truth about domestics

The San Francisco Chronicle has published a piece on how long your modern hybrid will cost you over the long run, or more specifically, how long it will take you to recoup your higher initial cost of buying a hybrid vehicle over a conventional auto.  The winner may shock you, because it’s not the Toyota Prius, or the Honda Insight.  No, it’s none other than the 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid!  A traditional sedan with a stellar hybrid powertrain, it not only won 2010 North American Car of the Year at the Detroit Auto Show, but it also won Motor Trend magazine’s Car of the Year award.  For the full article, head on over to sfgate.com.

(Image source: Ford)

The 2010 Ford Fusion and Fusion hybrid have been huge successes for Ford; even with the economy in the dumps this year, sales are at an all-time high  The Fusion and its hybrid sibling even managed to break into the list of the ten best selling cars of 2009.  Ford also sold more hybrids this year than ever before, hitting nearly 31,000!  Even so, hybrid sales only make up 2% of overall Ford sales.  For more details, head on over to Autoblog Green.

(Image source: Ford)

Ford can celebrate another two awards for the 2010 Urban Autos of the Year.  The winners are the 2010 Taurus SHO and Fusion hybrid.  Both cars have been turning heads since their introductions this year and these awards just add to the already impressive list this due has racked up so far.  For more details, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: Ford)

Two American cars made the nominees for 2009 Tech Car of the Year.  Both were from Ford Motor Company and those cars were the Lincoln MKS and the Ford Fusion hybrid.  The MKS was picked for its incredible parallel parking system that actually works, EcoBoost V6, award winning navigation system and more.  The Fusion hybrid was picked for its truly groundbreaking hybrid system that allows it to run in pure electric mode up to 47 miles per hour while getting 41 mpg in the city and the driver configurable information display.  CLICK HERE TO VOTE!

(Image source: Ford)

Out of all the new cars and trucks released in the past year, only 3 each are chosen as the finalists for the North American Car and Truck of the Year awards that will be presented at the 2010 North American International Auto Show.  The interesting news here is that both GM and Ford managed to get a nominee in the car and the truck categories!  For GM, the car is the Buick LaCrosse and the truck is the Chevrolet Equinox.  The Ford nominees are the Fusion hybrid and the Transit Connect.  For more, head on over to Autoblog or the North American Car and Truck of the Year site.

Well this is the contest for you!

Fusion 41, part of the Ford Drive One campaign, is a brand new challenge and campaign seeking eight passionate 2010 Ford Fusion or Fusion Hybrid owners with an active social media presence.

For more information, check out the link above, or the original article at Mashable.com.

Comedian Mark Malkoff has decided that he wants to travel the country, trying to earn the keys to 100 cities.  To help him along the way, Ford has donated a 2010 Fusion hybrid.  Check out the video above and stay tuned with more coming from Autoblog.

Autoblog requested another 2010 Fusion/Milan hybrid from Ford to test now that the temperature in Michigan is above the 15 or so degrees from their last test this past winter.  Ford obliged and handed them a Ford Fusion hybrid.  The reason for the second test?  Cold weather hurts any car’s fuel economy, and hybrids are even more susceptible to the cold.  The cold has a negative effect on the battery performance, as well as how much power is needed for accessories such as seat heaters, window defrosters, etc.

The results?  The cold weather car achieved around 29.4 mpg while the warmer weather test saw 38 mpg in similar driving conditions, weather excluded.

For the full review, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: World Car Fans)

The dashboard in the new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid!!!  It’s not hard to imagine why it won, after all, it features two LCD screens (one on either side of the center analog speedometer) and has some very useful tools to help drivers improve their gas mileage.  For the full article, plus the interesting commentary, head on over to Jalopnik.

2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid American Idol Edition (Ford)

If you happen to watch American Idol, then I’m sure you’ve seen the advertisements that Ford Motor Company is running with the show.  In case you haven’t seen them, they’re painful to watch.  Anyhow, for this season, Ford has decided to invite visitors to the American Idol website to register to enter the Ford Music Video Challenge.  What’s that you say?  It’s a competition that will give one lucky winner a grand prize of a trip to the shows finale and a one-off American Idol Edition Ford Fusion Hybrid! 

This isn’t your ordinary hybrid though.  This one will be equipped with headrest-mounted backseat video screens and an in-car karaoke set-up.  An American Idol decal is also on the trunk, to let people know it’s not your run-of-the-mill Fusion Hybrid.  For more, head on over to Autoblog.