous said...

pwnd

Anonymous said...

Festiva lovers don't hate yo! The Fiesta can't help it's awesomeness, just like a pretty girl, the Fiesta was born hot! :P

Anonymous said...

^^^ Not hated just statin!!!

Biglay5150 said...

Its not like any of us said the Fiesta was "Ratty" or anything. We are just statin the facts YO!

Anonymous said...

i just wish the fiesta had a hood scoop like that festiva

FestivaWES said...

Paul i back you 110 percent, and everything you have stated. I have/had several swapped festivas myself. I'll never trade out my "ratty old festia".

FestivaWES said...

By the way is that GL for sale....I'll buy it~!!

Summit Jingles said...

Wow! Now this blogger says in her tweet (upper right) that the festiva lovers are "dissing" the fiesta?!! I read and reread. All I see from myself and other EXPERIENCED festiva enthusiasts are statistics about the festivas. Just numbers. Just facts. Most of us including myself are quite enthused and optimistic about the fiesta. We hope it will be great like the festiva. We can't help but enlighten you on the facts about the festiva. It is a legend for a reason. We will watch and hope for the fiesta!
neanderpaul

Biglay5150 said...

HA HA LOL at your Tweet! HELP!! LOL

Anonymous said...

Too bad ford didnt remake the Festiva instead of the Fiesta. Of course the current automotive industry problems reflects how out of touch the auto companies are. Festiva(s) rule !!!

Sean said...

Why do all car-related everythings have to turn into some kind of battle over who is right and who is wrong and whose is better than whose... ARGH! Can't we all just get along?

festivaWES said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

I hope you're not waiting for the groovement to get it right. I'm pulling for the Fiesta, but not holdin out to much hope.

Anonymous said...

All right, folks -- I'm all for fun banter, but if you diss this blog, its administrators, or the other commenters, your comment will be deleted. Fair warning.

Biglay5150 said...

Noone has "Dissed" or disrespected you blog or your car. We were just defending ours. And I think its is funny that you have the one post that pointed out you dissing ours deleted. That is the only reason we showed up. We have people mistake our cars for the original Fiesta all the time and I admit it does get tiring. If your going to have a blog on the "World Wide Web" you should expect comments from people that dont agree with things you say. Myybe you should make a public apology and we might stop posting in you public blog.

Anonymous said...

all we are saying is that we think/know that the Festiva is a better car. thats it!

Anonymous said...

First of all, I have only deleted posts that have been rude toward another commenter or disrespected this blog. If I wanted to silence the entire thread, I would have deleted every comment.

Second, I find the discussion enlightening -- I've never met anyone that liked the Festiva. I kept out of the discussion, letting everyone speak their mind, but stepped in when people started getting snarky.

Third, I happen to think the Festiva in the photo is ratty. Yours might be smokin' hot. If so, great. If the Festiva in the photo isn't yours, don't take it personally. Life's too short.

And finally, please note that when commenters feel they have a right to be rude, just b/c they aren't speaking face to face, they forfeit the right to post on this blog. This is not a combative website, and we will not allow it to become so. Let's practice netiquette, people.

Biglay5150 said...

Would you like to see my cars?
[URL=http://img149.imageshack.us/i/dscf2160n.jpg/][IMG]http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/7497/dscf2160n.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL=http://img146.imageshack.us/i/dscf2162.jpg/][IMG]http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/6117/dscf2162.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL=http://img11.imageshack.us/i/371283984369c4cc6913.jpg/][IMG]http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/7770/371283984369c4cc6913.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL]
[URL=http://img188.imageshack.us/i/dscf2197q.jpg/][IMG]http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/5682/dscf2197q.th.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Are those Ratty. Id like to race your Fieasa on a track that would be fun.

West Michigan Ford Trucks said...

The Ford Festiva is not the first thing to come to mind as a good car from Ford. It has some great advantages like gas mileage and space in the back but also has its disadvantages. The Fiesta is a great car to get Ford and the industry going. It has proven itself for many years in Europe and this version is even better, granted I have not seen this fiesta up close and in person, if having to choose between an early 90's economy car and a new Fiesta the Fiesta would win nearly everytime.

Unknown said...

Yes, the Fiesta is a nice car. As Paul said, if it's half as good as a Festiva, they'll have a nice car. My '88 Festiva just turned over 208,000 miles, with, now read this closely now......the original engine (just basic maintenance), the original clutch, even the original transmission fluid! It will be 21 years old in a few days, and I get 45 mpg on a daily basis. Mpg in the 50's is not uncommon with these cars. I can change the headlamp in about 2 minutes. I can fit 8' long lumber in the car and still close the hatch. I can actually where the spark plugs go! It is small and nimble, so I can park, well, anywhere! Festiva's are fun, unique, pretty much bullet-proof, and speak volumes of the individuality and ingenuity of their owners. I will take the Festiva, thanks!! DeathEgg.

Joel said...

for me, part of the problem with the Festiva lies with my experience with them. i've only met two people that owned one. Paul, the guy who ran the hardware store and towed a trailer full of hay bales with his Festiva. the other was my 7th grade social studies teacher who was 6'4" and had to fold himself inside the Festiva.

now, i realize that my disdain for the car isn't really a fair assessment. it really has more to do with the peoplethat drove the car. the two people i knew that drove Festivas were odd. so i just assumed the car was odd. i was 10 at the time, and it forever left an impression on me.

i've never driven one, rode in one, or worked on a Festiva. i'm sure they are perfectly suitable cars to those that want to drive one. i'm just tired of people confusing the names, since they picture the car with said hood scoop instead of the other car pictured.

you can fit a lot of stuff in the Fiesta, too. in fact, anyone that has never had a hatchback is missing out. i saw that someone on here also drives an Element, which in some ways is like the Festiva- utilitarian, boxy, and misunderstood.

