Fiat's partnership with Chrysler could bring the Ford Ka to America

2009 Ford Ka - Click above for a high-res gallery
To quote the famous Scottish author Sir Walter Scott, "Oh what a tangled web we weave..." In this particular case, the web in question is a global vehicle market with automakers and product lines so intertwined with one another that Fiat's expected partnership with Chrysler could actually allow Ford to bring its small and super efficient Ka city car to the U.S. market. How so?
The latest version of Ford's diminutive Ka shares its basic underpinnings with the Fiat 500, which is one of the first small cars Fiat hopes to sell in the United States through Chrysler's under-utilized dealer network. Early projections indicate that the little Fiat 500 may be built in Toluca, Mexico for sale in the U.S. market. In Poland, both the retrotastic Fiat 500 and modern Ford Ka roll off the same assembly line, and something similar could potentially happen in Mexico.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally has repeatedly expressed a desire to sell the Ka in America, but it's never made financial sense to do so. Maybe – and it's still a bit of a stretch – that time has finally come.
Gallery: 2009 Ford Ka
[Source: The Detroit Free Press]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Richard in FLA 3:01PM (5/11/2009)
Would someone explain it in layman's terms why none of these cars can be sold in the US? What, exactly, does it mean "Alan Mulally has repeatedly expressed a desire to sell the Ka in America, but it's never made financial sense to do so"? If it doesn't make financial sense, why not increase the price? I'm not in the Motor world, so some explaining would help.
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Mattias 6:19PM (5/11/2009)
Three reasons:
First, gas is too cheap in the US, here in Europe gas is between seven and nine US$ per gallon, at this price you really get interested in economical cars.
Second, American cities still seem to have too much too good parking for large cars. In old European cities with narrow roads, you really learn to love cars that are shorter than four metres.
Third, in the American buyers perception, small means you cannot afford big. Here in Europe people are willing to spend as much for a small car as for a big car. So maybe Apple should sell cars in the US? Less -- but better targetted -- features for more money does not mean that the buyer is a poor guy!
downtoearth 7:21PM (5/11/2009)
Richard in FLA...
I'll put it as simply as I can.
Because these cars are CRAP.
- they're beaten in mpg by much bigger, much faster hybrids
- they're painfully small (young children in the rear only, boot for a cat only (without the cage)
- they're usually underpowered thus painfully slow (0-60 in ~13 seconds, like this Ford Ka for instance) so overtaking a tractor trailer on a long trip is suicidal
- they're unsafe due to little weight, midgety crumple zones and, as above, little power
- for a price of a new one you can have a 3-year-old second hand vehicle two classes larger
Europeans don't love tiny cars. They loathe them. They buy them only because they cannot afford bigger ones since both cars and fuel are much more expensive in Europe than they are in the U.S.
Most popular car in EU? Peugeot 208 with some 70HP which is the size of Toyota Yaris.
Most popular car in the U.S.? Toyota Camry, two classes larger, 150HP.
===========================
Now I'll demonstrate the crappiness of these midgets by providing a size perspective first and then presenting their real life, observed fuel economy in relation to size. I hope you and anyone else will get the point.
#PERSPECTIVE - sizes of cars and numbers we'll give them
Car classes, sizes and a number we give them temporarily:
- 0 - Smart ForTwo = smallest city midget
- 1 - Tiny city car = like the Ford Ka Mentioned above
- 2 - City car = Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta, VW Polo
- 3 - Compact car = Corolla, Civic, Golf
- 4 - Small Midsize car = Toyota Prius
- 5 - Midsize Car = Toyota Camry, Honda Accord
# MPG vs SIZE, gasoline, diesel, hybrid
FORMAT:
Size number.....liter/100km......mpg(U.S)......car [remarks]
GASOLINE (all those midgets below are much slower than Prius)
4.....5,26...44,7.....Toyota Prius [HYBRID, 0-60 10.5 sec]
1.....5,31...44,3.....Citroen C1 [slow midget]
1.....5,4.....43,6.....Daihatsu Cuore [0 safety, slow]
1.....5,5.....42,8.....Fiat 126 [death on wheels]
1.....5,5.....42,8.....Toyota Aygo
0.....5,5.....42,8.....Toyota iQ
1.....5,6.....42,0.....Peugeot 107
1.....5,7.....41,3.....Daihatsu Trevis
3.....5,7.....41,3.....Honda Civic Hybrid[HYBRID]
0.....5,8.....40,5.....Smart Roadster
0.....5,9.....39,9.....Smart Fortwo
1.....6,1.....38,6.....Suzuki Alto
1.....6,2.....37,9.....Toyota Yaris
1.....6,3.....37,3.....Renault Twingo
