@☠Grя, etc.: Resale value is due primarily to consumer perception (and secondarily to rental fleets, which also lower the public's opinion - look at this gutless base model, etc.). As for repairs, I'd be just as confident in this as I would any other new midsize car (more so than a Chrysler, mind).
@Elhigh: From my experience, that would be the Subaru Impreza. There ain't NO frills on those things, at least the more base-model ones I've driven. Can't speak to the WRX, but the lower models... I'm not even sure they bothered with sound deadening material.
The 1995-97 Contour SE and the 1998-2000 SVT models were seriously good drivers (for being front-engine, front-drive, if we must be pedantic). I just hope that Ford finds an opportunity to put some more power in a manual transmission model, even if it's a limited edition.
@Jeb_Hoge: Amen, brother. The only thing wrong with my '97 Mystique is the endlessly-vibrating Box of -5 Power bolted behind the engine. Handles wonderfully for what it is.
I can't help but notice that this review sounds forced, particularly when compared to the other two. It sounds almost like you're saying, "Well, I hated it, but I hated it less than the Spamry."
Out of total academic curiosity, Wes, do you feel like you have an obligation to write a positive review when Ford has shelled out cash for you to come and review it? Like they'll cut you from the press fleet if you don't say nice things? I don't mean it as a criticism, but I'm curious how to interpret this, whether I'm reading too much between the lines, or whether I should take your tepid enthusiasm at face value.
The reason I ask, and I admit my bias, is I can't help noticing the difference between this, and several of your GM reviews, particularly the G8 GXP. Your opinion on that was very clear, but I find it harder to interpret here. Or, are you writing this article as an informative car review which focuses on the positive merits of the car, rather than on your own opinion?
I suppose what I'm asking is what did you really think. I acknowledge how hard it is to write a rave review of vanilla ice cream, but what was your impression? Was it, "Damn, this is pretty friggin' good", or "Meh. More vanilla. need nap now."?
Oh, and happy birthday. :) (No secret is safe on Teh Intarwebs!)
@Deartháir wishes Wes a happy birthday!: I kinda touched on it above, but I'd bet it's really hard to write about something you have no interest in, beyond regurgitating what you've been told.
Wes had a very strong point of view on the Pontiac and BMWs that he's reviewed, because he really cares about performance cars and performance driving.
When stuck with something like this, he can try to evaluate it in the areas he cars (performance?) or just kinda guess at what someone would care about.
What Jalopnik (and Ford) really need to do is get the low-level accountant lady from my work to drive it. I bet she doesn't even know how many cylinders her Camry has.
Agreed. This sounded a bit "Well hello again, and welcome to..." Maybe Jalopnik is desperately trying to singlehandedly revive pride in American engineering, but the car is based on the previous gen Mazda6. They've only proven that they can take a good thing and not completely mess it up. For some of the other automakers, this is a victory, but American automakers need more. It's time they start treating the American buyers like smart people with some taste, and then maybe we'll actually develop some brains and taste.
@dontknoa: I think that's unfair, and speaks directly to the very problem with this car. Every review has given this car good marks in quality, reliability, efficiency and comfort. I believe it was C&D who marked it almost as good as the Accord, and better than the Camry.
We know these are fairly good cars. We loved them as the Mazda6, and they were considered very reliable then. Now, what, we just hate them because they're Fords?
@Deartháir and his eight little drained beers: Everything you read here is my honest opinion. I'm under no compulsion from Ray, Gawker or any of the manufacturers to write falsely positive reviews.
Have I come across as more excited about cars like the G8 GXP? Yes, but that's because they're more exciting.
"According to Congress, Detroit doesn't know how to build cars that the majority of people want to drive. The 2010 Ford Fusion comprehensively proves that it can."
Um, but Detroit is to use Japanese engineering and Mexican manufacturing to prove it.
Poor We, getting the skimpy end of the stick. Too bad Mazda never told Ford about the Playboy Bunnies angle. That woulda softened Wes's ink up a little.
Here's the problem: mid-sized mass-market sedans are like opposite-world for car enthusiasts.
Everything that makes them bad to us makes them good to their buyers. These are people who want a "nice" car and buy the second-cheapest tires presented to them.
Wes loves the 4cylinder stick-shift? They will sell approximately 12 of them.
4 of those will be the result of someone checking the wrong box on an order form.
