Ford Fusion: 2010 Motor Trend Car of the Year

Redesigned mid-sized car takes prominent magazine award.



http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/2009/11/17/autos/ford_fusion_motor_trend/2010_ford_fusion_hybrid.03.jpg2010 Ford Fusion





NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Motor Trend magazine named the Ford Fusion mid-sized sedan as its 2010 Car of the Year on Tuesday. The award includes both the gas-only and hybrid versions of the Fusion.
This year's Car of the Year was selected from among a field of 22 different cars all of which were newly introduced or, like the Fusion, substantially redesigned for the 2010 model year.


The Fusion was first introduced in 2006 but has been substantially upgraded and redesigned for the 2010 model year.
"It's a credit to the [Ford] team to deliver a car in the hottest selling segment in the market and to make it absolutely competitive with the benchmarks," said Motor Trend editor-in-chief Angus McKenzie at an award presentation ceremony.
The benchmark cars in the mid-sized segment are generally considered to be the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, which have been the two top-selling cars in America for years.


McKenzie praised the Fusion for the excellence of all versions of the car including the 4-cylinder, V6 and hybrid models.



"Another thing that impressed us was the attention to detail," McKenzie said.
While the 2010 Fusion shares much of its engineering with the previous version, the car looked and felt like a completely new car, McKenzie said.


Motor Trend, one of the most influential automotive enthusiast magazines in the United States, also gives out SUV of the Year and Truck of the Year awards. The SUV of the Year was announced earlier with the award going to the 2010 Subaru Outback. The Truck of the Year will be announced in December.
Vehicles were judged on six different criteria: design, engineering, efficiency, safety, value and how well the vehicle fulfills its intended function.
The cars were put through track tests by Motor Trends editors. Then cars that were not eliminated in the track testing process were put through additional road tests.


Derrick Kuzak, Ford Motor Co. group vice president for product development credited the Fusion with "getting Ford back into the car market" in 2006 after the carmaker had become competitive only in large trucks and SUVs. http://i.cdn.turner.com/money/images/bug.gif (http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/17/autos/ford_fusion_motor_trend/index.htm#TOP)


http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/17/autos/ford_fusion_motor_trend/index.htm

ew...

ew...

Treason.

No way.

That car is full of eew.

But its sales are full of win for this country.

I don't get why the eww?

The Ford Fusion's supposed to be a great car from what I've read/heard..

I don't think I'd ever be in the market for one, but I mean, I'm not shopping for that type of car and in its segment, it seems that it really does deliver. Obviously it's not going to have incredible handling and monstrous power but I don't think that's what it's meant to do.

The Camry on the other hand is still the best selling car in the segment and it's way boring if you ask me.. I'd pick this over it any day

All you need to do is check out some of their previous winners. That will explain all. Although I must admit, Ford has some good cars out right now, not the best looking, but good cars anyway. Can't get past the shinny grills.

really.................

This car is of course built on the Mazda 6 architecture. I'd like to see the 6 get more coverage and awards myself. Ford is definitely on the right track and will get my investment money.

Paul.

^from what I've looked at in person, the Fusion is a much better put together car than its Mazda6 sibling, amazing as that sounds...

Poor Angus, he used to write for some of the best mags in the business and now he at motor trend having to say something good about cars designed for Americans.

the new one is actually really good ... compare it to the other cars in its class (camry accord altima) and i think its a definite winner ... the rest are really boring and the ford actually feels better for once

The award must be thanks to the 1.21GW of power its fusion reactor produces. That's a lot of torque! ;)



But I also recently saw that Ford overall is now ranked first with Volvo in vehicle safety.

Poor Angus, he used to write for some of the best mags in the business and now he at motor trend having to say something good about cars designed for Americans.

:scratchhe

I do not think this car was "designed for Americans," I thought the Fusion was one of the "World Cars" that is for sale in most countries (that Ford deals in at least)? I could be wrong, but I definitely have seen them recently on my travels to Europe at least, and they're even called "Fusion". Though I've never seen a Taurus...

Either way, I am happy that there is an American company finally putting out a car worth some sort of accolades...regardless if they come from Motor Trend or not. I won't be buying one any time soon, but I am not looking at that segment of cars...now or ever.

The Fusion has become a great car and IMO much better than its competitors. If I were looking at a new car, this would definitely be on my list.

I think it looks good!

If it looked as good/better than an 8 most of you would still say it looks ugly just because its a ford/american, I dont get it? I would even have to say I think it looks better than the 6 (dumb lower prius front end)

^not entirely true :rofl:

i am a euro japan market kind of guy but i like the fusion (and the edge a little).

I can understand the fusion why people like it, its just not my cup of tea, but the edge???

Not sure why a lot here are against American vehicles in general. Just like any foreign car they have issues, and in fact in my experience the American made lasted longer and is constructed better than the imports when it comes down to the frame, just heavier built for a beating while the loss is obviously more weight. I think the big wooing factor for imports is admittedly, they're better at the interior and middle range sports cars while the American brands don't do sports cars generally speaking but rather muscle cars. Depends on your vibe.

