Commentary on the Fusion

I would not pay list price for it or debug it for Ford. Let someone else buy it first model year. There are tons of cars out there that are similar and have known service records.

It has gotten good reviews. I have only seen a few in this area. Supposedly Ford had to add a shift to keep up with the demand. The chassis is carried over from the Mazda 626. 4 cylinder engine is a Mazda engine, V-6 a Ford Duratec. I'd except it to be relatively trouble free, even if it is a "new" car since most of the actual running gear is a know quantity.

Ed

Actually the chassis is an all new Ford chassis, a variation of which was first used on the Mazda6, not the 626 chassis. I bought a loaded 2006 Lincoln Zephyr last month, for just over 27K, it is built on the same chassis. It is a well put together car, nice size for my wife, plenty of power and able to attain over 30 mpg on the highway. The only objection I have is I do not trust the handling of FWD so I needed to retrain her on how to drive it properly. An AWD will be available in spring however.

mike hunt

You are correct. I think of the Mazda 6 and 626 as the same thing, while technically, the Mazda6 is a new design that replaced the 626. AsS to whether it is a Ford chassis or a Mazda chassis, I suppose that is senmatics. Mazda did the design work, so to me that makes it a Mazda chassis. If the car had been based on the European Mondeo instead, then it would have been a Ford chassis. But since Ford effectively controls Mazda, it really amounts to the same thing.

Ed

GM and Ford are doing what the Japanese manufactures have been doing for many years. Develop a chassis or component, build it in small numbers in lower volume models then later introduce the proven product in their higher volume lines. Several chassis and components have been devolved in this manner by Ford via Volvo and Mazda

mike