Ford of Europe
Ford of Europe is the US-based Ford Motor Company, the European office in Cologne.
- 4.1 Installation works
Model history car
See: Ford Germany, Ford of Britain Ford of Europe was established in 1967 by the merger of the German and British Ford subsidiaries.
1967-1973: Cortina and Escort
The first new model after the founding of Ford of Europe was the Escort, which was built in the UK since October 1967 and sold later in the year. The Escort was a saloon in the lower middle class with rear-wheel drive and replaced the British Anglia. Except in the United Kingdom, the car was built from 1970 also in Germany. First, the 2 -door sedan came out later there was a 3- door station wagon, a 3-door van and a 4-door sedan. Was driven of the escort of four-cylinder in-line engines with 0.95 l, 1.1 l and 1.3 l capacity for gasoline operation. Later there was also a 2.0-liter engine in the RS R4- 2000, which reached a top speed of 177 km / hr. The car quickly became very popular and stabbed the models of its main competitors, such as Opel and Volkswagen ( in Germany ), Vauxhall, BMC and Rootes Group (in the UK). The escort never reached such a large dominance in Europe's largest auto market, but drove the Opel Kadett and the VW Beetle significant market share from.
The second major conceptual model of Ford of Europe was the Capri, a sports coupe, 1969. The car was based basically on the rear-wheel drive platform of the Escort Mk I was powered by engines with 1.3 liters to 3.0 liters and was also in Great Britain and Germany built on the latter site with V4 and V6 engines. This model quickly gained popularity and was popular with sports car buyers who once wanted something different than the MGB or Sunbeam Alpine.
In August 1970, the Cortina Mk III and presented in Germany the nearly identical Ford Taunus TC in the United Kingdom, the Taunus 12 M / 15 M replaced there. The British and German models based on the same platform, but had slightly different bodies and used domestic motors as driving, although there were two cars to buy with the German 2-liter OHC four-cylinder petrol engine. 1972 was the Cortina, the best-selling car in the UK.
In the spring of 1972, Ford Europe replaced its top models ( in the UK, the Zephyr / Zodiac, in Germany the 17 M / 20 M / 26 M ) by the Consul and Granada that were available as a sedan, wagon and coupe. These models were aimed directly at the Rover P6, the Audi 100 and the Triumph 2000. Rapid Consul and Granada had trumped their competitors in many countries and in 1973 they were in 10th position of the sales statistics in the United Kingdom. As the Capri and Cortina / Taunus TC built the early Consul and Granada, both in the UK and in Germany, but in every country with the usual there engines.
1974-1980: Escort Mk II and new Fiesta
A revised Capri II was released in early 1974. He had a tailgate instead of gewühnlichen trunk lid.
Ford brought the beginning of 1975 the Escort Mk II out. It differed significantly from the outside from its predecessor, but had the same mechanics. Only the entry-level model with 0.95 liters, the nowhere sold well, fell away.
1975 Ford repressed British Leyland ( with the brands Austin, Morris and Rover ) from the first location of the British registration statistics.
1976 rose by Ford of Europe with the Fiesta, the first European Ford hatchback with front wheel drive, in the small car market. The Fiesta was built at Ford's plant in Valencia, Spain, and was equipped with four-cylinder petrol engines with 0.95 l, 1.1 l and 1.3 l displacement ( as the first Escort ) available. In the sporty XR2 version there was later an engine with 1.6 l displacement. Not only in the UK and Germany, but also in other European countries, the model quickly made his way, and soon became one of the best selling cars of the continent. It beat out competitors, such as the VW Polo, the Citroën Visa, Vauxhall Chevette and the Peugeot 104.
In 1976, the new Cortina Mk IV and the now completely identical Taunus TC '76, which still led the sales statistics in the UK. They prevailed against rivals such as the Vauxhall Cavalier / Opel Ascona or the Chrysler Alpine.
In September 1977, the Granada Mk II was introduced. Since 1976, all of Granada were manufactured in Cologne, the consul fell away in 1975.
