The Contour failed because it was seen as a replacement for the Tempo. would’ve done much better had it been sold alongside the Tempo for a minute.

” Ford bills the Fusion as a bit more athletic than class leader Toyota Camry.” HOW THE HELL IS THE CAMRY/ES THE CLASS LEADER? LLN, IF YOU’RE GOING TO MAKE THAT STATEMENT, MAKE SURE YOU’RE MENTIONING SALES. Class sales leader, yes. Class leader, no.

“Ford has pulled out all the stops and offered a Fusion for every family.” Where’s the 2-door?

“Import shoppers won’t be disappointed by the high feature content.” That could be important.

“Why you wouldn’t:
You have an outdated phobia of Detroit-badged cars.”

That’s a darn good point, LLN.

” It’s at least as refined and as well screwed together as the Toyota.” That’s not really aiming for the skies.

aero_tt, JSurfer1451, dren, jayjc08, Ramatai: The only commuter coffin I’d buy is the Mazda6. The Malibu is the best there is, but it might as well be a maytag washing machine.

C6Racer: “Those Accords and Camrys are the most boring-looking cars in the world.” Those looks serve their purpose. happy medium.

Lionwithoutpride: “The current financial problems in Detroit have probably added 5 more years of ‘I just don’t trust the domestics’ to the mindsets of Americans.” you’re probably right.

tripleonefive: Not sure Ford stole toyota’s technology so much as picked it up. Toyota’s hybrid system is the smartest I’ve seen.

“This Fusion is def better than the last one BUT its still a Ford and not a proven reliable product like the Camry or Accord.”

Camry/es doesn’t belong in a sentence with accord/tl, at least as far as quality is concerned.

It’s Malibu, Accord/TL, Mazda6/Fusion, Sonata, Passat, Legacy, Jetta, Altima, Sebring and camry/es.

IGC: “And some americans still wonder why better equiped, more reliable and better designed japanese and european cars cope their market.” WHAT?

mayer_ray_nagin: “Damn this segment is crowded.” Bread and butter.

Blakkarr: “FORD actually makes better and more reliable cars than TOYOTA or HONDA.” And more boring, seems to be the general consensus. The only ford that I’d have to have would be the exploder.

“The problem is that putzes like I’ve read here just blindly believe what any other person tells them as long as it sounds like what they believe.” welcome to America!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TS4v_kj9rw4

“stop trying to make American versions of Japanese cars.” good advice. Vego/Horizon ….

tripleonefive: “JD and CR do not prove the resale and reliability of new Fords …” The freeway proves reliability. The guy who buys your old car proves resale. For that particular car, anyway.

“We will see in 10 years if the cars are reliable.” We’ll see how reliable the cars have been over 10 years.

“Ford needs to stop lying and saying their quality is unsurpassed by J2 bc its a blatant LIE and the little credibility they do have will be lost. Keep making cars and hope that the the american public is stupid enough to take a chance on their inferior vehicles.”

This statement makes no sense.

mayer_ray_nagin: “1115 is the type of guy who picks up his boyfriend in his 1992 Accord, pops in a Britney Spears CD, and takes him to McDonalds to impress him. When his gay lover says “WTF is this?” 1115 replies “but Claude, I’m giving you the best – because Honda sells, Britney sells, and McDonalds sells. ”
Very important point — just because sopething is popular doesn’t make it great, and just because something is great doesn’t mean anybody will buy it.

tripleonefive: “Once again we have the circle jerk of idiots who use a MR company to prove their cars reliability rather than KBB and NADA which are used in US courts of law.” None of those sources proves reliability.

1c3d0g: The Fusion is not a great car, but it’s good enough.

tripleonefive: “If the D3 made better cars they would be worth more.” Same could be said, theoretically about EVERY manufacturer, from toyota to Rolls-Royce.

“There is NO proof that the Fusion is a great car.” There never will be, but maybe some people will analyze FACTS and come to the CONCLUSION that the the Fusion is a great car.

VictorRaikkonen: “why will they not just import the falcon?” I’ve been clamoring for a US RHD Falcon for years.

olds307: “How about 20 year? I wish I had access to registration statistics to prove what I already know: GM and Ford probably tied in most common 20 y/o vehicles currently registered …”
But you have to take it as percentage sold. You’d find that the No. 1 vehicle is the Pontiac Grand Am.

Subarus seem to last forever.

The NADA KBB tells me what my truck is worth for resale after she wipes her face with the seat fabric after I come all over her…for 3 years.

Just wondering, are you also the GM sycophant “need more oil…”? Like I’m not complaining or anything…Hey, in some weird way it’s actually kind of funny:-)) Now it’s not ready for primetime or the road so don’t quit school just yet…

Come to think of it…if this site was a forum…you could start threads that could become “epic”…nah…lacks that certain je ne sais quoi…to be blunt – no style.

Now seriously, yeah I know, exam time again and the pressure is getting to you; your trolling needs some work though;-) Like…circle jerk, dead/whore sisters…come on… If your going to flunk your classes at least do it in style.

DB9

PS. The KBB…well…here’s how they put it, “…in addition, the values we provide are based on several factors including, but not limited to, the current marketplace which can be erratic and inconsistent.” Same as in real-estate market dictates the price not the product.

Peace bra;-) ))

(God I feel sorry for his parents or the cleaning lady who has to clean the fecal matter off the walls of his cage when he’s done posting)

When you say circle jerk
You mean when we all surround you and laugh, right?
DrFill

Further Proof that 1115 (aww, bring back the old s/n tripleonefive!) has no clue what empirical research is. Subtract one point from J2 fans.

DrFill, ya’ll really need to find a way to vote 1115 off the island.

If you have a better source for reliability than CR and JD, let’s have it!
DrFill

Go back to that, rebuild on that. By not competing in that way, you avoid comparisons and can stand firmly on your own two feet. German cars won’t fit until you start comparing CADILLACs and LINCOLNs, but then they were always a different breed of luxury and DETROIT can stand on that. But for most people a good FR car with good F/econ is more than enough.

FORD accelerate the Falcon and snap up some of those GM plants to build it here. Focus (no pun intended) on V6 and smaller power. The 2.5L i5 always sounds boss.

Be American car companies making American cars again and stop trying to make American versions of Japanese cars.

FORD actually makes better and more reliable cars than TOYOTA or HONDA. Proven by independent studies by consumer groups like J.D.Power and Consumer Reports. FORD has never been that far off the mark in that regard. They just never get the credit they are due.

The problem is that putzes like I’ve read here just blindly believe what any other person tells them as long as it sounds like what they believe. The truth is the TOYOTA has been dropping the ball, their quality is slipping, and HONDA is falling behind as well in this segment. The proof is the new Malibu and the Fusion.

Anyway I’d slot the Altima below the Accord, tied with the Sonata. The Altima is a resonably fun ride though still a bit too soft, but unless it has changed for 2009 the cheap interior plastics were among the worst I have ever seen of late, the design is nearly forgetable, and the option packaging is terrible, forcing me to buy a load of crap I don’t want (tech package) to get one thing I do (leather). That packaging prices it sky-high for what I want thus pushing it into parity with the Sonata, which is a boring car but decent for the money.

One other car that maybe should be there is the TSX. Once you get past that ugly-a$$ grill it is not too bad, and if not for th grill I’d put it in the number 2 position overall, but because it is ugly as sin and a bit overpriced (about $3k) I’m dropping it in rank to the Sonata level.

In this class, the new Mazda 6 is a major letdown. The thing just does not evoke excitement – maybe a bit more than the Camry but actually less than the dullard Accord. That’s pretty bad. Given that I’d rank the the class as follows:

….. Fusion (new)
….. Legacy
….. Malibu LTZ (this seems like a large step over the other Malibus)
….. Accord
….. Sonata
….. Mazda6
….. Malibu (other models)
….. Camry

The top 3 models I ranked because they are the only models that bring anything interesting to the segment from a driving or styling standpoint. Below that it becomes a boring vanilla housewife pallete of vehicle offerings. Accords and Camry’s may sell well, but only an idiot would get a boner over them because they are as boring as can be (that includes the Camry SE which is not all that sporty).

This Fusion is def better than the last one BUT its still a Ford and not a proven reliable product like the Camry or Accord.

I would take this over the Malibu (which I rented last month) and the Sebring but wait the Hyundai Sonata is still around and the Mazda 6. Ford still has to wait in the back of the line

Its Accord, Camry, Sonata ,Mazda 6, Altima ,Fusion, Malibu, Sebring

Nice but still no competition for the J2. Ford needs to knock it out the box with something spectacular to make someone who is driving a superior j2 vehicle to want toswitch to an unproven vehicle from a company like Ford