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By the way, the poor are poor because they are morally inferior. God loves the rich.
Over & out.
/sarcasm
Yep, that's it. Just "Ha!"
Is the 2010 Fusion the same size inside as the previous models? I was under the impression that it was really just a facelift and improved drivetrain/interior, but I swear the 2010 felt a little roomier inside. Maybe they gave the front seat more fore/aft travel, a steeper recline, or something like that?
I normally like bigger cars, and my current daily driver is a 2000 Intrepid base model. I could definitely see a Fusion being a decent replacement for it, when/if the time comes. Naturally I'd want to check it out more in-depth, but I like what I've seen so far. FWIW, I never had a problem with the interior of the previous Fusion. It wasn't mind-dazzling, but it wasn't cheap either. It seemed decent for the price point. But with the new one, I really liked the way the gauge display was set up. It had an expensive look to it, and even seemed a bit futuristic!
From what little experience I've had with it so far, I like it better than the Malibu/Aura. And compared to the Stratus/Sebring, it's no comparison. I've always been a long-time Mopar fan, but they haven't really built anything that's grabbed me in awhile now, plus they seem to have been really cost-cutting on their interiors. I do like the Charger/300 in spite of the interiors, but want to try something a bit more economical.
ford has stepped up their game across several of their vehicles.
we have an '04 escape with 200 hp duratec 3.0 v6 and 4 speed trans which has averaged 19.2 mpg over 74k miles. it is not a quiet vehicle to drive.
my 07 fusion awd with a 221 hp duratec 3.0 v6 and 6 speed trans has averaged 22 mpg over 15k miles.
my wife is now driving an 09 escape with a 240 hp duratec 3.0 v6 with 6 speed trans.
after about 2k miles it is averaging 22.5 mpg. much quieter, also.
Looked at the Fusion because of its high reliability marks, and just am wondering whether we'd be negating that by going with the different engine.
Thanks for your thoughts!
I drive an Accord myself, and love it, but if something happened to it, a Fusion would be high on my list based on Ford's recent showings of reliability and engineering advancements, very possibly the 3.5.
Also can you use the Nav unit as in making changes etc. while the vehicle is moving or is it like GM and require you to stop first?
As for restaurants - you can actually just say "I'm hungry" and get a list of restaurants. I believe you can also limit it by the type of restaruant with voice commands as well.
I am planning to buy either a Fusion I-4 SEL fully loaded or a Milan I-4 Premier fully load (both without navigation). Fusion comes out to approx. $26,500 and Milan to approx $27,000. Therefore I am asking, regardless of price, which car is better?
I have done research and the engines, specs, features, and dimensions are the exact same to precise detail (length, width, etc.), but besides for the looks I cannot find any differences between these cars (virtually). I checked out the fusion at several dealerships and its a very well designed car but I am just curious to whether the Milan is any better being that Mercury is supposed to be a more luxury associated brand. In addition, does anyone who has test drove both cars in I-4 version notice any difference between ride quality of either cars (same engine), just curious...though I'll probably find out myself in a couple of days.
If someone could help me out with a comment it would be greatly appreciated.
Also just curious of which car (with same features and all) everyone else thinks is better. The 2010 Fusion or 2010 Milan?
Unfortunately, this leads to one of the fundamental problems of Mercury: struggling for it's own identity between the bread-and-butter Ford division, and the upscale Lincoln division. IMO, they should have taken a few models from the Euro line and sold them as Mercury-branded cars from Day One. I'd sure be interested in the Mondeo or the European Focus, and I'm sure that others would be as well.
But that's exactly what they're doing for Ford. The Euro focus is already on it's way and the next gen Fusion and Mondeo will be built on the same global platform. The Euro Fiesta is also coming next year with few changes from the Euro version. You don't need a U.S. and Euro Focus, Fiesta or Fusion/Mondeo - that's too expensive and unnecessary.