The Capri II came in 1978 and was also built only in Cologne.
In 1980 he one of the most important ideas in the history of Ford Escort Mk III The new front-wheel drive and ultra- modern styling was sold in October in the UK, Germany and the rest of Europe. First there was the Escort hatchback as; a notchback sedan was no longer there. The 2.0-liter R4 engine was no longer offered; the top model was the XR3 with 1.6 -liter R4- injection engine.
1981-1989: Sierra, Orion and Scorpio
20 years Cortina Manufacturing in the UK ended in October 1982, when the new Sierra came out. The new car retained the old rear-wheel drive platform, which were almost exclusively offered at a time when cars of this size with front-wheel drive, a little surprised. The big news, however, was the new, ultra modern and aerodynamic styling that was ahead of its time compared to competing models, and particularly to its predecessor. Initially, the sales figures were disappointing, but the demand soon and 1983 was the Sierra third of UK sales statistics. The car was built in the UK and Belgium and sold throughout Europe and beyond. Later there were also versions of the Sierra Cosworth, who brought it to a top speed of 241 km / h.
In 1983, the seven- year-old Fiesta a major facelift. He continued as a 3- door hatchback available, but had softer lines, giving it a more modern look. The sporty XR2 version there was again, but with increased power and the first five-speed gearbox that was ever built into a fiesta. Also in 1983, Ford gave the customer demand for Srufenheckversion the successful Escort station wagon after that was the best selling car in the world now. The derived notchback version of the Escort was called Orion, but was higher up in the model range. The 1.1 liter engine was not available and there was only the GL and Ghia trim levels better. The Orion was almost as long as the Sierra and many customers saw in him the true successor of the old Cortina / Taunus TC.
In May 1985, Ford presented the Scorpio ( in the UK continue to "Granada" ) another milestone. The car was based on the extended rear-wheel drive chassis of the Sierra and looked much more modern than any other car at the time of in this market segment. The Scorpio was also the first mass-produced car in the world, which was equipped with ABS. Good facilities, a comfortable interior and good quality made for the European success of the manufactured only in Germany Scorpio. A notchback variant appeared in 1989.
The production of the sports car Capri ended in December 1986 after 17 years and there was no successor as sports coupes were then not so much in demand. Much more popular were quick Station Wagons like the Ford Escort XR3i, Vauxhall Astra GTE of / Opel Kadett GTE, the Peugeot 309 GTI or VW Golf GTI.
In February 1987, a brand new Sierra was introduced, which was, above all, now also available as a saloon. The competitors, like Austin Montego, the Vauxhall Cavalier / Opel Ascona, the Fiat Croma and the Peugeot 405, it offered a long time ago. The notchback version was called Sapphire and was the first sedan model from Ford after setting the Cortina / Taunus TC five years ago.
A also completely new Fiesta was introduced in April 1989. The most important innovation was the long-awaited five-door version. Here, too, offered the competitors have long five-door models, such as the Austin Metro, the Vauxhall Nova / Opel Corsa, the Fiat Uno, the Seat Ibiza or the Peugeot 205 were New in the 1.0 -liter and 1.1 liter HCS engines ( high Compression Swirl ) that existed in addition to the proven 1.3 -liter and 1.4 liter engines. There was also a 1.8 liter diesel engine and the Sport models XR2i and RS Turbo with 1.6 liter engines. The top model was equipped as the first Fiesta Ghia with power windows and ABS.
The largest part of the 1980s was the Escort the best-selling car in the world; 1982 to 1989 it introduced each year to the UK sales statistics. Despite a facelift in March 1986 saw the car already at the end of the decade, but a bit old-fashioned in comparison to its competitors, such as the Rover 200, the Peugeot 309, the Fiat Tipo and Vauxhall Astra / Opel Kadett.
