New Ford Puma proposal canned
Discussion
Apparently, Ford of Europe has proposed a smaller coupé model to sit below next years Mustang, which may be too thirsty and big for some buyers.
Although details are scarce, the rumour has it that the economy in Europe is deemed too unstable to justify a special model such as this.
I think a new Puma would do great favours for Ford's image, since there is a serious lack of interesting cars in the range at the moment, which really fails to sell the dynamics of the cars to the public.
Anyone know if the original Puma paid off for Ford?
I have one and it's a brilliant car and it ran the entire lifetime of the Mk4 Fiesta platform with minimal changes, so it must have been a good investment at the time, even with a unique engine.
Story here: http://www.insideline.com/ford/europes-woes-put-fo...
Although details are scarce, the rumour has it that the economy in Europe is deemed too unstable to justify a special model such as this.
I think a new Puma would do great favours for Ford's image, since there is a serious lack of interesting cars in the range at the moment, which really fails to sell the dynamics of the cars to the public.
Anyone know if the original Puma paid off for Ford?
I have one and it's a brilliant car and it ran the entire lifetime of the Mk4 Fiesta platform with minimal changes, so it must have been a good investment at the time, even with a unique engine.
Story here: http://www.insideline.com/ford/europes-woes-put-fo...
eh?
how can the Puma even remotely be considered a success?
other than the FRP version looks horrible,underpowered and overweight! even the FRP wasnt blessed with decent performance when you consider the kind of cars it was up against!
if you consider yours great i think you had better go drive a few other cars in the same class then have a re-think!
how can the Puma even remotely be considered a success?
other than the FRP version looks horrible,underpowered and overweight! even the FRP wasnt blessed with decent performance when you consider the kind of cars it was up against!
if you consider yours great i think you had better go drive a few other cars in the same class then have a re-think!
refoman2 said:
eh?
how can the Puma even remotely be considered a success?
other than the FRP version looks horrible,underpowered and overweight! even the FRP wasnt blessed with decent performance when you consider the kind of cars it was up against!
if you consider yours great i think you had better go drive a few other cars in the same class then have a re-think!
Did the business case stack up for it at the time? I've never seen the figures, but there's a load of them around so they must have sold well.how can the Puma even remotely be considered a success?
other than the FRP version looks horrible,underpowered and overweight! even the FRP wasnt blessed with decent performance when you consider the kind of cars it was up against!
if you consider yours great i think you had better go drive a few other cars in the same class then have a re-think!
What was it up against? The Vauxhall Tigra wasn't held in much regard, but the Puma gets raved about in reviews and discussions usually as a great drivers car. Evo even says "Everything" under 'Plus points' and "Nothing" under 'Minus points' in the back pages.
I'll drive a few other cars over the next few years and get back to you
refoman2 said:
eh?
how can the Puma even remotely be considered a success?
other than the FRP version looks horrible,underpowered and overweight! even the FRP wasnt blessed with decent performance when you consider the kind of cars it was up against!
if you consider yours great i think you had better go drive a few other cars in the same class then have a re-think!
Well it sold well, drove brilliantly, and is still very popular now. Rust aside they're quite tough and very easy to live with. how can the Puma even remotely be considered a success?
other than the FRP version looks horrible,underpowered and overweight! even the FRP wasnt blessed with decent performance when you consider the kind of cars it was up against!
if you consider yours great i think you had better go drive a few other cars in the same class then have a re-think!
I'd suggest your opinion is somewhat of an outlier.
I can't imagine how the original Puma can have been considered anything other than a roaring success. I don't know the sales figures but even now, over ten years after they went out of production, you'll still plenty around. That must be some indicator of both how many they sold and the robustness of the things, rust aside. Based on the Fiesta of the time, the development and manufacturing costs must have been minimal yet the car received universal praise, it still does to this day.
There's still a lot of love for the original, now with everyone getting in on the small coupe thing again, I can't help but feel Ford is missing a big trick by not having a modern Puma. Base it on the Fiesta, stretch it a bit, lower it a bit, sort out the ugly rear, give it a more aggressive front end, job done. Give it to Tiffany Dell to (sort of) drift around an old airfield, create a legend in 6 easy steps.
There's still a lot of love for the original, now with everyone getting in on the small coupe thing again, I can't help but feel Ford is missing a big trick by not having a modern Puma. Base it on the Fiesta, stretch it a bit, lower it a bit, sort out the ugly rear, give it a more aggressive front end, job done. Give it to Tiffany Dell to (sort of) drift around an old airfield, create a legend in 6 easy steps.
refoman2 said:
eh?
how can the Puma even remotely be considered a success?
other than the FRP version looks horrible,underpowered and overweight! even the FRP wasnt blessed with decent performance when you consider the kind of cars it was up against!
if you consider yours great i think you had better go drive a few other cars in the same class then have a re-think!
How can it be considered a success?how can the Puma even remotely be considered a success?
other than the FRP version looks horrible,underpowered and overweight! even the FRP wasnt blessed with decent performance when you consider the kind of cars it was up against!
if you consider yours great i think you had better go drive a few other cars in the same class then have a re-think!
- In its class the Puma was one of the best handling cars, it is still quite highly regarded today
- The costs of production were relatively low. During PD it was known as "a Fiesta with a different hat on"
- It sold more than double the initial projections
Podie said:
How can it be considered a success?