Mercury will either die a slow death or it will get unique vehicles not sold by Ford or Lincoln. And that won't be decided for a few more years. Depends on how quickly they get Ford first and then Lincoln back on their feet and how the market trends.
I'm aware of the future products, but my issue is why Ford didn't do this 5+ years ago, to at least establish an identity that Mercury has not had for longer than that. I also agree on the platform sharing, something that Ford should have done years ago as well.
This clears up any anxiety I had of choosing one car over the other, and I will most likely go with the fusion as my next car.
Thank You again, much appreciated
Actually they did it in 1985. It was called the Merkur Scorpio. Massive failure.
5 years ago Mulally wasn't running the company - THAT is the difference. And he's not trying to just import European vehicles - that won't work. Using global platforms to reduce costs will allow Mercury to have unique vehicles that are different than Ford but can be sold at a profit even at low volumes.
For the past 15-20 years Mercury has simply been a way to give Lincoln dealers more high volume ford products to sell. That won't be the case going forward.
But now Ford get upscale with new Taurus. Mercury Sable is squeezed out by Taurus and MKS. But I think Ford makes mistake by devaluing Lincoln further. MKS should be new Mercury Sable and should cost less and Lincoln should be designed as a real luxury car, like RWD and not based on Taurus.
I mean they spent fortunes on Jaguar and LR, so whats the problem? They can spend billions on Jaguar that does not sell and now that Jaguar is not there anymore they cannot design competitivee Lincoln? Do they have pride in own history and heritage or they are ready to waste money on brand that happens to be European and temporary owned but if it is original American brand it is simply has to die?
Actually they did it in 1985. It was called the Merkur Scorpio. Massive failure.
Actually, it was the '60s Ford Cortina, then the 60's-70's Mercury Capri, then the 70's-80 Fiesta, then the "world car Escort," then the Mekur XR4ti (which could spank a BMW 318 of the same era), then the previously mentioned Merkur Scorpio. That was followed by better attempts like the ConTique (which was a failure from a commercial standpoint, but the 24v V6 with a good 5 speed was a great ride), leading up to the Focus.
Now it looks like the Fiesta, Focus, Fusion/Mondeo are coming and the 2 vans. Oh and in Europe they have the psuedo-wagon-sport-utility things (c-class or s-class or something). Maybe we will get a minivan out of it.
We've explained this over and over but somehow you just don't get it.
Ford's first priority is to fix Ford - Lincoln and Mercury are on the back burner. Once the Fiesta, Transit Connect, Euro Focus and Unibody explorer are here (2010/2011) THEN Ford can focus it's LIMITED resources on Lincoln which most likely WILL include a new top of the line RWD platform. If you look at what they did with the Taurus it should be obvious that they will take Lincoln even further upmarket. But you want them to do it overnight and that just can't happen.
I mean they spent fortunes on Jaguar and LR, so whats the problem? They can spend billions on Jaguar that does not sell and now that Jaguar is not there anymore they cannot design competitivee Lincoln?
That is precisely the reason they can't do it right now - they wasted all that money on Euro brands in the past. Mulally was smart to dump them - now all of the money can be spent on Ford, Lincoln and Mercury - in that order.
You seem to think that Ford has unlimited funds and everything they do or don't do is simply an executive decision. Ford has to pick and choose where to spend money right now and a new high end platform for Lincoln is not top of the list.
I continue to wonder why do Ford and others think the "world car" idea is going to work now, when it has not before?
I don't know about the current version, but in 2006 when I test drove them I thought there were some differences in the ride felt and steering between the Fusion and Milan. I also felt the seats felt a bit different from each other. A (very) few reviews also noted some differences in ride and handling as I did, but most said they were identical.
Because it's not the same concept. In the past vehicles were designed in Europe and then modified for the U.S. or vice versa. Now the vehicles are being designed jointly with all markets in mind and local modifications are made where necessary (e.g. having small diesel and 4 cyl petrol engines in Europe and hybrids/V6s in the states). This will work perfectly as long as they don't have to compromise the design too much. And it will greatly reduce costs. There is no reason to have a Euro and U.S. Focus on different platforms.