Anonymous said...

Fiesta = you live
Festiva = you die (pretty much of a deathtrap)

I laugh when people do engine swaps on these tin foil festivas is like there hoping to smash on a wall, end up like a crush tin can.

Anonymous said...

People who do engine swaps fully know what they are doing and getting them selves into, I don't think race car driver Chris Titus and Chuck Beck would of used a Festiva for an engine swapped race car if it was a bad car, and if it is such a bad car why would Jay Leno drive one with all the money he has.

Anonymous said...

Any car can be a death trap

Anonymous said...

If the Festiva was such a bad car then why did Three different auto makers make the same car Ford Festiva, Kia Pride(Festiva), Mazda 121(Festiva)

Anonymous said...

Seriously? I really don't think you can call the SHOgun a Festiva. It's based on one, yes, but mainly for it's similarity VISUALLY to the Renault. This thread is only talking about off-the-lot Festivas. I find it interesting that in order to be a fan of one, it has to be modified.

And no, not every car can be considered a death trap. The Fiesta will not ROLL when T-boned, like my friend's Festiva did, crumbling to pieces. The Fiesta is also made with Boron steel -- it has the strongest frame of any subcompact on the market. Safety has evolved, people, just look at our crash test video. Keeping a classic on hand b/c you're a fan is great, but refusing to take advantage of the new safety technology Ford has engineered is just silly. I'm all for rally and auto x cars, but give me something fast, fun, and SAFE for my daily commute.

Anonymous said...

I think you can call the Shogun a Festiva, its not a off the lot Festiva, but its a Festiva

Anonymous said...

If the Fiesta was hit by the right vehicle and not just hit by a cement block on a safety course it has the ability to roll

Anonymous said...

Proof?

Anonymous said...

And why isn't anyone signing in or leaving a name? If you're so passionate about Festivas, why cloak your identity?

Just a question...

Anonymous said...

A Fiesta might not be a death trap but anyone can die an any car accident

Unknown said...

Most people aren't "cloaking" their identity, we don't have blogspot usernames, so we post as anonymous.

Really, the Fiesta won't roll on a side impact? Funny, I've seen Miatas roll from side impacts, and they are pretty low to the ground. I'm pretty sure if its hit right anything will roll in a side impact.

Back when the Festiva was made, everyone wasn't worried about getting t-boned by dumb drivers and such, so they made the car less safe so they can use the car for its main purpose: high gas mileage. I'd love to see the Fiesta get in the 45-50 range like I've seen some Festivas.

Really though, we are comparing apples to oranges here people. The Festiva is more comparible to, like, the baseline Hyundai Accent and such. The Fiesta is comparable to the Matrixes and other 4 door hatchbacks.

Marc said...

Oh come on, the Festiva was the replacement of the European Fiesta back then. Ford had to source a car from the far east and it happened to be the Kia Pride.

Kia's logo even has the same shape as Fords!

And now for something similar to the photo that started this all:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/marckloosterman/3845510545/in/set-72157620134239629/

On the left the Festiva/Pride, on the right the Ford StreetKa convertible!

Anonymous said...

The Ford Festiva was available as a Mazda 121 in Europe, and later the model was licensed to be built bij Kia. Do not expect the Kia pride to be the same quality as the Japanese built Mazda. I'm not surprised that the Festiva is as tough as is mentioned in this blog, Mazda engines have quite a reputation in Europe too. But there is a world of difference in driving either the new Fiesta or the old Festiva.

(By the way, in Europe the Fiesta has a brother called the Mazda 2, underneath the skin they are much the same, so are de Ford Focus and the Mazda 3 and Volvo S40 for that matter)

Summit Jingles said...

"I find it interesting that in order to be a fan of one, it has to be modified." Nope. We are fan's of both stock because of durability, mpg, and quick fun to drive factor. AND the modified festivas because they are cheap to make fast, still get great gas mileage and it surprises everyone to get smoked by one.

"Fiesta = you live
Festiva = you die (pretty much of a deathtrap)"
Nope again. They do very well in front and rear collisions. I've seen them rolled on the interstate median and driven home. They are a unibody and close to a cube so they do well when they roll without just stopping and crushing. Insurance crash test footage shows them rolling and the hatch still opens and closes. I've seen them rear ended and pushed into the car in front of them and the LTD that rearended the festiva was torn up. The festiva suffered little damage. They are bad only in side impacts.
neanderpaul

garylau said...

The best thing about the Festiva in my opinion, is that Ford did not make it. Don't be mad, just my opinion.

FestivaWES said...

I have no need to cloak myself as ANON. Before you people rant on about festivas why don't you get all the facts straight.

Ford never made the festiva, they just slapped their name on it. A festiva is of mazda design and all the North American festivas were made in Seoul, Korea...every last one of them.

Many car manufactures have different names for cars overseas. Example a hyundai accent over here is a Verna over there, tiburon/tuscani.

When is the last time you hauled a pontiac 400, a 350 short block, a extra festiva motor and a cherry picker in your feista??

And es any car can be a deathtrap.

The only things a fiesta has over festiva is more power options, airbags, and ABS brakes....who cares just more things to break down over time.

Anonymous said...

Paul - it is a myth that cars that do not crush and "can be driven away" are safer. It's better if the car is totaled. That is what they are designed to do. Watch our Crash Test mission. Crush zones are needed to absorb impact. The more tank-like the vehicle, the more damage to our bodies when in a collision. There is nothing to absorb the impact. As you can see in our Crash Test video, when older cars were in collisions, they rolled, yet hardly had a scratch on them. We've moved away from that for the right reasons. Look at NASCAR crashes. The interior frame is what is important, not the outside. And the Fiesta has a boron steel frame plus crush zones. Much safer!