Ford Fusion versus Civic, Solstice for NACOTY award
For the second straight year, Ford has placed both a car and a truck in the coveted North American Car and Truck of the Year finals. Ford vehicles also were voted both car and truck finalists in back-to-back years in 1995-96. No other automotive brand has achieved this feat since the awards were founded in 1994.
The Ford Fusion mid-size sedan and the Ford Explorer SUV have been named finalists for the 2006 North American Car of the Year and Truck of the Year awards respectively.
 
Based on Ford's recently introduced 427 concept, the 2006 Fusion is built on a new platform (Ford identifies it as CD3), which will also be the base for several future Ford models. The platform borrows some elements from the Mazda6 (Ford Motor Company has equity stakes in Mazda), including the chassis (stretched for the Fusion) and engines.
The most important sedan launched since the Ford Taurus, the Ford Fusion wows with its bold styling (quite a departure from Ford’s other more “conservative” styles) – immediately, the front dominated by a large 3-bar grille and projector headlights extending up the hood will grab your attention, and extends it to the car’s rear which is graced by snappy clear lens taillights. As is the norm for mid-size sedans, the Fusion is offered with four-cylinder and V6 engines. The 160-horsepower 2.3-liter four is matched to a five-speed manual or five-speed automatic transaxle; the 221-hp V6 is matched to a six-speed transaxle, the first in its class, for benefits to both performance and fuel economy. From the euro-centric design, to an interior full of tight gaps and vault-like silence, to solid on-road manners, the Fusion has the makings of a winner.
For the NACOTY award, the Fusion is up against two equally great cars – the 2006 Honda Civic and the 2006 Pontiac Solstice.
Other previous Ford North American Car and Truck of the Year winners include: Ford F150 (Truck of the Year, 2004 and 1996), Ford Focus (Car of the Year, 2000), and Ford Expedition (Truck of the Year, 1997).
Make sure that your Ford is always a winner. Give it only the best quality auto parts from trusted online auto parts stores like Ford Parts Online.
|
