ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, September 12, 1996 TAG: 9609130030
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: LONDON
SOURCE: Associated Press
BUILDING A CAR JUST 12 FEET LONG is a change of direction for Ford.
Ford launched its tiniest car Wednesday: the Ka, with an angular body designed to better squeeze into the narrow roads and minuscule parking places of congested European cities.
Ford Europe says the Ka will compete against Renault's Twingo and Nissan's Micra. At just over 12 feet long, the Ka is shorter than Ford's Fiesta.
The automaker hopes to take a sizable chunk of what the industry calls the ``B segment'' market, the smallest of the small cars that are enjoying the fastest sales growth of any vehicles in Britain with big potential elsewhere.
``It signals a change in direction for Ford design, particularly in Europe,'' said Fritz Mayhew, Ford's director of design for Europe.
The Ka goes on sale next month in Britain at about 7,500 pounds, or $11,625. The timing assures wide exposure at auto shows in Birmingham and Paris. The concept was initially floated at the Geneva Motor Show in 1994 and Ford spent the next two years designing the car now being produced in Valencia, Spain.
The Ka will later be introduced into the German, French and Spanish markets and elsewhere in Western Europe.
Ford has no immediate plans to market the vehicle in the United States, where, Mayhew noted, there are more wide open spaces to accommodate bigger vehicles.
Ford touts its smallest car as having many optional features of big cars, such as power steering, air conditioning and CD players. The basic model gets 47.9 miles per gallon, Ford said.
LENGTH: Short : 43 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. Ford intends to compete with the Renault Twingo andby CNBthe Nissan Micra for space in Europe's tight spaces. The company
announced no plans to introduce a U.S. version.