The Quiet American: My First Drive in a new Ford

In 2008, the American auto industry appeared on the verge of utter collapse. General Motors, once an icon of industry, and the largest automaker in the world had become a punch line to every joke about corporate hubris. (My favorite being “If we ever want to end the war on drugs we should just put GM in charge of selling them). Astonishingly, Chrysler as in even worse shape! Chrysler was the battered bride of a failed marriage with Daimler (Mercedez-Benz) which had left it with a gutted corporate office and a line up of cars which seem to have been designed with an active disdain for their buyers. (Honestly – have you ever been in a Neon? It gives you the impression that who ever planned it had an active hatred of any poor fucker unlucky enough to step inside.)

Then there was Ford. While the rest of the American Auto Industry was staying with the long held status quo and keeping their long time leaders, Ford was trying something new. The face of that new approach was Alan Mullaly. Famed for his accomplishments at Boeing Alan was initially viewed as a dark horse when he stepped into the Ford C suite. While Boeing was also a long standing American institution in need of strong leadership to bring new product and end a slump there are some big differences. Boeing relies on 5 products or less, with R&D times that can stretch for decades, a small pool of buyers and one real competitor Ford swims in different seas. Ford has dozens of competitors, five brands and a R&D pipeline based on the assumption that Americans would keep buying frame on ladder SUVs and pickups forever as long as they were comfortable and had a blue oval on the front. Alan thought different, and shortly after taking the helm reinvigorated R&D for Ford’s small car lineup taking the giant risk that Americans would move back to small American cars if they had some good ones to choose for. So far his risk appears to be paying off. Ford skirted bankruptcy.

And their new cars are fantastic.

On a trip this week to Minneapolis I was lucky enough to be the first driver of a 2011 Ford Fusion SE. On first inspection the Fusion is a striking car. It is appealingly shaped with chrome accents which hint at prestige, not rap video aspirations. Mine had eye catching optional projector fog lamps and was painted in a metallic gray/green (we’ll call it green marble) which nicely differentiated it from the anonymous silver hoards without hinting at my only child syndrome induced need for attention.

Stepping inside, it was well finished and spacious. The controls were intuitive and the interior plastics had a pleasant softness to them. During one outing I chauffeured three full sized Minnesotans on a 15 minute drive to lunch without any complaints from the back seat, even from a grain fed six footer. The Sirius radio worked well and the speakers capably supported late night jam sessions with the 90s pop radio station blaring.

Typically I drive a 2000 Integra manual coupe which has I love for its peppiness, driving dynamics and overall fun. While I would not describe the Fusion as fun per se, it is certainly fun capable. With a strong V6 and responsive transmission the Ford can feel down right sprightly on runs down on ramps. Perhaps more importantly excellent brakes paired with active (but not hyper active) traction control made the car feel in control even during snow driving and hard breaking. On several occasions while hitting unexpected ice, the traction control quickly eased the car back into full control without giving the disconcerting feeling that the car is in charge I have experienced in other cars. Good rubber sitting on eye catching 18 inch rims and well weighted steering give the car a planted feel on back featuring hard corners.

The Fusion fits in the Ford line up as a midsize sedan meant to compete with the Camry, Accord, the dreadful Malibu and the embarrassing Sebring. It rests snugly between the Taurus and Fiesta in size and price. I don’t think I will be giving up my sports car aspirations any time soon, but if the day ever comes that I have car seats in the back, the Fusion would absolutely make the list.