L.A. Auto Show: Ford, now sane, delivers 700 miles per tank

With the biggest crowd of the first day at the L.A. Auto Show gathered around the Ford stand, waiting to see the 2010 Ford Fusion and Fusion Hybrid, music boomed over the public address system:

Yeah I was out of touch / but it wasn't because I didn't know enough / I just knew too much ...

There was something fitting about the event's theme song, "Crazy," by Gnarls Barkley.

Once the song stopped, North American head Mark Fields explained that though Ford might not have made the kind of cars people wanted to buy in the past, and might have made too many trucks and sport utility vehicles in favor of cars, things were changing. In fact, he insisted, the Fusion is exactly the kind of car people want to drive now. "These are challenging times in the industry, but what will power us through, very simply, is great cars."

Ford's sales are down 18% this year, so the company apparently hasn't been making exactly what the consumer has been yearning for up until now. "We've made tremendous progress in the last few years," Fields said.

With Ford's chief executive in Washington contending his company is nearly as bad off as General Motors and Chrysler, Ford's messaging might seem, well, a bit crazy. But if the Fusion is as good as Ford promises, it could very well be a step in the right direction. After all, the hybrid gets 39 mpg in the city, and, according to Fields, 700 miles on a tank of gas in city driving.

We at Up To Speed don't know of too many cars that can get that on two tanks of fuel.

-- Ken Bensinger

Photo: The 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid. Credit: Ford Motor Co.

For photos of production cars from the L.A. Auto Show, click here.

Comments

[Big Jim Slade]

I remember trying to buy a Ford Hybrid at Pasadena Ford a couple of months back. Didn't have any in stock, wouldn't order one either. Every thing they did have in stock got 16 MPG in the city.

They closed their doors two weeks later.

I suppose we could park this next to our Chevrolet Volt someday.

Day late and dollar short dudes....

[Frank]

Anyone remember the EV1?

[David E. Connolly, Jr.]

It is a shame, really. Ford appears to finally be getting serious right before they go under. Not available 'till 2010, huh? Maybe not so serious, after all...

[Thomas]

Yeah! Here comes the future.
20 mph is going to be absolutely embarassing!

These car companies have so many awesome engineers that I have no doubt they will quickly produce a whole new line of "really cool" vehicles.

Can't wait!

[IdahoSpud]

Way back in the mid-sixties, my high school geography teacher took a VW beetle, replaced the engine with an electric motor. removed the back seat and filled the space with regular car batteries. He left the hood off the motor so that everyone could see he was driving an electric car. He drove 30 miles to the school and 30 miles home, and plugged in his charger in between times. So, what's the big deal with Detroit not making electric cars? The big three are definitely out of touch, and should only be given help if there are HUGE restrictions on how they can use the money. Why should I pay for their stupidity?
IdahoSpud

[Jon]

My Scion xB RS3.0 can do it if driven carefully, it can do about 38city/47mpg hwy. most of the times and it's not a hybrid.

[joey]

I don't think big 3 will make it in a short time.
They have a big gap to catch up between their design and Japanese car. Mostly, new model still use more than 50% similar old model. Therefore, no hope to make a good car in a short term. They cannot completely change one day or one year.

[John Butler]

How is it that 700 miles in 2010 in so legendary. Visited Europe last summer and drove with1999 or so volvo V70 (the last boxy one) diesel. Got 600 miles per tank on a proper sized station wagon.

BMW 118D gets 50+ mpg (exact comparisons are hard due to different standard tests) on highway. No batteries no untested technology. We need to get the diesels 50 state legal and re-think the refining so the diesel at the pump isn't sulfur and other crap filled tar.

Volt looks like another brainfart - if you want to make an efficient vehicle it doesn't need to be like a tank from a comic book. Prius is not the prettiest car but people love it. Of course car can look exciting etc. but practicality shouldn't be forgotten.

[Patrick]

I know of one car that gets near 700 miles to a tank city driving, my Insight. I routinely get 650 miles to the tank. The catch? I have a 10.8 gallon fuel tank. Honda built my Insight from 2000 to 2006 but stopped building it due to low demand (everyone wanted a H2). It's nice to know the new Insight is expected to be slightly smaller than a Fusion but will get over 60 mpg city and will be sold spring of next year. Of course the gen 2 prius has been out since 2004 and gets in the mid 50 mpg range. Ford, range doesn't matter, a SUV with a big enough fuel tank can get 700 miles on a tank in town...

