New Car Scoop

With an EPA rating of 41 MPG in the city and 36 MPG in the hightway, the 2010 Ford Fusion is now the most fuel efficient mid-sized sedan in the USA. The previous title holder, the Toyota Camry Hybrid, was bested by 8 MPG and 2 MPG in city and highway driving (respectively). Maybe this is one of the reasons Ford isn’t in as bad shape as the rest of the domestic car makers. While GM is glitzing all over the Volt and Chrysler is busying taking out full page ads in the Wall Street Journal, Ford is actually building cars Americans want. The Prius is proof there is demand for these cars when gas prices go up. Right now, it may be a little harder to push these cars as gas (at least here in GA) is around $1.44 a gallon. However, for those who are looking at a mid-sized car and wants to be buy a domestic hybrid, the choice is simple (and when gas moves its way back up, the rest of the population will have a good reason to ask themselves, “Have I driven a Ford lately?”)

 

DEARBORN, Mich., Dec. 23, 2008 – The all-new Ford Fusion Hybrid is now officially America’s most fuel efficient mid-size car with a certified 41 mpg rating in the city and 36 mpg on the highway, topping the Toyota Camry hybrid by 8 mpg in the city and 2 mpg on the highway.

“The new Ford Fusion Hybrid not only significantly exceeds the competition but also embodies Ford’s 100 percent commitment to fuel efficiency leadership, quality, innovation and advanced technology,” said Derrick Kuzak, group vice president, Global Product Development. “The Ford team set the bar high – to develop America’s most fuel efficient mid-size sedan – and that’s what they delivered.”

The 2010 Ford Fusion’s final fuel economy certification was completed this week at Ford’s testing laboratories in Allen Park, Mich., and the vehicle will carry an EPA label of 41 mpg for city driving and 36 mpg on the highway when it goes on sale this spring. The Fusion Hybrid, which beats even the much smaller Honda Civic hybrid by 1 mpg in city driving, can travel more than 700 miles on a single tank of gas.

To deliver the class leading fuel economy performance, Ford’s engineers spent the past three years developing in-house the vehicle’s next-generation hybrid propulsion system. It allows the Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrid to travel up to 47 miles per hour in pure electric mode, faster than the Toyota Camry and all other hybrids currently on the road. In addition, the system’s Advanced Intake Variable Cam Timing allows the Fusion and Milan hybrids to more seamlessly transition from gas to electric mode and vice-versa.

“The Fusion Hybrid’s ability to run at a much higher speed in electric mode allows drivers to maximize fuel efficiently in many driving situations,” said Praveen Cherian, Fusion Hybrid program leader. “For example, this would allow drivers to travel around their subdivision and parking areas in all-electric mode.”

Fusion’s advanced hybrid system features:

* Smaller, lighter nickel-metal hydride battery, which produces 20 percent more power than Ford’s previous hybrid system. The battery’s improved chemistry allows it to be run at a higher temperature and cooled using cabin air.
* New 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine (155 horsepower / 136 lb.-ft. of torque), which is mated to an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission.
* Enhanced electronic throttle control, which reduces airflow on shutdowns, reducing fueling needs on restarts.
* Smart climate control system, which monitors cabin temperature and only runs the gas engine as needed to heat the cabin. It also includes an electric air conditioning compressor to further minimize engine use.
* Regenerative brake system, which captures the energy normally lost through friction in braking and stores it. Nearly 94 percent energy recovery is achieved by delivering full regenerative braking, which means only 6 percent of braking is through traditional friction brakes

SmartGauge Teaches Eco-Driving
The new Fusion Hybrid literally teaches drivers how to make the most out of their vehicle, thanks to Ford’s SmartGauge with EcoGuide. SmartGauge is a unique instrument cluster that helps coach drivers on how to optimize the performance of their hybrid.

SmartGauge with EcoGuide features two, high-resolution, full-color liquid crystal display screens on either side of the vehicle’s speedometer. The screens can be configured to show different levels of driver information, including fuel and battery power levels, and average and instant miles-per-gallon.

When set in tutorial mode, the instrument panel “grows” leaves and vines on-screen to reward fuel-efficient driving. The more leaves and vines that appear, the more efficient the driving behavior is and the more fuel is being saved. In some recent tests, automotive journalists have reported exceeding 50 mpg with the Fusion Hybrid.

The Ford Fusion Hybrid also is distinct on the outside with Ford’s “road and leaf” badges on both sides and the rear, unique 17-inch, eight-spoke wheels, and a unique engine cover. On the inside, Fusion Hybrid features eco-friendly seat fabric made from post-industrial 100 percent recycled materials and a standard 110-volt power outlet.

