truth about domestics

You read that right folks!  The Dodge Challenger has claimed the top spot on Consumer Reports owner satisfaction survey with 92% of V8 Challenger owners saying they would buy another Mopar pony car again.  That knocks the Toyota Prius out of the top spot…actually, the domestics knocked it all the way to 5th!  The Challenger is followed by the Ford Fusion hybrid, and Chevrolet Corvette!  It’s nice to see a car from each maker in the top three.  Kinda warms my heart on a cold Michigan December night.  For more details, head on over to Consumer Reports.

(Image source: Dodge)

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)

There is simply no other way to describe it.  Ford is getting serious about its car business, as you can clearly see after the success of the Ford Fusion and Fusion hybrid, and the all new Taurus.  Now Ford is turning its attention to its smaller cars, namely the Fiesta and the Focus.  Well, according to marketing exec, Jim Farley, Ford could bring somewhere around 10 versions of the Focus to the United States.  The versions range from the base sedan to a coupe, three- and five-door hatches, wagons and small crossovers!  The new Focus is set to debut in Detroit this January so stay tuned for the latest.  For now, head on over to Car and Driver.

(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)

The Mustang seems to get all of the attention at most car shows, but there are other Ford vehicles that receive customizing too!  Cars like the new 2010 Taurus SHO, Fusion and F-150 are also popular this year as you can see in the galleries at Autoblog or Jalopnik.

(Image source: Jalopnik)

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.

This time last year Ford Motor Company was selling 73% fewer hybrids.  This is in large part due to the increase in available hybrid models, from 2 models last year (Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner) to 4 now with the addition of the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids.

Even better is that 60% of Fusion hybrid buyers and 52% of all Fusion buyers were non-Ford owners before their latest purchase!  For the full story, as well as Ford’s official press release, head on over to Autoblog Green.

(Image source: Ford)

According to a recent study by Experian Automotive, the Domestic brands took 7 of the top 10 spots in a brand loyalty study.  Interestingly, Ford Motor Company claimed 6 spots on their own, with Chevrolet claiming the 7th.  The vehicles include the Ford Fusion, Edge and Five Hundred taking the number 1, 2 and 3 spots, along with the Ford Freestyle, Chevrolet Impala, Ford Escape and Focus.  For the full list, head on over to Seeking Alpha.

Another interesting point made in the article is that Toyota had the second largest decline in new registrations from the second quarter 2008 to 2009.  Looks like Toyota is in bigger trouble than originally stated…

(Image source: Ford)

So, August sales numbers are in, and as many expected, Cash For Clunkers seemed to help out.  If you follow this site regularly, you know how upset I was about the fact that foreign cars could be purchased with the government rebates as well as domestic cars.  Sadly, the foreign companies saw a greater portion of the sales last month, but I’m glad our hard earned American money went to help the struggling economy (in Japan and Korea.)  Some big winners were cars like the Ford Flex, with sales rising 106.5 %, the Ford Fusion, up 131.6 %, and the Ford Focus was up 55.9 %.  For more, head on over to Autoblog.

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)