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-juice
-juice
What do other folks think here?
A) They look completely different, i.e. no resemblance at all
C) No similarities at all, zero resemblance, CRACK IS WHACK
:P
-juice
hugs not drugs,
alpha
I do see some resemblance in the squared off, waterfall headlights. I thought of the CTS/STS the first time I saw the Fusion.
In black all you see is the shiny grille and the shape of the headlights. When I got up close of course I figured it out. But there is a resemblance.
-juice (drug-free!)
The brochure has a sample of the 10 different colors available and also talks about some free "Fusion Flash Concerts" that Ford is sponsoring in 10 different cities.
So it's not an uncommon thing to have a vehicle be delivered a month from now, and yet they state they know nothing... You go asking everyone in the dealership, and it's ALL NEWS to them...THIS while the information has been spread on their computers for months prior, and all the Workbooks spread around to introduce the salespeople about the product they will push and how to push it...
BUT, selective amnesia I tell you....
Thanks to the Ford Family Plan, almost every Ford dealer I know of is SHORT SHORT SHORT on Inventory! (except for Freestars and Explorers)
My dealership generally carries a new car inventory of about 400 on the ground.
We have under 20 Focuses, Five Hundreds and Freestyles each.
We only have two 2005 XLT 4x4 Escapes left and they are both SONIC BLUE (ICK)
The only Tauruses left are preowned, and we will never be getting more.
We have one 05 Mustang V6, stick in Legend Lime.
Even our F-150 stock is down under Fifty, we generally carry close to 100.
Also, this Ford Family plan is really only costing Ford. The dealers are making about the same if not more per unit over all.
If you are at a dealership and the Sales Person doesn't know anything about current or future product, WALK WALK WALK WALK.
A car is an expensive purchase and YOU DESERVE to be treated PROFESSIONALLY!
There are about eleven Ford stores with-in a 30 min drive of my dealership near Philadelphia. So DON'T TOLERATE UNPROFESSIONAL SALESPEOPLE!
Ok thanks for letting me rant.
Keyless entry pad basics.
The five digit factory code always works. Don't lose the card its the only record of the code short of retrieving from the car's computer.
the 7-8 and 9-0 together lock all doors.
Entering your code unlocks only the driver's door.
Entering your code then:
hitting the 1-2 button allows you to add your own 5 digit code
3-4 button unlocks all doors.
5-6 button pops the trunk.
See its EASY!
Mark
Also, the Mazda6 has won over 50 awards internationally and this is the underpinning of the Fusion.
I think that everyone should take notice about just how important PRICE IS when it comes to deciding which new car to buy.
Why Hyundai choose to give up price leadership is beyond me.
Mark.
Sorry, you're definitely wrong about that. The Accord has won almost 20 of Car and Driver's Ten Best Awards since that test's inception, and continues to make the list. The current Accord has also won nearly every comparison test its been included in during this generation, I think its something like 9 of 10 in the major magazines, the first real loss being this recent one to the new 2006 Sonata.
The Mazda 6 has won 50 awards internationally? Are you serious? I'm very surprised by that. And even with all the awards, Mazda is still struggling to move the metal..........
How has Hyundai given up price leadership?
~alpha
The real probelem with the car is a lack of manumatic, HID/Xenon, and Nav. The engine is alright as long as it gets at least 220, and when it gets 250 with the 3.5 everything will be fine.
~alpha
Interior looks like 10 years old already, but it may be is just to me, for others it may look as a breakthrough in automotive design. But then again, considering “high” quality interior, read this:
http://www.freep.com/money/autoreviews/phelan21e_20050721.htm
“The interior is not quite as well realized. The pieces generally fit together well, although there's a distractingly wide gap between two pieces of plastic curving down from the dashboard to the center console.
However, there's a wide variety of different colors and textures in the interior that gives the car a cobbled-together feel, and the carpeted floor mats are just far enough from the color of the carpet beneath them to suggest they belong in some other vehicle .
The leather-wrapped steering wheel was a bit slippery and would have benefited from some texture for grip.
The cloth for the headliner also felt cheap and poorly fitted, and there were see-through gaps in the plastic shroud around the steering column.”
I believe just about every generation of the Accord has been on Car and Driver's 10 best list sense the 1986 model. I believe the 1995 Accord was the ONLY year it didn't make the list, but it was back by 1996 I think.
But as far as the Fusion is concerned.
I can't wait for it to it dealerships so I can test drive one. I'm particularly interested in the SEL model.
Focus was the best selling car in the world.
