Ford Ka Tops Half a Million Sales in the UK

With a little help from the second generation Ka mini that has found its way in the driveway of more than 11,000 UK customers since its launch this past January, UK sales of Ford's mini have surpassed the half-a-million mark. The original, first-generation Ka was introduced in Britain in 1996.

Marketing director, Ford of Britain, Mark Simpson, commented: "There were eight competitors in the Ka's market segment in 1996 – now there are 26 rivals. Offering low ownership costs and cheeky distinctive styling, the Ka has maintained its strong appeal over the years and remains at the top of its segment."

Burn Ka Burn... Truckload of 2009 Ford KAs Burnt to the Ground

A truck load of snazzy 2009 Ford Ka models went up in flames this afternoon (November 24, 2008) in Poland. According to our special polish agent -slash reader, slash translator- who goes by the nickname "Carnivor", the accident took place somewhere on the A-4 highway near the Tychy plant where the new Ford Ka is being produced alongside the Fiat 500. We have no idea what caused the six-and-a-half Ford KAs to burn down to bare metal, but it's clear from the photos that the truck wasn't involved in any head-on collision. Maybe a car rammed the truck from behind and burst into flames igniting the KAs - who knows. Check out the photos after the jump and tell us what you think. -"Dziekuje" for the tip Carnivor!

Photos: Ratownictwo

Ford Announces UK Prices of All-New Ka

The second generation Ka will hit the Ford's UK showrooms in January 2009 priced from £7,995, which is around $12,500 or €10,000 with today's exchange rates. The Fiat 500-based mini is available with two engines, a 69HP 1.2-liter petrol unit and a 75HP 1.3-liter turbo diesel as well as four different trims. The entry-level "Studio" includes height-adjustable steering wheel, ABS brakes, driver and passenger front airbags and a six speakers CD radio with MP3 compatibility. -Continued

Moving up, the Style adds powered and heated body-colored door mirrors, electric front windows with driver-side one-touch up and down, body-colored door handles, remote/central locking, driver seat height adjust and 50/50 rear split seat, rear headrests and driver seat memory function. Upgrading to the Style+ sees the addition of air conditioning and heated windscreen.

The range topping Zetec which Ford expects to be the most popular choice accounting for more than 40 per cent of UK sales, features as well 15-inch alloy wheels, front fog lamps, remote central locking, upgraded instruments and trip computer, as well as theater dimming interior lights.

Related Stories:

• 2009 Ford Ka 42 High-Res Images
• Video: New Ford Ka
• 2009 Ford Ka Special Editions

Series	On-the-road price
Studio 1.2 69PS	£7,995
Style 1.2 69PS	£8,495
Style + 1.2 69PS	£8,995
Zetec 1.2 69PS 1.3 TDCi	£9,495 £10,195

Ford Reintroduces us to Bond's New Girl, Olga Kurylenko

As an official sponsor of the new James Bond film called 'Quantum of Solace', Ford gets the chance to promote its vehicles in all sorts of ways, on and off the movie set. In 007's new adventure that opens in UK and French cinemas on October 31st, with the rest of the world following in November 2008, Ford's new KA mini makes a cameo appearance by the side of Camille played by Olga Kurylenko. In case it slipped your attention, she's the foxy lady sitting next to the Ka in the picture above. -Continued

To celebrate the Ka's cameo role, Ford is promoting a series of media features for the latest Bond girl including a special on MTV where a viewer is selected to be transformed into an authentic 007 girl and a behind the scenes feature through the eyes of Olga Kurylenko from E! Entertainment.

Related Stories:

• 2009 Ford Ka: 42 High Res Images
• Video: New Ford Ka
• Ford Ka Special Edition Versions
  
• 2009 Ford Ka Details
  

James Bond’s Ford KA to be Hydrogen-Powered?

Ford released a bunch of pictures of the all-new KA (see details and photos here) that will make a cameo appearance at the new James Bond film, “Quantum of Solace” that opens in the UK and France on October 31st, then across the rest of the world during November 2008. The new KA will be used in the film as the personal car of leading lady Olga Kurylenko, who plays Bond's ally Camille.

The “Quantum of Solace” KA that was created by Ford of Europe’s Design team, in collaboration with the movie’s Oscar award-winning production designer, Dennis Gassneby, gets a metallic gold paint, an exclusive exterior graphics and interior trim combination and –weirdly enough, a set of “Greener Planet” and “Hydrogen” decals. Ford makes no mention of the decals in its official press release so your guess is as good as ours to as why the automaker decided to add them on the James Bond movie KA. -Image gallery after the jump

Design Poll: Fiat 500 vs Ford KA

Our first thought when we saw the 2009 KA was what an excellent job Ford did to disguise the minicar's Fiat 500 origins. Even though Ford’s designers were limited by the architecture of the car, the KA bears no resemblance to its Italian sibling. But different doesn’t necessarily mean better - or does it? What we want to know is if you prefer the Fiat 500’s retro looks or the Ford KA’s modern “Kinetic” design. Yep, it’s a tough question but someone had to ask it. Enlighten us with your answers in the comment section. (Image: CarScoop)

2009 Ford KA: Official Details and High-Res Image Gallery

At 00:01 Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) Ford officially lifted the veil over its all-new KA. We are aware that the embargo was breached earlier today, but these are the first high-resolution photos of Ford's new city car that will make its global debut at the 2008 Paris Motor Show in October. Moreover, we have additional images of the 2009 KA that you can check out right after the jump.

