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I grew up in northern Ohio. Toledo to be exact. It was a pretty nice place. My family lived in the suburbs and was the definition of middle class. Living in northern Ohio we were only about 45 minutes south of Detroit. GM and Ford dominated the landscape. My family is a Ford family. Let me be more specific about that statement. When I started to care and pay attention to cars my dad had a 85′ turbo 4 cyl. Mercury Cougar, followed by a 88′ Lincoln Mark VII LSC, 91′ 5.0 Thunderbird LX, 94′ Lincoln Mark VIII ( the first car I broke 100 mph in), and another Thunderbird LX (97′ 4.6 with SE options). That last part is important because it wasn’t a Thunderbird SE or just an LX. My dad is way more savy than that. He wanted the color and features of an LX but the wheels and performance of the SE. During those developmental years my mother had a Dodge Shelby Charger with the turbo 2.2-not a Ford but at the time a really freaking cool car. She also had a Ranger, which I had to learn how to drive stick in before I could get my drivers license. Then after that she had a F-150. My brother had a slew of Fords as well. His first new car was a Escort LX, he also had a 92 Mustang GT, and a 95 Cobra. In 1997 my dad and I went to the Detroit Auto Show, we went nearly every year. This particular year I got to see the Contour SVT for the first time. I told my dad at that show that I would have that car one day. In 1998 I got one. A 1998.5 to be exact. That is important because that .5 meant I got the cool wheels and 5 extra hp. I have also had a 2000 Explorer, and a 2002 Focus. To this day the Contour SVT is one of my favorite cars I have ever had.

This year Ford is bringing us the Fiesta. The Fiesta has been in the Euro market and done pretty well. For 2010 it has been slated to replace the Focus in U.S. Rally and next year it will be in the WRC. This car has impressed enough to persuade Ken Block to leave the safety and security of Subaru. The Subaru was on another level of performance- so to me that means the Fiesta must be something really special. Now I know Ford will not be offering the 800 whp(capable) turbo awd version that will be used in the rally series, but what if we do get a turbo awd drive version? Will our scene embrace the new car or relegate it to the scrap heap with the likes of the Pinto, Escort EXP, ZX2, and Focus SVT? As of right now Ford has not published any plans on offering us anything but the 1.6 liter, fwd econobox-which still might be fun with proper modifications and upgrades. However Subaru did not release that the STi was coming state side till only a couple of  months before it went on sale. Mitsubishi pulled the same maneuver. We got the Lancer, a few people got suckered into buying it, thinking it was going to be supported in the after market or that it could be converted into a EVO. Then a year or two later they actually brought us the EVO. Could Ford do the same? Would the market be there for it to succeed at the level the STi and EVO have? Or will it be just another teaser, another fantasy for us to lust after, wishing we could have what the kids across the pond take for granted? We will have to wait and see, our hopes at this time depend on Mr. Block and his success or failure.