Ford Festiva

The Ford Festiva was a subcompact car sold by the Ford Motor Company in North America, Asia (including Japan) and Australasia, originally built by Mazda in Japan. The Festiva was sold in North America from the 1988 to the 1993 model years. It was also sold in Europe and some other markets as the Mazda 121 until 1991. After 1992 production moved to Kia in South Korea, and it was also sold as the Kia Pride in some regions. It replaced the Ford Fiesta in North America.

A Turbo version of the Festiva is a cult favourite in Japan to the present day.

In 1994, the Festiva was replaced by a marginally larger model in some markets, based on the Kia Avella. It was known in North America as the Ford Aspire, though the Festiva name continued elsewhere. In markets where it was known as the Mazda 121, it was replaced by a rebadged Autozam Revue.

Following Ford's divestment from Kia, the model was discontinued in 1999. This caused considerable problems for Ford Australia, as it did not have a model to compete in the growing small car market, until the launch of the current Fiesta, sourced from Europe.

The 1986 model was available with three engines:

• 1138 cc SOHC, 56hp (42kW), 65ft·lbf (88N·m)
• 1324 cc SOHC, 71x83.6 mm, 65hp (48.5kW), 77ft·lbf (105N·m)
• 1290 cc DOHC, 88hp (66kW), 72ft·lbf (98N·m)

• Wheelbase: 2295 mm
• Length: 3475 mm
• Width: 1605 mm
• Weight: 725 kg

The SHOgun

In 1990, Chuck Beck of Special Editions and Rick Titus took seven Festivas, gutted the interiors, and mounted Ford SHO 3.0L V6's behind the front seats in mid-engine rear wheel drive configuration. There were substantial cosmetic and mechanical changes, including relocating the gas tank to the front of the car, structural bracing and improvements to the chassis, adding wider wheel arches to accommodate a wider stance and larger tires, and a complete redesign of the suspension. These changes resulted in a car that could travel the ¼ mile (0.4km) in 12.9 seconds at 100.9mph (162km/h), and could achieve a lateral acceleration figure ranging from .95 to 1.04g . Of the 7, Jay Leno owns the silver one, which is number 003 .