There's enough gender confusion in society. Now we are getting it in cars? If the Milan is soft and feminine, and I like it, does that make me gay, or a skirt chaser? If the Fusion is ruggedly masculine, does that make me gay, or a buddy sort of guy? (Not that it matters, as they said on Seinfeld). Gee, after all these years of being caught between various social movements - feminism, gay rights, married straight people rights, hookups or committed relationships, religous rights, etc. - now I've got to go through it all again - with CARS?
Does anyone know when the auto tranny will be available for 4cyl Fusions? Ford's website doesn't let me configure the 4 cyl with auto, none of the local dealers have them in their inventory. Carsdirect.com does give me an option for auto trans, but I don't trust their options.
in Motor Trend mag comparing the Fusion/Camry/Sonata/Accord. You will be surprised as to what place the Fusion came in. A bit strange though. They compared a top of the line Accord EX V6 with Nav costing about $3500 more than the Fusion?? Granted the Fusion was an SEL V6. Also trying to figure out how the price jumped on the Fusion to over 25K? They do make a comment of maybe they should have picked a V6 LX. The price would have been more in line with all other vehicles...
"My local dealer has a 4cy 5 speed automatic in stock."
Have you seen it in person or just on the web inventory? My car has been showing in dealer inventory for over a week but it's not scheduled to arrive until next week. Their original one and only Fusion showed in Inventory for at least 3 weeks before it actually arrived. There is a lag period.
The Fusion finished behind the Accord and a nose ahead of the hyundai. Why is that surprising? But the next -gen camry is right around the corner and surely will finish ahead of the Fusion in the next drive-off so we are in our usual place - behind the Japanese cars. Only diff is the hyundais and other Koreans are getting so much better that Ford is barely keeping ahead of them.
My point is that here we have Ford's latest and greatest and it does not measure up to it's competition - again. Sure they'll still sell a lot of Fusions, but it's still an inferior vehicle to those produced by the Japanes. That bothers me. It should bother ANT and Bill Ford a lot more.
Fusion fans should not be sour over the Fusion being picked 2nd to the Accord in the Motor Trend and Car and Driver tests for several reasons. First of all, the Accord is a darned nice car, and you can't write this off to bias when it gets perrenial praise from virtually all automotive magazines. What Ford has done is reentered a market segment wherre it has been delinquent for quite some time, and come within a hair of putting out the best car in the class. For many it will be the best car in the class. This is no small feat, and a sign of positive things to come. If they continue to improve the Fusion on a timely basis, it's going to be a very successful model for quite some time.
Personally I think there's pent up demand for decent American cars (I know, the Fusion is built in Mexico, but you know what I mean.) There's a lot of people that would like to own an American car, but aren't willing to buy something that they perceive as an inferior product just to wave the flag around. I bought a Passat for this very reason; it was just so much better than the Taurus and other American sedans of the time that I couldn't ignore it. The Fusion seems to be a car that American car fans can buy and not have make excuses for, which is a big deal. Maybe the Accord is a little better overall, maybe not, but the Fusion has clearly closed the gap considerably. Kudos to Ford, and here's to hoping this is the beginning of a long winning streak.
I'll be doing my own comparison of Fusion/Milan vs. Accord. But it will a comparison of a cheaper 4 cyl version of both, as that is what I would like to buy if I buy a new car.
One thing I did note, that I can not really test myself, is the Accord apparently has lousy brakes. And this is based on 4 wheel disks, which you don't even get in the cheaper versions of Accord (unlike the F/M which have standard 4 wheel disks, even for cheapskates like me).
My point is that here we have Ford's latest and greatest and it does not measure up to it is competition - again.
Huh? If you are trying to say that the Camry and Sonata aren't competitive with the Fusion, you're probably right, but they're still the competition. Most open-minded buyers shopping the midsize segment will be comparing all these models and probably the 6 and Altima too.
Try not to give your judgment on future models ('07 Camry) before they even appear. It makes your bias clear and thus weakens your argument. Plus, we can play the "Manufacturer X's new car will beat Manufacturer Y's old car" game all day long - it doesn't accomplish anything. If you're doing a comparison, you have to test models that are actually in production.
That said, like someone else here, I too have a degree in Marketing and can tell you this with certainty: no matter how great the next Camry might be, it's going to be targeted at the same liver spots the current model appeals to. And that doesn't bode well for its driving dynamics.
You might find it helpful to scroll back to post 2220. It covers the illumination concerns in more detail (perhaps I was the first person to drive one of these cars at night).
