Pointy - Pointless - Cool

There are a few design elements of the Fiesta that I found interesting, but didn't fit into any tidy category. Some of them caught my eye immediately and others I only notice after driving the car for a few days. So, here are three of the items that I noticed...in no particular order and with no particular theme. Hopefully Uncle Bill will find them interesting.

Wing Mirrors
I'm not a "Trekkie" - in fact, I maybe have seen one Star Trek movie and can't remember ever watching an entire TV episode but I have seen lots of William Shatner Priceline commercials.

So I do know a little...

I know Spock has pointy ears...

And that was one of the first things that came to mind when I saw the wing mirrors:



If you look closely at the right-side mirror there is a dotted line that marks the point where the mirror moves from basically flat to convex - allowing a better view of the car's blind spot. It works, but it also draws your eyes toward the outside of the mirror and to the pointy end and that is where it started for me.

My eyes were immediately drawn to the pointy part of the mirror and for the next 5 days, nightmares of Leonard Nimoy haunted me...

Disturbing? Yes

I worked things out - but I still don't think I'm a fan of the pointy mirrors.


Little Triangle Windows (I don't know what else to call them)
It took me a few days - and I can't even remember when I noticed them - to see these little triangle windows:










Located right in front of the wing mirrors, these little windows obviously help complete the design theme of the overall vehicle - but did they serve a functional purpose?

Would they angle open to direct outside air into vehicle cabin?...Nope.

Great for design - pointless for function.

Wheels
I love it in movies or TV shows when there is a shot of a moving car and the wheels are going just the right speed to make them appear as if they are actually turning backwards - you know what I mean. Well, if there was a casting call for this then the rims on my loaner Fiesta would get the part. They remind me of jet turbines and if there was a video of driving it, I'm sure that it would look like my wheels were going backwards.



There it is - the pointy, pointless and cool of this car.

In the Words of Kip Dynamite...

I didn't think I was going to write about it...

Uncle Bill may not care about it much...

But I still want to write about it.

So, what is it...?

Technology.

And I love it.

Well, love may be a bit strong, but I'm taking a cue from a clip from one of the finest examples of cinematic genius I have ever encountered.

Random Movie Clip Alert: if you haven't seen the movie, you may not understand the humor -- actually a lot of people who have seen the movie don't understand the humor. So, if your brow starts to furrow in complete befuddlement than just skip the clip; however, if you're like me, sit back and enjoy the melodic beauty of Kip Dynamite:

With that out of the way, I have to say that I was surprised at the level of technology in the Fiesta. From Bluetooth to automatic temperature control to automatic windshield wipers to voice activated everything, the array of features was unusually good. Especially since small cars have traditionally been roller skates on wheels - stripped down to sheet metal, tire rubber and a folding chair in order to lower the cost (insert Yugo joke here).

But even though the array of technology was impressive, the best feature was identified by my neighbor who, after his test drive, commented on the interactive voice in the car.

Huh? The car talks back?

That's right, when the voice activation button (see picture below) is pressed and a command is given, the car responds with a real voice


...of a woman

...with a British accent.

He loved it - and I agreed.

Everyone knows a British accent adds instant credibility.

And who really wants to hear a greasy guy's voice?

Add the two together and you get a soothing, credible voice to that made me want to politely reply "Thank you, and you have a nice day."

Now, I realize that this was a European-spec Fiesta and England is part of Europe, so it was only natural for the voice to have a European-feel. All I'm saying is, when the car launches here in the US, don't lose the British woman interactive voice.

If you lose the voice, my neighbor may lose the love...of the technology.