Madelyn Miller of CarLadyNews poses with bikers in front of Alice’s Restaurant at the Ford Fiesta’s national launch in California. We welcomed curious onlookers into the car at each pitstop.

I took the Ford Fiesta to an autocross race in Corpus Christi. Lumographer Tay Portillo shot this picture in between runs; Albert Valera took another shot in grid. The Fiesta and I placed fourth overall. We changed minds. We enlisted believers. We made the Fiesta a feared weapon on-track.

I drove a European-spec Fiesta from Memphis to Dallas, and made a special effort to stop at rural dealers. Small dealers usually have excellent staff retention rates. Web users watched as I webcast lifelong QualityCare techs’ stories of 300,000-mile Fiestas from the ’70s. That gave me important context for the historical significance of the Fiesta’s re-launch.

Slater’s Performance, Houston’s preeminent Ford speedshop, gets its first look at the 2011 Fiesta. Some brand enthusiasts have literally banked their livelihoods on the automotive brands they trust. It’s the least we can do, as automotive analysts and communicators, to validate their enthusiasm by showing respect for their passion.

Before the Ford Fiesta’s formal arrival in the United States, I was privileged to be granted the title of “Honorary Fiesta Movement Agent” by the crew at BurnoutRadio. Their gracious generosity allowed me to log approximately 3000 miles in the European-spec Fiesta. Along the way, I introduced the Fiesta to major metro dealerships’ sales staff, QualityCare technicians at rural dealers, lifelong Ford enthusiasts and skeptical autocrossers who hadn’t seriously considered a Ford in years. This is a catalog of the friendships I forged.