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A Boron Fiesta

There has been some pretty good press on Ford’s new Fiesta that should be coming to our shores soon.  Much of it caught my eye because I bought one back in 1978 and had a lot of fun with that version.

Autoweek had a review on the new Fiesta as well, but what really caught my eye was the write up that their Natalie Neff did on being involved in a crash while driving one.  Apparently an Oldsmobile Cutlass traveling the opposite way on the highway lost a wheel and it ended up smashing into the Fiesta’s windshield.  The impact pulled down the front of the roof and she escaped relatively unscathed.

crashed Fiesta 1

With the Fiesta traveling at 75 miles per hour and the tire at something equivalent how could that be?  The amazing properties of boron steel in the A-pillars is an ultra high strength, low weight steel that has found its way into many new cars.  From the photos you can see just how strong it is.  This stuff is very impressive.  It is also resistant to “Jaws-of Life” cutting tools that rescue teams like to use.  I would bet that Natalie is very happy that it was used instead of something that the “jaws” could cut easily.

crashed Fiesta 3

 

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2 responses to “A Boron Fiesta”

  1. A Boron Fiesta | Cars….

    […] Original post by jimsgarage […]

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  2. Lee K Avatar
    Lee K

    Jim’s fondness for the 1978 Ford Fiesta is not quite shared by myself, as I had one of those POS, too. The brakes completely rusted out, it went through three clutches, two water pumps, and no air conditioning in the brutal North Carolina summers. I do agree it was peppy and fun to drive although the ’83 GTI that replaced it could run rings around the Fiesta.

    The new Fiesta looks quite interesting and reminds me of the second generation Focus. Ford is wise in attempting to add some hipness to its stodgy truck-heavy product line. The current marketing campaign of giving 20-somethings a car and a video camera to post their results on YouTube is a clever one. Fun to drive, reasonably frugal, a hatchback with folding rear seats to move all your dorm stuff to college — if it proves to be reliable, this car could be a big hit for Ford. I’m pleased to see some bright colors to contrast the drab blacks, silvers, grays, and whites that most cars are being painted nowadays.

    Lose wheels on the highway are no joke. My wife’s Pathfinder was destroyed by one and the possibility of getting killed in such a collision is very real.

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