6556 members on this forum - petition?

[JonB]

Ford would never do it, they only did the bare minimum to get the Puma out.
Only way I see it happening is for someone to supply new panels to build kit cars out of Fiestas, and that is not likely.

 

[Peter]

Problem is that you can't design a car that looks anything like a Puma any more, as changes in safety regs have made it all but impossible. All modern cars are moving towards much blobbier designs in the name of both passenger and pedestrian safety, sleek and swooping is only now possible if you stick a big engine in to shift it all around, and that pushes the price up and hammers the fuel economy.

 

[Longyear]

For me, part of what makes my Puma experience so amazing, and without doubt the best overall car I've ever owned* is the fact that it is so cheap to buy, but so stunningly good fun, great performance, 40mpg, cheap insurance, reliable.... but I say again it's that it's an amazing car which relatively speaking costs pennies! My car (which drives and looks like it's 1 year old, save for bubbling on the arches!) cost £900, although I did then need to spend money on a cam belt kit and brakes...... but the car still only stood me £1250 all told, and it is just amazing.... for me that's an important part of the reason why I smile when I look at the car never mind drive it.

Regardless how good it was, I'm not sure I would have that passion if Ford made a new Puma, with a £19,000 price tag.

So I vote to accept that the nature of the universe is that everything dies; everything fades; everything moves from order to disorder ... and as such our beloved Puma must be allowed to die eventually. :-(

Cheers.

* having owned 56 cars in 22 years, costing between £150 and £14,000 including a Mercedes 500SEC and a Fiat Coupe 20VT).

 

[evilrob]

Fiat Coupe 20VT

Ooh... now there was a lovely car. When it wasn't in the garage. And not insurance renewal time.

 

[BenF]

having owned 56 cars in 22 years

wow - that's some going!

I am on my 7th car in 30 years!!

(the puma is the one I have enjoyed the most and the one I have kept for longest, though)

 

[evilrob]

That is epic - that's a different car every 4-5 months!!

 

[PhilLew]

having owned 56 cars in 22 years

A man after my own heart, my Puma is car number 60 in 28 years :grin:
(not including 13 company cars/vans or any of my motorbikes)

.

 

[jacko]

;p to benf! your just jealous of my little box on wheels!!! lol

for anyone who doesn't know; im bombing about in a £360 fiat cinquecento sporting 'van'!!! (its completely stripped out so i can transport engines and the like around whilst i rebuild the rally liveried frp!!!)

its awesome! you can get a bike in the back (or an engine), it does 50-60mpg, its near enough 100bhp per ton so it doesnt get left behind!! but it does get blown about on the motorway and the gearbox is def best in town; legs arent long enough to keep up with a puma on the motorway! Im having loads of fun with it, will keep it until it blows up!

 

[Qwertben]

like this?

 

[kellie]

I totally agree with you all...but i did notice this webpage a few weeks back..mind you it was printed in 2009
Have a look.....

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/238927/fords_baby_cat_is_getting_ready_to_pounce.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I dont like it, its nothing at all like the "Puma" i know and LOVE :grin:

 

[Neil]

If you do a quick search, I think you'll find Auto Express' lazy photoshop has been extensively debated here!

 

[Qwertben]

i quite liked it in the article might be one of the few thou

 

[Neil]

Yep, I think it's just you :lol:

 

[skint]

As much as I would love Ford to bring out a new Puma, I don't think they're capable of it.

All the dynamic sparkle and driver involvement they put on their cars, part of the new edge design rolled out about '98, has seemed to have faded away. Having driven a couple of new fords (a Ka and a Mondeo) I wouldn't say either was nearly as good to drive as their predecessors (with having experience of owning a '00 reg Ka and a '53 plate Mondeo).
As mentioned before, mandatory safety legislation forces Fords hand to create all their new cars with the generic, bloated shape that seems to be the norm nowadays, and pack it chock full of heavy safety equipment, dulling any driver enjoyment. They are also so refined that you just don't feel the connection between man, machine and road that is so evident in the Puma.
Also, the Puma's power delivery has become a lost art, that wonderful feeling of power building to a crechendo and the reward you recieve for taking the engine all the way round the rev range. Naturally aspirated engines are the past, they create too much emissions to be socially acceptable in todays society. The next RS Clio (and rumour says the next Civic Type-R) will have smaller capacity turbo engines as opposed to the larger N/A they have always come with in the past. I'm yet to drive a turbo'd car that eggs you on like the highly strung little N/A found in the Puma.
Also it would bear in mind that (correct me if i'm wrong) the Puma was only build by Ford to honor an engine building contract with Yamaha that would have cost them a fortune to get out of. It was designed in record time, based on an existing car and on a small budget. IIRC originally the Puma was only going to have 1000 units built, but its popularity ensured they kept building them until the factory moulds couldn't take it any more and they were scrapped in '02. This to me sounds like too high risk a project for Ford to try again, expecially if it is trying to globalise all their current range.

To be honest i'd rather Ford had a go at a new small coupe than drag the Puma's 5 star reputation through the mud. Also, with the original being so good and being so well liked by the press I can only see it getting reviews of 'it's not as good as the previous one', which wouldn't look good.

That is my opinion anway..