During my short test drives the brakes on the Fusion/Milan felt great - not mushy like my Lincoln LS (the brakes work just fine, they just don't feel very firm).
"but it's still an inferior vehicle to those produced by the Japanes."
Dude what planet are you on. Have you even seen the Fusion in person? Let me just tell you I have ond it's one helluva car. How can the best looking most talked about American car since the 2005 Mustang be inferior.
"Dude what planet are you on. Have you even seen the Fusion in person?"
Dude. Planet Earth here. I admit, I have not seen a FUsion in person. But I have seen the Accord and I have seen the Milan and the Zephyr. I haven't driven any of them. My stated opinion was based on the two tests cited in here - C&D and Motor Trend.
As to the other Dude who says I'm biased - I presently own FOUR Ford products. All of em built in the USA, and all designed for the most part in the USA, though one has a lot of design input from Jaguar. If I'm biased, it's that I WANT the Ford to be the best , not #2 or certainly #3 when the Camry hits the streets.
The Fusion does seem to be a hit and I hope it puts a few $$$s in the coffers of Ford. It's certainly the best American, well, Mexican-American, well Japanese-Mexican-American car in the bunch being as it's engineering is more than 1/2 Japanese and it's built in Mexico, so the American content is ............. I dunno, but I'm sure there's some.
Point is, and I'd like to see ANT take this to heart, the days of Dearborn vs Detroit are OVER. The ones to worry about are the Japanese and to a lesser extent the Europeans. Toyota would like nothing better than to see GM and Ford go down the tubes. So GM and Ford had better get real good at fighting the Japanese rather than each other.
Wasn't Mazda6 derived from Ford Mondeo? Like Mazda3 is rebadged Ford Focus. And next Mondeo is rebadged Mazda6 Then it is Ammerican_Japanese_German engineering.
The mazda3 and focus share a jointly developed platform - they aren't "rebadged" either way. And I don't think the Mazda6 shares a platform with the Mondeo.
My most recent Ford acquisition is similar to yours - I picked up a 2003 Explorer Sport Trac w/only 17K miles. What a great vehicle that is. Right now my daughter is driving it during her senior year in HS, but after she goes away to college it's MINE! Already took it on a light duty 4 day wkend w/4x4 involved and it performed real well.
The Fusion will gain AWD and the 3.5L Duratec35 next year when the Camry is introduced. A few other toys and conviniences will be thrown into the option list as well. And a hybrid version will debut soon after.
Even if the Camry is redone next year, it still has certain 'attributes' that it's current customers will love, and the media dislike. No matter how many times you re-tweak the Crown Vic/ Grand Marquis, it IS what it is, and it has a loyal following, like that of the Camry.
Also another point, as I've been stating for the past 2 years...Toyota is experiencing "growing pains". In the past 2 months, many recalls have been issues for some of their vehicles. And more owners are fessing up to having reliability issues. Even some journalists have cited bad workmanship and quality on some of the vehicles they have tested. And more importantly, the media is starting to talk about it.
I don't think this has been posted here yet. There's a sweepstakes to win a Fusion SEL that has been used on tour by some Norwegian band I've never heard of. Do a search for "Fusion" and "Hurra Torpedo" and you'll find it.
"ALso, to fusion owners, is there a trunk light, how about glovebox?"
On my Fusion SEL, yes, there is a trunk light, no, there is no glovebox light. Just noticed this after you asked and I've been driving it a little over a month and 2,000 miles, so it really doesn't seem like a big deal.
Correct you are. The Mazda6 and Modeo are two different animals. In fact, the Jaguar X-Type is a last gen Mondeo so we have nothing based on the award winning new Modeo over here right now.
The Mazda3, Euro Focus, and Volvo S40/V50 were jointly engineered by Mazda, Ford and Volvo. Each gave input in their areas of expertise and out popped one heck of a nice platform that is going to be used for many, many vehicles in the next couple of years if rumors are correct.
Dealer in PA indicated that the 4cyl auto was slated for production beginning in early Nov, so I'd expect them to start showing up in dealerships late Nov to early Dec. The dealer also indicated that they were getting a TON of interest in 4cyl autos, so even when they start showing up, might not be easy to find. Apparently this is beginning to position as a trade up for Civi-type owners who care more about fit and finish than power.
When anything new comes out, there is usually higher interest in it. However, that sounds like typical salesman sales pressure to imply that the 4 cylinder automatic is going to be so difficult to find and under such intense demand that you should just buy a V6 today so you won't have to deal with it.
