WHEN I WAS growing up, everything was a hand-me-down, either from a sister or the masses of cousins. Toys would always be slightly dented and dresses were better suited to someone who didn't have either my colouring or figure. So, I'm always secretly thrilled when I get something brand new.
Unfortunately, many of the 'new' cars we're offered today are really hand-me-downs. The factory may have jazzed up the bodywork or managed to fit fatter alloys, but the fact remains that it's an old model.
Not so the Ford Fiesta. This is a brave move by Ford, given the loyalty and devotion the Fiesta has earned. Launched in 1976 as Ford's answer to the super minis of the day - the Renault 5 and Fiat 127 - the Fiesta was an instant hit and by 1979 a million cars had been delivered. The car was a motoring version of fusion food: the bodies and engines were made in Spain, the radiators and carburettors in Britain, the transmission in France, and final assembly took place in Valencia, Spain, and Saarlouis, Germany.
The front-wheel-drive car was snapped up by young families and, later, boy racers, with the sporting version, the XR2, becoming the voiture de choix for burning around housing estates.
In July 1997, as Hong Kong was preoccupied with the handover, Ford was launching the high-powered Fiesta-based coupe called the Puma, with a 1.4 or 1.7 16v engine. The Puma was the first Ford with styling completely designed by computer - a random fact that may earn you kudos in a quiz one day.
All worthy facts and no doubt impressive, but I have to say that, for me, the Fiesta is solidly placed in the mid-1980s. I got into the car humming the lyrics to Lionel Ritchie's awful All Night Long - 'Fiesta forever ... come on and sing my song ... all night long' - which terrified the guy from Ford, but not as much as my driving would.