Ford announces end of Fiesta production in June 2023….

[Phil_F_NM]

Just look at the original VW Beetle. Nearly 22 million of them were produced and if you count other cars made on the Beetle pan, then over 26 million were produced. It's the car that had both the longest production run as well as the greatest number made. There's a healthy supply of aftermarket parts, but all the OEM stuff is gone. A Beetle or Karmann Ghia these days is rare as hen's teeth in the US; a working well used sample of a Beetle from 1968 - 1974 will go for over $5000. I've seen rolling cars with no motor or interior go for over $1000. If the bug were computerized, as most of our Fiestas are, they'd all be turned into razor blades and baling wire by now. I'm not banking on any support for the Fiesta past about 2025 and I hope it's paid off by then so I can unload it before it's toast. I don't want to have to ask my brother in Melbourne to go to a pick & pull (if y'all have those down there) to grab my car some necessary parts. I'll have to make sure my 72 Benz is fixed by then.

 

[scotman]

I am going to purchase five or six wrecked fiesta hatchbacks for parts. Paying attention to the build dates and equipment they have to ensure compatibility with what I am driving. As time goes by, the salvage yards will be swept clean of parts cars. I intend to be my own parts store. This strategy has worked for me and I don’t have any issues with driving a car that is more than ten or fifteen years old. No monthly payment and cheaper insurance are huge incentives for me to turn away from the “drive new every two” mentality that has become the normal thing today.
I remember being told by a ford parts department manager in 1977 that I should just dump the 1969 Mach one I had because ford didn’t service the parts needs for most of the sixties era cars anymore.
I was seventeen years old and didn’t have the resources to have my own parts supply. I am not seventeen anymore, I still have the old Mustang. I don’t know what happened to the parts manager, but that’s okay. I have lots of metal pallet racks for storing parts.

 

[scotman]

I went over to a U.K. Fiesta enthusiast forum to see what the general response was.
The members mentioned that the dealers were emphasizing the Puma to many people who were looking for a Fiesta. And that the high spec ST3 was not available for order. Then they could only get the five door ST as the three door has become totally unavailable.
I don’t believe that a “demand collapse “ occurred. Buyers were driven away in at least a couple of ways.
In America, dealers never viewed the Fiesta as worthy of any space on their sales lot. The base price of a new Fiesta was close to the average retail price of many slightly larger two or three year old used cars. Used cars are substantially more profitable for a dealership. So, the enthusiasm for Fiesta evaporated when the price of fuel became reasonable again.
Now a 2018 Fiesta with 30,000 miles on the odometer sells for within two grand of what it retailed for new!
Ford has zero interest in offering a basic small car that retails for under twenty grand. But they will be overjoyed to lease us a Mach E for $500+ bucks a month!

 

[Hackney]

I went over to a U.K. Fiesta enthusiast forum to see what the general response was.
The members mentioned that the dealers were emphasizing the Puma to many people who were looking for a Fiesta. And that the high spec ST3 was not available for order. Then they could only get the five door ST as the three door has become totally unavailable.
I don’t believe that a “demand collapse “ occurred. Buyers were driven away in at least a couple of ways.
In America, dealers never viewed the Fiesta as worthy of any space on their sales lot. The base price of a new Fiesta was close to the average retail price of many slightly larger two or three year old used cars. Used cars are substantially more profitable for a dealership. So, the enthusiasm for Fiesta evaporated when the price of fuel became reasonable again.
Now a 2018 Fiesta with 30,000 miles on the odometer sells for within two grand of what it retailed for new!
Ford has zero interest in offering a basic small car that retails for under twenty grand. But they will be overjoyed to lease us a Mach E for $500+ bucks a month!

Here in Australia, you can now only get Ranger(#1 in sales in the country) Everest (big SUV) Puma(if you can get one) Escape & Mustang(order books have closed @ the moment on Mustang) no small cars in the range.