Ford Fusion Rides Coastal Wave To Sales Success
From the neon-drenched beaches of Miami and the hipster enclaves in New York, to the high-tech castles in San Francisco and the studio lots of Hollywood, the Ford Fusion is experiencing a coastal market surge in popularity.
Nationwide, sales of the Aston Martin-esque Fusion made up 71 percent of all sales for the Blue Oval last month, with huge gains found on the East and West coasts ranging from 62 percent in Miami to 77 percent in Los Angeles.
The reason? Style, style, style. Aside from goodies such as touchscreen and voice-activated controls and various types of horsepower under the hood, the Fusion’s luxury looks are attracting buyers who would normally be found shopping for clothes at Zara and smartphones at their nearest Apple Store. Further, some of these same buyers are trading in their Toyotas and Hondas just to be seen in something hipper than a cheap toaster, a fact not lost on Ford.
Thus, the automaker opened a second factory to meet demand in Flat Rock, Mich. this past August, allowing for more than 400,000 Fusions to be screwed together annually while putting pressure on Toyota’s best-seller Camry, a title the latter has held for the past 11 years with 460,000 units made per year.
Paired with the decision by Consumer Reports last mont to strip the Camry of its recommended status due to failing new crash tests administered by the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, the Fusion could claim 12 percent of the mid-sized car market by the end of 2013 according to analysts at LMC Automotive, up from 10 percent a year ago.
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For those who worship CR - new V6 Accord is not recommended by CR but they do not say why while new Fusion 2.0 Ecoboost is recommended. Reliability for 2013 2.0T model is much higher than competition while Audio is worse and body integrity is average. Something similar with Mazda6 which is recommended but described as a less premium choice. I was surprised that no problems with Ford 6 speed transmission were reported. They had problems after 2010 redesign.
@Lie2me: I was behind an Evoque recently and was just shocked at how ugly it was and how horrific its rearward and lateral visibility must be.
The fusion seems nice - but I don't think its really all that great looking. It looks better in pictures - IRL it seems like a very big car with a very small engine. I am amazed they put a 1.6 liter engine in something that size. I'd take the Accord or Mazda 6 with a stick any day of the week over the 1.6 turbo. Plus you can get the Accord with the V6 and stick for a genuninely quick car. It might be boring - as its FWD but its still more fun then any Fusion.
Shopped for 2-3 year old depreciated 4-pot midsizers for family duty a few months ago and I wish the new Fusion had been around a few years earlier so it could have been in the mix. The outgoing 2012 we tried had a loathsome automatic that lunged for sixth gear and refused to give it up until you stomped the guts out of the gas pedal. Maddening, balking, sluggish powertrain. They botched the interior storage too, which is a big no-no in this class. Shame, nice car otherwise. Regarding the Camry, excepting SE versions it is a top-notch powertrain wrapped up in a completely competent but utterly unlovable vehicle in which everything you see and touch comes off as budget-bitten and indifferent.