Ford Fusion hybrid

[hill]

Originally Posted by a priori

The Fusion Hybrid not only is a first-year vehicle for Ford, but it is on a rather limited run. I believe the production target was below 30,000 vehicles.

That's sad too ... though it's hard to say whether that was because Ford didn't expect it to really take off fast out of the gate, or (like the original Honda Insight) whether Ford never intended to promote it as a Prius killer.

.

[acdii]

I doubt Ford was going after Prius, since the Prius is smaller than the Fusion, but was a direct competitor for the Camry, hence most fuel efficient in "its" class. The Prius is NOT in its class, no matter what magazine puts it there. The FFH is also selling at MSRP, no discounts at all, and in this economy, that's a hard sell. I tried to buy one last month, since the car sat for two months on their lot, but they wouldn't budge on it. It is still sitting on their showroom floor, going on 3 months now, a long time for a car to sit. Add to that no special finance rates, and the sales will be low.

[TonyPSchaefer]

Originally Posted by hill

That's sad too ... though it's hard to say whether that was because Ford didn't expect it to really take off fast out of the gate, or (like the original Honda Insight) whether Ford never intended to promote it as a Prius killer.

.

The Fusion Hybrid is not a Prius Killer nor was it ever intended to be a Prius Killer. That point was brought up at Hybridfest when the Lead Fusion Dude was taking questions. Someone asked about competing against the Prius and he made it very clear: the Fusion Hybrid is a Camry Hybrid Killer. It's a full-scale sedan, plain and simple. That's what's important in my opinion. It's like attempting to say that Camry Hybrid is a direct competitor with the Prius; they are more different than alike.

I can't find recent numbers for the Camry Hybrid. I'm sure they are not as high as the Prius but I would like to see how much of that market Ford is gunning for.

[qbee42]

Originally Posted by acdii

I doubt Ford was going after Prius, since the Prius is smaller than the Fusion, but was a direct competitor for the Camry, hence most fuel efficient in "its" class.
<snip>

Note the fine print with those Ford claims. They say something like "among non-hybrid models". The Fusion comes in both hybrid and non-hybrid configurations.

Tom

[acdii]

Originally Posted by qbee42

Note the fine print with those Ford claims. They say something like "among non-hybrid models". The Fusion comes in both hybrid and non-hybrid configurations.

Tom

And its holding true too. I get 31 MPG in the Sport with the big V6. Not too shabby.

[qbee42]

Originally Posted by acdii

And its holding true too. I get 31 MPG in the Sport with the big V6. Not too shabby.

Quite impressive. I haven't driven a Fusion, but I intend to.

Tom

[nineinchnail1024]

Originally Posted by asj2009

Ford Fusion HYBRID sales, which is a direct competitor and one that was hyped repeatedly earlier this year.

It's not a direct competitor. Relatively few are built compared to the Prius and every one is sold as soon as it hits the lot. That makes it the opposite of a "fail"... a complete success.