If I stopped to think about it, joined all the dots, I could have figured out that Ford was going to kill the Fiesta (writes Andrew). The tiny margins, the chip crisis, the shrinking sector, the need for the Cologne factory to build a new generation of Ford and VW EVs, even my little grey cells could have deduced the Fiesta was not likely long for this world.
But I didn’t. Which is why the news of its impending demise hit me as hard as I can remember learning about the death of a single car. Seems silly, doesn’t it? No, I’m not sitting here in tears but I am a little bit shocked. I was 10 when the first Fiesta rolled off the line, and it’s been with me ever since, one of those little constants in my life. Sure I’d be far more shocked if Porsche axed the 911, but not much else. Because not much else has endured for so long.
My mate Ben had a Fiesta. An early XR2, all white paint, little rubber spoilers and pepper pot wheels. At the same time I had a 2CV. I simply could not believe what this car could do, especially through the corners, where its low profile, fat Pirelli P6 tyres allowed it to adhere to the road like a day old yolk to a stone cold pan. I learned a lot about driving from the passenger seat of that car, then he let me drive it and I learned a lot more. Truly it was part of my motoring education.
