truth about domestics

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)

You read that right folks!  The 2010 Ford Fusion beat out some of the “best” cars in the world to become Motor Trend‘s 2010 Car of the Year!  How exciting!  Can you blame Motor Trend for their decision though?  The Fusion offers unbeatable 4-cylinder and hybrid fuel economy, great styling inside and out and cutting-edge new technology like SYNC and the Blind-Spot Indicator System.  For more on the story, head on over to Autoblog, or hear it from the source, Motor Trend.

(Image source: Ford)

Even though the market is way down compared to just a few years ago, Ford has been seeing some very positive signs.  One of those happens to be the newly redesigned 2010 Ford Fusion and its hybrid sibling.  The Fusion is selling so well that not only has it set a new record for its own best sales year ever (besting the previous best year of 2007 already in 2009) but the Fusion has made it onto the list of the 10 best selling cars in America!  It is the only domestic car on the list (trucks seem to make it every year) but it sadly has a long way to go to catch up with the Japanese competition.  For more on the story, head on over to Autoblog.

(Image source: Ford)

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.

Jaime Case and Chris Hodges decided to get married in a rather unusual fashion.  They decided to take a road trip and visit around two hundred of their friends and family and then get married at the end of the trip.  Ford Motor Company got wind of their plans and donated a 2010 Ford Fusion for their trip.  Since they didn’t want to take either one of their last names, they decided to chose a new one.  After much debate, they came up with “Ford” as their choice.  I love cars…but even that’s a stretch for me.  ”Stephen Corvette”…hmmm…no…”Stephen Cadillac”…not so much…”Cadillac Stephen”…hmmm that might have some potential.  Head on over to the Detroit Free Press for the full story.

(Image source: The Detroit Free Press)

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)

Ford seemed to have a hit on their hands with the 2010 Fusion ads that claimed, “We speak car.”  Well the Fusion is selling at record levels compared to last years numbers, so now the push begins to sell the brand new 2010 Taurus and its sporty, Ecoboost equipped sibling, the Taurus SHO.  The ads focus mostly on the technological goodies that are packed into the Taurus, as well as items not found anywhere else like SYNC.  For all of the details, as well as the comparison graphics, head on over to Jalopnik.

Ford CEO Alan “the Man” Mulally was recently quoted as saying that Ford plans to “[increase] production to support the desirability of Ford products.”  What??  In this economy?  What great news!  Part of the reason for this could be the onslaught of new vehicles being released by Ford this year, including the 2010 Ford Fusion and Fusion Hybrid which both lead their class in fuel economy.  Or the 2010 Mustang which is priced lower than both it’s domestic and foreign competition while still maintaining quality leadership.  Perhaps it’s the new 2010 Taurus, or the EcoBoost SHO version, or the EcoBoost 2010 Lincoln MKT and MKS?  Whatever the reason, I’m glad to hear some more positive news on this last weekend of the first half of the year!

Head over to Autoblog for more details!

May 2009 sales figures have been released and it appears that Ford and GM fared far better than their Japanese competition.  GM sales dropped 29.55% compared to May 2008, and Ford saw a sales drop of only 24.25% from the same time last year.  Toyota, Honda and Nissan all posted larger drops in sales, at 40.72%, 41.46% and 33.10% respectively.  The redesigned 2010 Ford Fusion and Fusion Hybrid are just part of the success story there, while larger incentives are most likely the reason for the  slightly lower drop at GM.  For all of the details, head on over to Autoblog.

2010 Ford Fusion

Ford has done it again, this time with the 4 cylinder version of th 2010 Fusion sedan.  The car was recently certified by the EPA at 23 city / 34 highway.  This ties/beats the current class leaders (Nissan Altima at 23 city, Chevrolet Malibu at 33 highway) and shows that the American’s know how to build class leading cars too.  Head on over to Autobloggreen to read the full article.