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Umm, in English the plural of Vega is Vegas. Vega's is the possessive form, as in "the Vega's steering is not as precise as the Pinto's."
I saw a 2010 come up on ebay recently. If you go to www.ebaymotors.com and search on Ford Fusion, 2010 "Completed Listings" you will see a 2010 that expired on February 16th. I thought that was interesting. I am curious to know when they will hit show rooms. The main reason I'm interested is that I am looking to buy a used 2009 or 2008 and expect that to drop prices even further. Wish I could afford a 2010.
Sorry I started this. :P
I didn't realize that a temporary ebay listing for a car that's not on sale yet was relevant or I would have mentioned it.
BTW, it is being listed again: eBay item:Ford : Fusion (#200311872282). This time it appears to be getting serious offers. But it's probably irrelevant, because all we will be able to know is the price that it actually sells for or, if it doesn't sell, the price the dealer refused to sell it for. And, who would ever want to know that?
They can put anything they want on Ebay - doesn't mean the vehicle is actually sitting on the lot. If it was they wouldn't have just a stock picture.
Ford Fusion SE, Honda Accord EX-L and Mazda6 I Touring are all tested and all three have manual transmissions.
http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison_test/sedans/2010_ford_fusion_vs_m- - azda_6_honda_accord_comparison_test/(page)/1
It would be nice when they did these comparos if they would at least TRY to equip the cars similarly. Then maybe we wouldn't have complaints on the Fusion's "cheap" cloth interior while the Accord is the top-end EX-L trim. The Mazda6i was not in its top trim, either. Would have been more fair to compare the Accord LX-P vs. the Fusion SE, or the top-end Fusion against the EX-L (actually, it was the EX-L with Nav).
Thanks for the link. I thought it was interesting that C/D compared the interior of a 27,805 Accord with leather to the 21,000 pre-production Fusion. For $6k, they could have the door panels covered with just about whatever they wanted. Part of the reason for opting for nav in the Accord ($2200 over the EX-L w/o nav) is so you can get bluetooth and a workable but cumbersome iPod interface.
In retrospect, they have been giving Ford a lot of accolades lately. I think they just don't want the blue oval's head to get to big. I wonder if
Csaba Csere and Bill Ford live in the same neighborhood.
Car and Driver
"But as good as it is, the Fusion doesn’t register a high score on our fun meter. “A perfectly decent car,” concluded one crew member. “But it’s soft for intense motoring and might be better suited to someone whose needs include quiet operation and a softer ride.”"
Yeah, zikes! I wonder of the pre-production car was missing a sway bar or something. I know Ford has been doing a lot of benchmarking with Toyota, maybe they got carried away.
I think sometimes these car mags, and those who read them, get a bit carried away when it comes to handling vs. ride comfort and NVH. What are family sedans (especially the low-end, I4 jobs) used for, mostly? Commuting, maybe? Carting the family around town and on trips, maybe? Canyon-carving up and down mountain passes, at far-above-legal speeds? Not as much.
If C/D wanted to disparage the Fusion by comparing its ride to that of a Camry (or their all-time favorite put-down, Buick), they would have done it.
See this is really a matter of where you are living. On the west coast, cars that can run through the canyons get run over by those that can, or create road rage events. I remember going over CA hwy 154 in an '83 Reliant 2.6/4 cyl in the early 90s and being very very frightened. The Contour w/a 2.5 V6 had no problems on that road, nor CA hwy 58 going from 101 to I5 out of San Luis Obispo.
I think my point is don't assume the world is flat because we live in the midwest. It is still round and still has canyons and valleys that are part of every day drives elsewhere in the country. This is one of the reasons Buicks and Oldsmobiles sold well in the rust belt but not the west coast.
Well, considering the Accord won by a SINGLE point...
Not only that, but C&D has been receiving checks from Honda and BMW for a while now. It's nothing new... at all.
Besides, do you honestly think that after awarding the Accord a 10Best, they'd turn around and award the title to a DIFFERENT competitor? Please..
C&D's comparisons are only interesting without a Honda or BMW in them, and I'm surprised they haven't found a way to award them in those cases as well!
1.The drivers side door had a wind noise,so I took it to the dealer.He said that the door needs new weatherstripping which would cost $140 [$70 parts and $70 labor]
2.Also,he said the side shocks [left and right] have to be replaced which would cost $200 including parts and labor.
3.There are some minor rattles in the cabin.
So,is weatherstripping and shocks covered under the bumper to bumper warranty?Or are they considered normal wear and tear? Do the rattles come under the factory warranty?
