2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid on the street.

Getting 43 mpg without using the normal "tricks" to get even more mileage is pretty impressive considering that 1) the Fusion isn't a super-aerodynamic car like the Prius and 2) the Fusion probably weighs a bit more than the Prius.

I can imagine someone probably getting mileage in the high 40's if they knew how to keep the gasoline engine usage so the engine doesn't rev so much.

This model is all the more reason why I think Ford will get their line of credit from the government first.

 

oic....had no idea the EPA on the TCH was so low. i personally know two people who regularly make the low 40's. neither impress me as much of a P&G'er. then again i can only go on their word and they may be of the same cloth as people i talked to in the past who were getting 40 mpg on their 10 year old honda civic.

 

40 mpg in a 10 year old civic is entirely possible. The Civic HX is EPA rated (2008 formulation) at 31/34/39 for the manual and 30/32/36 for the CVT.

This is the car that I was looking for before I bought the Prius. The only thing that prevented me was that they weren't available with ABS or A/C. (HX models where VERY bare bones) I would still love to swap a HX engine into a Civic SI hatch chassis. :bounce:

 

I wonder why Ford's CEO did not drive the Fusion Hybrid to congress? Maybe he did not want to embarass Chrysler and GM?

 

ya anything is possible. i know several who have them, its probably the most common "cheap gas miser" around here. and a few bragged that their mileage was nearly the same as my Pri...EVERYONE of them were shot down when we actually tracked mileage for about a month...this was 2 years ago... for close to a year, i was considered a lier because no one would believe that i only had to fillup 3 times during that period, when others fillup a minimum of 5 (some did drive significantly farther than me)times. it was summer, i did everything i could to get good mileage and averaged 58.5 MPG over around 1700 miles. best "40 MPG civic competitor" could only muster 36 MPG...

so ya, maybe you can, but is it likely? i had 6 drivers (4 civics two jettas) who tried... but

 

More details on Ford Fusion Hybrid system.

(source EETimes.com)

Ford trumps Prius
Next generation technology makes hybrid power trains more compact and efficient

Rick DeMeis
Automotive DesignLine
(12/08/2008 4:51 PM EST)

While he's not Rodney Dangerfield, Gil Portalatin doesn't always "get respect." He's hybrid system application manager for Ford, and at a press conference to introduce Ford's hybrid Fusion and Mercury Milan (2010 models available in the first quarter next year) at last week's New England International Auto Show in Boston, he seemed exasperated that the same questions keep popping up: "Do you use Toyota's system in your hybrids? Aren't you guys using Toyota's hybrid system under license?" The answer was an emphatic, "No!" While both Ford and Toyota's hybrids can run on electric power only, he noted the actual hybrid architectures are different. Plus Ford has developed new nickel metal-hydride battery technology and electric motors for its hybrid power train.

...
complete article on
EETimes.com - Ford trumps Prius

 

This Fusion sounds very promising. I wonder what kind of improvements the 3G Prius has in terms of gauges and such. Would suck to have to buy a separate tool like Scangauge or CAN view to monitor the car.

 

Of the hundred or more patents(I think closer to 200) Ford filed for their hybrid system, 21 were possibly infringing on Toyota's patents. Toyota wanted to use some of Fords patents for deisesls and emission controls, so they reached an agreement.

As too the general gentlemans agreement in the industry over patents, I doubt it is going on. Doing a nudge-wink with a few patents would weaken any case they had against a gross patent violator. Companies get aggressive over trademarks, because if they let someone slide over its use, they might lose it.

 

There is no gentleman's agreement on using others patents.

Big companies always sign "cross-licensing" agreements between them to minimize lawsuits on certain technologies, not a blanket agreement.

 

It took longer than teh FEH bacause much of the FEH technology was purchased from Toyota, and the Fusion system is engineered by Ford, based on what they saw as needing improvement and on the opportunities they saw.

Regarding the correct power level for this size of car, I think this should just be viewed as a experiment. Maybe it could be downsized, but time will tell.

