At 41 mpg city / 36 mpg highway, America's official new most fuel efficient mid-size sedan is... a Toyota? A Honda? A Nissan? No, it's a Ford. Wait, what?

The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid is officially America’s most fuel efficient mid-size, with an EPA rating of 41/36 MPG city/highway, besting the Toyota Camry hybrid by 8 MPG in city, 2 MPG in highway driving.

In what'll certainly shock Congress and naysayers across the nation, and as we found out in our first drive, the 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid is now officially America's most fuel efficient mid-size sedan with a rating of 41 MPG in the city and 36 MPG on the highway. That bests the Toyota Camry hybrid by 8 MPG in the city and 2 MPG on the highway. We can almost hear the Ford folks in Dearborn chanting from here — it sounds like — is that — yes, "USA! USA! USA!"

41 mpg! All-new FORD Fusion hybrid IS NOW America’s most fuel-efficient mid-size car

DEARBORN, Mich., Dec. 23, 2008 – The all-new Ford Fusion Hybrid is now officially America’s most fuel efficient mid-size car with a certified 41 mpg rating in the city and 36 mpg on the highway, topping the Toyota Camry hybrid by 8 mpg in the city and 2 mpg on the highway.

“The new Ford Fusion Hybrid not only significantly exceeds the competition but also embodies Ford’s 100 percent commitment to fuel efficiency leadership, quality, innovation and advanced technology,” said Derrick Kuzak, group vice president, Global Product Development. “The Ford team set the bar high – to develop America’s most fuel efficient mid-size sedan – and that’s what they delivered.”

The 2010 Ford Fusion’s final fuel economy certification was completed this week at Ford’s testing laboratories in Allen Park, Mich., and the vehicle will carry an EPA label of 41 mpg for city driving and 36 mpg on the highway when it goes on sale this spring. The Fusion Hybrid, which beats even the much smaller Honda Civic hybrid by 1 mpg in city driving, can travel more than 700 miles on a single tank of gas.

To deliver the class leading fuel economy performance, Ford’s engineers spent the past three years developing in-house the vehicle’s next-generation hybrid propulsion system. It allows the Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrid to travel up to 47 miles per hour in pure electric mode, faster than the Toyota Camry and all other hybrids currently on the road. In addition, the system’s Advanced Intake Variable Cam Timing allows the Fusion and Milan hybrids to more seamlessly transition from gas to electric mode and vice-versa.

“The Fusion Hybrid’s ability to run at a much higher speed in electric mode allows drivers to maximize fuel efficiently in many driving situations,” said Praveen Cherian, Fusion Hybrid program leader. “For example, this would allow drivers to travel around their subdivision and parking areas in all-electric mode.”

Fusion’s advanced hybrid system features:

* Smaller, lighter nickel-metal hydride battery, which produces 20 percent more power than Ford’s previous hybrid system. The battery’s improved chemistry allows it to be run at a higher temperature and cooled using cabin air.
* New 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine (155 horsepower / 136 lb.-ft. of torque), which is mated to an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission.
* Enhanced electronic throttle control, which reduces airflow on shutdowns, reducing fueling needs on restarts.
* Smart climate control system, which monitors cabin temperature and only runs the gas engine as needed to heat the cabin. It also includes an electric air conditioning compressor to further minimize engine use.
* Regenerative brake system, which captures the energy normally lost through friction in braking and stores it. Nearly 94 percent energy recovery is achieved by delivering full regenerative braking, which means only 6 percent of braking is through traditional friction brakes

SmartGauge Teaches Eco-Driving
The new Fusion Hybrid literally teaches drivers how to make the most out of their vehicle, thanks to Ford’s SmartGauge with EcoGuide. SmartGauge is a unique instrument cluster that helps coach drivers on how to optimize the performance of their hybrid.

SmartGauge with EcoGuide features two, high-resolution, full-color liquid crystal display screens on either side of the vehicle’s speedometer. The screens can be configured to show different levels of driver information, including fuel and battery power levels, and average and instant miles-per-gallon.