This is what I don't grasp about the current line-up. The Fiesta Mk4 platform did a Ka, Fiesta and Puma, all of which sold well.- In its class the Puma was one of the best handling cars, it is still quite highly regarded today
- The costs of production were relatively low. During PD it was known as "a Fiesta with a different hat on"
- It sold more than double the initial projections
Why does Ford now share the Fiat 500 for the Ka and build just the Fiesta on its current platform?
Why don't they just repeat the platform share and take it global, like the Fiesta has? If they can sell the 500 in the US, they can surely shift the Ka and Puma as a fully ford-sourced rival?
The lack of a 3-door Fiesta in the US should pave the way to a Puma, I'd have thought.
king ugly.Seems Ford might be rethinking the Mustang:
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/19/ford-of-europe-... (fixed link)
Too often, we find ourselves pining for Europe-only versions of cars that will never be sold in the United States, but if a report from Inside Line is to be believed, this is a case in which The Continent's enthusiasts will have to watch from afar gets. Ford of Europe is seeking a new coupe that would be smaller than the Mustang, but be positioned as a halo car for the American automaker's European division.
Ford president and CEO Alan Mulally has reportedly given this proposal the 'thumbs down' for the time being, citing the current economic turmoil in the European market. Given the financial climate, the presumably lower-volume vehicle was deemed too much of a risk in these uncertain times. While there was reportedly a design on the works, based on an undisclosed global Ford platform, these efforts have since been shelved following word from the Ford boss.
For its part, the next-generation Ford Mustang is being designed as a global vehicle, opening up potential for sales in new markets. However, despite announcing that the next-generation Mustang will be headed for Europe back in September, Inside Line says Ford of Europe officials are still apparently concerned that the Mustang will be too large and thirsty for their market. The thought is that a more fitting performance model would be smaller, with a potent yet fuel-efficient engine paired with the responsive handling of Ford's current European lineup (perhaps something like Ford's short-lived Puma, shown above).
If/when economic conditions improve in Europe, it will be interesting to see if Ford restarts talks about bringing a new smaller sportscar to market. While we would not disapprove, it would once again cause us consternation if the model was then kept as a Europe-only offering.
I think a new Puma makes far more sense. If MINI can get away with the number of ugly variants that they do, the marketmust surely be there? FWD certainly makes more economic sense as does spinning it off the best-selling Fiesta.
http://www.autoblog.com/2012/11/19/ford-of-europe-... (fixed link)
Too often, we find ourselves pining for Europe-only versions of cars that will never be sold in the United States, but if a report from Inside Line is to be believed, this is a case in which The Continent's enthusiasts will have to watch from afar gets. Ford of Europe is seeking a new coupe that would be smaller than the Mustang, but be positioned as a halo car for the American automaker's European division.
Ford president and CEO Alan Mulally has reportedly given this proposal the 'thumbs down' for the time being, citing the current economic turmoil in the European market. Given the financial climate, the presumably lower-volume vehicle was deemed too much of a risk in these uncertain times. While there was reportedly a design on the works, based on an undisclosed global Ford platform, these efforts have since been shelved following word from the Ford boss.
For its part, the next-generation Ford Mustang is being designed as a global vehicle, opening up potential for sales in new markets. However, despite announcing that the next-generation Mustang will be headed for Europe back in September, Inside Line says Ford of Europe officials are still apparently concerned that the Mustang will be too large and thirsty for their market. The thought is that a more fitting performance model would be smaller, with a potent yet fuel-efficient engine paired with the responsive handling of Ford's current European lineup (perhaps something like Ford's short-lived Puma, shown above).
If/when economic conditions improve in Europe, it will be interesting to see if Ford restarts talks about bringing a new smaller sportscar to market. While we would not disapprove, it would once again cause us consternation if the model was then kept as a Europe-only offering.
I think a new Puma makes far more sense. If MINI can get away with the number of ugly variants that they do, the marketmust surely be there? FWD certainly makes more economic sense as does spinning it off the best-selling Fiesta.
Edited by LuS1fer on Tuesday 20th November 11:23
VinceFox said:
I'd love to see a ford gt86 equivalent. They could give it an exotic name, like a faraway island or some such.
The recurrence of 'its more expensive/ less powerful than a hot hatch' comments on any of the GT86 threads on a car enthusiasts site would suggest they may be right to cancel it.VinceFox said:
I take your point, but the gt86 problem could be solved by selling it cheaper or making it more powerful. Sticking four spacesaver wheels on it and calling it involving isnt fooling anyone.
Wasn't wanting to bring that whole discussion to this thread but a bespoke chassis is always going to cost more than reusing a current hatchback and you don't get more power without more emissions/costs. I would have liked them to use the H6 3.0 rather than SC/turbo but more importantly don't want the car to fail and kill off small coupés again. refoman2 said:
eh?
how can the Puma even remotely be considered a success?
other than the FRP version looks horrible,underpowered and overweight! even the FRP wasnt blessed with decent performance when you consider the kind of cars it was up against!
if you consider yours great i think you had better go drive a few other cars in the same class then have a re-think!
What cars was it up against?how can the Puma even remotely be considered a success?
other than the FRP version looks horrible,underpowered and overweight! even the FRP wasnt blessed with decent performance when you consider the kind of cars it was up against!
if you consider yours great i think you had better go drive a few other cars in the same class then have a re-think!
Ed. said:
VinceFox said:
I'd love to see a ford gt86 equivalent. They could give it an exotic name, like a faraway island or some such.
The recurrence of 'its more expensive/ less powerful than a hot hatch' comments on any of the GT86 threads on a car enthusiasts site would suggest they may be right to cancel it.
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