Thirty-Seven

Right now it looks like there's an unofficial count of 37 out of 100 that have been select for the Fiesta Movement. I have a feeling the pain isn't going to go away until this week is over. GAAAHHH!!

Crazier by the Minute... or Week

They've already started picking people. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

I'm keeping updated with the happenings on Twitter and I'm finding out that they've begun calling people to notify them that they've been selected for the Fiesta Movement. It looks like blueginx197 is keeping track of the winners. So far there are only 20 people selected. He thinks that 20 people will be picked per day. I'm going to have to agree. All has quieted down since the first 20 were announced, while the rest of us continue to bite our nails. Ok maybe not all of us. The rest of us might be engaging in some sort of ceremonial blessing in an effort to bring the mightiness of goody fortunes our way. What the!!?? I'm going crazy. Life cereal rocks and I'm a dork. No need for anyone to agree with me.

They're HEEERRRREEEE!!!!

The Fiestas to be used for the Fiesta Movement are officially on US soil. Gimme, gimme!!!! Here's an article about it:

"Since registration for Ford's Fiesta Movement ended earlier this month, the company has been sifting through the more than 3300 "agent" applications. In the meantime, the 100 cars that will be given to the lucky "agents" have just arrived in the U.S."
[Read More]

Here's the official Ford release.

Everyone Wants A Piece

"Ford Fiesta owners in the Bracknell area have been told to remain vigilant after a number of the vehicles have had parts stolen recently."
[Read More]

Times UP!!!

The time to apply to be a candidate for the Fiesta Movement has come and gone. Let the waiting begin. A little excitement, mixed with a little scarynessess!

World Car of the Year finalists announced

Another great article:

"The Ford Fiesta is among the top three finalists for the 2009 World Car of the Year Awards.

The other two contestants for the top prize are the Toyota iQ and Volkswagen Golf VI."

[Read More]

NEW FORD FIESTA WINS INTERNATIONAL DESIGN AWARD

This news is about a week old but very noteworthy nonetheless for those of use that look for cars that have the visual eye-candy we'd like to be sitting in:

"The all-new Fiesta is one of the most stylish cars in the world." That is the verdict of 28 leading designers and design experts from 19 countries who have awarded the eye-catching Ford model a prestigious 'red dot' award for international product design. [Read More]

Last Weekend

Just got back from Utah, visiting the familia and what-not. By the way my pooped-meter is officially full. Talked to my mom and asked her if she saw my video. She said yeah, but without sound. So I sat down and told the gist of the Fiesta Movement. I also played a little disc golf while I was over there, with the bros, and hung out with my new niece.

The competition is finishing up and we'll soon know who the 100 are. Monday the 23rd is the deadline and I'm thinking Ford is going to have there hands full in trying to figure out the lucky winners.

A lot of Talent

There's a lot of talent that's pouring into this competition. I think I should made my video with a little more pizazz and silly commentary. I went with the serious tone. Maybe I'm just holding back and leaving the good stuff until the results are out. Then I'll let the tears... er... I mean laughing... do... its thingee.

Ceiling Fan Complete

Well that was fun...
So after a lot of fooling around, then a day and half of chill time, I got the ceiling fan installed and yes, functional. Now we'll be testing this bad boy out this summer to see if he's all he's made up to make us believe he is. By the way, I don't know if the fan is a boy or a girl. I'm just making a blind guess.

More Tidbits about Fiesta

• 117,000 new Fiestas sold since global debut in late 2008

• Ford increased February market share (in Euro 19) by 0.8 percentage points to 8.5 per cent vs. the same month in 2008

• Year-to-date blue oval market share up in 15 out of 19 European markets

• Ford has consolidated its position as Europe's number two best-selling brand

Hang the Garage

This weekend has officially become the most productive that I've had in the past... week. I woke up early Saturday, drove around with wifey, you know, doing the things that husbands should do. Took her out shopping and tried to keep my energy leaves up. She loved it so mission accomplished on that front. Since the weather was warming up I decided to reorganize the nasty corners of the garage and found myself scrubbing all the winter snot the cars left and hosed down the floor. Next project I had for myself was a 68" ceiling fan to be installed in the front room. Right now the ladder is still up, which mean I'm going to be staring at it until I got the time, tomorrow night. Round 2 is about to commence... after some sleepy time... and then work... and then dinner.

Mountain Warrior For Sale

Last night I listed my Montero for sale so I can help fund my current rebuild. I spent a lot of time tinkering with this guy and I'm sad to see him go but I'm even more excited for my next project. Here's a listing.

Tidbits

Customers have purchased more than 110,000 new Ford Fiestas since the global debut last autumn.

Fiesta, the second-best selling vehicle across Europe’s 19 markets in January, is the first in a series of small, fuel efficient cars developed through Ford's global product development process.

Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles collectively reduced “things gone wrong” (TGW) by 7.7 percent compared to last year and are now statistically equivalent with Honda (including Acura) and Toyota (including Lexus and Scion) atop the list of seven major automakers in the survey.

