Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/25 for details.
A reporter would like to speak with you about your experience; please reach out to PR@Edmunds.com by 7/25 for details.
Options
Comments
I would speculate that they either simply "forgot" (in big beaurocracy it is possible to slip their minds about something like this), or were out of touch with the consumer sentiment. This approach (ignoring side impact tests) would have work just a few years ago, as almost nobody offered them standard. Perhaps their heads were still in 1999? Detroit has been consistently very good in putting import fighters from 5-8 years ago
2018 430i Gran Coupe
The IIHS side impact test is designed such that cars w/o side airbags are guaranteed an overall score of "Poor". We know the result beforehand, so there is almost no need for such tests. From the consumer's point of view it would be better if the IIHS tested only vehicles with the optional side airbags installed.
The IIHS' policy of testing without side airbags is mainly political. The sensational bad publicity from the inevitable "Poor" score promotes the IIHS' agenda of 'forcing' manufacturers to make the airbags standard.
I am very much in favor of side airbags, but I'm also in favor of consumer choice and democracy. We should either let individual consumers decide for themselves or, we should reach consensus that they should be standard through public debate. I do not like the IIHS trying to make an end run around this debate, especially since they have their own vested interests.
Personally, I believe that in a free market, the consumer should be given a choice and not required to purchase optional equipment that is not important to them.
Mark.
With safety equipment, I have always been interested in whatever I can afford, so side airbags being standard works for me, as (economies of scale and marketplace pressures) it would make them much cheaper to obtain.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Consider all of the equipment on a car that consumers are forced to buy: airbags (at least two in the front), seat belts, energy-absorbing steering columns, emission-control equipment (lots of that), safety glass, head restraints, OCS system, and a lot more. Like it or not, this is not a "free" market, but a heavily regulated market. I would not be surprised to see side airbags mandated in the not-too-distant future. The technololgy is now cheap enough so that they are included as standard equipment even in some cars costing around $10,000.
I think you may be underestimating the stupidity of the average consumer. If they tested only with the optional side air bags, many people would only see Fusion = good side impact test. They would miss the part about this only being the case if you pay for the side air bags.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11688696/from/RSS/
It's a matter of making it clear that all cars w/o side airbags fare poorly, which the above report never does.
Ford already knew all of that when they decided to make the bags optional.
I wonder if they're happy with their decision.
Apparently that point was not clear to Ford's executives before the Fusion's tests were conducted. It is probably clear to them now.
I remember a few years ago when the previous year Mustang V8 wasn't listed in CR's reliability survey because of too few samples, yet it listed the Audi A6 4.2 Turbo! That goes to show who their readers are...
And a bunch of subjective factors with silly names such as "gotta have", "wow", etc, that the authors use to skew the facts in whichever direction they want.
It's in everyone's best interest if every car would have a certain standard of safety equipment (front and side airbags, ABS, ESP, etc.). And I want it for my benefit. If I am to crash into someone (not that I plan on it), I would want them to suffer the least injuries possible. If there's a dangeous situation, I don't want someone to crash into me if it's somehow avoidable.
Like it or not, but the average driver sucks! Anything that increases safety (actiely or passively) works for me. Free choice is good, but the average buyer wants to try and save some money in the wrong places. And if this has a negative impact on me, then I would like to aviod this.
In Europe, there are separate emission limits for gas and Diesel engines, whereas in the US it's the same for both. Europe is also about 3 to 5 years behind in emissions limits relatively to the US. The much touted Euro 4 which came about in 05 imposes limits similar to those used in the US since 97.
Europe is paying for this mistake with its health, having to resort to shutting the car circulation down in some cities because of high levels of Diesel soot, a carcinogen.
That is that supposed to mean what? It's a great practical magazine that takes no advertising money. I've used it for reviews on many items including cars. I have also used the following sources to research cars and read up on them:
Consumer Guide
Motor Trend
Car and Driver
Automobile
Road and Track
Edmunds.Com
Kelly Blue Book.Com
MSN Autos.Com
That its readers are far from representing the car-buying population. Therefore have little statistical value.
Come on, Mustang V8 are as common as flies, yet they couldn't find many readers who own one? How many Audi A6 4.2 Turbo were sold in the US that year?
I wish I remembered which year it was, for it was the year in which I didn't renew my subscription.
As the IIHS spokesman said to the effect all cars get at Good rating in frontal impacts. What happened to the Fusion? Obviously they know how to do it, the 500/Monterrey are tops in their class. Again what happened to the Fusion/Milan? Why skimp?
