I think the Fusion Hybrid is a great car, so it pains me to see Ford act this way. I don't think the company does itself (or anyone) any great service by pushing this agenda.

Here's the essence of a post I recently wrote to address this same issue on another thread (Deliberately wrong information).

YES, the PRIUS IS A SEDAN. It is a sedan with a hatchback, as opposed to a trunk.

Edmunds' definition of a sedan: "a car with a four-door body configuration and a conventional trunk or a sloping back with a hinged rear cargo hatch that opens upward."

Merriam-Webster's definition: "a 2- or 4-door automobile seating four or more persons and usually having a permanent top."

Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) differentiate between car types based on measurements. For instance, the SAE considers coupes to be cars with interior space behind the front seats of less than 33 cubic feet (.934 cubic m), while a sedans are cars with second row seating space equal to or greater than 33 cubic feet. At about 41.6 cubic feet of passenger space in the second row, it seems the 2010 Prius is a sedan.

EPA's definition -- I don't know. But EPA has placed the Prius into the "Family Sedan" category.

Even at wikicars.org, you'll find that hatchbacks or liftbacks will be considered sedans if they meet the SAE space measurements.

One of the confusing classifications of the Prius has been set out by JDPower who, after calling the Prius a four-door sedan, place it in the small car category (fitting with sub-compacts and compacts).

Motor Trend? Who knows? They have so many categories. They now have a Hybrid category so as far as I can tell the Prius isn't either a sedan or a hatchback.