...a "world car," a vehicle that can be made and sold globally with only small concessions to local tastes.
...Ford has given it another try, committing an eye-popping $6 billion to develop compact sedans it can sell anywhere. The results, known elsewhere as the Mondeo, are the Ford Contour and the Mercury Mystique.
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/30/automobiles/behind-the-wheel-1995-ford-contour- -a-small-world-car-after-all.html
...a "world car," a vehicle that can be made and sold globally with only small concessions to local tastes.
...Ford has given it another try, committing an eye-popping $6 billion to develop compact sedans it can sell anywhere. The results, known elsewhere as the Mondeo, are the Ford Contour and the Mercury Mystique.
The ConTique suffered from poor marketing and a half-baked flubbed launch. The car was over-budget although it was designed almost solely for the bottom line. That said, the 95-97 Contour/Mystique were expensive small to mid-size cars. It costs about the same as a Taurus, but had a much more upscale interior and much better driving dynamics.
Everyone was expecting a low budget Tempo replacement like the Chrysler K-car and they got a 15-20k sport sedan. Unfortunately, that sport sedan had Lucas electronics and a plastic water-pump (although BMW 3-series had the same issue). I would never have bought a Tempo or an Escort, but the Contour with its 24v V6, a manual transmission, and great handling (oh and those bolstered leather seats) got me. Unfortunately, they didn't follow it up with anything.
I think the Fusion SE 4 cyl/6 speed manual is likely to be my next ride, especially if I can't find a clean MazdaSpeed6 GT.
Yup, very true. There is also the issue of price-point. Ford is a semi-premium brand in Europe in terms of what they charge for vehicles. The Mondeo is a very pricey piece of automotive hardware, with a relatively small diesel engine.
I guess the Fiesta will be the first test to see if things are different today.
I think the Transit Connect will be first, but that is more of a specialty vehicle for urban delivery places. Its like a Scion xB but with payload. Then the Fiesta and then the next Fusion.
I have a kid waiting to try out a Fiesta, but if the de-europeanize it (in terms of handling and suspension) too much for the US, he will be disapointed. I don't how far they can go before he would pay the premium to get a Golf, instead. OTOH, I don't know how european they can keep it and still sell well in the US.
I may be tempted to consider going to the Fusion if/when they offer a DSG type transmission (power shift is Ford's term, I believe) and if one of my kids would be interested in buying my Mazda6. I went to an automatic in my current car, but would, I think, like to have the best of both worlds with that type of trans...though I have yet to drive one.
I'm not expecting Ford to be trying to sell premium small cars. The Fiesta in the UK starts about L4000 below the Focus, which is about L3500 below the Mondeo. I'd expect a similar price structure in the US. If the Fusion starts about $18,000 and the Focus about $15,000, I'd expect the Fiesta to start about $11-12K.
Based on that, I'd be surprised to see the Fiesta come in much under $14k. In other words, it's aimed more nearly at the Fit than at the Versa or the Aveo.
I may be tempted to consider going to the Fusion if/when they offer a DSG type transmission (power shift is Ford's term, I believe) and if one of my kids would be interested in buying my Mazda6. I went to an automatic in my current car, but would, I think, like to have the best of both worlds with that type of trans...though I have yet to drive one.
I think the Fiesta is getting the DSG first. We will see I guess. I am digging for the press release...
Where is the evidence that Americans will buy premium small vehicles in volume? The only thing I know is Americans will buy small cars, when gas prices get high enough. We still expect these small cars to be cheap
I would say Mazda, Subaru, and Mini can all counter that.
I'd expect the Fiesta to start about $11-12K.
So again we have the "why can't we have the European version?" with the answer being "because we won't pay for it."