This information was collected from www.ford.com

Update
Ford’s hybrid operations will also soon be getting a boost from AT&T. The telecommunications firm announced on Wednesday that it will be purchasing $565 million worth of hybrids and natural gas-powered vehicles from Ford over the next 10 years. AT&T says the commitment is not only to reduce its environmental impact but to also jump-start the U.S. economy.

12 Days

Well, it's twelve more days 'til the deadline for submitting to the Fiesta Movement. I got an email from "the" marketing company yesterday. They wanted some input on how I found out about the Movement. I mentioned a website that I frequent, www.leftlanenews.com and www.ford.com. I also noticed the Fiesta Movement website has a couple of videos that they are showcasing on their website. They are currently showcasing 14 videos that are very well done. If I don't win I'll be okay. I'll just curl up in a little ball and cry myself to lala land. Good times to be had there. :)

Spiderman Adopt

As a lot of you know my wife and I are in the mix for adopting a kiddo. Well, it seems like some drama is happening at the adoption agency. We just got a new caseworker. I called last night and left a message about my concern. Lets hope we don't get lost in the shuffle. That already happened once. As of last week we had two birth moms interested in us. We haven't heard anything since. Maybe they found out that I was a comic book geek when I was younger and decided they didn't want their kid growing up in "that" type of household. "Spiderman, Spiderman, doing the things a Spider can..." At least I think that's how it goes.

All Done!

So after goofing around, I mean, while goofing around, I was able to help my buddy get his pickup running like a race car. We took off the skid plate, popped out the oil pump, realigned the gears and then made sure the rotor on the distributor was at cylinder number one. We put it all back in and started it up. PURRRRRR! It snowed today so I sure hope he found a nice parking lot to do donuts in or else it all would've been for nothing. Booyah! All done!

Timing

I spent most of Saturday helping one of my good friends replace his timing chain on his pickup. We were pretty much able to put everything back together, eat a yummy Qdoba dinner and jam on Rockband to end the night. The truck sat for a day to let all the sealant to set, then he put the fluids in last night, started it up and found that it was hesitating. He called me up and after thinking about it I remembered that when we put the oil pump back in it had a gear that ran by the crankshaft up to the distributor. I'm thinking the lack of attention on how we put that in is the culprit. But hey, at least we won't have to tear it all down to the timing chain. Pheww!

Say What?

In all the networking and planning I've been doing lately regarding the Fiesta Movement I find myself perplexed by the enthusiasm I've had for such a little car. I've tried running myself ragged in the past week trying to dig deep and wide to promote myself and my cause through various social networking sites. This has caused me to reflect on what I am doing. What am I doing? Why am I doing this? What do I have to gain from this? What do I expect in return? Well I suppose the answer doesn't come easy. One thing that I have learned is that if I get selected to do this it'll be an incredibly experience for 6 months and then life will be back to how it was. I'll remember what I did and I'll have memories of promoting a little American vehicle and annoying the snot out of my friends.

If I don't get selected I've wondered if this blog will die with it and I don't think that should happen. For the time being a huge amount of focus is dedicated to a car but I hope to include other aspects of my life. I've decided that I will try to make this blog into a universal journal of not just the Ford Fiesta but also about Pauls Fiesta in life. I know, it's corny.

Background Check, CHECK!

I got an email from the marketing group today. They wanted me to fill out a background check form. When I got the email from my home account I immediately filled it out and faxed it back. The email also included some updated info on the dates that you’re notified and the training dates. On or around March 27th will be when candidates will be selected to participate. The two-day training dates span across a two week period in 7 different cities including, LA, NYC, Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, Seattle and Austin. There’s only one problem. I’ll be out of town on a business related trip when they're in Denver. I’ve emailed the marketing group to see if Ford plans to address conflicts that participants might have in their schedules with previously made engagements. Hopefully it's something that they expected. Fingers still crossed.

Full Throttle

For the past couple of weeks I’ve been working at spreading my roots wide and deep into the internets social networks. This task has been fun as I get to know people and people get to know me. I realize that for me to be a participant in this movement I’ve got to get people updated on what this is all about. If Ford picks me I will spend a crazy amount of my time for the next 6 months in promoting a vehicle that I think is a move in the right direction. A vehicle that get excellent mpg on gasoline and affordable. I’m investing myself in promoting an American vehicle.

Dealin'

Just recently I emailed about 15 dealerships in the Denver metro area to let them know that I was participating in the Fiesta Movement. I received a response from Sill-Terhar in Broomfield. They were excited to see the video and it was sent to the president of Sill-Terhar. OH YEAH!!

Got a Call! Not THE call, but a call nonetheless.

Got a call from a marketing group in relation to the Fiesta Movement. I received more info on the details regarding the Fiesta Movement and was asked a bunch of questions. Most of the questions were similar to the ones on the application. I suppose it allowed me to elaborate a little bit more. I’m excited! Ford is going to select the 100 participants the week of March 23rd. There will then be a 2-day regional training starting April 8th. I asked her where the regional meeting would be held and she said either in Texas or California. First thing I thought was ROAD TRIP! But I figured they probably want me out there pronto and not dilly-dallying my way there.

THE MOVIE

Here it is:

Please watch it and send it to all your friends. Thanks.