Tirminyl

I agree ^^

Roaddemon

It's based on the Mazda6 platform, so handling is excellent, as would be expected. Compare these vehicles with competition in their respective classes and its absurd to say that Ford doesn't make "driver's cars". Especially compared to the likes of Toyota and Hyundai.
Today 01:58 AM >>>>>>>>>>>

Unfortunately, the same cannot not be said about Mazdas based on Ford platforms. What ford platform Mazda suv bought the mazda rating down? I don't remember but overall strictly Mazda beats strictly Ford by a large margin in quality. Ford is getting better and I'd buy one before the other American car Manufacturers.

Red Devil

I just think it's interesting that the thread starter asks a very open, subjective question, but refrains from giving his own or any justification for asking.

Roaddemon

Our thread starter probably sells GM.

bascho

Your parents should definitely consider the Fusion if they are also shopping the Accord and Camry. My sister has a Fusion and my mom has a Zephyr and they both love them.

As far as the GT car is concerned.....what non-Ford brand makes the GT car you are referring to? Remember, Aston Martin and Jaguar are Ford brands and they make GT cars.....if we are talking about the same type of car. When I hear GT, I think of large V8/V10/V12 front-mounted engine, RWD, 2-door coupe body, luxurious appointments, exceptional perfrormance. Examples: Aston Martin V8 Vantage, Aston Martin DB9, Aston Martin Vanquish, Jaguar XK8, Ferrari 550 Marinelllo, Bentley Conti GT, Mercedes SL55/65, etc. What are you thinking when you say 'GT car'?

Spin9k

"Winding Road's" perspective on the Fuzion: Driving in Neutral.

I've not personally driven one, so I'm not judging, but with reviews as glowing as this, where's the incentive when car shopping, even if I was ever in the mood for a car like this? So the beat goes on, same as the old song apparently with Ford. But on the bright side, I guess Hertz does needs a Taurus replacement.

bascho

I checked Winding Road's website for an article on the Accord and Camry and couldn't find one. I am interested to see what they say about those two cars. Why? Because that is who Ford is going after with the Fusion. They are going after the Accord, Camry and Sonata......and the comparisons I've read in Motor Trend, Car & Driver and Automobile ALL LIKED THE FUSION THE BEST. They all said that Ford has a winner on it's hands and that Toyota & Honda need to watch out. Why is this important? Because the Fusion is in it's first year of production and being compared to the BEST in it's class. No one is comparing the Fusion to the Malibu, G6 or Altima because they are not in the same league as the Fusion, Accord, Sonata and Camry. I think that is a huge boost to Ford to have their newest car pushed right to the head of the class by a majority of the automotive press.

RX8_Buckeye

What exactly is your point in posting that review, Spin9k? One semi-negative review and you're writing the car off as Hertz's replacement for the Taurus? Most of the press regarding the Fusion has been quite good, so by posting this it only seems that you are pushing your anti-Ford agenda. Why not post one of the more positive reviews to offer a counterpoint? After all, I guarantee you that there are more positive reviews than negative ones. Dig around enough and you'll find someone writing something negative about any product.

WantedTwo

iTrader: (4)

ask any mechanic and they will tell you what they think of fords. ask any firefighter what they think of fords. I can count as both. fords are a bitch to work on, and everysingle vehicle fire I was gone to with the exception of 2 have all been fords. Mostly older ford ranger and even a new f150. (not involved in a wreckes). I'll never own one.

bascho

How many vehicle fires in total? How many have been arsen? Your mechanic theory has holes.....here are two of them.

1) If Ford vehicles need repair more often then other makes, then mechanics should love them.....since they get paid to repair cars. If I was a mechanic.....my favorite car would be the one I had to repair all the time $$$.

2) A bitch to work on.....compared to what?

RX8_Buckeye

WantedTwo: I can understand that you have had bad personal experiences with Ford. But to make a blanket statement like "Any mechanic will tell you that Fords suck" is ridiculous. Please don't make a statement like that unless you have some evidence to back it up. These debates always boil down to silly comments like that, and it adds absolutely nothing to the discussion except to rile people up.

staticlag

My family and friends have owned:

Mustang GT
explorer
Windstar
Escort

All had residual mechanical problems, from coolant leakage to the cabin lights coming on and off randomly even though all the doors were shut, to stuck pistons, to lots of rust and screws and panels magically falling off, to AT's being fried, to axels becoming loose, ACs malfunctioning.

ford dealerships have been unable to find the cause of many of these problems. They have cost much out of pocket money to maintain.

fords do suck, they are very unreliable.

Spin9k

Point being....nothing ... I was reading this thread. Next came an email w/current 'Winding Road'. Noted Fuzion story... thought interesting and topical...so posted.... if you don't like the review... you too can post any you find... it's just what I saw at the moment. But since you question my 'agenda' here you go two more I dug up from the magbin.

Bascho, I don't doubt mid-level Camrys (maybe dis-counting the new one), Accord and perhaps even the Sonata are in the same segment as the Fuzion. Ok by me if that's what you want/need.

bascho

We obviously wanted and needed the same thing.....an RX8. But the Fusion is a great car for what it is....a mid-sized sedan starting at $19K. I am not saying the Fusion is perfect....but you have to admit that the first time you saw one you were surprised to see the Ford oval on it. The Fusion is a major deviation from everything Ford has done in the past.....and that is what Ford wanted it to be. Ford is in the middle of redefining itself....and the public needs to give them a latitude to do so. The Fusion is in no way a Taurus....please drive one and you will see that.