Please,your help is greatly appreciated as I have only about 800 miles left before my factory warranty expires.
Thanks.
On the other hand, the steering was nearly as good as the best in this group, and the car was absolutely devoid of nasty surprises.
Sounds quite a bit different from what edmunds had to say about the steering...they called it numb and vague, IIRC.
They mention a problem that I have found on most cars now applies to the Mazda6:
Short bottom cushions, too.
That was something I had thought I noticed when I sat in a leather equipped one recently. It seemed down-sized from my 2007 (cloth). OTOH, sat in the new Fusion at the auto show and loved the seat. For me the Fusion was definitely the best seat among these three, though I have not sat in a new Mazda6 with cloth, yet (I assume the seat cushion is no longer than the leather one).
I also have to agree with the dissenter on the Accord:
“Too big,” he complained, displaying a keen eye for tiny dimensional disparities. “And it’s ugly,” he added.
But, I'm not sold on the super-sized RX-8 looks of the mazda6, either (nor do I like the chrome window trim or the black plastic filler in place of glass) and the grill of the Fusion is not appealing to me...I'd like to see a non-chrome option there.
I had found the previous Accord's steering to be too light, sounds like this continues, based on mentioning the light steering of this edition.
I don't think the different trim levels affected the net scores much. The Accord got bonus points for "features and amenties" but the Fusion got about the same bonus from the "price as tested" score. In the end, the scores are close enough that one would be silly not to check out all three and base their decision on their own personal preferences.
The only thing surprising about the review was the Fusion suspension since that has always been one of the Fusion's advantages. It will be interesting to see other comments from other reviewers.
And what's with the Gotta Have It rating? Since when do any of these vehicles evoke a "gotta have it" emotion?
Believe it or not, I actually did have a little of the "gotta have it" response when I spent a week and a half with a rented Milan Premier I4 last summer. It was a surprisingly sophisticated car--only the engine noise under acceleration was a disappointment.
Then again, I got the same "gotta have it" when I drove a manual '08 LX-P. So maybe I'm just bored with my current rides.
But if they were comparably equipped the Fusion still would have won points for both and driven it closer to the Accord's final score. Bluetooth and an iPod interface in the Ford cost all of $395 whereas you have to get the $2200 navi package in the Honda to have that functionality.
If the so called comparison doesn't compare apples to apples then it's not a true comparison and should be treated as such. You can't give an advantage to one model when you didn't even give another the chance to show what it can do too.
For instance in my case I could not care less about blue teeth, ipods, or navigation systems. I care a lot about seat comfort and steering feel/handling. Having sat in and them and based on what I have read, were I in the market now, I'd be leaning toward the fusion...but I'd still drive all 3.
That spoke volumes to me.
Golly, this forum got lively over that article!
Which would strongly imply that they would favor the Fusion over an Altima 2.5/6MT. (Does such a beast still exist?)
I think the next test should be with the AWD versions. I bet the Fusion takes first place in that one........
next time i sit in the back of my fusion, i will have to see if i notice
the 'knees up' seating position.
i like the rims on the fusion.
se's are equipped with 16's, unless this is different for 2010.
i have seen the wheels somewhere before, maybe euro focus?
se's are equipped with 16's, unless this is different for 2010.
The SE now comes standard with 17" wheels. 16" on the S model.
And the SEL model does not come with a manual trans - that's why it was a SE model. But you can't get leather with the SE.
Not that I am implying C/D would stack the deck in favor of one of their perennial 10Best cars. Nah, they wouldn't do that.
Nah, only Ford would do that, they called it a "Challenge'.
But to answer your question with a question, of what benefit is it to C&D financially to rename the Accord one of their 10 best? :confuse: - it's not like Honda is out there advertising the heck out of the Accord and/or paying C&D beaucoups of money to allow use of the award in advertising. The magazine would do better in this regard to name the Fusion 10 best. Wonder how much Ford pays JDP for their 'initial quality' trophies, or how much they paid the supervising mags in their Fusion challenge?
They never did explain why they were unable to get the lower-trim Accord into the comparo--they mentioned that they had a lower-cost car lined up.
Ah yes yes, it couldn't be anything having to do with decent product. Wow.
Quote:
"The Accord is a roomy, well-rounded sedan that's easy to live with and enjoyable to drive. It offers a comfortable ride, agile handling, and efficient, refined four- and six-cylinder powertrains. Electronic stability control is standard, and crash-test results are impressive. Though the Nissan Altima edged out the Accord in our Ratings, most Altima versions lack electronic stability control."
The Altima couldn't hold on to the top spot. CR says it's because of stability control, but I think there's more to it than that.