 

Sounds very promising. My past experience with Ford would make me hesitate though. They seem to have a nack for taking a great thing and flushing it down the toilet. They are probably amateurs in the field compared to GM, but still. Back in the late 90s we decided it would be good to look at an American car, for a number of reasons. We ended up buying a used Ford Contour, SE V6 w/5sp. It was a really great car. Its European heritage was very evident, it was fun to drive, good balance of power/handling, it was quite reliable (except for brake rotors), and we were all around very happy with it. About 4 years later we were ready to trade it in, and thought we would just get another since we like this one so much. We honestly should have done a better job test driving it, so part of the fault is our own, but it was amazing how much our second one had gone down hill. Apparently Ford had two different classes of chasis they built Contours on. The low end models, the GT and LS on one, built in Mexico, and the high end models, the SE and SVT built on another in the US. By the time we bought our second, they had discontinued the SVT, and moved the SE onto the same chasis as the GT and LS. They had dropped the 5sp option, so we basically ended up with a V6 auto GT with an "SE sport" badge and a few extra features. It was hard to believe they were even the same car. The auto took all the fun out of the modestly powered V6, the handling was pathetic, and the material and build quality had gone seriously down hill. We had a lot more reliability problems with the second one, which brings me to our second problem, Ford Service.

In hind sight it is somewhat amazing just how bad the Ford service departments were. We probably visited 8 different dealers in OC, CA and then Phoenix, in a vain attempt to find a decent one. No luck. On every single occasion that we needed anything done other than an oil change, it was never completed in one visit. Ever. We would call, make an appointment, tell them what recall or problem we were coming in for, we'd carpool in drop the car off, and at the end of the day they would confirm what we had told them it needed and say they'd have the parts for it in a few days. One time they left the under body shield half off after an oil change and it flew off on the freeway on the way home. It took them 4 tries to correctly diagnose and replace a bad alternator, leaving us stranded all 4 times and charging us for a new battery. Particularly annoying, as when we came in the first time I told them it seemed like the alternator was bad.

I believe part of our bad experience was unique to the Contour. This was one of the guinea pigs for the current US/Euro cooperative efforts, and one of the first Euro designed Ford models to be brought back to be sold in the US. It seems like the US Ford folks resented it hugely, and it showed. There was almost no marketing/sales/advertising, no support, dealers didn't stock parts, they just did everything they could to make sure it failed. When they sold poorly, they dumped lots of poorly equipped low end 4 cyl models on the rental car companies, where millions of people got a poor opinion of the car.

I hope things have gotten better at Ford, and they can pull this off. That they are the US automaker in the best shape worries me quite a bit.

Rob

 

The Ford Contour was an excellent car poorly positioned in the Ford lineup. As you noted it was a world car sold in Europe and NA but clearly showed European development. It was loved by auto enthusiasts and magazine editors but ignored by the general US public.

The problem: It cost almost as much as the much larger Taurus but had less interior room than the Escort. Most people weren't willing to pay for excellent handling and a refined chassis but instead preferred the soft, floating Taurus with numb steering.

My parents have driven Fords for decades and have been very pleased with their dealerships and service.

 

i think the "past history" of any company can be a determining factor in future performance so i cant completely discount that.

but at the same time, current actions have to be considered as well. unlike GM or chrysler, Ford did take steps to secure more operating capital. from what i understand, they did sell off a lot of treasured assets to build their cash reserves.

they have also been the de facto leader for hybrid sales and development amongst the big 3. that speaks volumes for me....now will i go out and buy a Ford? well, probably not, but i might take a look at them when they come out. cant say the same for GM though especially if the only thing they will have to look at is the volt

 

Ford Trumps Toyota? Okay, how many Hybrid Fusions will they make? How many will sell? Time will tell, but I'm betting Toyota puts even more hybrids on the road before Ford can ever "trump" Toyota. I'll check the sales numbers in a year and then eat my hat if Ford has trumped Toyota. Good ideas are only successful if they make it to consumers. Ford REALLY needs to just make more hybrids. Show me the mfg. commitment and the waiting lists for the Hybrid Fusion.