[James Aragon]

I just got approx 430 miles out of my 2003 Honda Accord while getting through the Rocky Mountains (I-70E) with the A/C running and averaging about 70 mph. Then I drove the flat Nebraska leg w/out A/C and got about 520 miles averaging 78mph. But Honda America operations will not benefit from any bailout. But eventually Honda and Toyota will gobble up remnants of GM and Chrysler with Ford reorganizing into something smaller. Look for a fourth American auto maker to come out of the ashes in a right-to-work state and begin what the other two failed to do.

[Earth Ling]

It is impressive how there are so many "it is all about me" people in the United States. These people won't even consider supporting their own auto industry, or any domestic industry for that matter. In places like Korea and Japan they fervently buy almost only "domestic", but export cars like mad. Even the cars they manufacture in the US are often only assembly. There is little R&D, design, engineering, etc.; and the profits go back to those countries. Who are the suckers now, eh? Then you read posts on here from people who can't even speak proper English, talking about their Scion this, or Kia that. This may be leaps and bounds beyond your comprehension, but if the domestic auto industry fails, the US (your home??) moves one step closer to being a 3rd world country. Don't believe it? Close your eyes and wait for it to happen. Then all these local Vietnamese, Filipino, and Mexican kids who are anti-American, and love their "Asian" cars can be really smug then -- all while they work at McDonalds for Japanese tourists. Hilarious...

[X]

Look at these posts, none of you are even the least proud at what American designers, engineers, and workers are trying to do?

Why don't you go and piss on your neighbors driveway while you are at it? People in this country are only good at being hateful.

[Al]

I rented a V6 Milan in Colorado in June. In 1800 miles of mountain driving I got 29 MPG!! And it was very comfortable. Driving to FL I get 27 -28 mpg in my 2001 Seville. And that was with 10% ethanol. With 100% gas I can get 29 mpg. And both cars have lots of trunk space which is very hard to come by in most foreign cars. There are plenty of good American brand cars. The CTS is better than its BMW and Mercedes counterparts. No me saying so read Consumer Reports or Car and Driver

[Liquid_Len]

"I remember trying to buy a Ford Hybrid at Pasadena Ford a couple of months back. Didn't have any in stock, wouldn't order one either. Every thing they did have in stock got 16 MPG in the city....
Posted by: Big Jim Slade | November 19, 2008 at 07:09 PM"

Blame the supplier of the hybrid components to Ford, who is a company with close ties to Toyota:

Japanese Hybrid Suppliers Cut Sources for Ford
http://www.automotivedigest.com/view_art.asp?articlesID=16539

2010 Ford Fusion now uses more advanced technology from a domestic supplier for more of the hybrid parts.

[George in Miami]

Detroit has made great SUVs and great cars, and people were not forced to buy them at gunpoint. Stupid energy policy from Ronald Reagan on encouraged and abetted this marketing, and the American public refused to face facts, and happily bought them.

Second, CAFE standards, which, first, made it possible for Detroit to make money on Town Cars and Suburbans, if they lost money on cheap small cars, discouraged Detroit from making excellent small cars. Why spend the money on an excellent car you are going to give away? Also, CAFE standards blocked Detroit's automakers from importing excellent models made overseas in fuel economy averages, though Japanese makers were allowed to do that.

Third, if you look at what foreign owned factories in the South, you see that these companies have basically shifted to a "Detroit" model. Toyota makes big SUVs and pick ups, as do Nissan, BMW, and Mercedes. How many Lexus V8s does Toyota sell, for each Prius in makes?

Something like 2 million jobs are at stake. Not only Detroit's cars aren't selling, but Toyota will close its' US plants for a while next month. Imports are choking the port of LA. Canada and Germany are aiding their automobile companies.

Let's focus on how to get things right for our country, instead of finding a convenient scapegoat for years of bad energy policy, of which we are ALL guilty.

[Irvine5]

These guys can't catch a break...they finally get their hybrids on the market when the price of gas falls back below $2.00/gal.