1990-1996: "Driven by You"
The Escort Mk V was launched in September 1990 along with the Orion Mk III, but the two new vehicles met with only moderate interest. The styling of the car did not have the flair of the competitors and the driving impressions were unconvincing. The normal escort models were later given society from the high-performance versions of RS 2000 and RS Cosworth, which met with positive reactions. The name of RS 2000 was abolished in 1990 and introduced in 1992 new version with 2.0-liter 16V Zetec engine, four-wheel drive and an impressive top speed of 210 km / h was undoubtedly the best ever built. The RS Cosworth was the supercharged version of the RS 2000 and brought it to a top speed of over 240 km / h, which ensured him successes in international rallies.
Despite this, and despite impressive new models from competitors, such as Vauxhall / Opel and Rover was able to keep Ford beginning of the 1990s, certainly in the top position of UK sales statistics. It even had a new song Brian May - Driven by you - write, which was then used in Ford television commercials in the UK.
Ford responded to the criticism of the shortcomings of the Escort in September 1992 with a small facelift, which was the introduction of three new engines with 1.4 l, 1.6 l and 1.8 l 16v Zetec. The latter was also used in the Fiesta RS in 1800. Even the Orion benefited from the improvements, but disappeared in 1993, the name and the notchback versions also were called escort.
In 1993, Ford with all production models a standard driver's airbag, a; many models also had a passenger airbag either as standard or on request.
In February 1993, Ford introduced the fundamentally new Mondeo midsize car, which replaced the Sierra and the Opel Vectra / Vauxhall Cavalier, the Peugeot 405 and the Nissan Primera was in competition. With the Mondeo the step was taken to the front-wheel drive in this class and finally the model was available with various 16V four-cylinder Zetec petrol engines. In 1994, a 2.5 -liter V6 it. The car that was available as a hatchback, notchback sedan and wagon, was elected Car of the Year 1993. In his mind, there was hardly a front wheel drive car with better handling characteristics in Europe. In 1994, Ford again the sales statistics of the midsize car in the United Kingdom and thus supplanted the Vauxhall Cavalier, who had led in the years before.
In early 1994, Ford had also something to offer back on the market for coupé with the sample, which was built in the American style, and based on a Mazda. Equipped with 2.0-liter 16V -R4 - engine or 2.5 -liter V6 engine car drove well, but sold worse than Ford had hoped.
Revised in 1995 Ford Fiesta and Escort model series in order to keep up with the ever-growing number of rival competitive, were preparing to attack Ford's market position. One another Printready this year was the SUV Galaxy, who led at first the sales statistics of Vans in the UK.
1996-2003: New- Edge Design
In 1996, the Ford " New Edge Design" in his series a. Some of the models with the eye-catching new look were completely new, others were just face-lifted versions of earlier, more conservative designs.
Main article: New- Edge Design
1996 Ford came with the strange and peculiar named Ka styled in the market for a subcompact cars, but was referred in 1997 with the competition car of the year by the Renault Scénic at No. 2. The Ka had the chassis of the Fiesta and its 1.3 -liter petrol engine, which led to good handling for such a small car. Criticism aroused the few place on the rear seats and small trunk. At about the same time received the Mondeo a facelift with sharper contoured front and new seats, which offered the rear seat passengers more space.
Also on the Fiesta chassis was the elegant coupe Puma 1997 that was available with two engines from the Fiesta program with 1.4 liter or 1.7 liter displacement. The Puma got applause for his apartes appearance and its excellent handling characteristics, only the few space on the back seats attracted criticism.
Was how the car since 1995 and in the United Kingdom - - With the cessation of production of the Scorpio, Ford adopted in May 1998 from the upper middle class. The unique styling of the facelift version, which was hardly a parallel in other European Ford models or in European competition models, contributed to the failure of the model from which Ford finally took the consequences.