 

[guinnesstj]

I do think Ford should bring back `a` small, cheap, stylish, practical, reasonable fast coupe though as the demand for the Puma was still high when it went out of business. They did this with the Capri when it went out of production, convinced the market was dead for such cars when left it until another manufacturer proved them wrong.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/238927/fords_baby_cat_is_getting_ready_to_pounce.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I think that's a good looking thing (alone i think), it won't be as good which is why hey shouldn't ruin the originals reputation and call it something else.

http://www.evo.co.uk/carreviews/evolongtermtests/259228/ford_fiesta_zetec_s_mountune.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Even now the Puma is highly rated as a drivers car but it kinda suffers from the Land Rover Defender problem it was so good the new one will always seem worse in comparison and no designer or engineer wants his name attached to the `almost as good.`

 

[Longyear]

having owned 56 cars in 22 years

A man after my own heart, my Puma is car number 60 in 28 years :grin:
(not including 13 company cars/vans or any of my motorbikes).

Thanks lol!, I apologise if this is going too OT and too long a post, but I recently made a list of all of my cars; first one bought on New Year's Eve 1989! ... my Top 5 cars (all things considered) are shown in bold

1981 (W) Morris Ital 1.3HL
1980 (T) Ford Escort Estate 1100 (Mk2)
1983 (Y) Ford Sierra 1.6L
1982 (X) Ford Escort XR3
1984 (A) Triumph Acclaim 1.3HLS
1983 (Y) Triumph Acclaim 1.3 HL Triomatic
1983 (Y) Datsun Cherry 1.3L
1980 (V) Opel Estate (Astra Mk1) 1.3
1982 (X) Ford Cortina 2.0GL
1980 (W) Volvo 244 2.1DL
1979 (T) Austin Mini 1.0
1976 (P) Austin Mini 1.0 Auto
1981 (T) Ford Fiesta Supersport 1.1
1982 (X) Ford Fiesta 1.1GL
1982 (X) Opel Kadett (Astra Mk1) 1.3
1987 (D) Rover 213 Auto
1986 (D) Ford Escort 1.6DL
1992 (K) Peugeot 405 1.6GL
1986 (D) Austin Metro 1.0 City
1991 (J) Peugeot 205 1.1GL
1988 (E) MG Maestro 2.0
1986 (D) BMW 520i Auto
1995 (N) Rover 414i
1993 (L) Peugeot 106 1.0 Key Largo
1990 (H) Ford Granada Scorpio 2.0
1987 (E) Volkswagen Golf GTI 8v
1994 (M) Renault Laguna 1.8TL
2001 (W) Fiat Punto 1.2 ELX 8v
1998 (S) Renault Clio 1.2RL
1998 (R) Vauxhall Omega 2.5GLS Auto
1991 (J) Volvo 340 1.7GL
1993 (L) Volvo 440 1.8GL
1988 (E) Nissan Silvia 1.8 Turbo
1986 (D) Audi 80 1.8
1988 (E) Mercedes 500 SEC Auto
2002 (52) Fiat Punto Sporting 1.2 16v
1997 (R) Fiat Coupe 20v Turbo
1995 (N) Audi A4 1.9 TDI 110
2002 (02) Hyundai Santa Fe 2.0CRD
2001 (51) Volkswagen Golf GT TDI 130 (REVO remapped to 180bhp)
2005 (55) Nissan X-Trail 2.2dCi
1999 (V) Renault Laguna 1.6RT
2008 (08) Mercedes A150
1991 (H) Mazda MX5 1.6
1999 (T) BMW 523i Auto
2003 (03) Peugeot 307 1.4HDi
2001 (51) Volkswagen Bora TDI 130
1998 (S) BMW Z3 2.8
2005 (55) Volkswagen Caddy Van 2.0SDi
2001 (Y) Hyundai Santa Fe 2.7 V6 Auto
2002 (52) Nissan Primera 2.2Di SVE
2002 (52) Volvo V70 D5 163 (Still own this and the Puma now)
2002 (02) Vauxhall Corsa 1.0 12v Club
2000 (W) Ford Puma 1.7i 16v VCT

....they're in order that I owned them. Best year was 1992 when I owned 6 of these cars across the course of the year. :grin:

If anyone else has similar list I'd love to see it ....... maybe on another thread though, or I'll be in trouble!

 

[PhilLew]

having owned 56 cars in 22 years

A man after my own heart, my Puma is car number 60 in 28 years :grin:
(not including 13 company cars/vans or any of my motorbikes).

Thanks lol!, I apologise if this is going too OT and too long a post, but I recently made a list of all of my cars; first one bought on New Year's Eve 1989! ... my Top 5 cars (all things considered) are shown in bold

We are a sad lot, I have a simillar list AND photos of them all (or images of the same models from the internet) as my screen saver!! LOL :grin:

.

 

[Longyear]

Ah man, I so wish I'd taken photos over the years! ... Got a nice physical photo of the XR3 when I was taking it from Newcastle to Driffield on a gorgous summer day in 1990. ...and one or two others but for most I've no pics :-( ...

Mind, some of these cars are best not photographed.... for example, my first Mini, a 1979 (T) Mini 1000 cost £150 (remember when Minis were cheap?), and had a cling-film rear windscreen that I had to renew every other morning, before work !!!! .... the second Mini was a Mini Auto painted completely in black Hammerite! ..... a rust free example you could say!

 

[evilrob]

Actually, we can forget this thread now - think I've found the Puma's spiritual successor:

Small, lightweight, NA, wide arches, not too powerful but fast enough, all about the handling. I like it. Except for the facking awful interior.

 

[Neil]

Mmmmm, it's close. Personally I'd say RenaultSport is the closest with the Clio 200 (if you ignore the lack of a coupe body)