The first leg begins Friday when two Fiestas piloted by members of a team of top journalists set off from Santa Monica Pier on a 60-day odyssey which will take them to New York City via Las Vegas and Nashville and through part of Canada.
The trip will mark the launch of Ford's supermini in the US, and the achievement of the current model's one millionth sale, due in September.
Along the way the writers will file stories about the unusual people they meet, including the electrical workers who keep the Las Vegas 'Strip' as one of the brightest streets in the world. One of the journalists will cut a CD in Tenessee's home of country music.
The Europe leg begins in Shannon on September 6, when the expedition visits Lisdoonvarna for the annual matchmaking festival. Once the cars reach Dublin, they will then be ferried across the Irish Sea to Wales, drive through England and will eventually reach mainland Europe via the Channel Tunnel. The European drive will include a lap of the legendary Nurburgring.
The Asia portion of the trip begins in Shenzhen, China and after their journey through that country the travellers head on to Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. As they go, they'll file stories which reflect the region – monks who bless cars, elephants that paint and, in Singapore, the man who claims to be the world’s most educated cab driver.
The expedition’s final leg will be in Australia, where stories will come from iconic locations such as Darwin, Ayers Rock, Bathurst, and finally Sydney.
In each region, locally-built Fiestas will be used: American spec for the US, Cologne-built for Europe, another pair for China and the rest of Asia, and finally Australian specifications for the down-under completing leg.
The two Fiestas that will complete this massive road trip will then be presented at the Sydney Motor Show in late October.
Pictured above is Ford NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth with the new 2011 Ford Fiesta pace car that paced the CarFax 400 at Michigan International Speedway on Aug 15. This marks the first time Fiesta paced a NASCAR event.
(ED: We'll be following the expedition regularly on carandtravel.ie)
