KA
|
Ka Calypso moves to its own special beat (Oct 01)
Ka. Funny name, wasn't it? writes Brian Byrne. Some people thought it was to do with Egyptian kings. Others figured it a play on a young child's pronunciation of the word 'car'. Truth was, Ford liked a simple two-letter name that was distinctive. Full Story.
|
|
 |
StreetKa is sweet despite sniffles (Mar 03)
I got a cold, writes Brian Byrne. Can't really blame Ford or their StreetKa, though I suppose spinning around the higher reaches of Provence in mid-March is probably asking for trouble.
|
 |
SportKa - coming near you soon (Jun 03)
Don't laugh, writes Ray Bernard. It does the 0-100 km/h in around nine seconds. It feels and sounds sporty. And it proves just how good the former Fiesta chassis still is.
|
Yes! Yes! Yes! Kylie's StreetKa (Jun 03)
Would I buy a Ford StreetKa instead of a Mazda MX-5 or a Toyota MR2, or an MGTF? writes Brian Byrne. That's the kind of loaded question people like me hate, because it means coming down on one side or another.
FIESTA
|
A quarter-century feast of Fiestas (Aug 01)
When the Ford Motor Company launched the first Fiesta a quarter of a century ago, their investment was then the biggest outlay ever made by the company, writes Brian Byrne. Full Story.
|
|
|
|
New Fiesta comes out (Aug 01)
This is Ford's fresh, new face of small-car form and function – the all-new Fiesta – which will debut at the 2001 IAA Frankfurt Motor Show in three weeks' time, writes Brian Byrne. Full Story.
|
|
So how much is safety in the modern car? (Jan 02)
It’s hard to differentiate any part of a car as being a ‘safety’ element, writes Brian Byrne, because, as one engineer said to me last week, ALL parts of a car design impinge somehow on safety. Full Story.
|
|
|
|
Fiesta grows and grows (Feb 02)
The new Ford Fiesta may confuse you as much as it did me, writes Donal Byrne. Not alone is the car a brilliantly designed replacement for the current model, it is simply too big to just take over where the current one leaves off. Full Story.
|
|
|
New Fiesta has a lot to live up to (Feb 02)
There’s a new Fiesta coming in July. But it’s not a Fiesta. Not, anyway, as we’ve grown to know Ford’s small car over the years since its introduction in 1977, writes Brian Byrne.OK. So Ford had to catch up. Full Story.
|
|
Impressed by Fiesta in the metal (Mar 02)
I wasn’t surprised by the new Fiesta on its European launch programme because I had been one of just four Irish journalists who had gone to September’s Frankfurt Motor Show and attended the special Blue Oval Club first ‘reveal’ of the car, writes Brian Byrne. But it was nice to feel just as impressed with it in the metal and on the ground, so to speak, when I slipped into one at Malaga Airport. Full Story.
|
|
 |
Fiesta ready to endear itself again (Aug 02)
The first Ford Fiesta rolled off the production line 26 years ago and in that time the car has endeared itself to around 10 million customers worldwide, writes Trish Whelan.
|
 |
Fiesta aims at its accustomed position (Sep 02)
Fiesta IS a new car, writes Brian Byrne. Through and through, with some reflection from the old guard in the form of the entry-level 1.3-litre engine. I kind of think they should have done the same as the shift from Escort to Focus, and changed the name.
|
FUSION
A profusion of good ideas (Jan 03)
A tall practical versatile all round vehicle, the Fusion, especially the one I’ve being driving, the 1.4 TDCi diesel, actually caters for a huge audience, writes Tony Conlon - from the 'targeted' cost conscious families to the Ballsbridge set, the empty nesters and our more senior citizens who will find it so easy to settle into.
 |
With Fusion, it was a close shave (April 03)
I was really going to slam this particular Ford. I was going to call it a heap, a mistake, a dog, a car that didn't know where it belongs, writes Brian Byrne. Which just goes to show that everything deserves a second chance.
|
FOCUS
A Focus that deserves its buyers (Feb 99) - Brian Byrne
Ford's Focus saloon - as good as it gets? (Aug 99) - Brian Byrne.
