2010 Fusion Hybrid to be NASCAR pace car…

Source: Ford

NASCAR Sprint Cup officials will leave it to a green car to lead the field to the green flag next Sunday at the season-ending Ford 400 – marking a NASCAR Sprint Cup first.

The all-new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, featuring the debut of Ford’s next-generation hybrid system, along with the all-new Fusion Sport will pace the Ford 400, which concludes Ford Championship Weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Ford closing Fusion/Milan/MKZ plant in Jan 2009…

Source: Autoblog

Automotive News is reporting that big inventories of current-generation Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ models will lead to the closure of Ford’s Hermosillo plant in Mexico for the entire month of January. The Automotive News Data Center quotes inventory levels of the Ford Fusion at 120 days, while the MKZ is at a very high 229 days.

Tech Analysis – 2010 Fusion / Mercury Milan Hybrid…

With great thanks to AutoblogGreen, here is an analysis of the 2010 Ford Fusion/ Mercury Milan’s hybrid system:

The long-awaited redesign of the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan is almost upon us and we got our first look at the new powertrains this week in Dearborn. As expected, increased fuel efficiency has been the number one priority for Ford’s engineers, followed by power and refinement.

2010 Ford Fusion revealed + 2010 Mercury Milan exposed!!!

Ford News Blog readers, say hello to the 2010 Ford Fusion.

Ford’s new technology to help get more mpg for your (3)bucks…

Here is the press release with all the information on the new 2010 Ford Fusion / Mercury Milan hybrids which feature Fords new SmartGuage & EcoGuide:

• Ford’s SmartGauge™ with EcoGuide gives hybrid owners a more-connected, fuel-efficient driving experience by coaching them on how to optimize performance of the 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids
• SmartGauge with EcoGuide’s unique design uses two, high-resolution, full-color liquid crystal display (LCD) screens on either side of the analog speedometer that can be configured to show different levels of information, including fuel and battery power levels, average and instant miles-per-gallon. Growing leaves and vines track and reward the driver’s efficiency
• All-new Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids are expected to offer class-leading fuel economy and will be available in the first quarter of 2009

Pushing a vehicle to the limit takes on a new meaning in the new 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids, thanks to Ford’s SmartGauge with EcoGuide – an innovative new instrument cluster that provides real-time information to help drivers maximum fuel efficiency.

Fusion GT delayed to 2012…

Motor Trend magazine has reported that the rumoured Fusion GT, which could be powered by a 250+kW EcoBoost V6 & and AWD drivetrain, has been delayed to at least 2012. This is thought to have been created to be a limited production super-Fusion special to be the ‘last hurrah’ to the current platform (before Ford USA switches over to the “EUCD” platform that currently underpins the Mondeo in the near future).