This is a good lookin car and I hear the quality is pretty good.

I wish they would bring the Mondeo over to the states because people in Europe LOVE that car!

I always end up with Fords.

I've never owned anything but Hondas. It's my opinion that, for the money, the quality of Japanese cars is far beyond the quality of American cars.

I'm certainly not trying to diss your taste in cars, Hausfrau, but I don't get why you're grooving on this. It's an unappealing aesthetic to me, personally. But, I'm the kind of girl that drives a motorcycle and not a car - so a sedan is too conservative too appeal to my sensibilities.

i agree with you about the quality of japanese cars, i love my honda and the toyotas i've owned. but i got to drive a fusion while traveling last summer, and i have to admit, it's a nice car. nice interior, fun to drive, handles well. i can see why it was voted car of the year. especially since they fusion owners probably don't have to worry about not being able to find their car in the parking lot between the 900 civics.

I love my Toyota, but I can see why Haus might "groove" on this car. From the article:

The 2010 Ford Fusion was named Motor Trend magazine's car of the year Tuesday, beating out the Toyota Prius, BMW 7-Series, Chevrolet Camaro and others in the closely watched competition.

...Motor Trend said the Fusion can compete with the Camry and Accord in performance, comfort and fuel efficiency.

...It gets 34 miles per gallon on the highway when equipped with a four-cylinder engine and six-speed automatic transmission. The gas-electric hybrid version gets 41 miles per gallon in the city.

Sounds to me like Ford is making the right steps and hopefully someday they'll earn a place right next to the Japanese cars.

I sure hope so, Amy. I think everyone would like to see the American automobile industry take some steps forward and become competitive again.

I'll drink to that!

I agree hands down that the overall design, quality and performance of Toyota and Honda have been superior to GM and Ford since the mid eighties. I'm the type though that judges my cars like I judge my people as individuals. There have been a few individual American models over the years that have stood out in quality and performance unfortunately the vibe never seemed to spread beyond a particular model.

Ford has made incredible strides in design and technology. They were smart and took their time about doing it too. They took certain models off line entirely like the Taurus, Thunderbird and Crown Victoria for a bit to rethink the whole concept only to reintroduce them with a bang latter on down the road. In fact the new Ford Taurus was also a consideration for Moter Trends Car of the Year. Last year the F-150 won Truck of the Year.

My two favorite foreign cars are Acuras by Honda and BMW's but I'd never buy one because I'm just that patriotic.

I'm not a big fan of American cars in general (I'll always own something German), but you can't deny the strides Ford has made in the last few years. I don't remember the name of the guy, but whoever is at the helm is doing a great job and could certainly pass some tips onto GM.

snarky - have you seen that new Honda commercial where its a montage of people saying things like "My sister has one.... My father has one... My best friend has one" and it turns out to be they all have Hondas?

I think that is the worst commercial! Buy a Honda! Be like everyone else!

What are they thinking?!

hahaha i hate it too haus. i mean i LOVE my honda, but i see at least one person each day driving the exact same car as me!

i just think it's so weird cuz honda's publications are known for being "hip", "young" and "unique", but this commercial is like, "you know that uniqueness thing, forget about that"

My previous car was a Ford ZX2 and I loved that little thing! It was a really great car. Low maintenance, plenty of pep, and it was pretty cute too.

I doubt I'd ever give up my Acura, but Ford has definitely made some big strides in revamping their cars.

Sarah I had a ZX2 too! those were pretty "unique" cars. That's why I got it.

Yeah they definitely weren't like all the other little cars out there at the time!

Mine was black and named Jane. I miss her sometimes.

Mine was silver. No name. The only thing I miss about that car was the turning radius. My car now (while I love every other inch of it) has a ridiculously bad radius. It's like trying to turn around a big rig!

Oh that sucks! My husband's car is like that too! I have a mini now though, so it's even better than the zx2.

I really miss the big bench seats in the classic cars. You know those hotel beds on wheels, lol. Now all the seats even the back seats are contoured to fit your arss

Hypno, we recently "upgraded" our rental car and got stuck with a Mercury grand marquis, and I can tell you they most definitely have bench seats in the front of the car! It was hilarious. I felt like people passed our car thinking we'd be a couple of octogenarians and when they saw young adults they were all confused.

It sucks but I've adapted! I don't bother cranking the wheel as far as it'll go....I just make it a two point turn. Better than scraping my car along whatever is blocking me!

I love bench seats Hypno...allows you to get closer to someone if you wan to..

oooooh sarah

Oh yeah the Grand Marquis, the (Cadillac) Crown Victoria I forgot about that one. Bench seats are just nice to take a nap on.

It was a little unsettling for a gal not used to bench seats. I felt like my territory was not clearly delineated and therefore could be infringed upon... And there was no place to put anything. Ugh. Grand Marquis are not meant for me, obviously.

I don't want to make a big deal about it, but it's good to see you round these parts sy.

'round these parts...in 4.0...LOL

You know what I mean

My first car was a Buick Regal, but the first car I purchased was a Shadow 5-spd. I liked the space of the regal (I was a teenager....), but I loved the handling, acceleration, gas mileage of the Shadow. I'd still have that car if I hadn't been involved in a head-on colision.

Let me guess UnDave you ran into a Liberal

I really loved my first car too (1969 Cadillac El Dorado). I still look up photo of nice ones for sale just to reminisce, lol. The hood on that car was so long it looked like it stretched into the horizon.

hehe. I don't know. His car didn't have crash zones, he was unconscious. He WAS driving a foriegn jobby though.

This was my first car, same color except mine had a white top. I remember I was rear ended by a dude in a mid sized sedan. There wasn't a scratch on my car, lol.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2470/3577607510_c70fe4f473.jpg

Pickups still have bench seats!

Oh yeah they do and some even have foot prints on the ceiling.

not mine :angel:

I slid on some ice in my Buick, and rear-ended a mail jeep. As the police were writing up the accident, another car slid and rear-ened my car. The Jeep and the other car were totalled. I drove mine home.

Aha aiming for those government vehicles. I thought it was something like that, lol

My truck "technically has a bench seat, but the seats are definitely contoured to fit your arse....
My first car was an 86 Honda CRX. I have 190,000 miles I called her LFAC (kinda like lil f***) low flying air craft i was a dork! I traded her in for a crappy ass GMC truck. That had nothing but problems at only 50,000. My fave car ever was my Jetta though. It was so darn fun too... but My baby's car seat wouldn't fit in the back seat because I am tall.

Thanks Harm

I agree with Harmony.

After my parent's lovely experience with a Ford Windstar, I think they'd murder me if I went down that route. That said, and it pains me to say this, Ford has definitely stepped up their game.

I do love my little Rabbit though. Part of the reason I didn't go with a Civic is the fact that it's the #1 car in Canada... I don't want to have the same car as every other single person on the road.

I will say, the Ford F150 and Chevy Silverado will always pull at my heart strings. I need to find myself a country boy!

I've always liked the look of Dodge trucks with that big rams head on the hood. It always looked so manly.

lil, you should come to my hometown. country boys galore

If they all drive trucks, sign me up!

On another note, my office just opened a branch in Texas... I should look into that I have such a soft spot for southern boys.

Nice.

Nice