@Rust-MyEnemy / Ye-MySternum: The only reason Ford did the Fusion here instead of Mondeo, to the best of my understanding, is because Mazda was already working on the Mazda6 at the time and they were able to share (on this continent). Bringing the Mondeo over here again would be too expensive and would be perceived as "repeating past mistakes" (the previous Mondeo was the poor-selling Contour/Mystique)
You've probably already noticed that this design is the first step in merging the US and European designs, too.
@dontknoa: Supposed to be the world car as the escort was, but the contour was bigger. Unfortunately, so were americans. Also, people wouldn't want to buy a small car at big car prices, so they dumbed it down. They took the life out of it, and it flopped because it was crap.
@philibuster: When, in '95 my family ended up in a Hertz Contour 2.0 GL Rentacar we were all staggered by how crap it was, even compared to the version we had at home, on the same platform! Amazing the difference 3500 miles can make. The entire design was lost in translation.
My father says that if my next car isn't a hybrid Toyota, then I'm banished from the family. I'm paraphrasing, of course.
Why this attitude? Because he once owned a 1989 Taurus that spent too much time in the shop. So now, every car that doesn't come from the land of the rising sun is crap to him.
I'd like to think I'm a little more open-minded than that. I'll take a look at the new Fusion, sure. And if I get banished from the family, so be it.
@Jagvar: No offense to your family (My In-laws have the same attitude) but just because you bought a poor product back in 1989, don't write off what is currently being pumped out of Detroit. Ask your family if they are the same person they were 20 yrs ago? Have they learned anything in those 20 yrs?
@ssurfer321: Japan's learned something in the past 20 years. Now their cars don't rust through on the boat over here, for example. I'd add that to his argument.
We really fail to see what appeal the Camry holds to anyone
Cognitive_Friction detects some cognitive dissonance on the part of Mr Siler...
Whether us Jalops like it or not, cars with stellar reputations for build quality and reliability will always hold appeal to the average car buyer even if they look like blah and accelerate like a mule.
And contrary to what most around here feel, the majority of the driving public does not appreciate spirited driving. If all your driving experience consists of nothing more than the back and forth daily slog to the cube farm, then driving excitement may not be something you are acquainted with. My in-laws come to mind as does my other half. The appliance metaphor has legs in other words.
@Cognitive_Friction: Jalopnik is its own little car world, and little of what happens here has any relevance in the car market as a whole. I think you're right, and I think Siler is more than a bit biased towards Ford in rating this so far above its import counterparts.
@Wes Siler: Not the whole review, just the 2-3 sentences about Camrys.
I bought a 1995 Avalon for my wife two years ago. The "appeal" for me was that the boring, slow, ugly Toyota wouldn't leave her stranded somewhere along I-43 north of Milwaukee on a day like today (wind chill -20 degrees this AM).
@Wes Siler: No, but it's hard to take it seriously as unbiased when every other post about it is half ripping on the Camry. The review taken out of context is good, the review taken in context with everything else on Jalopnik appears biased.
The current Malibu, the current Fusion/Milan/MKZ, and now the new Fusion/Milan/MKZ. All of them are better alternatives for anyone with even the remotest semblance to automotive enthusiasm.
Hell, even the previous-gen Malibu (particularly in SS trim) was more entertaining, and the final run of Pontiac Grand Prix GXPs were a downright blast. Three years, on there have been no problems with them.
My biggest complaint about the last Fusion was the humongous 4-spoke steering wheel. I guess they didn't address that. Big wheels for big Americans? I don't see the appeal. Turning that bus wheel makes the car seem heavy and ponderous.
12/15/08
What's that, you say? That would cost Ford five, ten, or fifteen thousand dollars over the life of each car???
I rest my case for buying a Japanese car.
12/16/08
12/15/08
12/15/08
And I gotta admit... I quite liked it.
12/15/08
12/16/08
12/15/08
12/16/08
12/15/08
Out of total academic curiosity, Wes, do you feel like you have an obligation to write a positive review when Ford has shelled out cash for you to come and review it? Like they'll cut you from the press fleet if you don't say nice things? I don't mean it as a criticism, but I'm curious how to interpret this, whether I'm reading too much between the lines, or whether I should take your tepid enthusiasm at face value.
The reason I ask, and I admit my bias, is I can't help noticing the difference between this, and several of your GM reviews, particularly the G8 GXP. Your opinion on that was very clear, but I find it harder to interpret here. Or, are you writing this article as an informative car review which focuses on the positive merits of the car, rather than on your own opinion?
