Edmunds.com | Inside Line | Auto Observer Your Account | Help | Directory
You are here:
![[F]](http://a332.g.akamai.net/f/332/936/12h/www.edmunds.com/media/townhall/webxicons/site.gif){kind=small}
Forums
Sedans Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan
5511 messages, Last post on Nov 11, 2009 at 9:26 AM
You are in the Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan Forum. Your Hosts are pat & karens
|
Replying to: trucker49 (Jul 18, 2009 8:14 am) 
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: jeffyscott (Jul 18, 2009 4:07 am) ...a "world car," a vehicle that can be made and sold globally with only small concessions to local tastes. ...Ford has given it another try, committing an eye-popping $6 billion to develop compact sedans it can sell anywhere. The results, known elsewhere as the Mondeo, are the Ford Contour and the Mercury Mystique. The ConTique suffered from poor marketing and a half-baked flubbed launch. The car was over-budget although it was designed almost solely for the bottom line. That said, the 95-97 Contour/Mystique were expensive small to mid-size cars. It costs about the same as a Taurus, but had a much more upscale interior and much better driving dynamics. Everyone was expecting a low budget Tempo replacement like the Chrysler K-car and they got a 15-20k sport sedan. Unfortunately, that sport sedan had Lucas electronics and a plastic water-pump (although BMW 3-series had the same issue). I would never have bought a Tempo or an Escort, but the Contour with its 24v V6, a manual transmission, and great handling (oh and those bolstered leather seats) got me. Unfortunately, they didn't follow it up with anything. I think the Fusion SE 4 cyl/6 speed manual is likely to be my next ride, especially if I can't find a clean MazdaSpeed6 GT.
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: lilengineerboy (Jul 18, 2009 2:57 pm)
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: jeffyscott (Jul 18, 2009 6:49 pm) Yup, very true. There is also the issue of price-point. Ford is a semi-premium brand in Europe in terms of what they charge for vehicles. The Mondeo is a very pricey piece of automotive hardware, with a relatively small diesel engine. I guess the Fiesta will be the first test to see if things are different today. I think the Transit Connect will be first, but that is more of a specialty vehicle for urban delivery places. Its like a Scion xB but with payload. Then the Fiesta and then the next Fusion.
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: lilengineerboy (Jul 19, 2009 5:20 am) I have a kid waiting to try out a Fiesta, but if the de-europeanize it (in terms of handling and suspension) too much for the US, he will be disapointed. I don't how far they can go before he would pay the premium to get a Golf, instead. OTOH, I don't know how european they can keep it and still sell well in the US. I may be tempted to consider going to the Fusion if/when they offer a DSG type transmission (power shift is Ford's term, I believe) and if one of my kids would be interested in buying my Mazda6. I went to an automatic in my current car, but would, I think, like to have the best of both worlds with that type of trans...though I have yet to drive one.
|
|
|
Replying to: jeffyscott (Jul 18, 2009 6:49 pm)
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: akirby (Jul 19, 2009 8:55 am) I'm not expecting Ford to be trying to sell premium small cars. The Fiesta in the UK starts about L4000 below the Focus, which is about L3500 below the Mondeo. I'd expect a similar price structure in the US. If the Fusion starts about $18,000 and the Focus about $15,000, I'd expect the Fiesta to start about $11-12K.
|
|
|
|
|
Replying to: jeffyscott (Jul 19, 2009 10:27 am) Based on that, I'd be surprised to see the Fiesta come in much under $14k. In other words, it's aimed more nearly at the Fit than at the Versa or the Aveo. |
|
|
|
|
Replying to: jeffyscott (Jul 19, 2009 7:20 am) I may be tempted to consider going to the Fusion if/when they offer a DSG type transmission (power shift is Ford's term, I believe) and if one of my kids would be interested in buying my Mazda6. I went to an automatic in my current car, but would, I think, like to have the best of both worlds with that type of trans...though I have yet to drive one. I think the Fiesta is getting the DSG first. We will see I guess. I am digging for the press release... |
|
|
|
|
Replying to: jeffyscott (Jul 19, 2009 10:27 am) Where is the evidence that Americans will buy premium small vehicles in volume? The only thing I know is Americans will buy small cars, when gas prices get high enough. We still expect these small cars to be cheap I would say Mazda, Subaru, and Mini can all counter that. I'd expect the Fiesta to start about $11-12K. So again we have the "why can't we have the European version?" with the answer being "because we won't pay for it." |
|
You are here:
Forums
Sedans Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan Ford Fusion/Mercury Milan
New? Join Now!
Forum Tools
Search Forums
Browse by Vehicle
2010 Mercury Milan
2010 Ford Fusion
Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
Today's Chats
