What Do You Think of the New Ford Fusion Hybrid?
Fifty-two miles per gallon is, it has to be said, a lot of miles per gallon. And who better to say it than Pulitzer Prize-winning caramudgeon and Top Gear USA bullet dodger Dan Neil? In a column founded upon the old English expression “I can’t win from losing,” Neil lauds FoMoCo’s gas – electric fusion Fusion. “Wait, so, has somebody invented the car of the future and didn’t tell us? It’s a worthy question. The scolding undercurrent of recent congressional hearings on the auto-industry bailout was the notion that Detroit had failed to invest in next-generation technology that could help wean us off foreign oil. Not so. What they did fail to do was sufficiently commercialize this technology so that it was ready and waiting at dealerships when people got stampeded this year by spiraling gas prices. Had Ford made a few hundred thousand of these cars available in June — along with the financing to sell them — we’d be erecting 50-foot equestrian statues of William Clay Ford and Alan Mulally in city squares, and the streets of Dearborn, Mich., would be repaved with diamond cobblestones.” As if. “The price of gas has dropped by two-thirds in six months, thereby de-motivating buyers who might have been willing to bear the incremental cost of a hybrid. What we really need is an increased federal gas tax, but the chances of that getting passed in Congress are comparable to my chances of being named Miss Universe.” To quote another English aphorism, Dan, you gotta be in it to win it.
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@kamm: "but there are other important things as well - and half the country gets snow, you know" Yes, I know, and in a foot of it this weekend my RWD car did just fine thanks. (FYI, the secret is snow tires, not 4WD)
I like how you guys slip in "What we really need is an increased federal gas tax, but the chances of that getting passed in Congress are comparable to my chances of being named Miss Universe.”. That is the quickest way to kill our floundering economy. Do you want this recession to last 10 years? What happens when the price of oil goes back up to $150 per barrel, would the government repeal their NEW gas tax - I DON'T THINK SO. I would be interested in this car without the government jacking up gas prices - I'm always trying to save a buck. I think the rest of the country would be also. High gas prices was the last straw on the camels back that broke the economy. At last, a stylish AMERICAN hybrid sedan that really gets good gas mileage - and its a FORD!! Ford doesn't need a bailout - they just need us to buy their excellent cars.
Looks like the EPA tests are complete: Fusion scores 41mpg City I'm impressed.