It’s happened again.
It’s that most special time: one where we find ourselves asking, where the loving hell the year went, why am I wearing a paper crown on my head, and why isn’t there any sherry left in this bottle? Even more to the point, what exactly is Gorden Wagener doing in my kitchen, and what will it take for him to leave? So many questions…
Some of you might be picking up the pieces from yesterday evening’s celebrations, others will be working on something meaningful to recover from during today’s (hopefully not too curtailed) festivities. Of course there are also those who aren’t celebrating at all and simply getting on with things, sensible souls that they are.
To all our readers, contributors and commentators, regardless where you sit within this particular Venn diagram, we at Driven to Write wish you a hearty, indulgent and relaxing festive holiday. After the year we’ve all had, we could do with one of those. Careful now…
Merry Christmas all.
Driven To Write 
Thank you, Eóin et al, for all the work you do to keep us entertained and educated through the cornucopia of enlightened erudition that is DTW. You have provided a beacon in what might have otherwise been a thoroughly unpleasant year. I shall raise a glass to you all, just as soon as I finish washing up the last lot…..
Very best wishes for 2021
Hi Eoin and DTW team, thank you very much, I wish you all all the best!
Merry Christmas everyone.
Enjoy the liquors/ dessert wines/ aperitifs/ reds and whites (always makes me think of those chirpy C15 Van Rouges et Blancs).
Thanks to Eóin for continuing to keep the World’s Least Influential car site one of the most interesting and enjoyable reads on a daily basis.
Best wishes.
Very best wishes to all writers and readers, and thank you for providing welcome distractions in what has been a very odd year, putting it mildly.
In sincerely hope that 2021 will be a much better year for everyone.
Thank you for these kind words which I happily return with the best wishes to you and all of the DTW team.
Thank you for the effort and enthusiasm you put into this fantastic website and I hope that you get as much fun from writing as I get from reading.
Keep up the good work and enjoy this Christmas season and a happy new year!
Merry Christmas to all writers and all readers.
It is a gift to be here.
Merry Christmas one and all. Thanks to those who keep DTW motoring along; in a year bereft of destinations, this has always been a pleasant one.
Happy Christmas everyone. Thanks for all your interesting, civil and insightful contributions above and below the line. Also, thanks to Eoin for his hard work and commitment. I am never less than impressed by the DTW spirit.
The Scotsman has a review here of the Vignale Fiesta:
https://www.scotsman.com/lifestyle/cars/2020-ford-fiesta-vignale-review-big-car-refinement-big-bucks-2651045
…and they miss the point about the luxury feeling of the seats and the colour options. It´s not only about going from A to B. I hope Ford can make a body unique to the Vignale nameplate; I´ve said it before and I want to say it again. A Focus variant might make sense or else a shooting brake version of the Mondeo-segment car.
So, we say goodbye to Mondeo saloons now? Drat. Drat. Drat.
You can find a review of the Vignale Festie a little closer to home as well…
https://driventowrite.com/2019/02/14/2018-ford-fiesta-vignale-road-test/
Our German correspondent promises another post-festive hire-car update shortly. (Spoiler alert: not a Ford).
On the subject of Vignale, a couple of days ago, while immersing myself in the pre-Christmas melee in our small coastal West Cork town (and believe me, it was carnage out there), I parked two-down from a 2020-registered Mondeo Vignale Saloon (not a hatchback!). In a fetching shade of metallic blue, it was a fine looking thing. It rather put me in mind of a ’70s Ford Ghia, when they really looked like money. If the weather had been more clement and the car park less manic, I’d have snapped a photo, but I’m afraid you’re just going to have to take me at my word.
Hi Eóin. Regarding the Mondeo Vignale you spotted, well done on noticing that was a four rather than five-door (assuming the boot wasn’t open, of course!) as they are indistinguishable apart from the absence of a rear wiper on the booted version. Is it still the case that the booted version is hybrid only?
Always a pleasure being around, a very happy Christmas to all.
I wish 2021 to bring back basic joy, automotive bliss (Toyota looks promising), and the industry styling to restrain itself towards less flame surfacing and rather more decency in the cooling apertures’ generousity.
(Also, last but not least, heartfelt wishes for everyone to be soon released from the need
of wearing cooling aperture covers on our own faces).
Yesterday I inquired into the appearance of the Toyata Avalon. The car as I remembered it was an appealingly reserved saloon and the car as seen yesterday had the world´s biggest grille, fully 80% of which visibly played no part in cooling (you could see the blanking behind the meshing).
On the positive side, Ford´s Vignale Fiesta has a very subtly expensive-looking mesh pattern- it´s chiral. The left side elements are mirrors of the right side about the longitudinal plane only. It´s not glaringly obvious which is what makes it look so alluring.
Hi Richard. I had to look twice at the Fiesta Vignale grille, but I think I see what you mean: the bright elements look like birds in flight in the centre of the grille, but become increasingly asymmetric towards either side. Very subtle, and rather nice.
Isn´t it? What is impressive about it is that it´s not very obvious. You could easily do a very nice job with a repeated element and no one would be disappointed. This one took a bit of extra time and the imagination to conceive how it would look in production which is not as it would look in a prototype (unless it was a super-expensive one). Ford are turning out some very sensuous and subtle shapes at the moment and aren´t shouting about it. My theory is that it´s even under the radar at Ford. Whoever is responsible for these refinements which probably can´t be drawn and may not even show up in clay modelling all that clearly, deserves a prize. Only Volvo are getting close to this. The Mondeo seems to have been done differently (perfectly fine without getting so near to the fluid, lush quality of the Fiesta, Focus and Kuga.) You might also want to eyeball the current Suzuki Swift. Photos don´t do that car justice at all. I was wrong in my initial assessment.
The Mondeo pre-dates Ford’s current design, which started with the current Focus. That was a surprise when it appeared, but makes a lot of sense now, after the Puma and Kuga. I’m quite looking forward to the promised crossover/estate replacement for the Mondeo.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all, and thanks for such great articles throughout the year.
Merry Christmas everyone and best wishes for a better 2021.
Merry Christmas one and all. Let the good ship DTW sail serenely along the waves.
Best wishes to all who sail with her