Was the Ford Ka's WILD style a hit & how did it all go wrong?!?

[DFB FGXR6]

The Ford Ka was not really suitable for Australia but was very successful in Europe. In my opinion, the Ka was one of the few successful iterations of Ford's New Edge styling direction.

This video is an interesting story of how Ford brought the Ka to market and how it conquered with it's stand out design.







The Ka also spawned a Pininfarina designed and built StreetKa. I don't care for the car itself, although it was marketed with the assistance of the divine Miss M.........









And of course the viral leaked TV ad made it famous........



While the Ka's star faded in the end, it's success as a basic and affordable car for the European market can't be denied.

[XRFutura]

The did a mk2 Ford Ka that was never sold of here and it made its first appearance in James Bond Quantum of Solace.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by XRFutura

The did a mk2 Ford Ka that was never sold of here and it made its first appearance in James Bond Quantum of Solace.

Yes, the second generation Ka was a good-looker as well, a mini Fiesta.



Ford moved away from the budget approach with the second-gen Ka and sales evaporated.

[DFB FGXR6]

The Ka became a victim of it's own success.

The styling was so unique that any successor was always going to have a big task to match.

Think original Audi TT compared to the subsequent generations. Or even Hyundai Veloster, the original "new" Mini, hell even the first gen Honda Jazz.

[Cav]

I had a black Ka for a couple of years when I lived in Wollongong.

A great little runabout car.

Great for running down to the shops; and picking up chicks!

I sold it and got an AU, can't remember which AU as I have had a few of them as well - AH Forte; AUXIIR8 ute; AUIIIXR6 sedan with sunroof also in black but the paint was shot.

I now have a Sportage


And also an FG XR6 ute. I've had plenty of utes, my first ute was a Zephyr.

[Wretched]

I was given a KA by my Ford dealer while my BA was in the shop for one of its many warranty issues. My sheer ignorance at the time meant I was not a happy chap having to drive the KA, however after having it for few days I actually came to really enjoy it. The handling and steering were simply awesome, it meant that even 40 - 60km/h zones were a lot fun where the BA felt like a yacht.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Wretched

I was given a KA by my Ford dealer while my BA was in the shop for one of its many warranty issues. My sheer ignorance at the time meant I was not a happy chap having to drive the KA, however after having it for few days I actually came to really enjoy it. The handling and steering were simply awesome, it meant that even 40 - 60km/h zones were a lot fun where the BA felt like a yacht.

That was a very clever thing on Ford's part.

While it was a very basic, under-powered car on a old platform, Ford made sure it drove exceptionally well. It somehow became more than just a cheap car, but something people could enjoy driving.

[PepeLePew]

I've had two last 10 years. Can be had for next to squat, just enough power to be decent as a city car, but man, so chuckable, in the wheel at all corners bucket. You won't pickup, you won't get a errr hormone boost out of the power, but the fun factor is undeniable. And while underpowered with debatable styling, they just go, and go, and go. Unstoppable. And use squat all fuel to boot which should matter at 2 bux a litre for a high km driver

[DFB FGXR6]

The engine was a weak point on these cars, power wise anyway.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_K...5%E2%80%932002)

The 1.3 four cylinder was based on the Kent family and was called the Endura-E. It featured a push-rod OHV head, from memory they were all-iron castings?

[smoo]

The Ka has aged better than Kylie Minogue.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by smoo

The Ka has aged better than Kylie Minogue.

And we have this threads MVP

Wonder how ye Olde Ka would respond to boost?

https://spaturbousa.com/products/for...anifold-tmfd05

https://www.garrettmotion.com/racing...ine-gbc17-250/

[Rallye Sport]

Originally Posted by Franco Cozzo

Wonder how ye Olde Ka would respond to boost?

Pretty well I reckon...

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by smoo

The Ka has aged better than Kylie Minogue.

NEVER!!!

[jaydee]

Originally Posted by smoo

The Ka has aged better than Kylie Minogue.

The Ka always was and always will be ugly, Kylie on the other hand will still be hot when she's 80.

[oldel]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

The engine was a weak point on these cars, power wise anyway.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_K...5%E2%80%932002)

The 1.3 four cylinder was based on the Kent family and was called the Endura-E. It featured a push-rod OHV head, from memory they were all-iron castings?

I remember excitement from old brit ford enthusiasts with them saying once these horrible Ka's are dumped at the wreckers they'll be able to get cheap 2nd hand factory efi for their old kents (this was back when aftermarket efi cost way way more than carbs and needed a day at the dyno for a local rough tune)

Worse thing about it was the greyish/black (or should I say old faded ugly grey because they age terribly) plastic bumpers. It should have been illegal to buy one without colour coded bumpers. That was the thing that turned many off, huge unpainted and quickly fading plastic bumpers.

But yeah, very new edge, also very euro city car design, something you would have expected the french to make.

[Rallye Sport]

Originally Posted by oldel

I remember excitement from old brit ford enthusiasts with them saying once these horrible Ka's are dumped at the wreckers they'll be able to get cheap 2nd hand factory efi for their old kents (this was back when aftermarket efi cost way way more than carbs and needed a day at the dyno for a local rough tune)

I think you might be confusing it with the Zetec and Duratec conversions.

[CyberWasp]

The Ka always to me looked like it was on tippy toes.

Like all cars, give it a stance and the right wheels and they can be made to look even better.

This is probably more inline with what the original designers wanted it to look like in their sketches.

[simon varley]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7kW5eWk9g4

[danzvtil]

I had one in 99 or 2000 as a loaner when my KN laser was in getting warranty work, it had a semi solid, last forever feel to it. Unfortunately a p plater in a falcon full of his mates, started making small penis hand gestures to me at the traffic lights.

[aussiblue]

I had a black Ka for a couple of years when I lived in Wollongong.

Was that the pre-cakes era of the Yeppon Hoon Cav or

??

[XR Martin]

Two door and manual only wasn't never going to be a big hit here.
Still ran a Kent pushrod engine too.

Pretty sure they were quite popular in the UK.

[oldel]

Nah, that's a different thing that costs real money. I was meaning people with mk1 escorts with no money in the late 90s mentioned to me they hope to be able to get almost free efi, eg a mate of mine that had an escort 1300cc panel van that often threatened to catch on fire. I also remember 4cyl mags back then said the worst thing about the car was the old kent based engine; the best thing about the ka when they're scrapped was the cheap kent/efi system ;-)

[Rallye Sport]

Originally Posted by oldel

Nah, that's a different thing that costs real money. I was meaning people with mk1 escorts with no money in the late 90s mentioned to me they hope to be able to get almost free efi, eg a mate of mine that had an escort 1300cc panel van that often threatened to catch on fire. I also remember 4cyl mags back then said the worst thing about the car was the old kent based engine; the best thing about the ka when they're scrapped was the cheap kent/efi system ;-)

They'd have been pretty disappointed then. Whilst the bottom end was a variant of the Kent, the head and its ancillaries weren't interchangeable with the earlier units, meaning they wouldn't just bolt on to an Escort or Cortina.

[Streets]

personally I thought they were an ugly piece of ****

[CyberWasp]

Anyone wanting one for a project / grocery getter or whatever, would want to hurry up as there are stuff all of them around now.

[IanC]

I rented one for a week in the UK back in the 90s. It was a rubbish little crud box. Cramped, rough and noisy. The only good thing about it was it was easy to park and I needed that where I was staying.

[Mick K.]

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