The current Accord shouldn't be car of the year, it does nothing radical, and thus cars like the 300, G35 Coupe etc. get that award because of the so called "appeal" they have. Doesn't mean cars like the Accord, Camry, Fusion, Mazda6 and Altima aren't good cars though. Just shows that these cars don't have the "appeal" to win anybody over and they don't do anything out of the ordinary. The Focus won that award when it did because it was revolutionary for its time. It was a better handler than anything in the class and it was faster too. But it has since been outgunned by Mazda's 3.
I don't expect the new Fusion to get that COTY Award either....so what's your point?
And the Mondeo is not even sold in this country. If anything that car should have replaced the Taurus in this country after it was redesigned (the Contour WAS the previous gen. Mondeo)
Funny that you mention that car. I always liked the new Mondeo, it has a better looking interior than our Fusion.
BTW, hasn't the European Accord (AKA the TSX) won COTY awards is Japan, Europe etc.?
True that the Focus has been the best selling car in the world, but so what? Overall the Corolla is the best selling car EVER...ahead of the VW Beetle???
Heck, the current Focus is a pretty good seller in the U.S., no one is knocking that.
Lets stay on topic here. Folks got unto me about getting off topic...ummm...pot calling the kettle....
Find a review from a paper in Alabama where the factory is and I bet it has quite a different tone.
Fusion will get a friendly reception from them, no question. I'm more curious to see what anyone but the home team has to say about it.
-juice
The handling is SO-SO.
The interior is WAY cheap (UGLY UGLY UGLY UGLY), but a HUGE improvement for Ford.
The exterior looks WAY too much like a Zephyr (this is where the 32 pics will be inserted).
The engine is WAY underpowered.
The fuel economy is WAY too low.
All in all, it's a HUGE disappointment, but also HUGE step forward for Ford.
If Ford wants to COMPETE in this SEGMENT, it's going to need at LEAST 400hp, an automatic transmission (with at LEAST 7 forward gears) that shifts like a manual but has no clutch or shifter, HID headlights, ESC, VSC, SAB, HOT, TUNA, YADDA, YADDA and YADDA.
Why anyone would buy this car without a HUGE HUGE HUGE rebate is WAY WAY WAY beyond me IMO IMO IMO.
But oh well...think what you will.
This board is about the
and the
NOT the
Or the
THANK YOU
:P
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
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2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
Review your vehicle
-juice
1 - Would you be so kind as to ring up the Fusion factory and ask how the production is coming?
2 - I would also like to know the percentage of Fusion parts being sourced from Mexican suppliers.
3 - Where are the Fusion engines and trannys being made?
4 - It appears GM will use the JV 6sp in 2007 models, when will Ford?
5 - Will the JV 6sp have a JV production facility?
6 - Reports say the Freestyle based on the 500 is gone for 2007, what platform does the 2007 Freestyle change to and why?
7 - Is the Thunderbird projected to be returned on a different platform?
8 - When is the next Aviator set for release?
9 - Can the Fusion and "Hand brake parking" be used in the same sentence?
10 - Will Ford ever sell a Hot Hatch in US market?
Aviator should arrive with the Mazda CX-7, next fall I think.
Fairline is supposed to replace the Freestyle. Something like the concept, which was pretty cool actually.
-juice
Milan after the italian city...Industrial, fashionable, sophicaticated...the image that marketing wanted to portray.
Frasier,
1) I haven't heard complaints so far, so that's a good sign.
2) You can have a parts manufacturer based in the U.S., but they might outsource parts from other countries, therefore it's hard to pinpoint. Plus some parts produced could be "assembled" at another country, using parts built in the U.S., or vice versa.
3) I believe Cleveland for the DuratecV6, the I-4 has different assembly plants, I must look for that info, I dont have it assembled. The tranny is sourced from Aisin, which I'm not sure which plant specifically brought in from.
4) Ford wil begin using the JV 6 Speed ahead of GM, mainly because Ford will integrate it upon fresh models coming in or in mid-life refreshenings. GM will do the same...
5) I'll get back to you on those specifics.
6) Still being analyzed, but it'll grow up...just a bit ahead of time since there will be product overlap with other vehicles being introduced.
7) That's still being analyzed, but it will undoubtably return...the issue is mainly time.
8) Spring of next year, I have the specific date, but not around me at this time.
9) I'm confused on this... your asking if it has hand parking brake? Yes
10) All depends upon your interpretation of "hot". Meaning, Europe's Focus RS? Not at this time. Something close to it, possibly. Look for it as a Mazda.
