@happymomof1 , I hope happykid is aware that the make of the car will NOT be the main problem driving in the UK. Though I challenge anyone in trying to replicate the experience of navigating a busy roundabout in a right hand steering car in Southern England…
For me this is symptomatic of why US manufacturers have such a hard time being successful with cars - they have no loyalty to their models. If you look at Camry and Accord, those have been in continuous production for what, 40+ years now or thereabouts? With new model releases like clockwork on a fixed schedule, every 5-6 years IIRC.
With the US companies, they’ll release a fantastic car then let it sit without updates for 10 years. Then when the old design isn’t selling well anymore, they kill the car due to poor sales. The various models are never given a chance to build true, deep public awareness and a loyal long-term fan club. Either the name gets changed, the design is allowed to get stale, or the whole thing is killed. Not a great way to build brand loyalty.
I don’t even know what gas costs nowadays. We’ve got an EV. 
And I don’t drive even that. I ride the bus or walk 95% of the time.
Speaking of loyalty, Corolla has just celebrated its big Five-O.
The Taurus will be replaced at Ford’s Chicago Assembly by the next generation Explorer and its police SUV derivative.
The Fusion is currently built at Ford’s Hermosillo Stamping and Assembly; Ford has not announced future vehicle plans for that plant, which the largest one it has in Mexico.
@yourmomma – Yes. It appears only higher fuel costs will convince Americans they should drive smaller, more economical and efficient cars. I live in Colorado. Seemingly everyone here “needs” an SUV or crossover. Well, I’ve been driving from Denver to the mountains on a near weekly basis for the past 30+ years. (I ski in the winter, hike in the summer.) And I do the drive – up a good 5,000 feet – in, out of all things, an economy sedan. And btw, most of the cars I see in the ditches along the mountain freeways – it’s those “must have” SUVs or crossovers.
Raising the price of gas punishes everyone and everything, regardless of the car someone drives. I have no idea why we would wish that kind of pain on people.
When I bot my accord I looked at the fusion. I went with the accord since it was built in OH, while the fusion was built in Mexico.
Oil is the type of energy that the US still has to import to cover consumption. Enough of the imports come from unfriendly countries or places where there is political instability that oil-related national security problems consume much of the US’ diplomatic and military attention. Ideally, such external costs of dealing with national security problems related to oil imports should be internalized into the price of oil and derived products.
Plus the effects on our planet of excessive fossil fuel usage aren’t good either. There are costs there as well.
My husband just last night traded in his 2014 Ford Fusion hybrid plug in. He really liked the mpg but the fit, finish, and seats weren’t as nice as other cars’. He uses the electric only for his commute but we like having a backup gas motor since we live in the frozen north. He purchased a BMW plugin hybrid.
I too think this will bite Ford in the butt when gas prices return to a higher level. My gut says that adjusted for inflation, gas is really cheap now. I remember when gas was up near $4 the small cars were flying off the lots and SUVs didn’t move.
edited a typo
You can compare your gut to actual historical gasoline price and inflation data:
https://inflationdata.com/articles/inflation-adjusted-prices/inflation-adjusted-gasoline-prices/
I have a 2007 Focus station wagon. Probably one of the last “real” smaller/med wagons. Very useful size, got about 35 mpg on the highway last time I checked. Useful for hauling stuff, including one or more large dogs, reasonably comfortable, good sightlines (unlike the Fusion), etc.
I don’t need to tool around in a behemoth SUV. Probably one of the Subarus is now the closest thing to it, but it has more cargo room. Sigh. I can’t imagine being restricted to a sedan, and I really don’t like the idea of the waste incurred with an SUV.
You would be surprised how much can fit into a hatchback or how fuel efficient some SUVs are.
@Tigerle - Oh she knows that! But since she drives a Matrix, she wanted to check out something bigger, and had hoped a similar (if left-hand-drive) Ford vehicle would be available. The folks at the dealership were, ahem, clueless, and couldn’t even look the thing up to say “Oh we don’t have that here, you should try a Competitior-Minivan instead.” Hence the ride in the big SUV with the cheerful young salesman who got a low-pressure (knowing no sale was in the offing) chance to practice his pitch. Happykid and two pals have volunteered to do the driving. The others have promised to ride shotgun and help with directions, or to ride quietly in the back with their eyes covered and feigning sleep. I expect everyone will be ready to hit the pub at the end of the day.
I love our Ford Escape, which is called an SUV but it’s not very big. It drives great, gets us up the steep road to our cabin, and gets 25+ mpg. We also have a 2007 Ford Focus which keeps chugging. Our mechanic says ours has more mileage than he’s seen on any other Focus.
“…most of the cars I see in the ditches along the mountain freeways – it’s those “must have” SUVs or crossovers.”
That’s the laugh of the day, for sure!
They can’t ditch the Fusion fast enough for me. Bought a new one Oct., 2016. From the trip home, it had an awful rattle, occurring every time under conditions of 50 mph, wind from the passenger door side. 14 trips to 3 different Ford dealers and a year’s waste of time going up the ladder–going nowhere. Paid $24ish; market value at 1 year with 8800 miles…$13,000…
No thanks. Moved on to Rav4, after having bought 10 new Fords–many of which had stupid issues like seat belts falling off and windshields that sang like sirens. Their car quality isn’t there.
F150’s–hopefully still there as H is buying a new truck soon.
- Aging population: harder to bend down into relatively low sedans/coupes
- Obesity: easier to fit into roomy trucks and SUVs
- Young people aren't into car purchases like previous generations with alternatives like Uber, Lyft, social media.
https://www.hiddenprofitsmarketing.com/uploads/files/Obeisity%20age%20group%20USA.png
Although raised SUVs may be too high a step up for some as well. Some senior citizens (or family members transporting senior citizen relatives) favored vehicles like minivans and other vehicles with low floors and high ceilings like the Scion xB.
I hope they at least keep making the Fusion – I’m thinking about a Fusion Sport as soon as my wife lets me buy a new (or newer) car. Subject to change, but right now i’m mulling the Sport vs. A4 2.0T Quattro. Fusion has more room but the A4 is a great car. They’re about equally fast.
I know they’re good at hauling people, but I much prefer cars to SUVs – faster with much better handling. And engine for engine they get better mileage. I prefer the view closer to the pavement that you get in a car, and it’s easier to feel the performance.