I always loved the muscle cars growing up and while obviously the typical American sedan car and what not has strict competition topping them in that market, the American SUV's and trucks are still up there in quality IMO. Foreign market trucks got nothing on the American brands.

I wonder how many here have owned an American vehicle that wasn't bought used to blame it on the model/brand instead of the previous owner's lack of maintenance of it. I've seen my Chevy's run far longer than any import when I grew up. To each their own.

ah
It's still garbage.
Motor Trend's way of helping boost American Auto sales/employment???? You be the judge

Not sure why a lot here are against American vehicles in general. Just like any foreign car they have issues, and in fact in my experience the American made lasted longer and is constructed better than the imports when it comes down to the frame, just heavier built for a beating while the loss is obviously more weight. I think the big wooing factor for imports is admittedly, they're better at the interior and middle range sports cars while the American brands don't do sports cars generally speaking but rather muscle cars. Depends on your vibe.

I always loved the muscle cars growing up and while obviously the typical American sedan car and what not has strict competition topping them in that market, the American SUV's and trucks are still up there in quality IMO. Foreign market trucks got nothing on the American brands.

I wonder how many here have owned an American vehicle that wasn't bought used to blame it on the model/brand instead of the previous owner's lack of maintenance of it. I've seen my Chevy's run far longer than any import when I grew up. To each their own.

I'm just against the design of the vehicle not the quality because I dont have enough knowledge about the quality of them in general. My other cars have all been american made and great

MT is the worst mainstream car mag, times are always slow as well as judgments. Id rather have the Mazda6, Malibu or Altima.

ah
It's still garbage.
Motor Trend's way of helping boost American Auto sales/employment???? You be the judge

You mean boost employment in Mexico where it is made. The only boost here was Ford's stock price after the announcement.

In my opinion it actually is a nice commuter car and very competitive for its segment. It is light years ahead of anything from GM or Chrysler but yeah I know that is not saying much.

If I needed a beater, I would consider one. My friend's wife bought the hybrid version and it is impressive from a technological stand point. It is one of those things you could impress the neighbors with technology wise until they found out how much you paid for it.

Notice I said technology wise because you would fall asleep if you were counting on performance. She traded an 02 Taurus for the hybrid Fusion and complains it doesn't have enough power.

its a really nice car some people just dont want to give the americans a chance but you gotta see the good stuff theyre putting out ... gm and ford have really stepped up their game and domestic is mostly what my family owns and some germans just because the dam japanese are soo boring these days i mean look at the camry how would you survive a 4 hr drive in that one!

I think American cars are just weak in the sedan market. When it comes to SUVs, trucks, and muscle cars an American car can't be beat.

Its the econobox thing we've never been good at.

SUV: i'd take any mazda, nissan, toyota over something like the edge. and granted theyre in a different price range, i'd also take any bmw, audi, porsche.

all of the mountaineers, durangos, tahoes, etc i've ever been in have left a bad taste in my mouth.

i will admit that ford is definitely stepping it up now though. my mother has a 2008 mustang and i hate it. i hate it i hate it i hate it. the interior is terrible and it handles like it looks- shitty.

on the other hand, my best bud picked up a 2010 mustang a few months ago. definitely MAAAAAAAAAAAJOR improvements. the interior is the most striking difference.

The Edge is around $1000 MORE than a Toyota Highlander. And the same as a CX-9.

I'm talking about real SUVs... Suburbans, Explorers, Durangos and Jeeps, son.

Car of the year or not, people still love there Honda's, Acura's,Mazda's,Nissan's,Audi's, BMW's , Infiniti's . All I can say its about time Ford!

I rented a Fusion and it wasn't impressive at all. For a 4 door car its as boring as a Camry , Accord and everything else out there in that price segment. The Mazda 6 is nice, but it quirky at the same time, and build quality is missing.

One 4 door sedan that definitely caught my eye was the brand new Maxima! Hello, the Maxima is back as the 4DSC!(4 door sports car) Nissan did a fine job on that car , its like being in a sports Mercedes, all joking aside! All the bells and whistles are there and the car can move , handle , and feels very nimble for a big car, the breaking point is that the price to play starts at 33k bucks and goes to 43k for a fully equipped Maxima. No thanks, you can get yourself a nice BMW 3 series,entry level 5 series or a nice Mercedes C class sport loaded to the gills. Or even get into its sister car the Infiniti G35 at that price.

I would definitely pick a used one up if I was in that market again , if the price was right I could easily see the Maxima getting the car of the year award.

People that blindly bash domestic vehicles are no better than people blindly bashing rotary engines.

Both are the results of ignorance.

Some tough competition this year from perusing the online article, particularly from the Camaro, LaCrosse, Prius and Golf.

I like the Fusion, but have not driven one. I think Ford should bring out a Fusion SHO. That'd be much more interesting than the behemoth Taurus SHO.

I think GM or Ford deserved the award this year. However, MT did give the last Ford Thuderturd COTY earlier this decade...(blech).

I'm talking about real SUVs... Suburbans, Explorers, Durangos and Jeeps, son.

?????????What makes these real and the others not? I guess all the others do not exist, they are not real.
You are sleeping, you do not want to believe, you are sleeping, you do not want to believe. ( The Smiths )