In 1976, while the Concorde was taking to the sky, the Ford (F) rolled out a supermini car as its answer to providing an economy car to battle rising fuel prices.
America marked its bicentennial in 1976, while "Rocky" hit the movie screens and two guys name Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak formed a company called Apple (AAPL).
'A Sad Day'
The Concorde, a favorite of the superrich and business people, made its last flight in November 2003.
Ford's contribution to fuel economy -- the Fiesta -- which had a much different customer base than the Concorde, held on for a bit longer, and it became Britain's all-time best-selling car. But now production of it will shut down by mid-2023, despite more than 22 million Fiestas having been sold around the world.
"Today is a sad day when we announce that after having built 22 million around the world, the iconic Ford Fiesta will come to an end in June 2023," Jay Ward, Ford's director of Europe product communications, tweeted. "It makes way for a bright and exciting new electrified future."
Ward posted link to a video to say "goodnight Fiesta," which depicts features an older man reading a book about the car to his grandson.
"It wasn't a big car," the grandfather says. "Not a fancy car. But a car for the people...it became part of the family...an old faithful friend..."
Reaction on social media was emotional.
"Ford axing the #Fiesta makes me feel sad," one person tweeted. "These are my 3 and I loved them all! My first car, my first brand new car and the car I kept the longest. A dream of mine is to have another mk2 one day."
RIP Ford Fiesta
"The news that the @Ford Fiesta is approaching its end is incredibly disappointing and even a little upsetting," another person said. "Properly the end of an era. The Fiesta was all things to all people. A capable family car, a cheap runabout, a sporting icon, a van, a first car..."
One person tweeted a photo of actor Roger Moore, who played super spy James Bond, posing with a Fiesta.
"Two British icons: RIP Ford Fiesta," the caption read.
And still another commenter asked "what the actual...!"
"Who(se) bloody stupid idea is it to axe the @fordFiesta after 46 years..?"
In response to a question about cars "for the ordinary working man," Ward said "Puma and Kuga remain very much part of the family for years to come. We also have our Tourneo range of affordable people carrier."
And Ford UK tweeted "we are committed to bringing 3 new exciting electric passenger vehicles to Europe by the end of 2024."
While popular in Europe, the Fiesta had a limited run in America. The car first hit these shores in 1978. However, in 1981, Ford replaced both the Fiesta and the Pinto with the Ford Escort.
Electric Future
The Fiesta came back to the States in 2011 before leaving for good in 2019, due to the popularity of SUVs and pickup trucks, such as the Ranger and Escape.
The Fiesta is currently produced in Germany, which is set to be converted to electric vehicle production.
Earlier this year, Ford had to temporarily stop taking Fiesta orders as it faced supply chain challenges.
Last month the automaker warned that it had been unable to deliver between 40,000 and 45,000 vehicles promised to its dealers during the third quarter due to a lack of parts.
Suppliers had also raised their prices, Ford said, adding that based on recent negotiations, "inflation-related supplier costs during the third quarter will run about $1 billion higher than originally expected'
The company anticipates third-quarter adjusted earnings before interest and taxes in the range of $1.4 billion to $1.7 billion. This is well below the $3.7 billion in adjusted EBIT Ford reported in the second quarter.