Focus Estate makes intelligent use of space (00) - Gerry Boud
Focus Zetec needs more gusto (00) - Gerry Boud
|
Ford Focuses on bi-fuel for the environment
It looks just like any other Focus which might not get more than a passing glance, writes Bill Trapman. But the eagle-eyed might be intrigued by the little badge on the left of the rear door. And anyone walking all the way around will possibly spot the fact that it has a fuel filler hatch on BOTH flanks. Curiosity thus prompted might note there’s a second fuel gauge to the left of the steering wheel. Full Story.
|
|
|
A Focus diesel that's fun to drive
The TDCi in the Focus is derived mechanically from the same 1753cc Endura DI unit that already gives two power options, 70 and 90PS, writes Brian Byrne. With the TDCi technology, it gives 115PS, the kind of power that only a relatively few years ago was what a 2-litre petrol engine typically provided. Full Story.
|
|
C-MAX
 |
C-MAX unlikely to disappoint (Jul 03)
Ford's new C-MAX compact MPV is an interesting one not just because it is Ford's long-delayed contender in this segment, but also because it is the first car on the platform for the next-generation Focus, due in the spring, writes Brian Byrne. Which means it should be at real cutting edge in driving dynamics terms.
|
 |
C-MAX for modern life (Jan 04)
I have driven the C-MAX. Abroad, and more recently in Ireland, writes Brian Byrne. And, bluntly, it is the one which I believe poses the biggest threat to both the Scenic and the Zafira. Especially the 1.6-litre diesel.
|
PUMA
 |
Ford focuses on the fuel cell
When a Ford Focus powered by a fuel cell system is shown on the brand’s stand at the upcoming British International Motor Show, it will already have proved itself as a car that can hold its own on the public road, writes Brian Byrne.
|
Racing Puma's exclusivity could attract (Sep 00) - Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan.
MONDEO
Mondeo V6 still pleases enormously (Feb 00) - Brian Byrne
A more worldly Ford (Oct 00) - John Reilly
Ford focuses on quality with improved new Mondeo (Nov 00) - Tony Conlon
|
Ford bites the bullet (Jan 01)
It is already a matter of some controversy that the new Ford Mondeo did not win the European Car of the Year contest, writes Declan Colley. full story
|
|
|
Mondeo wagon one of Ford's new better cars (April 01) - Brian Byrne
Did Ford lose their bottle with the new Mondeo? asks Brian Byrne. I remember from preview stuff that it was supposed to be much more like the 'New Edge' in styling terms as was the Focus against the Escort it replaced. Full Story.
|
|
|
Ford Mondeo TD can be fun (May 01)
The Ford Duratorq DI turbodiesel used in the company’s new Mondeo is not, by all reports, their best diesel engine, writes Brian Byrne. But it’s the only one you’re going to get for some time, because their brand new TDCi engine will only be going into Focus cars for the next year because of supply constraints on the unit’s very advanced engine management systems. Full Story.
|
|
|
Mondeo Man will have the last, fast, laugh (Apr 02)
If one has the time or the inclination to measure it, there’s a Ford Mondeo which has a slightly larger blue oval badge than standard, writes Brian Byrne. It is the least important difference between a 1.8 basic Mondeo and the startling ST220 version that I drove last week. Full Story.
|
|
 |
If Ford did beers ... (Dec 02)
There’s a TV ad for a car where the driver leaves a cheap pen in an office, and then does a very long drive back to collect it, writes Brian Byrne. I know the feeling. I did such a journey yesterday morning, in atrocious conditions, to pick up something I’d left at home.
|
Mondeo TDCI is a Ford jewel (Nov 03)
The Mondeo Executive TDCi is the latest version of that car that I've been driving, writes Brian Byrne, and it not just reaffirmed my positive impressions of the overall car, but added a couple of new sparkles to the jewel that is Mondeo.