In 1998, with the launch of the successor model Focus the end for the Escort. Since the Focus completely different than anything else on European roads of those days back and sat Ford continued the production of the Escort to July 2000 in order to give customers the opportunity to get used to the new design. But Ford would not have to fear the audience reactions to the new Focus, because this was elected several times to the car of the year. At the peak of production on average every 12 seconds left a Focus the assembly lines in Saarlouis ( Germany ), Valencia (Spain ), Wayne (Michigan ) (United States ) and Hermosillo ( Mexico).
1998 was also the successor of the sample in the form of the Cougar. Like its predecessor was the Cougar in the U.S. and was equipped with 2.0 -liter and 2.5 - liter engines. Unlike its predecessor the on the front-wheel drive platform of the Mondeo based. For a coupe, he offered a lot of space and shone with superb handling. The sales in Europe were quite low and so wagons were offered from 2001 only in the United States.
The aging Fiesta received its second facelift in autumn 1999 and sold still shiny thanks to its good handling characteristics and its good handling that successfully disguised his age. The interior belonged to the best in the small car range, though the place - especially in the rear seats - could not convince. This flaw is corrected in 2002 when the all-new Fiesta went on sale. This new Fiesta will be built in Cologne and Valencia, in each plant about every 27 seconds, a Fiesta left the tapes. This means that the production of passenger cars by Ford in the United Kingdom was completed after about 90 years, even though vehicles and engines were built in Dagenham.
The Mondeo was presented entirely renewed in late 2000, but was defeated by the Alfa Romeo 147 in a competition car of the year. The new Mondeo was cheaper than its predecessor, but its greatest advantage lay in the comfortable equipment and good handling characteristics, which brought him into the middle class back to the top. Even if the demand in this market segment in the 2000s, fell slightly in Europe, the Mondeo but remained Britain's most popular midsize car until 2007, when ausstach him the face-lifted Vauxhall Vectra.
With the production setting the Puma in early 2002, Ford had again not offer the coupe sector more.
2003 saw the Ford C-Max for the first time a vehicle in the growing compact MPV sector. The C- Max was - unusually - the first model on a new platform, which should also serve the new Focus a year later.
Since 2004: Kinetic Design
The second generation Focus - hatchback, notchback sedan and wagon - came in December 2004 in the sale and joined seamlessly to the predecessor. The new model has been praised for its comfortable furnishings and its good handling and reliability. Only criticism was his unorganized design, little different from that of its predecessor.
2006, the new S -MAX and the second generation of the Galaxy were presented. Both cars had the same platform, but the S -MAX was cheaper and sportier, while the Galaxy was luxurious and more practical. The S -MAX was the first Van was elected Car of the Year.
In June 2007, the third generation of the Mondeo was presented. With the 1.6-liter R4 engine as a base engine it is more affordable than its predecessor.
Revised in 2005, Fiesta was replaced in late 2008 by a completely new model, also with diesel and LPG Fiesta Econetic Fiesta is as available with LPG -powered engines.
The Fiesta styling corresponds to the Ka of the second generation, which is on the market since 2009.
2005 Ford celebrated the 30th anniversary of leadership in the British popularity scale. The Focus was the best selling car in the UK, the Fiesta was in fifth place and the Mondeo in ninth place. However, the distance between Ford and his pursuers was lower than ever; Vauxhall and Renault were just a little bit behind Ford
2008 Ford purchased the majority of shares of Automobile Craiova in Romania. The Transit Connect is the first model to be produced there. Also the production of the B -MAX and the 1.0 - liter EcoBoost engine have been included in this work ..
Commercial Vehicles
The commercial vehicle division of Ford of Britain was one of Ford of Europe, until it was sold in 1986 to the Iveco division of Fiat in Italy. The last significant models were the Transcontinental Ford and the Ford Cargo.
Tractors
The manufacture of Ford tractors in Europe was discontinued after the sale of the division to Fiat in 1993 and the name was changed from Ford New Holland to New Holland. New Holland is now one of CNH Global. Tractors were manufactured at its plants in Antwerp, Belgium and Basildon in the UK.
Most important European sites
The company has its main test track in Lommel in Belgium.