On January 9, 2012, Ford revealed the all-new 2013 Fusion midsize sedan. At the same time a new online web-based press kit went live at FordFusionStory.com. The site was optimized to display well on a wide range of screen sizes from smartphones to tablets to desktop browsers and the content was written with a very different tone from traditional Ford press kits.
In addition to stories about the design, technology, powertrains and general approach to this new car, the site contained numerous infographics and videos. The site was taken offline in January 2013, but the archived content is available here along with screen grabs of the original site in this gallery. The original stories are available at http://fusionstory.abuelsamid.com/category/the-big-story/
Reviewer John Pearly Huffman found the most fuel efficient sedan in America to be “delightfully responsive.” The blended gas and electric powertrain is so seamless it was “sometimes difficult to register exactly when there’s a transition from one power source to another.” Check out the entire report at CarandDriver.com.
Ford is bringing together luxury amenities and class-leading fuel efficiency with the all-new 2013 Fusion Hybrid Titanium. The new Fusion Hybrid is the most fuel efficient sedan in America with an EPA-estimated 47 mpg in the city and on the highway.
The new Hybrid Titanium model adds an array of standard features including front fog lamps, polished 18-inch alloy wheels, leather interior and MyFord Touch with Sony audio and top-notch driving dynamics. It’s sacrifice-free green driving.
When Henry Ford built the original River Rouge factory in the 1920s, it was designed to take in iron ore, lumber, sand, fabric and other raw materials and turn out completed Model Ts. Today, we use a far greater variety of materials to build cars and trucks including plastics and foams that have traditional been made from petroleum products. The researchers at Ford are constantly looking for ways to reduce the environmental impact of vehicle production.
In 2008, Ford pioneered the use of soy-oil in seat cushion foam developed by the Materials Research and Innovation team led by Dr. Debbie Mielewski and soy-foam is now used in every Ford vehicle built in North America, cutting CO2 emissions by 20 million pounds per year.
The team is also testing plastics that incorporate a variety of plant fibers, sugars, and even old paper currency. The Federal Reserve Bank landfills hundreds of thousands of pounds of worn out bank notes every year. Ford is testing plastic parts that incorporate these renewable and recyclable materials for use in future vehicles.
2013 will be a big season for the Ford Fusion and the NASCAR Sprint Cup as all the competitors get new body work that more closely resembles the road cars they share badges with. Driver Carl Edwards and the Roush Fenway and Wood Brothers teams recently took the new Fusion to Martinsville Speedway for initial shakedown tests.
The cars have already being subjected to thousands of hours of simulation and full-scale wind-tunnel testing but the teams now have real cars to work with in preparation for the competition debut next February in the Daytona 500. Following the short track testing at Martinsville, the teams will move on to bigger tracks like Talladega to fine tune the aerodynamics of the new bodies.
Back in the day, achieving nearly 50 mpg usually meant driving a tiny little tin box that seemed to buzz as you drove down the road. The 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid changes all that. Even the gas-powered versions of the new Fusion are exceptionally quiet inside, but the engineers on the hybrid team wanted to squeeze out even more efficiency by running the re-engineered Atkinson-cycle 2.0-liter four-cylinder a bit slower.
To overcome some of the boomy, low-frequency sounds that can occur when running an engine that way, they added an active noise cancellation (ANC) system. Ford ANC proactively monitors driver behavior and engine response and listens to the sounds in the cabin. It then generates opposing sound waves using the Fusion’s audio system to cancel the sounds we don’t want the driver and passengers to hear. ANC is just one of the many details that help Fusion Hybrid achieve an EPA-estimated 47 mpg in the city, on the highway and combined, making it America’s most fuel-efficient midsize sedan.
The new plug-in hybrid Fusion Energi is still a few months from hitting the streets but with the number of plug-equipped vehicles growing steadily, drivers are now beginning to think about what to do when their battery is low and the available chargers are occupied. EV Charging Etiquette “Expert” Tommy Simon provides some valuable advice in this video about how to decide if it’s OK to pull the plug on someone.
If you’ve got an EV that doesn’t have a visible charge indicator light, feel free to download the charge card and print it out. You can on the dashboard and use a paper clip to indicate when it’s OK for someone else to use the plug.
Just remember the golden rule, treat others as you would want to be treated!
On Tuesday September 19, 2012, as Ford was holding 2013 Fusion related events in New York City, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco, many of team members that helped make this groundbreaking car a reality gathered on the lawn outside of Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn.
In honor of the fuel-saving Auto Start-Stop system that’s available with the 1.6-liter EcoBoost® four-cylinder, 451 Fusion team members took part in a massive game of “Red Light – Green Light.” A representative from Guinness World Records was on hand for the official count and certified that this was in fact the biggest ever round of “Red Light – Green Light.” Congratulations to the Faces of Fusion for creating a great new car and setting a world record!
This week, journalists are getting their first opportunity to climb behind the wheel of the all-new 2013 Ford Fusion at drive events in Los Angeles and San Francisco and early reviews are starting to appear online. For these first drives, the media are trying out a mix of SE models with the 1.6-liter EcoBoost® four cylinder with Auto Start-Stop, the 2.0-liter EcoBoost-powered Titanium and the 47 mpg Hybrid.
Wayne Cunningham of CNet says that the 178 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque of the 1.6-liter engine is “plenty for a midsize sedan” and the engine in the Hybrid “was barely audible, and added very little vibration to the car” while the regenerative braking brought the battery from nearly depleted to half-full in a short period of time.
Marty Padgett of The Car Connection noted that the “former Fusion Hybrid’s very smooth integration is a trait that’s been passed down to the new generation,” and “noise levels even at full throttle are generally low, thanks in part to active noise cancellation.”
Describing the Fusion Titanium, TrueDelta says “With the 2013 Fusion, Ford has somehow evaded the tradeoffs that mark other midsize cars. The new car has a stylish exterior with a roomy and comfortable interior, premium materials and extensive features with an affordable price, and engaging performance with good fuel economy.”
The team of Ford designers, engineers and technicians that crafted the all-new Fusion aimed high to create a family sedan that offers more than most car buyers expect and so far it seems like they succeeded.