1.....6,3.....37,3.....Kia Picanto
1.....6,4.....36,7.....Suzuki Splash
2.....6,4.....36,7.....Daihatsu Sirion
2.....6,4.....36,7.....Honda Jazz
2.....6,4.....36,7.....Kia Pride
2.....6,5.....36,2.....Renault Thalia
1.....6,5.....36,2.....Hyundai Atos
1.....6,5.....36,2.....Fiat Cinquecento
1.....6,5.....36,2.....Daewoo Matiz
1.....6,5.....36,2.....Seat Arosa
1.....6,5.....36,2.....Audi A2
1.....6,6.....35,6.....Fiat 500
1.....6,6.....35,6.....Hyundai i10
1.....6,6.....35,6.....Chevrolet Matiz
1.....6,6.....35,6.....Citroen AX
2.....6,6.....35,6.....Citroen 2CV
DIESEL (all those midgets below are much slower than Prius)
1.....3,6.....65,3.....Audi A2 3L [no longer made, deadly slow]
1.....3,7.....63,6.....Volkswagen Lupo 3L [even worse than Audi A2]
0.....4,2.....56,0.....Smart Fortwo
1.....4,3.....54,7.....Citroen C1 [53 horse power, midget]
1.....4,6.....51,1.....Citroen AX
1.....4,7.....50,0.....Seat Arosa
1.....4,8.....49,0.....Audi A2
1.....4,9.....48,0.....Peugeot 106
2.....4,9.....48,0.....Citroen Saxo
2.....4,9.....48,0.....Citroen C2
2.....5,0.....47,0.....Fiat Panda
2.....5,0.....47,0.....Nissan Micra
2.....5,0.....47,0.....Toyota Yaris
2.....5,0.....47,0.....Kia Picanto
2.....5,0.....47,0.....Dacia Logan
1.....5,1.....46,1.....Fiat 500
1.....5,1.....46,1.....Volkswagen Lupo
2.....5,2.....45,2.....Citroen C3
1.....5,2.....45,2.....Peugeot 205
3.....5,2.....45,2.....Mini Mini Clubman
2.....5,2.....45,2.....Renault Clio
2.....5,2.....45,2.....Nissan Note
2.....5,2.....45,2.....Skoda Fabia
2.....5,3.....44,4.....Mazda 2
2.....5,3.....44,4.....Ford Fiesta
2.....5,3.....44,4.....Volkswagen Polo
0.....5,4.....43,6.....Smart Forfour
2.....5,4.....43,6.....Opel Corsa
1.....5,4.....43,6.....Renault Modus
2.....5,4.....43,6.....Fiat Punto
Source: http://www.spritmonitor.de/de/die_sparsamsten_autos.html German drivers drive, German drivers log their mileage, German drivers publish it. Thousands of them. I converted the data into mpg for your convenience and added remarks when necessary.
I've got tired...
Swede 11:00AM (5/12/2009)
downtoearth: Stop making assumptions about what Europeans think, because you are clearly not representative nor European. And please be more to the point.
Richard in FLA 11:37AM (5/12/2009)
All of this and I still don't understand how these cars don't make financial sense in the US?
Phil 2:50PM (5/11/2009)
In responce to the first comment, I guessing it would not mean raising the price
"why not increase the price? I'm not in the Motor world, so some explaining would help"
but they could not sell it without a lost due to the cost, ie it might cost the same as a Corolla, but could not compete in pricing say with a mini cooper.
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Tohe 3:47AM (5/12/2009)
The Ford K is way more attractive than the Fiat 500. This Chrysler/Fiat partnership never made sense to me. Americans are likely to reject Fiat cars anyway.
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RoB 3:47PM (5/15/2009)
"down to earth"
they're usually underpowered thus painfully slow (0-60 in ~13 seconds, like this Ford Ka for instance) so overtaking a tractor trailer on a long trip is suicidal
hmm and the prius is 3 seconds faster? that's not a death trap?
Europeans love their small cars, I know I'm european, and what they hate the most are big suvs that block their field of view , that's why really really small suv's such as the Vw tiguan rate so high in europe.
the fact is small cars make sense they take up less space parking use less fuel and also take up less space on the hwy's.
I know how your a huge toyota advocate but this is getting rediculous seriously.
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rmay4 6:04PM (6/01/2009)
Small cars or big cars... It is about cost and affordability. I work at at Dodge Chrysler Jeep Ford dealer in Oregon. When gas was $5.00 per gallon, we sold primarily Compass, Patriot, Caliber, Avenger, Sebring, Focus and Fusion. The week gas prices broke below $2, we ran out of truck eventory and big cars equipped with the V8 Hemi enigne. Gas is now closer to $3 than it is $2, and small cars sales are picking up again. We will stock what the customers want. It does not even matter if the new car mfg. we represent makes the model or not. When fuel was at $5/gl, we carried low mile used Prius' and Mini's. We actually are statring to re-build that economical vehicle inventroy again now. We have 3 Mini's instock currently among other highly economical vehicles. Economical vehicles will be driven by where consumers spend their money or what government mandates. Visit http://dicksautogroup.com
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piscesluigi 10:11PM (6/02/2009)
AH, but they are all so look alike and cute ! Can I take one home and begin the "paper training"?
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