The News Wheel
No Comments

Car News In the Rearview: Is the Fiesta Done for?

Decrease Font Size Increase Font Size Text Size Print This Page

Welcome to In the Rearview, where I bring you a digest of the week’s top automotive news, both in convenient video and written form.


Meet the Family: Have a look down Chevrolet’s entire lineup


Mitsubishi i-MiEV silhouette with tree

This week, our first story comes with the death of a car: the Mitsubishi i-MiEV. If you said, “the what?” then you aren’t alone, because this tiny, 62-mile-range electric ladybug hasn’t been updated since its inception, is woefully inadequate compared to its peers, and only sold six models this year so far. Six.

New Ford Fiesta port of Dover

In other news, a rumor is circulating that Ford may be taking its Fiesta (and the Fiesta ST), and playing with them somewhere else, because we Americans aren’t buying enough of them. Ford’s response was basically “we make the Fiesta, and we will comment later,” so we don’t know anything for sure yet.

Over in Europe, Germany is taking a not-at-all-biased position and stepping in to help save diesels from the various bans popping up across Europe. It and the top automakers decided to do this by updating the emission control software to make them work more, which is also known as “what Fiat Chrysler and VW were already doing via court order.”


Taking the Extra Step: Just what does it mean for a car to be Certified Pre-Owned?


The new Chevy Cruze Diesel sedan will offer the best fuel efficiency of any non-hybrid vehicle currently sold in the US

Photo: © General Motors

Speaking of VW and diesels, a gap has opened in the market as VW pulls back hard on its diesel program, and General Motors is trying its best to jump into the spot with both feet, coming out with a variety of new diesel models.

From GM we move to Fiat Chrysler Automotive, which has copyrighted the word “Angel” as a car name. So, we could soon be seeing a counterpoint to the Dodge Demon, or just FCA huddled over its newly acquired name and spitting and hissing at any other automaker that gets too close.

Mazda & Toyota Logos

Keeping in America, Toyota and Mazda have created a new joint effort, pooling their money to build a $1.6 billion plant somewhere in the US. They haven’t decided where to build it yet, but it will make 4,000 new jobs wherever it lands, so all eyes are on those two companies for the announcement.

The Archeologist Gin

Finally, have you ever bought some gin, then afterward wished that it cost upwards of $1,400 and had a chunk of a motorcycle in it? Well then, Harley Davidson can satisfy that oddly specific taste, with its “The Archaeologist” line of premium gin, which comes bottled with a piece of an antique motorcycle inside, along with a wax paper seal telling the story of where the part came from.