One of the country's most popular car models – the Ford Fiesta – is going out of production.
Figures from the Society of the Irish Motor Industry, show 42, 791 Ford Fiestas have been sold in Ireland since 2007.
The Fiesta ranked in the top 5 best-selling cars in Ireland in 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2014, and appeared in the top 10 every year from 2009 to 2018.
Its launch in 1976 coincided with a growing demand for smaller cars amid rising fuel prices following the 1973 oil crisis.
On The Hard Shoulder, Newtalk's Eamon Torsney, who's been driving a Fiesta model since 1989, said it has been the ideal car.
"I did my driving test in 1989 in my dad's Fiesta and I guess that's where the loyalty stayed," he said.
"Eventually I just decided it suits me – it's perfect."
'The only car'
Eamon said that any time he has bought a car since 1989, it has only been a Fiesta.
"In Ireland, the only car I've ever bought has been a Ford Fiesta – I have never veered to another brand or even within the Ford brand, I haven't gone to something different," he said.
"It's very conservative of me.
"It's really comfortable, and I have to say, I wouldn't use it if it didn't suit me."
1970s UK Ford Magazine Advert (Retro AdArchives / Alamy Stock Photo)Times have changed
Eamon said he has seen the car develop over time.
"I can now actually start the Fiesta from my phone. So, that's how things have changed," he said.
"On those cold mornings, if you remember during the winter ... you'd be in the house and then you can start your engine and the car is defrosted by the time you sit into the car in the driveway."
'Zenith'
John Egan, vintage car expert and enthusiast, said the Fiesta is the perfect "starter car" for drivers.
"It was a new car, it was it was a shock to the system to a lot of people," he said.
Mr Egan said the car had its "zenith" during the 80s.
"Thatw as the Mark 3, so around the 80s words was its heyday," he said.
"After that then it became more of a mundane."
1980s UK Ford Magazine Advert (Retro AdArchives / Alamy Stock Photo)Electric
Mr Egan said he expects Ford want to move their models into solely electric ranges.
"We're getting into solely electric cars now, and they want a freshen up their look maybe," he said.
For Eamon, he finds himself at a crossroads when it comes to the future of his motoring.
"Whether I switch brands, it'll be the same style, I think and then let's face it, a lot of cars are blending in and looking like one another," he said.
"When they decided to change the design over the years, my mother once looked at the more modern design, and she said to me, 'Eamon, actually doesn't look like a woman's car anymore."
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