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Ford CEO Wishes the Puma Would Come to "North America and Other Markets"

One of the quirkiest utility vehicles in the subcompact segment, the Puma entered production for the European market in October 2019 at the Ford Motor Company’s assembly plant in Craiova, Romania. Also available in Australia and New Zealand, the B-segment crossover is based on the seventh-generation Fiesta supermini, hence the absence of AWD.
Ford Puma ST 63 photos
Photo: Ford
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The much cooler brother of the EcoSport is offered exclusively with three-cylinder turbocharged engines, a six-speed manual, and, more recently, a seven-speed DCT. Mild-hybrid assistance is offered as well because the European Commission has enforced a fleet-wide average target of CO2 emissions of 95 grams per kilometer. At the very top of the lineup, the 197-horsepower Puma ST can be considered the jacked-up alternative to the Fiesta ST hot hatchback.

As the headline implies, the cleverly-packaged crossover from Romania has recently captured the attention of Jim Farley. Indeed, it’s that Jim Farley who runs the Blue Oval since October 1st, 2020. “Wish this came to North America and other markets,” said the head honcho on Twitter, which prompted a few of his followers to ask if the Puma will arrive stateside in the near future.

“Love it,” and a smiley face also need to be mentioned in the thread's comments, but nevertheless, we never received a confirmation from the 58-year-old chief executive officer and president of Ford. This leaves the fate of the Puma on a cliffhanger, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the inevitable would happen.

The EcoSport for the United States is a very bad crossover with little in the way of rear legroom and a small trunk. The so-so ride comfort, iffy plastic trim, and underpowered engine choices aren’t to the liking of potential customers either. Even in the Old Continent, the Puma has outsold the EcoSport by a huge margin last year (118,180 units compared to 47,548).

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About the author: Mircea Panait
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After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well.
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