NAIAS: Here's The New Fusion….

Jack Baruth
by Jack Baruth

There’s been no shortage of Fusion coverage this week, but now we have the car itself. The verdict? In the metal, it almost looks more like a four-door Aston than the Rapide. And let’s not forget the October Surprise of a plug-in hybrid, which Ford sources at the show told me will be on dealer floors in 2012…

The interior looks as good as the photos had promised. It’s more or less the materials and tech from the 2012 Edge, re-proportioned for sedan duty. The seats are soft and touchy. Obviously, the proof will be in the driving, but if the new Fusion isn’t a “game-changer”, it’s at least a solid kick to the face of the Malibu and Sonata.







Jack Baruth
Jack Baruth

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  • Otaku Otaku on Jan 10, 2012

    I don't really have any problem with the Aston-inspired grille. To my eyes, it looks pretty similar to the one from the electric version of the Focus. Actually, I wouldn't even mind seeing that type of front end treatment carried over to all of the new Focus models. The only negative styling comment I can come up with is that I think the grille looks like it's been placed a bit high on the Fusion's nose. Maybe it's just from the angle of the photos, but IMO it might have been a better idea to either move the grille a couple more inches south or to try and make the section of the bumper just below the grille slightly less prominent.

  • Disaster Disaster on Jan 10, 2012

    While the styling is hugely better than the last Fusion, that is like saying Angelina Jolie is prettier than Tori Spelling. It looks a little generic to me, like a Mitsubishi Lancer coupled with the nose of the Sonata Hybrid. It also looks like it is continuing the trend of ultra high belt lines and severely sloping rear windows which rob backseat room and makes it feel like you're driving in a submarine.

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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