Return of smooth Mondeo (Mar 04)
Back in the previous generation Mondeo there was one honey-sweet version, writes Brian Byrne. The 2.5-litre V6, powered by a built-in-America engine that provided both a silky drive and a mildly invigorating performance when tried. Now, we have the 2.5-litre back.
Think more power for Mondeo safety (May 04)
As a general rule, driving a 2-litre petrol car is not something that's encouraged here, writes Brian Byrne, what with high taxes, steeper insurance, and then the whole ethos of big engines being 'a bad thing'.
COUGAR
GALAXY
Galaxy brings MPVs worlds apart (Jul 00) - Andrew Hamilton
EXPLORER
GENERAL
 |
A bad risk can be a great bet (Jun 03)
When Henry Ford in 1903 set up the car company that bears his name, his was one of 143 auto companies that had been set up in the previous three years, writes Brian Byrne. Some 64 of those folded in the following 12 months. So carmaking was at the same stage as Silicon Valley during the dot.com beginnings.
|
|
|
Ford leading diesels across its range (Sep 01)
Even in the Irish context only, the fact that 40% of Mondeos sold here since the beginning of the year are diesel-powered is a key indicator that we’re taking the oil-burning option seriously, just as they are in the rest of Europe, writes Brian Byrne. Ford themselves are too. Full Story.
|
|
Ford boss quietly bullish about car business prospects
For the new chairman and managing director of Ford Ireland, Eddie Murphy, the arrival mid-year of a brand new Fiesta is likely to be the candles on the cake of a celebratory year which starts in April to mark the 85th anniversary of Ford in Ireland," writes Brian Byrne. Appointed only this year, he is proud of the Ford connection with Ireland and with his own county of Cork. Full Story.
|
|
|
Death sentence for famous Ford name
Ford Motor Company has announced the chopping of its luxury car Lincoln Continental as part of a restructuring plan to improve $9 billion in extra profits by the middle of the decade, writes Brian Byrne. Since 1940, it is the name which has been almost the ultimate icon of US automobile luxury. Full Story.
|
|
|
Icon GT40 will have much to live up to (Jul 02)
When I was a student in the 60s, I was fascinated by the Galaxie 500 which used to pass by my lodgings every breakfast and tea time, writes Brian Byrne. I didn’t realise then that the gently burbling V8 engine under its hood was already powering the to-become-iconic GT40 supercar to its early victories.
|
|
 |
The car that named a class (Sep 02)
Forty years ago, on September 21, 1962, Ford’s new Cortina was launched, writes Tom Hale. The Cortina was so successful and so different from other cars in the industry, that in Britain it inspired what became known as ‘the Cortina class’. Along with the parallel success of the Escort from 1968, this helped Ford gain market leadership in Britain, which it has now maintained for more than 25 years.
|
 |
When Mustangs were wild and free ... (Jan 03)
Over 36 years the Ford Mustang went from a simple but sexy and affordable car aimed at the American youth and young suburban market, to a bloated and overheavy beast and then back to an anorexic tinniness that was just a shadow of its original style, writes Roy Retters. With the release this week of the conceptual forms of the next generation of the first 'pony car', there is a future for what was an endangered species.
|
 |
Ford in Europe - the first 100 years (Mar 03)
The first Ford cars to reach Europe early in 1904 were 8-hp twin-cylinder 'gas buggies' designated 'Model A', writes Tom Hunt. Despite their billing as 'America’s Favorite Car', they made little impression on the market. Unconfirmed legend claims that the first customer to purchase a Ford car in Britain was a Liverpool doctor specialising in the treatment of wealthy lunatics!
|
Tough Ford truck I could live with
I like the new supermini brigade, but sentenced to six weeks driving various models of the Getz, Kalos and Micra small car sisterhood is more than a man of my advancing years can be expected to take, writes John Reilly. The new Ford Ranger Double Cab Pick-Up is a vehicle I can live with.
 |
Driving with the Lone Ranger (Oct 03)
In some ways, I wasn't looking forward to driving the Ranger, writes Ray Bernard. I'm a car man, not a passenger pickup person. Well, in this country anyway, where pickups have a quite commercial use and are often specced to deal with that.
|
|
|
