Direct from the publicity materials obtained from Ford by Dvorak Uncensored:
Ford Verve Concept – a bold and colourful concept car to be revealed at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show – gives the first hints of Ford’s future small-car design vision.
The significance of the Ford Verve Concept is that it’s the first physical evidence of the design direction for an all-new small Ford since it was announced earlier this year that the European arm of the company’s global Product Development group is taking the design and engineering lead in creating a new small-car portfolio for major world markets. The Ford Verve Concept is the first of three concept vehicles which will debut in key regions – Europe, Asia and North America.
Note that there will be three designs. Canyou guess which will be the most stodgy? The North American model, of course.
My prediction for USA version:
related link:
Tech5 Complaints about how USA is kept out of market loops
Cute car.
Damn, That looks just like my car in St Thomas thats been stolen and retrieved 3 times now. Except this one still has tires on it.
Looks like some Aston Martin designers had to take a pay cut and work on a “Ford” project. Once again crapping on a company they control. Did the same with Range Rover!
Cripes, Ford builds stuff, now, I’d buy in a heartbeat – if they offered it in the US. They sell a Ranger Pickup with a diesel – in Brazil.
#3 Hmmm…I knew the thing looked familiar.
First it was the Tempo, then it was the Contour, then it was the Focus and now! The next generation of Ford SH*TBoxes! The Verve… Sexy isn’t it?
New design, same old crappy workmanship & reliability…
#5 you wished…
Well, for one thing, the front end of that car would be incompatible with USA bumper regulations.
And it would be totally f##ked up if Ford tried making it compatible with the USA regs.
It’s not that the US can’t design a ‘hot new concept car’ but… for some reason we don’t. If we continue to buy crappy cars we will be stuck with them. Money talks
It’s really wierd, one of the best cars I ever drove was an Australian FORD Falcon! Kind of like a 5 series BMW on steriods and affordable too! really!
#9 – why would it be less likely to meet bumper regs than, say, this:
The US automotive industry avoids selling such vehicles here because they want to fail. They want to leave the high wages and incredibly high health care costs of the US behind. Once GM and Ford are “foreign” corporations, they’ll start selling such cars here.
Fugly!
#12 “The US automotive industry avoids selling such vehicles here because they want to fail. They want to leave the high wages and incredibly high health care costs of the US behind. Once GM and Ford are “foreign” corporations, they’ll start selling such cars here.”
Chrysler now a foreign car company (German) so how about them selling cars in the US as you suggested? Seems they aren’t doing so well in sales same as Ford and GM…so WTF? Maybe I missed something…
Cheers
#14 ME: DAMN, I need to watch my typing..
“Chrysler is now a foreign car…”
Sorry –
#4: They sell a Ranger Pickup with a diesel – in Brazil.
Ford also sells it in Europe.
TIHZ_HO,
You must have missed it. Mercedes Benz (now simply called Daimler) sold Chrysler to a Canadian parts fabricator (that mainly makes components for Chrysler) called Cerberus Capital Management.
The heavy handed Germans really botched the “merger of equals”. Chrysler ended up being a wholly owned subsidiary of MB with all decisions being made in Germany. Many, if not all, of those decisions helped Mercedes and hurt Chrysler.
Daimler took a bath on Chrysler and now they have washed their hands of it with a mountain of red ink. They paid $37 billion for Chrysler nine years ago, poured more billions into improvements, and have now have sold it to Cerberus for a paltry $7.4 billion. After paying out transaction fees and closing out some remaining Chrysler debt, they will only get a return on investment of $4 to $5.4 billion.
http://tinyurl.com/2olsxb
And I thought American CEO’s made bad business decisions!
But, you are still correct. Chrysler is now a foreign car. It’s Canadian!
These cars are also Canadian-made:
Too bad they don’t fully-enclose the cab, it would be a nearly perfect commuter vehicle if they kept rain out…
Doh! I guess I can’t post pics, I must not be |337 enuff…
ED: what’s the trick to getting auth to post pics?
Everyone can post pics..as long as they don;t goo too wide.
In the rest of the world Ford makes good looking reliable cars that sell quite well. In the US they have never understoofd the market place since, oh say the first Nixon administration. I don’t get how they can do well everywhere else except their home country.
Oh well maybe after years of screw-ups they figure it out.
To small to be bought in US. Cars like this won’t make it here until gas is consistently at $4 a gallon or more.
What is the point in having a company with multiple arms, where each arm has overlap and duplication? Why have different design teams in different divisions and make wholly different cars for each market? Why didn’t Ford streamline operations, cutting out the waste, making a specific set of cars for all markets…maybe its just me, but thats the re-org I would have done.
It is true that this car is still too small for the U.S. market–people are afraid of being squashed by oversized SUV’s. American taste in design is like American taste in women in movies —-BORING. (p.s. I’m in the U.S.)
TRUE story.
I saw a small Toyota camery. Outside a restaurant.
3 LARGE people come out, and get into the car…
Consider a car with a carry capacity of 800lbs, 3 FAT persons that Break 300lbs EACH…
the car was sitting 2″ off the ground, and they REVVED the engines SO HIGH, just to move it.
14, :Chrysler now a foreign car company (German) so how about them selling cars in the US as you suggested?:
I never said it was or wasn’t. In fact I specifically said Ford and GM. Thanks for reading….er not reading.
28 ED.
Sorry, I think I f**ked up the previous post trying to embed a google slide show of a Ford Puma…
please remove these… they’re not so important…
Thanks
PS. yeah, I know about tinyurl, just forgot…
#25 ECA you hit the nail squarely on the head as usual. Americans need overpowered oversized cars and trucks because they are fat.
According to UK’s Car, the Verve is aimed directly at ‘smart, successful European women between 25 and 30’ – which explains the ultra-classy Eurobabe in the third pic…
Between 25 and 30 feet? Wow, big gals…