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No it doesn't. All wheel drive is optional on the V6 SEL 3.0L and the 3.5L Sport.
The question was why there was a $3K price difference between a base SEL V6 model between 2009 and 2010 and the answer is that base price for the 2010 model includes AWD and stability control which was not standard on the 2009 SEL V6 model.
Just go to edmunds or kbb and see if you can find a FWD SEL V6 model to choose from.
I don't think the V6 is technically listed as a stand alone option. Anyway, according to Ford, under the Fusion V6 SEL list of features they say "Select Optional Equipment: All-Wheel Drive..."
http://www.fordvehicles.com/cars/fusion/models/
The only way to get a $3K difference between a 2009 SEL V6 and a 2010 SEL V6 is to compare the 2009 FWD and the 2010 AWD which would be easy to do if you were using edmunds or kbb or any other online pricing tool.
I priced out a 2009 V6 SEL FWD with stability control and leather seats at $26,165. The 2010 V6 SEL FWD is $26,310. A difference of $145 - not $3,000. Leather seats are standard on the 2010 SEL.
I have to agree with the others on this one Allen. Those sites you listed are just plain wrong in presenting the 2010 models in that fashion. If you build one on Ford's own site you'll find that your choice of 2010 Fusion models is as follows (excluding the Hybrid):
S I4 MTX FWD
S I4 ATX FWD
SE I4 MTX FWD
SE I4 ATX FWD
SE V6 ATX FWD
SEL I4 ATX FWD
SEL V6 ATX FWD
SEL V6 ATX AWD
Sport 3.5L V6 ATX FWD
Sport 3.5L V6 ATX AWD
There is no option for a V6 engine or AWD when you choose the SEL I4 ATX FWD and that's the way it should be.
For the record, a base 2010 Fusion SEL V6 (that's the 3.0L V6) FWD stickers for $26310 like you mentioned. How you arrived at that through kbb and edmunds is just crazy though. And yes, the price difference between the 2010 and 2009 is mainly due to standard features on the '10 like heated leather, Sync, and AdvanceTrac with RSC. All SEL models come with those standard now. If you want cloth seats like the '09 SEL V6 had then you need to get a '10 SE V6 FWD.
The whole point was that there is NOT a $3K price difference between the 2009 and 2010 models for similarly equipped models.
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The 2010 has a better looking interior made with higher quality materials. It also has the new 2.5L 4-cylinder, which is a substantial improvement over the previous 2.3L...especially when paired with the automatic transmission.
But I think the '09 Fusion SE/SEL with Sport Appearance Package (SAP) is a better looking car overall. If I can find one with a V6 in either of my color choices (Vapor Silver or Redfire) with the SAP & Moonroof, I'm very tempted to snag and '09....
I take it the Focus will use the same platform as the 3, maybe it will look better?
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The Euro Focus and Mazda3 share the same platform, and that is where the similarities stop. The US Focus does use the Mazda LF-DE engine design renamed "2.0L Duratec" by Ford.
Technology sharing will continue for quite some time between Ford and Mazda. Their partnership is not totally gone.
That is a bit too subjective. I think the interior of the Civic is very nice, the packaging is very good, and the engine is adequate. I think the Mazda3 is fun to drive, handles very well and is considerably more sporty. I also think the "hatchback" offers a lot of utility over the Civic coupe and sedan. The Civic has ABS standard on all models across the board.
It would be a very hard choice between the sportiest models, though, the Civic SI sedan and the MazdaSpeed3.
http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.ef985e1/1176
And Ford needs the small engines and other mechanical components used in ALL their cars that are supplied by Mazda.
As a result, despite Ford selling off shares of Mazda to "officially" lose the controlling stake of Mazda, they still have 13.4% of Mazda stock, and I highly doubt the partnership between Ford and Mazda will be going away anytime soon, since the component sharing goes both ways and are vital to BOTH companies.
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But soon we'll have a new Fiesta and Focus....can't happen soon enough!
Guess I'd better hunt down an '09 in Redfire Metallic with the sport appearance package while they're still out there.
Not quite. Mazda assembles their own 3.7L in Japan now and while it does share a lot of components it is not the same engine as the Lincoln 3.7L.
The GF liked the Pontiac more, I think, based on power and looks (black on black, tinted windows, with 5-spoke chrome wheels; the fusion was beige with the 16" 5-spoke alloys), but the fact that the G6 had more than one piece of trim falling apart inside I think helped make the case for the Fusion for her. The Fusion has 25k miles, the G6, 35k.
She's replacing her '01 Saturn SC1, whose transmission is dying at 89k miles, and wants more power, more size, for around $15k-16k. Both of these cars listed for $17,500 but were offered for $15,900.
Actually they made a very reasonable business decision based on the fact that American's expect small cars to be cheap. For the most part, American's value (or perhaps we can now say had valued) vehicles based dollars per pound. This is why the SUVs and trucks were big profit generators, while Focii (updated or not) were money losers.
IIRC side airbags were made standard in '07, but ABS was optional till '08.
This is a very good thing. Now if they can just get some of their Euro-diesels certified for the US, that will be an even better thing.
And I suppose their next midsize sedan for the US market will share some major components with the Mondeo. As much as I like the Fusion, I think greater cross-pollination with the Mondeo will likely improve the breed further.
More importantly, they'll have desirable vehicles across the lineup that will make it more likely for a current Ford customer to remain a Ford customer.
This is how Honda built its (borderline fanatical) following. I would be delighted to see Ford do likewise. There will almost certainly be a new Fusion in my driveway, as soon as I get tired of my ten-year-old Civic.
I think that more important is that they believe that they can no longer expect customers to give them huge profit margins on trucks and SUVs. If these small cars are going to be profitable, does that not mean the transaction prices are going to have to go way up?
If the price of a Focus gets to be too close to the Fusion, I think they will have trouble selling the Focus.
That could happen even without pricing issues if this IIHS test gets a lot of play in the public's eye.
SubCompact vs MidSize Crash Test
The problem with the Focus isn't the MSRP - it's the $3K incentive that's been needed to sell them the last few years. Having a better car with more options and class leading fuel economy should eliminate those big incentives (along with right sizing production volumes). That plus the cost savings from shared platform development should easily yield a profit without raising MSRP much. Besides, it's ok to have overlap between a loaded model and the next higher base model. Doesn't Honda do that now with the Fit/Civic/Accord?
If the idea is the average $3k inncentive for the focus will go away, then the average transaction price would increase by $3K....that'd be a big price increase.
when pushing some buttons, i came across the avg mpg. it read over 36.
i thought to myself, that can't be right, so i reset it.
when i turned it in, it read 33 mpg, which pretty much gave me something to think about.
the car felt a lot heavier, not as much fun to drive, but the mpg was an eye opener.
a non hybrid fusion is not going to get anywhere near it.
However, it was great on gas and it was very quiet on the inside at speed, with well weighted steering. And even though the trim was industrial grade, fit and finish was very decent for the econobox league.
One odd thing though is that the car has a timing belt, with a scheduled replacement interval of 105k miles. (Someone who knows VWs can check me on that.) If true, that's a reasonable change interval, but it seems strange that the 2.0T wouldn't have gone to a timing chain like other VW engines have, including the 2.5 in the Jetta/Rabbit. Most of the other cars in this class use timing chains, with one exception I know of the old 2.7L V6 in the Optima.