Ford Builds a Betta Ka; Little Streetka injects large excitement.(News)(Product/Service Evaluation)

Byline: MATT DAVIS

Seeing a Ford Ka on U.S. streets might cause riots sparked by incomprehension. Its tiny pod design goes against notions of fruited plains, purple mountains and all that. Ka is the definition of an affordable Euro city car for low-attention-span hipsters with massive resin fender panels to prove it. Whether Ford intended Ka to be popular among the worst insurance-risk drivers on earth or not, such seems the case. Since its debut at the 1996 Paris show, the Ka has been a consistent provider.

A production Ka appeared at the 1999 Detroit show to register reactions; apparently nary a rise in pulse got noticed. It stayed across the Atlantic.

Ford Europe hemmed and hawed at building a roofless concept through the late 1990s until statement-making cars were needed-and fast. The Street Ka concept finally got the green light in February 2000 (shown at Turin later that year), and while the car's silver exterior screamed ``Audi TT,'' everyone who saw it screamed, ``Build it.''

So they did. With a goal of making 10,000 to 12,000 Streetkas a year outside of Ford's high-volume Ka facility in Spain, they turned to Pininfarina, a partner with the ability to build 20,000 per year in case it caught fire in the market. A fortuitous coincidence is that the Pininfarina-assembled Peugeot 306 convertible came to its lifecycle end, thus freeing more space for Streetka.

The Streetka has several panels that are unique from the Ka, particularly its rear, and all quarter-panels with wheel-well bulges. It needed the existing platform (from the old Fiesta) beefed up for cabin rigidity, so weight is added. Add weight and you need more power, but not so much as to jack up its sticker or insurance rating too high. The stock Ka has an ancient 59-horsepower eight-valve 1.3-liter four; Streetka gets a 94-horsepower sohc eight-valve Duratec 1.6-liter four. According to the Streetka launch manager, the eight-valve iron-block chain-driven 1.6 keeps the price and insurance down ...