CelticFan

I wouldn't say I HATE Ford but I don't like them all that much and I've all but told my boss not to give me anymore to work on these days. I work at a Ford, Mazda, Toyota and Nissan dealership as auto body man. I now do work on the imports because I can't stand the way that Ford makes their cars. I find them much more difficult to work on and their warranty pay is horrible. I would rather starve then work all day and still starve! I don't look down on people who drive or like Fords but I'll never own one.

Just some of the reasons I don't' like working on their cars.

They don't round off their sheet metal so you have to handle sharp metal and get cut doing the simplest things to them. Mazda and others don't do this.

They make things hard to work on like if you want to change a fender on a Taurus you have to take the hood hinge off the car because it bolts over the fender. So you must reline the hood after you do what should be a simple job. And you don't get paid to do all that stuff. The do MANY things like this that makes something that should be simple and turn it into a pain in the *** for no reason.

They don't always fix warranty problems. Like the Explorer back glass problem. The last Explorer had a plastic cover at the bottom of the glass that after about 3 years would break because they glued it down and when the plastic got hot in the sun and you closed the lid it would break. Ford's way of "repairing it" is to just take a new one and glue it on just like the one before. Why? Because in 3 years when this one breaks it will be out of warranty and they won't have to cover it again. It's cheaper for them to just keep it as is then to take care of the problem.

They use standard and metric bolts for everything. I can take a Mazda or Nissan almost completely apart with just a few tools. It takes my complete tool box plus tools I have to get off the Mac or Snap on truck just made for Fords to do just simple things like take a door off. And mechanics and body men have to buy their tools.

I could go on and on why I don't like them but I don't have the time now.

Roaddemon

That's terrible, Do you have a mechanics union with which you can address these problems with Ford? Maybe Ford builds these obstacles into their cars to discourage do-it-yourselfers and non Ford body shops from stealing their business. That sucks.

UFGator12

Yeah, that's the same with me. Also because they ended the production of the GT. That car is crazy nice. When Ford finally got something right, they stopped production. They laid off 2,000 workers just in the ATL area alone and shut down one whole plant. I really hate that for all those people who Ford just flushed down the toilet. I'm sure William isn't doing so bad himself. He seems to be pretty clean cut judging by those commercials. He won't feel a thing in his wallet. Maybe a couple million, pocket change.

UFGator12

While my dad's X-Type Jaguar was in the shop, they gave him a new Ford Fusion. He said it was terrible. He said it drove like a boat and there was nothing appealing to him about it at all. Not to mention it was this nasty brown color...

BunnyGirl

If they get repaired all the time, too, you are more familiar with that type and should be easier and go faster.

BunnyGirl

A friend of mine had a Honda that had all of those problems and more. Got bought back under the lemon law within the first six months, bought brand new. Had already racked up all the requirements by three months.

Wipers turned on and off by themselves. Interior lighting including on odometer, et cetera, would turn on and off, which is a real problem in the dark. Head and tail lights that wound turn on and off for no reason. Turn signals on and off for no reason and then completely non functioning. Radio turning itself on and off and changing stations and volume levels by itself. Power windows and locks all acting screwy.

And that only covers the electrical. He kept having all kinds of stuff replaced to fix it and it never did. It would seem fine for maybe one car trip or two and the problems would start again. He could have it turned off and parked, nobody near it, touching it, and the alarm would go off by itself and not shut off until you disconnected the battery.

His car was so bad that we used to tease him about it being possessed!!!!

CelticFan

This can be true. But when they don't fix the problem and just have you do it back like it was before so it breaks again it can be frustrating to own the car. All cars have problems. All manufactures do dumb things. But I think the domestics are getting what they deserve now for what they have put out the last 20 years to the people.

WantedTwo

iTrader: (4)

Bascho, have you ever replace the accesory belt in a taurus? There is literaly no room to work. Ever tried to adjust the camber on a ford with that damn twin I-beam suspension? You can't. have you ever tried to test the injectors on a v6 mustang? you can't with out removing the upper intake manifod, which means you can't start it so whats the point? Why the hell does the 7.2 power stroke take 15 quarts of oil to fill? Why the hell did they run the injectors using said oil? There are alot of things that **** me off about fords but the #1 thing is that damn door chime.
As far as the car fires I can remember 11 that were fords, 2 that wern't, and only 1 was arson a CHEVEY van. Hope this helps you out a bit in not looking like an *** next time.

CelticFan

Exactly, they put so much thread lock on the bolts in the car that you have to take a torch to heat them up and melt the glue. And if you heat the bolt it burns the paint or plastic around it and ruins the stuff around it. So your screwed no matter what you do.
They put this grease like stuff all over the frames of their trucks that gets all over you when you work on them and it won't come off easy. And I've never worked on one over 3 years old that wasn't covered in oil or some kind of fluid making you look like a grease ball after working on it.
That twin I-Beam suspension was absolutely junk. But because they came up with it they had to use it for years and years knowing it was junk. My mom's Bronco couldn't keep it's front wheels lined up at all. And you had to fight it when you drove it around. But we know how they like using the same stuff for 25 years. Look at the last Mustang.
I don't know ONE Mazda mechanic that likes working on Mazda cars that are Fords with Mazda badges on them. Not one.