[Jm Mcgwin]

The cars have been available, we just chose not to buy them. The six-passenger 1960 Ford Falcon got 30 MPG on a 6- cylinder but Americans wanted bigger cars with more HP, many of those Falcons are still on the road today 48 years later.
I've owned Fords my whole life and still have the 64 Fairlane that I bought in college for $350. 20 plus MPG on a 260 V8 manual trans.
Nobody forced big cars on us in the 60's nor SUV's in the past few years.
The hybrid Escape has been around for years now, used as taxis in New Your and even as Police cars in some metro areas.
I for one am looking to buy a new Fusion for safety, economy and looks.

[kevin]

I have a vehicle that can get 980 miles out of a tank and gets over 70+ MPG. My vehicle easily can keep up with 70MPH freeway traffic. I can always find a parking space for my vehicle. My vehicle can go offroad where H1's fear to tread. Full coverage insurance is less than $300 a year. I can legally drive in the carpool lane anywhere. When all the cars are stopped on the freeway, I can drive right by and be on my way ahead of anyone. At stoplights, I can legally move to the head of the line.

The vehicle? It's a Kawasaki KLR 650 motorcycle fitted with a $200, 14 gallon tank.

[Craig]

That's it! You convinced me, I'm buying American!

The Saturn Astra is a great looking small car from GM.

Oops. Built in Belgium.

Nevermind.

[J in Pasadena]

> Anyone remember the EV1?

What about the GM/Aerovironment Impact? It was all electric, built in about 1991 with the help of Caltech engineers, and it rolled almost to Vegas from L.A. GM perverted its technology into the EV1 -- a heavier, less energy-efficient Medusa.

Then GM decided it didn't want California's ARB rules requiring a percentage of cars to be totally electric by the first part of the 200s. So the sued and paid big buck$ to lobbyists to get the rule withdrawn. Meanwhile they wouldn't even let Jay Leno keep his EV1, instead threatening him with massive court penalties if he kept it beyond lease. Many of the cars eventually were crushed.

Now GM comes out with the Volt, which I personally assessed as a piece of garbage when it was shown last week at Edmunds headquarters in Santa Monica. It's big, heavy looking and has off-the-shelf braking components from gas-powered cars. The GM rep said they chose the wheels for aesthetic reasons, so screw economy.

Bottom line is GM deserves to go broke.

[Agent Mike]

I Live in a small rural community, and commute 95 miles one way all on interstate driving 70-80 mph through mountains. Nothing the big three make will compete with the new diesels for MPG's. A hybrid for my specific commute is useless, as it gets better mpg's in the city then on the hwy. So why would I buy a ford, chevy, or Dodge ? BMW makes a good Diesel, and will be available soon. VW Jetta, excellent Deisel. So why pressure me to buy American, from the Big Three ? When they make something that fits my needs, that doesn't need a paper bag over it. (have you seen a Ford Flex)? What in the hell were they thinking?

[NotJoeThePlumber]

I drive a veggie diesel 1978 Mercedes Benz 240D four-speed stick. I get 30-35 mpg. It's considred to be "carbon neutral" because it burns oil made from plants that absorbed carbon while growing. The fuel is waste oil from restaurants that would have been buried in a landfill. The car produces about 25% less carbon than diesel, and has no sulfur. I pay $2 a gallon for filtered oil. The car, with the conversion to veggie, cost about $3,000.

Still, I would like an affordable electric car. The Chevy Volt will sell for $40,000. I cannot afford such a car.

I would like to put a solar array on my house, and stop paying the oil companies forever.

[ray]

There are lot people here who either don't understand or choose to forget what model year means. The pair of hybrid sedans (fusion and milan) arrives in Spring 2009. And by the way, it's not the first hybrid car Ford produced. Ford have been manufacturing Escape hybrid for a long time. It's your choice not buying an American car but it's a shame to pretend you know what you don't know.

[Michael S]

39 mpg city is very good - that's 6 mpg higher than what the similarly-sized Camry Hybrid gets. Even Ford's hybrid SUV gets better city fuel economy than the hybrid Camry.

Another thing - the hybrid powertrains in both the Escape and this new Fusion were fully developed by Ford, not purchased from Toyota.

Ford's series parallel hybrid system was similar to Toyota's in concept - so to avoid potential legal issues, they chose to license Toyota's patents.

I'm glad to see they've found a domestic supplier for hybrid components. Escape Hybrid production was limited because of Japan-based transmission supplier Aisin.

[Bushwick Bill]

When I heard 700 miles per tank, I laughed. Then I smacked Fields' ass like a goddamn car crash.