In perusing local inventory on FordDirect.com, I've seen at least four or five auto/4-cylinders show up in the last few days. I believe they add them to their inventory when they are shipped from the factory and it it takes a while to get here from Hermosillo, but they are apparently shipping them already.
The MPG figures for the auto/4 don't look that great compared to the V6, though. I'm not sure of the ratings on the auto/4, but the manual/4 gets 31mpg highway and the auto/V6 gets 29mpg highway. You give up 2-cylinders, 61hp and only gain 2mpg. Granted, the 6-speed automatic in the V6 contributes to the ratings, which would be lower with a 4- or 5-speed automatic.
Where did you hear about the ford family plan coming back?? I was just on Ford's website and there was nothing mentioned about that. There is only mention of a $500 rebate and nothing about financing. I'm sure we would all love to see the family plan going on again, but I don't think that is so. I would probably go out and buy one this weekend if it was coming back. Please tell us where you heard this information. Thanks!
Its good, because i heard there are no trunk lights on the 500, could be just early versions though. If ford has there wits about them they added them back for the 2006 model year.
You are correct, if lights are the only problem then this really is a good car. Absolutley. I wish i could be a bigger fan of the Fusion, b/c its awsome black on black, but its just made in Mexico. I understand why, and it is still an american product as far as i am concerned, its just... Oh well.
Still, Ford did a good job, I think one of the reasons there should not be too many problems is b/c it is based off of the mazda 6 and many componants are probably shared with the six. Meybe steering and suspension and all that.
This car is going to be a bigger hit when ford puts in the new 3.5 V6 and AWD. It would be nice if ford had a manumatic with that 6 speed. Car and Driver says ford needs to fix a few things. They said the bumps produce intrusive noise, and tranny hunts between fifth and sixth gears, the power seat was not power for the back of the seat, the turn signal lever was placed too high on the steering wheel, and the HVAC controls were down too low in the dash.
Does anyone who actually ownes one agree with any of this? C/D gave the fusion 2nd place in a comparo between the camry, sonata, and accord.
I just received an email from a ford dealership here in New york, Premier Ford. The plan is in affect until Dec 31st. It includes the 06 Fusion and Mustang.
It wasn't me, it was Chrisford. I can't find anything on it either.
I apologize akiby. My bad, I read the wrong name in the title of the post! I just received an email from a ford dealership here in New york, Premier Ford. The plan is in affect until Dec 31st. It includes the 06 Fusion and Mustang.
Does this "Premier Ford" in New York have a website?? Maybe they are doing their own Ford Family Plan discount. Can you post some other information about this?? I'm intrigued as I'm sure everyone else is. Thanks.
i think it is kind of funny, both my kids want to drive suv's. we have an explorer and an escape, but also have a nice little 2.3 5speed focus and a mustang gt convertible. i am pretty sure they know the mustang is off limits.
2024 Ford F-150 STX, 2023 Ford Explorer ST, 91 Mustang GT vert
I'm not sure what you want fixed - we are having some issues that have been discussed in our Forums Software - Your Questions Answered discussion. You can check them out and post there and/or email me and we'll figure out what you need.
"Point is, and I'd like to see ANT take this to heart, the days of Dearborn vs Detroit are OVER. The ones to worry about are the Japanese and to a lesser extent the Europeans. Toyota would like nothing better than to see GM and Ford go down the tubes. So GM and Ford had better get real good at fighting the Japanese rather than each other."
Yes - and the Japanese had better start noticing the Koreans, and the Koreans may want to notice the Chinese, or in a few decades, they may find themselves in the same shoes as Ford & GM do today!!
You people are all going on like there is such a thing as BETTER and that BETTER for you is the same as BETTER for me.
In the past there were clearly glaring shortcomings when you compared a Taurus to an Accord or a Cam.
The Fusion is different, compared to Accord or Cam, is like comparing Hazel nut Coffee to Carmel Mocha. If you ask me, Ford is in an even better position than Honda and Toyota because the Fords come in three flavors. Honda and Toyota only give you 2 flavors.
I say hats off to Ford for putting the buyer in charge. Do you like your car macho? Get a Fusion. Want something a little more sophisticated or "fem"? Get a Milan. Want more luxury but still be cost conscious? Get a Zephyr with luxury features like climate controlled seats... thats right, heated and COOLED.
Ford goes even better because you get lots of choices about the look of your interior even within the same cars. Fusion has 3 interior colors and 4 dash treatments.
