USA Today: 2010 Ford Fusion is best gas-electric hybrid yet

Two of the above vehicles have a known tax credit whereas Toyota's and Honda's are gone:
Malibu Hybrid $1550 credit
Altima Hybrid $2350 credit

I'm seeing stories that the Fusion Hybrid will have the $3400 but "Fusion/Milan Hybrid Qualifies For $3,400 tax Credit...If You Can Find One" Edmunds Daily says it'll get reduced to $1700 due Ford tax credit phaseout on April 1st.

Toyota might also be forced to lower the price or keep the price down on the 2010 Prius due to the Inisight.

Also keep in mind that there incentives on some hybrids now, from http://www.cars.com/go/advice/incentives/incentivesAll.jsp?zc=95120, I see a $1000 incentive on the 09 Prius, $1500 incentive on the 09 NAH and 09 HyCam. To price it high could mean put them in the awkward spot of putting an incentive on at launch.

Assuming someone paid MSRP (dumb idea in this economy) for a NAH minus incentive and tax credit, that'd make it $22,800.

 

I have never known Toyota to let another company dictate the price of their cars. They have a quality product which sells on that quality. I was told 10 years ago that Toyota had priced the Land Cruiser out of the full size 4x4 market here in Australia because they were more expensive than the Nissan Patrol. Guess which big 4x4 is the dominant vehicle in the Australian market now? Not the Datsun. Most mining companies in Australia use nothing but Toyota in their light, work vehicle fleet, that is Hilux, Land Cruiser and Coaster buses.

 

One thing that was not mentioned in that USA Today review, and is a deal breaker for me, is the sad fact that you have to purchase the Ford Fusion at a Ford Dealer, and likely must get maintenance work done there.

I've had a couple of Fords, and my experiences with the local Ford service departments is a pathetic parody of what you get at the Honda dealer across the street. It's too bad, because that Fusion hybrid looks like a nice ride, and neat technology. There have been a lot of reports about the improving quality of American cars, but I have not seen anything that says American car company dealers have changed since 1972.

 

Dealers are independent companies separate from the vehicle manufacturer. You can have good and bad dealerships for all brands of vehicles. I have 7 Ford dealerships within a 45 minute drive from my house. That compares to 3 Toyota dealerships and only 1 VW dealership. One nice thing about GM and Ford right now is that if you don't like a dealership there is another one around the corner.

That said, there is no requirement for an owner to have their vehicle serviced at the brand's dealership. You can do the maintenance yourself or have an independent mechanic do your maintenance. For most cars today all the routine maintenance could be done at your local WalMart since all that is required is changing fluids and filters. The only work that must be done at the dealership is warranty work.

My vehicles have been to the dealership 3 times in the past 15 years. Twice for warranty repairs in for the VW (loose tweeter, and paint peeling off the rear ashtray lid) and once to have the timing belt changed on the VW. (The VW is due for a timing belt in 15K miles but it will go to the local diesel specialist, not the dealer.)

 

Dealerships vary. The Ford dealership in our area is much better than the Honda dealership.

Tom

 

I do not know, I read the article and well, maybe its just me being a Prius fanboi (sp?), but it sounded like the author is grasping for straws looking for advantages of the Fusion over the Camry or Prius.

 

The rebates were assigned to Corporations. Toyota used up its allocation of rebates within 6 months of the program starting ( 1-1-06 ). Ford reached it's limit in the 4th Qtr of 2008.

Thus the $3400 rebate is valid until 3-31-09. Sales begin about 3-1-09 on a limited basis. On Apr 1 the Ford tax credit for the FFH, MMH, FEH and MMH all are cut in half. The Fusion will qualify for $1700. On Oct 1 the rebates will be cut in half again. They will expire completely on 3-31-2010.

 

I've been researching the Fusion Hybrid - and I like it very much.

As a Prius owner, does that make me a bad person?

 

No - the Fusion Hybrid seems to be a very good and efficient vehicle for the size of it. I would just expect to normally get mid-30s mpg where you'd normally get mid-40s mpg in the Prius.

Weighing an extra 750lbs more than the Prius doesn't help efficiency much.

 

oh THAT rebate....Toyota passed the sales figure so long ago, i had completely forgotten about that one. i thought we were referring to the new renewable credit for high mileage vehicles and EV's... besides that bush legislation was incredibly stupid anyway.... what other incentive program penalizes success while also offering discounts to vehicles AND companies that are so pathetic they never had a chance to hit the sales mark...

so when is the estimated date that GM's rebate will be less than 100%??? 2015....2016??

 

Yep, your a bad person. Sorry.

 

Create jobs? Yeah, in Mexico where it is built...

 

jobs at a factory where the car is built is important, but dont discount the impact of SELLING the car in the US. its HUGE.

 

I wonder has Toyota gotten a hand on a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. Because on the Prius most of its systems are electric, Toyota can easily reprogram the on-board computers so the acceleration feel and even the steering feel of the 2010 Prius has a more "sporty" driving feel to better compare with the Fusion Hybrid.

 

Wow, I guess you've got special prep Prius. My former 2005 had typical Toyota numb steering. Stock tires were pretty bad too. Changing to good tires dropped mileage significantly (from 45 to 34 mpg).

 

If it was that simple, BMW would be all over it. Unfortunately, proper steering and suspension is difficult to design. And electrical systems are not there yet (although they are improving).

 

They get different stock tires in Australia - much better than our Goodyear (lack of) Integrity tires.

Tom

 

Stock tyres here are Michelin XM1.

 

The Michelin XM1 pretty much match the Integrities on rolling resistance, and beat the Integrities hands down for wear and handling. You folks down under got the better deal on tires than we do, easily.

 

We pay more for the car too.
I think I got this right from memory.
Australian base Prius = 1.74 base Corollas
US base model Prius = 1.44 base Corollas

The new international currency, Corollas. I used the sedan price, I don't know if you have the Corolla hatch there.