I suppose what I'm asking is what did you really think. I acknowledge how hard it is to write a rave review of vanilla ice cream, but what was your impression? Was it, "Damn, this is pretty friggin' good", or "Meh. More vanilla. need nap now."?
Oh, and happy birthday. :) (No secret is safe on Teh Intarwebs!)
12/15/08
Wes had a very strong point of view on the Pontiac and BMWs that he's reviewed, because he really cares about performance cars and performance driving.
When stuck with something like this, he can try to evaluate it in the areas he cars (performance?) or just kinda guess at what someone would care about.
What Jalopnik (and Ford) really need to do is get the low-level accountant lady from my work to drive it. I bet she doesn't even know how many cylinders her Camry has.
12/15/08
12/15/08
Agreed. This sounded a bit "Well hello again, and welcome to..." Maybe Jalopnik is desperately trying to singlehandedly revive pride in American engineering, but the car is based on the previous gen Mazda6. They've only proven that they can take a good thing and not completely mess it up. For some of the other automakers, this is a victory, but American automakers need more. It's time they start treating the American buyers like smart people with some taste, and then maybe we'll actually develop some brains and taste.
12/15/08
12/15/08
We know these are fairly good cars. We loved them as the Mazda6, and they were considered very reliable then. Now, what, we just hate them because they're Fords?
12/16/08
Have I come across as more excited about cars like the G8 GXP? Yes, but that's because they're more exciting.
12/15/08
I guess Ford transmissions haven't gotten any smarter, though. The CD4E is fucking clueless, so the TF-80 and FNR5 can't be any worse... but still.
12/15/08
Um, but Detroit is to use Japanese engineering and Mexican manufacturing to prove it.
12/15/08
12/15/08
12/15/08
12/15/08
12/15/08
Everything that makes them bad to us makes them good to their buyers. These are people who want a "nice" car and buy the second-cheapest tires presented to them.
Wes loves the 4cylinder stick-shift? They will sell approximately 12 of them.
4 of those will be the result of someone checking the wrong box on an order form.
12/15/08
Nice to see genuine progress being made....
12/15/08
You've probably already noticed that this design is the first step in merging the US and European designs, too.
12/15/08
12/15/08
12/15/08
12/15/08
As for me, I'd rather buy a Mondeo.
Always wanting that which I cannot have,
Scroggzilla
12/15/08
12/15/08
Why this attitude? Because he once owned a 1989 Taurus that spent too much time in the shop. So now, every car that doesn't come from the land of the rising sun is crap to him.
I'd like to think I'm a little more open-minded than that. I'll take a look at the new Fusion, sure. And if I get banished from the family, so be it.
12/15/08
12/16/08
12/15/08
Cognitive_Friction detects some cognitive dissonance on the part of Mr Siler...
Whether us Jalops like it or not, cars with stellar reputations for build quality and reliability will always hold appeal to the average car buyer even if they look like blah and accelerate like a mule.
12/15/08
And contrary to what most around here feel, the majority of the driving public does not appreciate spirited driving. If all your driving experience consists of nothing more than the back and forth daily slog to the cube farm, then driving excitement may not be something you are acquainted with. My in-laws come to mind as does my other half. The appliance metaphor has legs in other words.
12/15/08
12/15/08
12/15/08
I'm a Camry fan, what's not to like? The thing is bullet proof, it moves well, and people seem to respect you for making a good choice in car buying.
That's straight As across the board if you ask me.
Show me any, any American that is the Camry's equal. I haven't seen it yet.
12/15/08
I bought a 1995 Avalon for my wife two years ago. The "appeal" for me was that the boring, slow, ugly Toyota wouldn't leave her stranded somewhere along I-43 north of Milwaukee on a day like today (wind chill -20 degrees this AM).
12/15/08
12/16/08
The current Malibu, the current Fusion/Milan/MKZ, and now the new Fusion/Milan/MKZ. All of them are better alternatives for anyone with even the remotest semblance to automotive enthusiasm.
Hell, even the previous-gen Malibu (particularly in SS trim) was more entertaining, and the final run of Pontiac Grand Prix GXPs were a downright blast. Three years, on there have been no problems with them.
12/16/08
12/16/08
12/15/08
12/15/08
for your small-steering wheel pleasure
12/15/08