Will The New Fusion Become The Defining Moment For Ford And The US Auto Industry?

There are product launches in this business and then there are new product introductions that qualify as defining moments for a car company. Although we’ve long since past the point where fall new car introductions were the talk of small towns across America (and it’s a shame that era has passed), there’s no question that the introduction of the new Ford Fusion definitely qualifies as one of those defining moments.

The new Fusion is the culmination of everything that has gone into transforming Ford under the gifted leadership of Alan Mulally, and it’s exactly what Bill Ford Jr. had in mind when he began courting the Boeing leader to come to Dearborn and jump-start his family’s car company.

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vdiv - 9/18/2012 3:01:56 PM

+1 Boost

Well, was the first generation Fusion a defining moment? It was for Ford. It gave them a lighter, nimbler mid-size sedan that could finally compete with the Japanese perennials. The Fusion Hybrid was the first US car to have a serious full hybrid drivetrain and achieve better fuel economy than other mid-size hybrids.

The new Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid will be another notable achievement for Ford. In the least it will give the other car makers something to think about.

chewy - 9/18/2012 6:04:49 PM

+2 Boost

True, the first Taurus was the size of the first Fusion and very successful as a mid sizer. Then it grew and grew while the contour was not successful at all. The Fusion was Ford coming back to the segment

The Fusion hybrid is rated above the competition but I am a little skeptical about how close it will come to those figures in the real world. The C-MAX with the same powertrain has decent power so that is a plus. The plug in will have the ugly Accord plug in as competition but I am not sure if either will make much noise with 10-15 miles of electric range.

Above all else the Fusion has good looks but it might be a bit cramped inside. Feels like Focus sales have been a little low because of its Europeaness and the Fusion might catch some of that.