Hand brake parking is the process of running up to a parking spot, turning sharply, and pulling up on the hand brake to lock the rear wheels, thus swinging the car 180 degrees into the parking spot.
Top Gear had the grannies do this in one episode. That was fun to watch.
---------------
As far as a hot hatch, a Focus RS, that would be fantastic.
How about a Fusion wagon with 270 hp?
Or a manual trans Fusion wagon with an I-4 turbo diesel? I'd love that. Of course, I'd probably be the only one stateside with any interest in such a model...
According to Darryl Hazel, the president of the Ford Division in a quote from an article in the "The Plain Dealer" http://tinyurl.com/e39nh
The new midsize 2006 Ford Fusion, which will be available with a Duratec V-6 built at Engine Plant No. 1 in Brook Park, will be extremely important to Ford as it tackles competitors such as the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry.
The Duratec V-6 engine being built in Brook Park is a "critical engine to us," he said.
Regarding question 5--Will the JV 6sp have a JV production facility?
No. GM will build their version of the transmsion in their Warren Michigan (northeast of Detroit) transmission plant, Ford will build their transmissions in Sharonville Ohio, near Cincinatti, and at their Van [non-permissible content removed] paln in Sterling Heights (northeast of Warren).
Re. question 8--I'd heard that the Aviator launch had been pushed back according to a union source at the Lima Ohio engine plant who indicated the job 1 on the new Duratec 35 had been pushed back from December '05 to April '06. If that's the case I'd expect the Aviator to be out next August or September rather than in the Spring.
I enjoyed your photo essay...
The owner's manuals for F/M/Z were just posted...
Oh and the Accord handles the course like a 66 Fairlane. and the Toyota can't finish. The tail wags so much that the Driver has to bail out of the course.
This kind of sportiness at least gives the Fusion something different to offer.
They Hyundai Sonata is just trying to be a better Accord/Camry.
At least Ford is trying to do something different.
Mark
What exactly about the Fusion is so different again?
~alpha
Camry will never be sport sedan regardless of modifications, because it was designed as boring cost saving family sedan. Bigger wheels, better tires or thicker sway bars will not make Camry sport sedan, just make it more unbalanced. To make a good car you first thing you need is a solid platform.
"But still there are things like style, fun to drive and even being non-conformist."
Definitely. But is the Fusion going to pull this off and sell well. Seems like the above defines the Mazda 6, and that car is stuffed to the gills with incentives to get it out the door.
~alpha
I dont think anyone at Mazda considers the Mazda 6 a failure. Just think about the sedan it replaced (626). I also find it unfair to compare Mazda to Toyota, Mazda didnt expect to break sales records with the 6, just as the new Sonata doesnt expect to either. Toyota is a giant in the industry, just as Ford is, with Hyundai and Mazda smaller competitors. Hasn't the 6 outsold the Sonata?
The Fusion will be a solid sedan with a well known American company that also has a huge dealer network. It blows the doors off the Taurus in every area, so I dont see how it will ever be considered a failure.
Fusion will be a great driving car with attractive exterior and interior, plenty of cabin/trunk space, decently refined engine with ample power, and will be well priced with a huge dealer network. Sounds like its prime for success to me.
The Fusion, I feel, will offer a great ride/handling compromise. But its powertrains wont lead for acceleration, economy, or NVH. Sure, you can give a tech nod to a 6 speed auto, but it hasnt done much for the Five Hundred, for example, in the real world, as it is fairly well panned for early upshifts and slow downshifts. The interior of the Milan I was in was nothing to write home about, having tight fits but seeminly very cheap pieces, and it was a sea of same color black on the doors. Why no leather or cloth inserts, for example? The twins also lack [standard ABS and] side curtains, which in this segment, is a fairly big deal, given the press that IIHS side impact testing gets.
Time will tell, but this is a really tough segment- excellent new Sonata, refreshed 06 Accord model line, brand new 07 Camry in March of next year, refreshed MZ 6 for 2006.
ah, its a great time for practical folks to be getting midsize, IMO.
~alpha
Re: mean ages for owners- the Accord's is 50 and the Camry's, 56.
The problem that I have with the Camry is that it is trying to be all things to all people, as such its really not spectacular at any one thing.
There is a market for an inexpensive (comparitively) four door sedan that us just fun to drive.
Also, Ford sells 1 million or so F-Series a year. 25% of those customers are estimated to have a C/D sized 4 door sedan in their garage next to that F-series.
Even if Ford only sells one out of ten of these current Ford owners, thats 100,000 units a year.
Mark
:shades: