That doesn’t look too bad! at least not bad for ford..

FoMoCo should have been bringing its good Euro market cars to the US 20 years ago.

This is good, but it is a little late.

Malibu wannabe. With about 10% the engineering, reliability and quality. Actually, it looks more in line with a Camry or Accord fighter than a Malibu fighter.

a bold move this. anyway why not just kill the fusion and then have the mondeo instead if its gonna overlap. oh and hi gmnumber1, ya back. i didnt see you for a week or so. did your G6 break down so u couldnt drive to your computer or sth

Your rite the Malibu is in a class of its own. A lower POS class that is. I agree that the Mondeo is not a Malibu fighter, as it would compete w/ the better cars such as from toyota nissan and honda. GM just cant compete.

GMnumber0forever just SHUT UP! your lunch break is over.. go back to class.

Sweet, did you know I drove past a GM dealer this weekend, the whole lot burnt to the ground, not because the cars started on fire themselves, but because some guy with a toyota drove through and his tundra started on fire which caused all the vehicles to ignite. What the hell is going on, look what you started GM#1.

They should have brought the Mondeo instead of the Fusion in the first place. Not that the Fusion is a bad car, it’s just that the Mondeo is a great car and it would have been a lot cheaper and easier just to use it as is.

The last time they did it was the Ford Contour / Mercury Mystique. Those were Mondeos that were diluted a bit for the U.S. market. They shouldn’t have diluted them. The European Mondeo is a great car as is. Just bring it the U.S. exactly the way it is – Americans can handle it, and will like it. Give us everything that Europe has: manual transmission options, diesel options, etc. Send one over to the SVT group and have ‘em work on a high performance version like they did with the Contour SVT. Come on Ford, you can make practical cars that are also fun to drive and you want to buy. You’ve done it before!

The Fusion is a great car. My only problem is the turning radius sucks big time. I’m eagerly awaiting the S-Max a wicked little family ride.

Ford needs this in the States…here…now!

Wouldn’t stand a chance against the new Malibu or Saturn Aura. SO Ford needs to keep it as a Camcord fighter in order to justify.

I can’t wait to get a new Merkur!

I like this idea. The Mondeo is great, and Mullay is right about the Bond movie… people were moved by the car.

ford should bring all its european models to usa….and burn all the american models(except the mustang)……

Drop the Fusion and the Escape, but keep the Mercury Milan and Mariner. Look Ma! Product Differentiation! Now, how will the S-Max fit in with the Edge?

This one is just for you MR. Gm#1

GM:
General Maintenance
Great Mistake
Garbage Motors
Generally Miserable
Grossly Misconceived
Gluteus Maximus

Not the Mondeo AND the Fusion… doesn’t make sense. The Mondeo IN PLACE OF the Fusion.

And the S-Max IN PLACE OF the Freestyle and the Edge, which are both stillborn, unwanted products.

finally a step in the right direction

No one will buy the S-Max. Hunka’ ugly

This is great news, I really hope this will be set in stone! I’ve rented a Mondeo in New Zealand once and I really loved it, even though it was a 2004 model. If this deal happens, ford will ultimately shoot back into the race, in which it is lagging right now.

Kyle, if you liked the Mondeo, you’d love the new Malibu. Much better built, better quality, superior performance and stellar reliability.

FOCUS!now! no no..yesterday! i would like to see the Euro Focus on the same lot as our leftover POS. they would have to give our away!

I agree with global, drop fusion and keep the MKZ/Milan as separate products and still use the platform. I think the Mondeo is the only car capable of gaining some market share back from the Camry. I also think the Edge and S-Max could co-exist. The styling is so different between them.

So the top person at Ford did not see a picture of one of the company’s best new sedans (potentially) until he saw it in a movie? Does this concern anyone else?

Kyle, if you liked the Mondeo, you’d love the new Malibu. Much better built, better quality, superior performance and stellar reliability.
Comment by GMnumberone4ever

LOL GM dude you really crack me up with all of these false statements. I wouldnt buy a POS malibu if GM paid me.

Although it didn’t work out well last time they tried it. Euro-Fords @ Mercury dealerships would be a way of bringing different product to a division that has nothing of its own. dump the Milain and bring it on. Mercury could be the next Saturn. While they are at it bring over the Ka too Which could be a very boutique alternative to a Smart. And give Saturn the Tigra, which is the car I want the most.

MC, please don’t judge a vehicle before it even hits the market. Unless it’s by appearance only, I’d suggest testing out a 2008 Malibu before passing it as a cheap POS.

MC, you really ought to look at the new Malibu before making baseless, ignorant comments like calling it a POS. It’s destined to be the damn 2008 COY and you’re knocking it. Grow up.

Why would anyone look into a Malibu that looks like ass when Ford has the Mondeo (if it does come to the States that is).

Because most folks in this country would rather GM succeed before Ford. Or any other brand for that matter.

This is Our Country

uneduacted?

Malibu vs. Lexus ES and Acura TL?

HAHAHHAHAHAHHA! The Malibu is no where NEAR as good!… even if it does feature standard GM equipment such as the ability to blow up stars at the touch of a button!

Don’t know about the Transit but Ford will bring the Transit Connect to U.S. I’ve heard the Turkish plant started working on those models already.

I’m not sure if FORD should ship the Mondeo and the S-Max as FORDs, but rather MERCURYs. That division needs more attention than FORD itself, which sounds a lot less bad than it is. The Fusion could use a bit of MAZDASPEED’s attention, a AWD with a hot four or six would not be remiss. The EURO-Focus just isn’t going to happen in the USA so I gave up on that one until the NEW new focus hit in a few more years.

I don’t know if the MKZ could be affected by this but the MAZDASPEED treatment would be very strongly advised there too. (I’m still hot for the MKR to be built)

This still doesn’t make up for the gross lack of competitive products from FORD but it’s a better stopgap than the FiveHundred has been.

If you look up the word ‘redundant’ in Websters, it says ‘See Ford Motor Co.’
How many times do these guys have to re-learn the same lessons while Toyota/Honda pull farther ahead?
They have been down this road before, only now they have an ex-Boeing CEO that knows nothing about the auto industry.
Ford tried this before with the Contour and it was a flop because small European cars generally do not do well here.
And why the Fusion was not originally produced on the Mondeo platform points out how much Ford of Europe hates Ford U.S. They want nothing to do with product planners here. I don’t blame them. They reek of failure (Mustang excepted).

I like his “Global Ford” idea. Making all models available in all countries w/ a unified design theme. That move if executed properly could make Ford profitable once again. Only time will tell. Hope for the best.

Perhaps we should all just agree w/ GMhooker. I see it all the time w/ parents and their kids. Just nod your head and agree mmm hrmm “oh GM your so rite how could i have ever doubted your wisdom of the world” What a tard.

Nice to see that Mulally learns about his products through movies. I guess you have to learn one way or another.

LOL holy crap…did he just say he saw the mondeo in a movie? jesus i mean try to at least read a car magazine outside the US!

YES!!!!! DO IT NOW!!!

“So the top person at Ford did not see a picture of one of the company’s best new sedans (potentially) until he saw it in a movie? Does this concern anyone else? ”

Comment by Haudi, posted on January29 at 1:01 pm

VERY good point Haudi! Funny, but scary. You’re absolutely right! He also drives a Lexus because he doesn’t think Ford builds anything worthy of him driving. I don’t think he has much credibility with the plant workers.

The problem with a global line of vehicles is that the stakes are so much higher – you can’t afford a flop.

Imagine if Toyota’s next Corolla flopped. They’d lose so much money. Whereas if the new NA Focus flops, it only flops in one place.

These Euro-cars do belong at Mercury. What else are they peddlin’ over there? Selling a Mondeo alongside the Joe Sixpack American Fords is not a good idea.

True but get some good ppl in there to do the work. It doesnt take a rocket scientist to create a good car. I could think of one in my head. Lets start w/ the basics…QUALITY. Honestly they are making huge gains there such as the fusion and edge. But if its that damn hard just COPY Toyota. Microsoft did it w/ the zune. Admittedly they couldn’t even copy the iPod rite. I dont understand these ppl. Cant even copy a competitor rite. Buy a Camry chop it to bits and emulate all the materials used, put it in a package you call your own and BOOM tuf actin tin actin! Give me the reins ill turn em around! I would so love the chance for that! Ford should make a computer game thats all about running an automotive company, sell the game, and ppl would play and post the high scores on the net. Then they would choose the best CEO and put em in command! LOL could you imagine!

^ ^ MikeFX @ 3:54pm….

YES, ALL EUROPEAN FORD VEHICLES SHOULD BE REBADGED AS MERCURY!! JUST LIKE GM DID WITH SATURN/OPEL. Look what happened…. Saturn sales went up!!

The transit van would do well here. It gives the customers a choice between fuel-efficent transit van and gas-guzzling Econoline cargo van.

“I can’t wait to get a new Merkur!”

Me too!

As mentioned many times, this is a good move, but a late one. Transit should have been here years ago when Dodge/Mercedes/Frieghtliner released the Sprinter van to NA. The Playstation generation has been waiting for ford to bring us a hotrod Mondeo since Grand Turismo showed it to us years ago. I does crack me up the CEO saw Mondeo in the Bond film for the first time. The NEW EXCITING Malibu that has GM-boy gushing in his undies will be a cheap fleet rental car, and amount to nothing more.

to: GMnumberone4ever….

I’m not a fan of GM America, thanks for playing…

If GM brought Opel or Holden to the united States, then I might consider…
and yes I’m aware GM has “some” re badged models from europe/Australia sold under other names…
Holden Monero: Pontiac GTO
Opel Vectra: Saturn Aura
Pontiac G8(soon to be): Holden Commodore
ect…
It would be nice if gm america just brought more over, instead of re badging Chevy’s to Cadillacs ect…

….

I’m the same way with Ford America
I’m happy Ford is considering the three models mentioned in this report, simply because the current line up is bland ect… ect…

America makes great cars, content and Quality. It’s just too bad most folks don’t, can’t or won’t see that. Are they flawless? No. But they can easily match Europe and surpass Japan… Unfortunately, you won’t see that just taking one around the block on a test drive and most horror stories about American cars are from or about people who don’t treat their cars and trucks like they mean to keep them. You know, do the regular maintenance, fix problems before they actually get to be serious… you know the usual.

Having to play “catch-up” is going to be the absolute bane of Japan and the Orient. Detroit will radically step up their game and crush all but the most costly imports before it’s over.

That “New and Exciting” Malibu is actually going to take a sizable chunk out of the Accord and Camry. Not a dominating chunk, at first, but it is a solid step toward gaining equal footing. FORD just doesn’t have anything quite as exciting right now. Those Euro-imports will be a hardy step in the right direction. Now if only we could get a new RS500 (XR4Ti) over here… as a Mercury of course.

Oh, and Detroit usually cuts far better fleet contracts than Japan does. Sounds like a good chance to take one on a long test drive, doesn’t it?

Um, Blakkarr, go do some reading about GM.

http://gmlemoncars.com/

you may have missed that link earlier in another subject. Point is, it’s not just the cars that are bad at GM, it’s the people behind them.

Ford improves from “boring” to just “dull”. If they haven’t learned by now, they never will.

With more European and Australian energy flowing into GM’s North American line-up (of which the 6.0L G8 will be mine), and Dodge moving very fast redesigning themselves, Ford is going to quickly find themselves out of domestic contention. And probably bought out by Toyota, the other characterless automaker on the global scene.

Haudi is right.. Mullaly shows just how little he knows about the auto industry, not to mention his own company’s product lines, in his statement.. so I really don’t think he will follow through with the Mondeo imports. The Fusion is a pretty nice car in actuality, one of Ford’s few recent successes.. and is actually more in tune with the US market than any Mondeo has ever been in terms of interior room and powertrain options. Bringing in a smaller sedan with smaller engines and a higher price would make NO sense! However, if Ford were to source the Mondeo from Mexico (where the previous model is sold alongside the Fusion), they could potentially offer it at a lower price point. Only then would it make sense.

Europe also has Ford Fusion, but it’s a hatchback, smaller then NA Focus. They also have Escape, sold there as Ford Maverick (same look, same engines as us, but no Hybrid). Mondeo engines range from 1.8 to 3.0 and horspower between 90 to 226, with top speed of 250 km/h (155mph). Ford S-Max has wheelbase similar to our Freestyle, but it’s a bit shorter. And Transit could compeat with Dodge/Freightliner/Mercedes Sprinter.

The easiest way to revive Mercury’s sagging fortune LoL! Just do what GM has done with Saturn.

“The NEW EXCITING Malibu that has GM-boy gushing in his undies will be a cheap fleet rental car, and amount to nothing more.”

Yup, pretty much. Even the 1997 MotorTrend COY Malibu/Olds Cutlass was relegated to fleet duty after the initial hype wore off. The new Fusion triplets are more appealing than the new Chevy.

It’s completely insane to assert that the new Malibu will compete with Acura and Lexus. They’re on two different planets. Even if they had identical build quality their brand heritage/DNA are utterly different.

Oh, and I wanted to point out that the excitement over Mondeo is only relative and points out what desperate, crap shape the US vehicle lineup is in. In UK and Europe Mondeo is regarded as a dull, plain-vanilla salesman’s car. To call someone “Mondeo Man” is a classist insult.

Ford needed to bring their Transit vans here 5 years ago. Only thinking about introducing those vans means the wildly popular and diesel powered Sprinter will continue to wipe out Ford’s once impressive commercial van market until the Transit vans arrive – if ever. There goes Ford again – only thinking about playing catch up while still eating everyone else’s dust…

You people really, truthfully, seriously need to quit being baited by GM#1blah,etc,whatever. It’s blantantly obvious he is just coming here to start a flamewar, as he does with every thread that pops up here. Haven’t you people wised up to that bull**** yet? The man is a Japanese/German fan trying to roleplay as an overzealous GM fan.

I say this, because even the most thick skulled GM fans (such as myself, hell..I own 2 Fiery Fieros and a Grand Prix)are not that dense.

But, uh, yeah. Use your heads people, quit judging things by their badge alone.

General Motors knows that there is a possibility that they can lose the top spot, so they’re turning around. Kudos to them, the Malibu while nice, I don’t think will be up to par with a Mondeo, atleast not quite yet..But, it’s getting there.

That being said, I have always loved the Ford Mondeo. Always. If they bring it to the US as is, no name changes, no ****ty engine/transmission choices, it’d be a great car, and I would kill to drive one, but my money is going to a Pontiac G8. Sorry, FoMoCo.

However, a Aussie Ford Falcon would be interesting…

Finally a smart move. Thank you Mr. Mulally. Please do a huge favor to the american auto industry and american consumers and bring all those european models here in US, it will generate serious much need it revenues. European models are very successful and reliable overseas. Fiesta, Mondeo, Galaxy and S-Max it’s a beauty and looks like Boeing and I hope you will consider much need it TDI engines also (we all know they are VW made). Please fight any opposition you encounter. American consumers are sick and tired of boring Honda, Toyota and ugly Kia’s. We will love to say again soon: “American Cars are the Best”.

Not bad just as long as they don’t tinker with the styling. Leave it just the way it is and I’d bet it will sell.