This is the FUTURE of the car industry. That is each company trying to come up with as many ways as possible to appeal to the largest group of consumers who are not all looking for the same thing.
Comments
K?
Ford's website doesn't let me configure the 4 cyl with auto, none of the local dealers have them in their inventory. Carsdirect.com does give me an option for auto trans, but I don't trust their options.
They do make a comment of maybe they should have picked a V6 LX. The price would have been more in line with all other vehicles...
My local dealer has a 4cy 5 speed automatic in stock.
Have you seen it in person or just on the web inventory? My car has been showing in dealer inventory for over a week but it's not scheduled to arrive until next week. Their original one and only Fusion showed in Inventory for at least 3 weeks before it actually arrived. There is a lag period.
http://www.davesinclair.net/pages/present/flm/notlocalized/searchinventory/dosearch.asp?mo- del=Fusion&vehicletype=Car&year=2006&qs=1
I just called them. You are right. They are not in inventory. Due in about a week - so they say.
My point is that here we have Ford's latest and greatest and it does not measure up to it's competition - again. Sure they'll still sell a lot of Fusions, but it's still an inferior vehicle to those produced by the Japanes. That bothers me. It should bother ANT and Bill Ford a lot more.
Personally I think there's pent up demand for decent American cars (I know, the Fusion is built in Mexico, but you know what I mean.) There's a lot of people that would like to own an American car, but aren't willing to buy something that they perceive as an inferior product just to wave the flag around. I bought a Passat for this very reason; it was just so much better than the Taurus and other American sedans of the time that I couldn't ignore it. The Fusion seems to be a car that American car fans can buy and not have make excuses for, which is a big deal. Maybe the Accord is a little better overall, maybe not, but the Fusion has clearly closed the gap considerably. Kudos to Ford, and here's to hoping this is the beginning of a long winning streak.
One thing I did note, that I can not really test myself, is the Accord apparently has lousy brakes. And this is based on 4 wheel disks, which you don't even get in the cheaper versions of Accord (unlike the F/M which have standard 4 wheel disks, even for cheapskates like me).
Huh? If you are trying to say that the Camry and Sonata aren't competitive with the Fusion, you're probably right, but they're still the competition. Most open-minded buyers shopping the midsize segment will be comparing all these models and probably the 6 and Altima too.
Try not to give your judgment on future models ('07 Camry) before they even appear. It makes your bias clear and thus weakens your argument. Plus, we can play the "Manufacturer X's new car will beat Manufacturer Y's old car" game all day long - it doesn't accomplish anything. If you're doing a comparison, you have to test models that are actually in production.
That said, like someone else here, I too have a degree in Marketing and can tell you this with certainty: no matter how great the next Camry might be, it's going to be targeted at the same liver spots the current model appeals to. And that doesn't bode well for its driving dynamics.
Dude what planet are you on. Have you even seen the Fusion in person? Let me just tell you I have ond it's one helluva car.
How can the best looking most talked about American car since the 2005 Mustang be inferior.
Dude. Planet Earth here. I admit, I have not seen a FUsion in person. But I have seen the Accord and I have seen the Milan and the Zephyr. I haven't driven any of them. My stated opinion was based on the two tests cited in here - C&D and Motor Trend.
As to the other Dude who says I'm biased - I presently own FOUR Ford products. All of em built in the USA, and all designed for the most part in the USA, though one has a lot of design input from Jaguar. If I'm biased, it's that I WANT the Ford to be the best , not #2 or certainly #3 when the Camry hits the streets.
The Fusion does seem to be a hit and I hope it puts a few $$$s in the coffers of Ford. It's certainly the best American, well, Mexican-American, well Japanese-Mexican-American car in the bunch being as it's engineering is more than 1/2 Japanese and it's built in Mexico, so the American content is ............. I dunno, but I'm sure there's some.
Point is, and I'd like to see ANT take this to heart, the days of Dearborn vs Detroit are OVER. The ones to worry about are the Japanese and to a lesser extent the Europeans. Toyota would like nothing better than to see GM and Ford go down the tubes. So GM and Ford had better get real good at fighting the Japanese rather than each other.
My most recent Ford acquisition is similar to yours - I picked up a 2003 Explorer Sport Trac w/only 17K miles. What a great vehicle that is. Right now my daughter is driving it during her senior year in HS, but after she goes away to college it's MINE! Already took it on a light duty 4 day wkend w/4x4 involved and it performed real well.