Fusion Gasoline Model Also a Fuel Leader
In addition to the hybrid, Fusion will be offered with three fuel-efficient gasoline engines – the Duratec 2.5-liter I-4 and enhanced 3.0-liter flex-fuel V-6 and 3.5-liter V-6 Duratec engines. Fusions equipped with the 2.5-liter I-4 engine are expected to deliver at least 3 mpg better on the highway than the Honda Accord and 2 mpg better than the Toyota Camry. The new Fusion will be building off the strong quality reputation of the current model, which has gained important third-party accolades, and will offer class-exclusive features, including Ford SYNC™, SIRIUS® TravelLink™, BLIS™ (Blind Spot Information System) with Cross Traffic Alert and Sony-branded audio.

In addition to the Fusion, several other Ford vehicles are fuel-economy standouts on the road today. They include:

* The Ford Focus with 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine and manual transmission delivers 35 mpg on the highway, 5 mpg better than the Toyota Corolla’s 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine and 2 mpg better than the Honda Fit’s 1.5-liter 4-cylinder engine, both also with manual transmissions.
* The all-new 2009 Ford F-150 – which just recently was named Motor Trend magazine’s Truck of the Year – achieves 3 mpg more than the Toyota Tundra pickup on the highway and 1 mpg better in the city with its 4.6-liter V-8 engine, compared to Toyota’s 4.7-liter V-8. The F-150’s larger 5.4-liter V-8 achieves 2 mpg better on the highway than the Tundra’s larger engine.
* The 2009 Ford Escape with new 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine achieves 28 mpg on the highway, the same as Toyota’s RAV4 and 1 mpg better than the Honda CR-V, both with 4-cylinder engines, too.
* The Ford Expedition achieves 20 mpg on the highway, beating Toyota Sequoia’s 4.7-liter V-8 engine by 3 mpg and its 5.7-liter V-8 by 1 mpg.

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About Ford Motor Company:
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 224,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide, the company’s core and affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo and Mazda. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.ford.com.

 

Source: Ford

Yesterday Toyota released their November sales numbers. As you can expect, most models were down heavily in sales from a year ago. However, one in particular stood out as decidedly up, the Toyota Sequoia which was up in sales by over 50% (1,873 in 2008 vs 1,233 in 2007). On a year-to-date scale, the numbers look a little better for the rest of the brand. Yaris sales are up over 23%, the Scion xB has seen almost a 3% gain and Scion xD has seen a vast 186% sales increase vs. the same time in 2007 (though there were only 9300 sold by this time last year due to it being a new model). Land Cruisers and Sequoia were both up around 36% since last year and even at that time they saw significant sales numbers. In total, Toyota has seen a 8.4% drop in new car sales compared to the same time last year. Considering the doom and gloom GM, Chrysler and Ford are espousing, you’d think it’s the end of the world. However, Toyota’s innovative production facilities, excellent product offerings and excellent quality (not to mention their lack of labor and pension overhead) have kept them chugging along at a steady pace only slowing down because of the consumer’s lack of cash. However, their range of inexpensive Scions, Yarises and other sub-compact cars have kept American’s hankering for a new car well supplied.

Source: Toyota

After 5 years of steadly increasing sales, Scion has steadily become one of the coolest brands for youth automotive enthusiasts. With a combination of funky looking cars like the xA and xB as well as unique commercials and marketing thrusts, this sub-brand of Toyota (ala Saturn) was created in order to subvert the stodgy apperance of Toyota, best known in recent years for cars like the Corolla and Camry. In the course of doing this, they’ve exposed America to cool cars that are fuel efficient and they’ve shown that conceptually, these American versions of Japanese “kei” cars, can make a huge impact in our society.

In the past 5 years, Scion has sold over 620,000 vehicles through over 900 Toyota-Scion dealerships. Despite only offering 3 car types through it’s lineup, people seem excited about the addition of a new vehicle every few years and the vast difference between cars like the xD and the tC. Though many criticize Scion for this move, I believe that it shows they are focused on doing what they do as well as they can and not trying to dilute their brand for “the bottom line.” Last year there was talk that Scion actually reduced it’s prodcution to keep the demand for the cars high by limiting the overall supply of cars.

Scion has proven that despite people’s criticisms, they are doing everything right and have been for the last 5 years. Here’s to you Scion and another 5 years of building quirky, yet great cars!

Source: TheCarConnection