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Detroit, 12:27 AM
Sat Nov 21
28 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/19/09
Then again, I've never really agreed with MT's choices.
11/17/09
I do not miss my subscription to that magazine. #fordfusion
11/17/09
Too much gray area. #fordfusion
11/17/09
Also, I can't wait to see what the '10 Truck of the Year is. Did anybody even come out with a new truck this year? That's got to be the most bogus award of all.
11/17/09
11/18/09
why don't you take your love for America and...
nope, can't do it. I can't even pretend to be a foreign car loving person. #fordfusion
11/18/09
But I don't think people who look at automobiles as some kind of statement of nationalistic pride are really paying attention. No mass manufactured vehicle today is a pristine product of only one country. As such, the global origin of the things makes 'national pride' arguments sort of like Mexican Wrestling. Everyone is wearing a mask, and the moves are choreographed for fan enjoyment.
But this is a good car. No excess baggage with that simple observation.
11/18/09
I agree with you there. never quite understood why some of the manufactures just can't quite go that little extra mile. example: The 300c and Chargers not having a 6sp, some of the leather in cars obviously inferior, etc.
"As such, the global origin of the things makes 'national pride' arguments sort of like Mexican Wrestling"
Not so much there. even with that, many fail to take into account all the R&D to get acar to where it is going (90ish % of which is spent within the country of origin) not to mention where the profit is going (country of origin once again) simply put, the company has more invested (in all respects) in its home country, and the home country benifits most from that company's success.
don't get me wrong, I am all for a global marketplace, and competition. (without competition, you have ntohing but crap because there is no encouragement to do better.)
And I have never purchased a NEW car so I have never practiced what I preached (Though the only foreign machines i've ever had have been 3/3 motorcycles and 0/15 cars. I have not yet been able to afford a Victory, and Harley Davidsons are too much like Puppies for me (leaving a puddle wherever they go))
11/18/09
I agree with you there. never quite understood why some of the manufactures just can't quite go that little extra mile. example: The 300c and Chargers not having a 6sp, some of the leather in cars obviously inferior, etc.
"As such, the global origin of the things makes 'national pride' arguments sort of like Mexican Wrestling"
Not so much there. even with that, many fail to take into account all the R&D to get acar to where it is going (90ish % of which is spent within the country of origin) not to mention where the profit is going (country of origin once again) simply put, the company has more invested (in all respects) in its home country, and the home country benifits most from that company's success.
don't get me wrong, I am all for a global marketplace, and competition. (without competition, you have ntohing but crap because there is no encouragement to do better.)
And I have never purchased a NEW car so I have never practiced what I preached (Though the only foreign machines i've ever had have been 3/3 motorcycles and 0/15 cars. I have not yet been able to afford a Victory, and Harley Davidsons are too much like Puppies for me (leaving a puddle wherever they go))
11/17/09
If a car can handle Alaska, it can pretty much handle anything. #fordfusion
11/17/09
I'm originally from Minnesota, so I kinda know where you're coming from, but around there if you get stuck in a drift help will be by probably within a week. For you guys, spring.
Maybe. #fordfusion
11/17/09
I speak from experience. ;) #fordfusion
11/17/09
11/17/09
11/17/09
I bought a black SE with the 2.5 ltr I4 and MS Synch, sunroof and parking sensors (it was a package, I think). I opted for the I4 for the mileage (I've consistently seen 31-32mpg on the hwy) and had no need for the AWD (I live in Southern California, after all), I am amazed at how well the I4 and 6-speed slush box motivates the Fusion. I'm absolutely thrilled with the way the car drives. The lighter weight mil gives the car better balance than the V6 version and the car handles much better than I had hoped, feeling quite planted in the curves. When I tested the V6 it felt a bit nose-heavy. The only feature I wish the car had is "manual mode" for the slushie.
So yeah, good on ya Ford! Don't worry about the Camcord out selling this car. Keep up the good work and that won't last.
11/17/09
Not that it wins Car of the Year - just the Motor Trend association. #fordfusion
11/17/09
11/17/09
I say good for them. One of the first new age Ford cars to come out of Ford NA. #fordfusion
11/17/09
That'll get me $300 in the office pool. In the imaginary office where people care about cars instead of sports, anyway.
11/17/09
11/17/09
You've seen one in person Stateside? #fordfusion
11/17/09
Are you in the US?
I haven't even seen one, and I'm in Detroit (granted I'm not frequently in the Dearborn area any more). #fordfusion
11/17/09
Amalgamated Sports Hater? #fordfusion
11/17/09
11/17/09
11/17/09
It was quite a letdown since I liked the idea of it so much. #fordfusion
11/17/09
11/17/09
11/17/09
I test drove one when I was shopping for the Fusion. I was so damned enamored with the TC that I almost bought one instead of my car. I can't think of a more utilitarian vehicle out there. The fusion had it beat as a commuter though. Since I accumulate the majority of my miles driving to and from work, the Fusion won by a hair. #fordfusion
11/17/09
None in Detroit? Weird. #fordfusion
11/17/09
I used to see all the "Dearborn" vehicles early, now I see all the Warren tech center ones. #fordfusion
11/17/09
11/17/09
You could say it's the best a man can get. #fordfusion
11/17/09
11/17/09
11/17/09
There's even a battery powered Fusion. #fordfusion
11/17/09
11/17/09
I can't even go a week without replacing the blades. #fordfusion
11/18/09
(/me wants photochop skills).
I prefer the Hyundai Excel shave engineering, whether 2-blade or Sensor 3-bladed, to the Mustang Mach 3 for my lesbian bits; the Fusion 5-blade is ridiculous.
11/17/09
I found this handy list of COY winners for your continued amusement. Renault Alliance!
[www.motortrend.com] #fordfusion
11/17/09
11/17/09
11/17/09
And more trivia on the table ;-) the previous winners of the NA COTY [en.wikipedia.org]
Canadian COTY [en.wikipedia.org]
International COTY from Road & Travel magazine [en.wikipedia.org]
Automobile's magazine Al-stars
[en.wikipedia.org] #fordfusion
11/17/09
08/06/09
1. These cars shown above don't have bumpers. They have a section of the nose and tail which are safety zones for pedestrians. They're filled with nerf material and covered in flexy/brittle plastic so soccer moms can continue taking prozacs, ignoring their kids, and letting them run around in and out of the roadways like little crack-head godzillas.
2. They could make solid steel/rubber bumpers that protruded through or sat flush with the match-painted flexy bodywork ... it would protect the expensive paint job and body, and headlights, but it would violate that whole "safe to hit pedestrians" thing - see point #1.
3. Someone earlier mentioned that only trucks and SUVs have real bumpers. Wrong. Most of the new (since 2000) trucks have a "bumper" (in quotes) which actually consists of a double-layer of aluminum foil which is chromed and sold for well in excess of $600. The get dinged and dented and warped so easily that it really is meaningless to have them (one particularly good example is the 1999 onward Ford Super-duty hunk-o-foil). The newest trucks have chromed tinfoil... and most SUVs (since the word was invented by marketingtards in the early 90's) also don't have bumpers at all (see point #1).
4. Older convertible sports cars (Porsches, Triumphs, MGs, Alfas, etc...) all had chromed steel or steel and rubber bumpers which the owners/customizers were quick to trim, shave, paint or frequently remove... the end result was that a bump would cause a ding or a scrape or a crunch and a large amount of bodywork, but that was the price to pay for a better looking car. A perfect example is the AC Ace versus the Shelby Cobra. One had bumperettes, one didn't.
08/06/09
08/06/09
And bravo.
08/06/09
08/06/09