Even if the Camry is redone next year, it still has certain 'attributes' that it's current customers will love, and the media dislike. No matter how many times you re-tweak the Crown Vic/ Grand Marquis, it IS what it is, and it has a loyal following, like that of the Camry.
Also another point, as I've been stating for the past 2 years...Toyota is experiencing "growing pains". In the past 2 months, many recalls have been issues for some of their vehicles. And more owners are fessing up to having reliability issues. Even some journalists have cited bad workmanship and quality on some of the vehicles they have tested. And more importantly, the media is starting to talk about it.
It's part of the territory when your growing...
Just thought I'd share.
On my Fusion SEL, yes, there is a trunk light, no, there is no glovebox light. Just noticed this after you asked and I've been driving it a little over a month and 2,000 miles, so it really doesn't seem like a big deal.
The Mazda3, Euro Focus, and Volvo S40/V50 were jointly engineered by Mazda, Ford and Volvo. Each gave input in their areas of expertise and out popped one heck of a nice platform that is going to be used for many, many vehicles in the next couple of years if rumors are correct.
I agree with you!!!
This is a GREAT car, and once you see it in person and drive it, you will think so too!!! :shades:
The MPG figures for the auto/4 don't look that great compared to the V6, though. I'm not sure of the ratings on the auto/4, but the manual/4 gets 31mpg highway and the auto/V6 gets 29mpg highway. You give up 2-cylinders, 61hp and only gain 2mpg. Granted, the 6-speed automatic in the V6 contributes to the ratings, which would be lower with a 4- or 5-speed automatic.
CITY MPG 24
HIGHWAY MPG 32
According to post 2284 in this forum.
Where did you hear about the ford family plan coming back?? I was just on Ford's website and there was nothing mentioned about that. There is only mention of a $500 rebate and nothing about financing. I'm sure we would all love to see the family plan going on again, but I don't think that is so. I would probably go out and buy one this weekend if it was coming back. Please tell us where you heard this information. Thanks!
Josh
You are correct, if lights are the only problem then this really is a good car. Absolutley. I wish i could be a bigger fan of the Fusion, b/c its awsome black on black, but its just made in Mexico. I understand why, and it is still an american product as far as i am concerned, its just... Oh well.
Still, Ford did a good job, I think one of the reasons there should not be too many problems is b/c it is based off of the mazda 6 and many componants are probably shared with the six. Meybe steering and suspension and all that.
This car is going to be a bigger hit when ford puts in the new 3.5 V6 and AWD. It would be nice if ford had a manumatic with that 6 speed. Car and Driver says ford needs to fix a few things. They said the bumps produce intrusive noise, and tranny hunts between fifth and sixth gears, the power seat was not power for the back of the seat, the turn signal lever was placed too high on the steering wheel, and the HVAC controls were down too low in the dash.
Does anyone who actually ownes one agree with any of this? C/D gave the fusion 2nd place in a comparo between the camry, sonata, and accord.
I apologize akiby. My bad, I read the wrong name in the title of the post!
I just received an email from a ford dealership here in New york, Premier Ford. The plan is in affect until Dec 31st. It includes the 06 Fusion and Mustang.
Does this "Premier Ford" in New York have a website?? Maybe they are doing their own Ford Family Plan discount. Can you post some other information about this?? I'm intrigued as I'm sure everyone else is. Thanks.
docjosh
i am pretty sure they know the mustang is off limits.
http://www.pbase.com/sunshooter/image/51800601.jpg
Yes - and the Japanese had better start noticing the Koreans, and the Koreans may want to notice the Chinese, or in a few decades, they may find themselves in the same shoes as Ford & GM do today!!
In the past there were clearly glaring shortcomings when you compared a Taurus to an Accord or a Cam.
The Fusion is different, compared to Accord or Cam, is like comparing Hazel nut Coffee to Carmel Mocha. If you ask me, Ford is in an even better position than Honda and Toyota because the Fords come in three flavors. Honda and Toyota only give you 2 flavors.
I say hats off to Ford for putting the buyer in charge. Do you like your car macho? Get a Fusion. Want something a little more sophisticated or "fem"? Get a Milan. Want more luxury but still be cost conscious? Get a Zephyr with luxury features like climate controlled seats... thats right, heated and COOLED.
Ford goes even better because you get lots of choices about the look of your interior even within the same cars. Fusion has 3 interior colors and 4 dash treatments.
This is the FUTURE of the car industry. That is each company trying to come up with as many ways as possible to appeal to the largest group of consumers who are not all looking for the same thing.
Mark