For the last two decades, the Ford Taurus has served as the bread and butter car for the Ford car line up. In its early years, the Taurus ranked as the number one selling car in America. However, after its first decade the Taurus ceded the number one spot to the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord as a dull redesign effectively chased customers away. Although in its final year of production as a fleet sales car, the Taurus has mercifully been replaced by the Fusion, a refreshing and invigorating car based on the Mazda 6 platform. With a base MSRP of $17,795, the Fusion is priced smartly against the Accord and the Camry. Standard engine is a 2.3L DURATEC I4 paired with a 5-speed manual transmission. A 3.0L DURATEC V6 is optional and it can be paired with a 6-speed automatic transmission. Other features of the Fusion include: AM/FM stereo with CD/MP3-capable player and 4 speakersPower mirrors, windows, and door locksClothe bucket seating with a 60/40 split rear seatTilt steering with speed control4 wheel independent suspensionFor Ford, the Fusion represents an already proven winner as the platform and much of its engineering is borrowed from the successful Mazda 6. As a part owner of Mazda, and as long and mutual business partners, Ford has saved considerable engineering costs in bringing the Fusion to the market. The Fusion is a five passenger sedan with front wheel drive; an all wheel drive version of the car will debut for the 2007 model year as well as hybrid gas/electric versions. Source: [1] Ford Motor Company at www.ford.com |
