That the ST will be available this summer!
My understanding though was it'd be late autum at best?

Didn't Autocar say November 2004??

I get Autoexpress every week and the number of times it changes.

So far it has been November then October. Then it came forward to May/June...and now back to October/November....oh and now maybe summer again.

If I were in Ford marketing...one thing I would be telling them is to launch maybe June/July. What better time to release the Fiesta ST than Summer. Why on earth market it for Winter...with all the crap salt on the road and the dark cold nights. Does not make any sense to me at all.

Gazza...

Spoke to Ford HQ last week who confirmed it would be sometime in Winter 2004.

Went into my local dealership today and they said October, however me thinks everyone is gonna hear different dates until Ford make an offical announcment!

I always wonder exactly how much dealers do or don't know.

- On the one hand they might know loads - they after all are the customer facing part of Ford's operations, and are going to have to answer the publics questions (i.e. when wil a car be available!).

- On the other hand, they are the most distanced from Fords operating decisions, so they might be the last to know.

Personally I think it's somewhere in the middle, I am however pretty friendly with my Ford dealer (not too friendly though LOL!! ) and he seem to know less than I would've expected. I think my petrol head'iness scares him a tad though.

I get exactly the same feelin Hugh!

Only last week I walked into King Ford in Stoke to ask on eof the New Car Sales team when they are likely to get the Fiesta ST in the showroom, his response...

"Fiesta ST?"

In Bristol Street Ford in Stafford, theres a young woman who works there and is a proper petrol head (well at least seems to know her stuff) and was giving me quite alot of details about the Fiesta ST and this was in Novemeber last year! And she was right!

Doesnt give you much faith in them though!

Very well in with my local dealer and he knows nothing. He gets most of his information from me. He had no idea about the Fiesta RS either until I told him.

It's pure torture having to wait till the end of year. I just hope they surprise us all and release it in the summer.

Gazza...