I find it quite strange that Ford has pulled the Fiesta from sale. While VAG still seems to be able to sell 4 cars in this segment (Ibiza, Fabia, Polo & A1).
Same story with the Focus, which they are about to pull from sale too. VAG is still able to sell in this segment too (Leon, Octavia, Golf, A3, Scala).
I think you may have inadvertently included the explanation(!) in your statement and it comes down to economies of scale. The Fiesta and Focus platforms are not shared with any other manufacturers, so Ford and Ford alone has to foot the entire bill for developing new platforms.
With VAG, not only is the bill for a new platform split between the budget of four separate manufacturers, but the combined total sales for all four cars will make it much more financially viable to do so.
But also worth bearing in mind that just because the A1, Ibiza, Fabia and Polo are currently sold, that don't mean the situation will be the same at the end of each current respective models lifespan. Ford may have simply got ahead of the game.
I do wonder if it's due to the bad reputation Ford has for the 1.0 Ecoboost engines and therefore frightening potential customers away. Virtually all Fords in these 2 segments have this engine.
I don't think so. We surely know from numerous posts on the forum over the years that most people are completely oblivious to any "known issues", because most people simply don't bother (or aren't interested enough) to do some research and find out.
I don't get why they launched the new Capri, it looks nothing like a Capri. BMW and Fiat showed how to do retro cars with the new (launched in 2000) Mini & 500.
Each to their own, but I don't see this (modern cars made to look like old ones) as being a good thing. Both BMW and Fiat have painted themselves into a stylistic corner with no means to escape or move forward. Fiat have avoided the issue by basically keeping it the same, but with every new version, the Mini seems to be evolving into an ever more ridiculous looking caricature of itself. The front end of the most recent models remind me of those anti-stress toys where squeezing them makes the face mouth and eyes pop out grotesquely!.
I don't really have any problem with Ford resurrecting the Capri name. And while I don't particularly like the car, it does make some kind of sense seeing as the new Capri is a "coupe" version of the new Explorer. Also, the simple fact is it's been 38 years since the Capri was last on sale in the UK* (more than twice as long as its lifespan), maybe time to take off those rose tinted spectacles and move on..............
*It was actually withdrawn from everywhere other than the UK two years earlier.
Edited by badbusdriver on 15/07/2024 at 17:24
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