Ford Fusion Hybrid Due in Early 2009
The Dashboard Interface of the new Ford Fusion Hybrid.
The Ford Motor Co. is planning on releasing its Fusion Hybrid sedan in early 2009, the first in a line of energy efficient vehicles from the Detroit automaker. While we've heard a lot about the perilous state of the US auto industry in recent weeks, the Fusion Hybrid offers a glimpse at what Ford hopes will be the beginning of a turnaround effort going forward. While the corporation was the sole member of the Big Three to not say it needed bailout cash from the Federal Government in the ongoing back and forth between the car companies and Congress, it did say its current prospects looked bleak due in no small part to the credit crunch making it difficult for many previously qualified buyers to get an auto loan. Hopefully once credit starts loosening up, the Fusion Hybrid will offer an energy efficient enticement to consumers who would have otherwise been drawn to such Japanese manufacturers as Toyota and Honda.
But can the car compete with its foreign rivals? The early answer seems to be a resounding yes. The Fusion Hybrid is priced around $27,000, putting it square up against the Toyota Camry Hybrid in the marketplace. However the city mileage of the Fusion Hybrid is listed at 38 MPG, a full 5 miles per gallon above that of the Camry. Plus the new Fusion Hybrid comes with an easy to read digital dashboard (shown above) that redefines the user interface experience of driving a car. The interface shows drivers of the Fusion Hybrid their current MPG and battery power usage and also includes a "green vine" graphic on that grows as the driver exhibits good efficiency techniques like smoothing transitions between speeds. However when the driver slams on the brakes or floors the gas pedal, patently inefficient driving strategies, the vine withers and the leaves fall off. Looks like hypermiling has gone mainstream in the new Ford Fusion Hybrid!
You can takepart in learning more about the energy saving practice of hypermiling by logging onto hypermiling.com.
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Auto Blog News: First Look 2010 Ford Fusion, Fusion Hybrid
- Categories: Environment
Hey Fomo, My wife was actually renting a Ford Focus at the time I wrote this , so the two terms must have gotten cross wired in my head. Thanks for the catch! JP
I monitor several webpages on behalf of Ford and I hope you don't mind me posting here. First, thank you for taking the time to write this article. We are proud of the new 2009 Fusion Hybrid that will be available in the next couple of months. This hybrid is a nice addition to our Escape Hybrid (34mpg city/31mpg highway) which has been on sale since 2004. I did want to note that in your article the word "Focus" was inadvertently used instead of "Fusion" in few spots. As of now, Ford does not have a Focus Hybrid.
The Smart Gauge feature was tested by several industry writers like those at Jalopnik.com who achieved city mileage in excess of 43 mpg. http://jalopnik.com/5107064/ford-fusion-hybrid-gets-fuel-economy-rating-... The Smart Gauge can make hypermiling a little easier to accomplish.