As I said befor, Mazda6 is a great riding platform, now they go back to drawing board and try to fix its crashworthiness while preserving the driving chracteristics.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Sleek, muscular, modern - with a Taurus-era V6? Why not the state-of-the-art V6 right from jump street? Ok I hear it's 'next year'. Misdemeanor but it suffers badly in comparison to the Camry.
Most American midsized buyers are 4c buyers; CamCords, Sonata's, Altima's not to mention Civics and Corollas. Why has the Fusion not emphasized the 4c in order to try to pry some of these buyers away from HonYota, etc. OK Misdemeanor.
But Ford knows the American buying public is concerned about safety, maybe right behind reliability and styling and before performance and price. How could they ever allow a vehicle to go to the IIHS which wasnt as good as the 500/Monterrey. Even if they do retest with SC/AB how do they get rid of the smell of being at the bottom of the list in frontal tests? Oh it doesnt matter they'll buy anything, they're Ford buyers. That's a felony.
2018 430i Gran Coupe
It really is that simple. In a huge company with a product as important as your basic midsized vehicle every single nitpicking detail is sweated until it screams. 'Forgetting' is unlikely. Miscalculation is more likely, and it backfired. Everyone involved should expect to be executed ( in a business sense ).
To add to that, USA Today ran an article about that exact issue with CR's data. Their example was the Pontiac Grand Am. Roughly 250,000 of them were sold that year, 2002 or 2003 IIRC, and CR did not receive the minimum number of surveys from subscribers who own them to rate it that year.
Give me some demographics and sample sizes CR so I know where those little red and black circles really came from.
The reason CR doesn't report on a car unless it has a big enough sample size is so the data is statistically valid.
That's all fine and dandy but the year that article was written they did NOT rate the Grand Am. Correct me if I'm wrong here buty they probably have since received enough surveys for that year from subscribers therefore it can be rated now. However it was never rated in it's first year as a first year car. Pretty amazing for a vehicle that sold so well IMO.
Either that or they are predicting the reliability.
The Ford Fairlane looks to be the replacement for their minivans. Not sure if that's the right decision. We'll just have to wait and see.
Funny that last year crossovers dipped 4% while trucks remained steady and sedans grew their market share...
I thought I read somewhere that crossovers increased last year, almost catching SUV's, while SUVs declined. The article also said that this year, it is predicted that COVs will outsell SUVs.
Is your comment specific to Ford, or the industry as a whole? If it's specific to Ford, I believe you are correct. The only vehicles Ford considers COVs are the Escape and Freestyle. F-Series sold over 900,000 units, so it remained strong and car share was up for the first time in like 10 years.
References? Data?
Funny that last year crossovers dipped 4% while trucks remained steady and sedans grew their market share..."
This would make sense as the only crossovers they had in 05 were the Escape and Freestyle (which was not advertised at all). This year will be different as they have the Edge (out later this year), and the Fairlane out next year.
Now onto the Fusion....
I am happy to report that I just added an 06 Fusion SEL I4 with A/T to my household. I traded in my 05 Focus ZX3 SE and picked up the Fusion last Friday. While I will admit that I will miss the Focus, as it's the second Focus I've owned (the previous being an 04 ZX5 Premium with 2.3), the Fusion is downright amazing. The handling is spot on, and the 2.3 is quite peppy. It's pretty obvious that the tranny was geared toward sporry driving as it revs almost near redline before upshifting to 2nd gear. In terms of mileage it hardly dissapoints with 26.5 mpgs in mixed LA freeway driving in it's first week. Also, we were sure to get the side airbags and ABS to be on the safer side of things.
The only compaint I have, which is hardly a complaint really, is the high rear decklid which takes some getting used to. But mush the pedal, and take some turns while listening to an MP3 and you realize just how well Ford did in designing this car. Everyone comments on it and stares as I pass. In fact, most think it costs a lot more than I paid. Which by the way, was $20449.00, plus tax, title, etc. A great deal it was!
I test drove the Accord, 6, and previous gen Camry, but for the money I felt great with Fusion. While I am the first to admit that I am a Ford fan, owning an 05 Freestyle as well along with four other Fords in the past 6 years, I can say without bias that the Fusion is a key player in the midsize segment. Granted it isn't going to overtake the Accord or Camry in sales anytime soon, it does prove (as did the debut of the Lincoln LS) that Ford can produce an exciting car in a segment it has previously forsaken. With improvements to come down the line, including a cleaner V6 engine, hybrid system, AWD and navigation, it will continue to increase sales. Who knows how much closer they will close the gap on the japanese when the next model year comes around. In fact, Ford may just eliminate that gap altogether.
Out of curiousity, what kind of depreciation you saw on those Focuses?
2018 430i Gran Coupe
Blame the dealers, not Ford.