Metallicat

I think you answered my question (nobody will notice). They co-developed their dual mode hybrid system with GM.

I just read on TTAC that Chrysler is dropping their Hemi-Hybrid powered SUV's after what, like 2 months of being on the market?

Please Buy Me

First was the Flex in the parking lot of Hillers grocery store in Northville. Looked great in black, I had to check it out a couple of times. I loved the "what the heck is it, I gotta see it, holy crap it is a new Flex!" response that I first felt when seeing it parked there. I think it will be a hit based upon the reaction of a person (me) who typically doesn't give a second look to minivans and cute SUV's. Next, an undisguised MKS on the streets in dtwn Northville. Looked like the photos, of course, but I really dig the grill treatment. First new waterfall style Lincoln grill that didn't look like a tacked-on Continental grill from 10 yrs ago. Wished I had another chance to see it up close. Finally, the new F150. It passed me coming south on Center St. as I was headed north. I thought, "hmmm, that F150 looks a bit different." Then I realized that it was a new 2009. Yeah, that was about the extent of my enthusiasm.

That car is so beautiful I want to cry! The Fusion in my driveway all of the sudden looks like a turd. Why can't we drive Ford like that here!

They're going to warranty their 2.7L V6 for the lifetime of original ownership?

The 3.5 Yoda is rated higher than my Fusion I4 manual? 2007 specs, my car is rated at 31mpg hwy, which is just about what I see at 70mph, no AC. I think the 2008 ratings are 29mpg hwy for the manual? I guess there is something to be said for a larger engine working a more conservative final drive ratio. The sweet spot for the I4 manual Fusion is slower speeds - shifting at 2k, 5th gear @ 35mph = 29+ mpg combined driving in my case if I really baby it in the stop-and-go and don't exceed 70mph on the fwy.

Isn't the real problem due to the fact that the oil market is speculative and prices will rise due to perceived oil shortages or perceived increases demand rather than realistic market demands? We may be close to max capacity now with our refineries, but still there is no real gas shortage since every pump that I have visited over the past 20 years has always had fuel. If the Farmer's Almanac predicts a harsh winter in Florida, our orange juice prices don't rise overnight do they? And the juice on the supermarket shelves isn't relabeled with a higer price if there is a heavy frost all of the sudden in the orange-growing regions. I am just wondering if the prices are indeed caused by speculative invenstment in the oil commodities. If fuel prices rise from $2 per gallon to $3, the demand doesn't seem to go down at all - people just pay more at the pump but they may end up buying a more fuel efficient vehicle - which I suppose is means of lowering demand rather than changing driving habbits. So what is the real deal here? Are we just getting screwed due to perception in the oil market or is this a sensible economic adjustment? In all I do not support higher CAFE regulations because I feel that if someone wants to buy a vehicle that gets 10mpg and they are willing to pay the higher price for fuel then they should be allowed to do so, same with the person who buys a 6000 sq-ft house and has to pay $1500 in month in natural gas heating bills. Oh, and I do believe that global warming is a natural cycle that has occured many times in the past and has little to do with the amount of CO2 that our cars produce. There is good evidence that all of the planets are warming, which may be attributed to our sun's activity. Besides, who is to say that our climate is the absolute ideal climate and it should not deviate from where it is now. Maybe the climate 5000 years ago was more ideal to growth and habitation?

The SCT tuner works on all newer Ford vehicles, from at least 1996 and above and probably even earlier. Yeah, they are using BamaChips programming. Bob from Jusnes and Doug of BamaChips have a pretty good working relationship. Doug and Bob got together a couple of weeks ago to dyno test CAI setups for the Fusion. They should have something out soon, with a larger than stock MAF and more hp than the Steeda intake.

Hi BlackHorse. I am averaging 30.5mpg with the 5spd manual if I can use the freeway once in a while to and from work. If I am strictly driving the side roads, stopping every mile or even more often during my 30 mile round trip commute, my mileage drops to 26. With the manual, you can actually shift at 2000 rpm with the 2.3 and still accelerate respectably in commuter traffic. It pulls 5th gear @ 35mph no problem if you're not in a hurry. Of course, it still can rev to 6800 rpm when called upon. I am really enjoying the 2.3. With the torque tune it has something like an additional 20 ft-lbs of torque in the low-mid range. Bob from JusnesModified sent me some dyno graphs of a 2.3 Ranger that they tuned and with the torque tune, it really did make 20 ft-lbs more at the rear wheels in the lower rpm ranges, but the increase on top end was not so much - maybe 5hp. The manual has a 4.39 axle ratio which is the downfall at hwy speeds - 70mph = 3000 rpm.

Yup, they JusnesModified (jusnesmodified.com) offers the SCT tuner with 3 programs for both the manual and auto trans I4 Fusions, and the V6 autos as well. The tunes I have are the 87 octane "performance" tune, and the 91 octane performance and torque tunes. The 91 torque tunes absolutely blows me away with the increase in mid-range torque with this engine. I've been VERY happy with it since the I4 in stock form was rather tepid IMHO. The diff between the torque and performance tunes is that the torque tune does use more fuel to generate its greater torque output, but I found that my mileage around town actually increased since I don't have to rev the crap out of the engine to get it up to speed anymore.

There isn't a whole heck of a lot of aftermarket parts out there for the Fusion yet. Steeda and JusnesModified both offer Magnaflow cat-back exhausts, SCT tuners, and CAI kits. I am running the Jusnes tunes in my I4 manual and....it now ROCKS! I would say that it is a low 16 second car now. Not bad for a Duratec23 in a mid-sized sedan.

I'm not too sure I'm fond of the Fusion front end. Looks too much like an Acura with a chrome treatment courtesy of VW. I am rather fond of the vertical headlight treatment on the current models. I was hoping they would keep that same theme but expand on the front end detail, and lose the honking "Bozo The Clown" nose, the huge blue oval in the center of the grill. I'm sure the '09 will be a better car, but they can keep that pseudo-Japanes styling for themselves! Maybe it won't even look like that, or perhaps it will look better in person. They had better still offer a stick with the 4 cyl or I sure won't be upgrading in 2009! I have an '06 with 27k on it. Nice car, simple and functional but still pretty classy IMHO.

I now have 26,000+ miles on my 2006 2.3 Fusion manual and have found it to have one of the smoothest 4 cylinder powerplants available. It idles quietly with minimal vibration (no more vibration at idle than a 3.0 V6 Duratec), but does tend to generate the typical 4 cylinder intake noise in the 3500+ rpm range. But truthfully, it is quieter and smoother than the latest 1.8L Toyota powerplant I drove in the Pontiac Vibe (Vibrator?) and I feel matches the Camry 2.4 in terms of refinement and power delivery. But again, this is with the manual trans which receives an A+ in my book as far as the fun-to-drive ratio is concerned (for mid-sized 4 cylinder sedans that is). Oh, and the SCT Torque Tune from jusnesmodified.com yields HUGE low and mid-range torque benefits with a willingness to rev to 7000rpm. My Fusion really woke up after the tune and feels like a good low 16 second car in the 1/4. It is quicker to 60 than my 1995 4.6 TBird and I think would edge it out in the 1/4.