Ford Verve Previews 2010 Small Car – North American International Auto Show
- January 13, 2008
- Concept Cars, Ford
- Posted by George Peterson
- 1 Comment
Ford Targets Millenials with Verve
Ford will re-enter the small-car segment in the States, one they haven’t really played in here since the not-missed Ford Aspire (often referred to as the Ford “Despair”). If the Verve concepts are anything to go by, Ford is preparing a car that people actually may want to own. Ford of Europe has done well with its small cars, including the current Fiesta. But small cars have been notoriously unprofitable when built in the States where small cars are sold on (low) price alone. In Europe, they are more fully-featured and can command profitable prices. In today’s climate, it is time to take another go at small cars here, and Ford’s take will arrive for the 2010 model year.
At this year’s 2008 North American International Auto Show, we are actually seeing the third Verve concept. The first Verve concept was a three-door hatchback introduced in Frankfurt in September 2007. The first sedan was introduced in China in November. This January, NAIAS is home to the introduction of another sedan, much like the China car. Ford’s show stand will also feature the three-door. Europe is mad for hatchbacks and the three-door is a no-brainer there. By the same token, the sedan is a given for the States. Depending on Stateside reaction to the three-door, Ford may offer it alongside the sedan. It’s uncertain if it will wear the Verve name, but at least it is a good option.
And if you’re unsure who Millenials are, this is the group aged 13-28 – most call this age cohort Generation Y. Ford says 11,000 of them get their first driver’s license every day, and for most the first car is a small car. Giving this one styling cues that can appeal to kids who’ve never known a world without cell phones and adults who have forgotten such a world might allow Ford to meet the goal of making target customers from both groups happy.
Aggressive Styling and Modern Details Give Hope for a Cool Small Car
The Verve three-door hatchback concept is basically the next European Fiesta, applying Ford’s kinetic design philosophy and setting the tone for the car in all markets. The Verve introduced in China carried an identical grille and applied the philosophy of the three-door’s sides and rear treatment to a sedan. On the international cars, a narrow grille opening sits between the headlights and above a very deep lower grille. The aggressive and extroverted grille almost overwhelms the small car.
Ford says the lower grille and badge are the Design team’s “intended signature elements.” They communicate the future of Ford design DNA, at least for Europe. This means you can also see a relationship to the latest Ford Mondeo in the Verve’s face, no bad thing. The European and Asian cars don’t get the U.S. three-bar look. To address that U.S. Ford styling cue, the U.S. Verve has a deeper upper grille with three thin bars.
All three are dressed in deep, dramatic, eye-catching colors outside and in. The exterior color of each is carried into interior elements and even found on the tires. The three-door is a bright magenta, the Asian sedan a deep purple, and the U.S. sedan painted the brightest color, called Rouge Red. While these dramatic colors are great for auto show stands, production interiors may be toned down. They share the same two-piece eighteen-inch show car wheel, too.
Ford described the overall look as one of tension without overt agression. Headlights were inspired by Mondeo, as were the high-mounted two-piece taillights of the sedans. On the three-door, the shape of the rear side windows and the kick into the C-pillar is not unlike that of the Kuga, a new Ford European small SUV. All three sport brightwork over the license plate, though the sedans have more around the taillights. The integrated spoiler of the three-door holds an LED high-mounted taillight. The glass panorama roof, found on all three, may find itself on Verve’s options list for some markets. Buyer reaction to the just-introduced glass-roof Mustang may help Ford decide if it makes the cut. A black lower diffuser in the rear held triangular-shaped dual exhaust pipes on the three-door, though the sedans carry more usual round tailpipes.
The three concepts carry the same basic interior, which applies Ford Convers+ human-machine interface approach. It remains to be seen if the North American small-car price point can support touch-screen-based HMI, or elements like navigation. Ford of Europe sees taking interiors forward with this approach to the center stack, which separates entertainment system elements (screen, controls, and electronics), and allows more usable and ergonomic placement of controls. They say designing an interior that looks like a cell phone would leave buyers who grew up with cell phones feeling right at home. The twist-dial HVAC controls, according to Ford, were inspired by high-quality power showers. Instrument panel gauge binnacles are accented with brightwork, and the steering wheel sports toggle controls for the HMI system.
The concept’s nterior materials are a cut above those that will grace the production car, though the expressive colors may be on offer. Approaching the concept with the goal of raising the quality of small-car interiors is a first step to building a small car with a premium-feel interior. Specifically, each Verve sports leather on the upper instrument panel color coordinated to the exterior, with contrasting green-hued black leather for the lower IP. Seats also had color-coordinated leather and piping, bringing the exterior color nicely into the interior environment.
Another Ford World Car?
Historically, U.S. econoboxes felt as cheap and flimsy as their low price caused them to be. These penalty boxes didn’t give much comfort or fun, just simple transportation. International buyers are more willing to pay a premium for small cars that feel good, handle well, and offer modern conveniences. In developing the next Ford U.S. small car in step with the Asian and European versions, Ford has the opportunity to create a car appropriate and profitable for each market.
This may bring U.S. buyers a small, fuel-efficient car that doesn’t put drivers in the penalty box. The car that we see in 2009 may not have quite the same materials of the concepts, but it will deliver style and may offer more features than small cars in the States have in the past. Of course, Ford has had this opportunity with prior world-car projects and missed the mark. This is the chance to show if they have learned from their mistakes.
1 Comment
A real car. Styling innovation. Nice.