The Fiesta has been a stalwart for Ford in Europe. Building on that success Ford is to unveil the new Fiesta at the Geneva auto show next month.

Before we pontificate on the newly retooled Fiesta, good news seems to be coming to our shores. Buzz has it that the "Verve" concept inspired Fiesta might make it into American showrooms by 2010. Oh the wonders of globalization.

Verve Concept

The European Fiesta, said to have been built on the same platform as the well-received Mazda 2, will follow in the footsteps of the Focus and Mondeo, with Kinetic design styling. Much of the design is inspired by the 'Verve' Concept; the interior getting a "futuristic, mobile phone-inspired, human-machine interface technology" centre console. It will feature a tray for MPS players with Aux and USB ports as well as a 12v socket. Bluetooth connectivity is also included among other features.

The Fiesta will be powered by a choice of gasoline and diesel engines; the 1.25-litre (60 and 80bhp) and 1.4-litre (90bhp) Duratec petrol units are joined by a new Duratec 1.6-litre Ti-VCT (115bhp) option. Ford's TDCi common-rail diesel engines will continue to be offered in 1.4-litre (68bhp) and 1.6-litre (90bhp) guises. Later in 2008 a Fiesta ECOnetic with CO2 emissions of less than 100g/km will be available. The Fiesta will be offered in both three and five-door versions.