As we told you in our previous post on the new KA, Ford did not reveal a single piece of information in its press release, so we'll have to wait until September to learn all the details and especially, the engine line-up. What we do know is that the new KA is based on Fiat's highly successful 500 which in turn uses a shortened version of the Panda's platform. However, the two cars are totally different in design and unless you're blind, there's no way you'll mistake one car for another. -Continued

The only visible shared component that we found by comparing pictures of the 500 and the KA, are the A/C controls on the centre console. Overall, the new KA looks fresh in and out. It may feature a less radical design than the first-generation KA, but on the other hand, it's also less polarizing.

PRESS RELEASE: FRESH, FUNKY AND FUN, INTRODUCING THE ALL-NEW FORD KA

Paris Show debut for all-new Ford Ka
Bold, fashionable and stylish design
Full of youthful and cheeky Ka spirit
Exciting successor to the iconic original

The exciting new Ka, Ford's fresh, fun and funky small car, will take centre-stage at the 2008 Paris Motor Show in October. The all-new Ford Ka brings new levels of style and enjoyment to affordable city cars. Twelve years after the original Ka was launched to great acclaim, its successor captures the same youthful and cheeky spirit. The new model retains all of the qualities which made the Ka so popular -its compact size, great looks, lively dynamics and fun personality- but presents them in a fresh new package.

Stylish Inside and Out: Ford designers have given the new Ka a fashionable, modern appearance based around the company's 'kinetic design' form language. A number of visual cues provide a connection to the original Ka, but with its distinctive face and chunky proportions the new model has its own unique character. The interior of the new Ka also has a stylish, dynamic design, combining bold contrasts and expressive colours which reflect the more adventurous tastes of the typical Ka buyer.

Rebirth of a Design Icon: The new model is destined to continue the considerable success of the original Ford Ka, which is widely considered to be an automotive design icon. Launched at the Paris Motor Show in 1996, the Ka was immediately praised for its exciting "New Edge" styling and class-leading driving dynamics. Throughout its 12-year life the Ka has remained tremendously popular among small-car buyers, inspiring fierce loyalty from its owners. In total, Ka production has exceeded 1.4 million vehicles. Further information on the new Ford Ka range will be released in time for the Paris Motor Show in early October 2008.

2009 Ford KA to be officially Revealed on Friday – See it on World Auto Cars

When the clock strikes 12:00 am tonight (that’s Friday, August 1st), Ford will take the wraps off the 2009 KA revealing the first photos of its highly anticipated minicar that’s scheduled to make its global debut at the Paris Motor Show in early October. Since we’ve already seen the front quarter view of the Fiat 500 based KA –no thanks to U.K. sourced leak, what remains to be seen is the rear-end of the car and of course, the interior.

Unless some website or blog decides to do otherwise, we won’t break the embargo by showing you the two remaining pictures of the KA. What we can do though is tell you that Ford won’t be revealing any technical details or any significant information for that matter, on the new KA. (Picture edited by CarScoop)

2009 Ford KA Leaked Ahead of Paris Debut

The first official image of Ford’s second generation KA citycar was leaked into the internet this morning. We’re still short on details but we gather it won’t take long before Ford lets outs official information on the KA’s long-awaited successor that’s scheduled to make its world debut at the Paris Show in early October. Our first take is that Ford’s designers did a pretty convincing job in hiding the new KA’s Fiat 500 underpinnings as the minicar looks remarkably distinct and different. -Continued

Ford of Europe’s engineers are also said to have reworked the Fiat 500’s chassis in order to maintain the previous KA’s reputation for fine handling. In terms of powerplants, the KA is expected to be powered by the same engine range as its Italian cousin. Though this has not been officially confirmed yet, the KA’s line-up is said to include an ST model equipped with the 500 Abarth’s 1.4-liter turbocharged unit. The new KA will be built alongside the 500 at Fiat’s Tychy plant in Poland.

Via: Cartibe (-Opening picture edited by CarScoop -)

2009 Ford Ka Rendering Looks Pretty Accurate

From all the renderings of the forthcoming second-generation Ford Ka that we’ve seen up until now, we’d say that this one, courtesy of the Italian website “Omniauto”, seems like its the closest one to the actual car that will be unveiled this fall at the Paris Motor Show. The 2009 Ka rendering incorporates several design elements from the all-new Ford Fiesta hatchback and in all, it looks pretty nice.

While Ford’s new Euro baby will be built on the same platform as the highly successful Fiat 500, according to the company’s execs, the new Ka will not share any visible parts with its Italian counterpart.

Via: Omniauto