When set in tutorial mode, the instrument panel “grows” leaves and vines on-screen to reward fuel-efficient driving. The more leaves and vines that appear, the more efficient the driving behavior is and the more fuel is being saved. In some recent tests, automotive journalists have reported exceeding 50 mpg with the Fusion Hybrid.

The Ford Fusion Hybrid also is distinct on the outside with Ford’s “road and leaf” badges on both sides and the rear, unique 17-inch, eight-spoke wheels, and a unique engine cover. On the inside, Fusion Hybrid features eco-friendly seat fabric made from post-industrial 100 percent recycled materials and a standard 110-volt power outlet.

Fusion Gasoline Model Also a Fuel Leader
In addition to the hybrid, Fusion will be offered with three fuel-efficient gasoline engines – the Duratec 2.5-liter I-4 and enhanced 3.0-liter flex-fuel V-6 and 3.5-liter V-6 Duratec engines. Fusions equipped with the 2.5-liter I-4 engine are expected to deliver at least 3 mpg better on the highway than the Honda Accord and 2 mpg better than the Toyota Camry. The new Fusion will be building off the strong quality reputation of the current model, which has gained important third-party accolades, and will offer class-exclusive features, including Ford SYNC™, SIRIUS® TravelLink™, BLIS™ (Blind Spot Information System) with Cross Traffic Alert and Sony-branded audio.

In addition to the Fusion, several other Ford vehicles are fuel-economy standouts on the road today. They include:

* The Ford Focus with 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine and manual transmission delivers 35 mpg on the highway, 5 mpg better than the Toyota Corolla’s 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine and 2 mpg better than the Honda Fit’s 1.5-liter 4-cylinder engine, both also with manual transmissions.
* The all-new 2009 Ford F-150 – which just recently was named Motor Trend magazine’s Truck of the Year – achieves 3 mpg more than the Toyota Tundra pickup on the highway and 1 mpg better in the city with its 4.6-liter V-8 engine, compared to Toyota’s 4.7-liter V-8. The F-150’s larger 5.4-liter V-8 achieves 2 mpg better on the highway than the Tundra’s larger engine.
* The 2009 Ford Escape with new 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engine achieves 28 mpg on the highway, the same as Toyota’s RAV4 and 1 mpg better than the Honda CR-V, both with 4-cylinder engines, too.
* The Ford Expedition achieves 20 mpg on the highway, beating Toyota Sequoia’s 4.7-liter V-8 engine by 3 mpg and its 5.7-liter V-8 by 1 mpg.

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About Ford Motor Company:
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 224,000 employees and about 90 plants worldwide, the company’s core and affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo and Mazda. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, please visit www.ford.com.

Interesting

All new cars are junk, and have been since about 1976. Disposable cars and trucks suck in my opinion. It puzzels me why people think their saving money when they spend 20,000 for a car, and a minimum of $300.00 every time it has to go to the shop. Lets see... I bought my 1973 Chevy Truck for $800.00 about 15 years ago, and have only had to replace the brakes, a starter, u joints, tires, alternator and wheel bearings. And it's never had to be towed.
I think im the one saving money...
The fact is, when a newer vehicle has a problem, you can't just have your hubby fix it, it must go to the shop where they have all the latest high tech means of transferring your money into their account. The newer vehicles are just not user servicable. In alot of cases, you can't even see the darn spark plugs, and just changing a valve cover gasket is a huge undertaking.
If I was rich, I would have a fleet of old classics, but you wouldn't find a new car in my garage, no way !

My parents were married fifty years ago.

They still are using the GE toaster they received as a wedding present. Have a look at your toaster. Do you think it will last fifty years?

Now, I am not saying it's okay that things are cheaply made.

Just saying that many things are not made to last these days.

Almost everything I own is from the 70's, and so far it's all functioning and still servicable.
Im afraid to buy new stuff, it's all chinese crapola.

cars of the 70s you were lucky to get 150k on them

not sure you can say they were more feasible than the new ones

My 73 Chevy has well over 300,000 miles on it, so I don't get what you mean. I plan on rebuilding the ol 350 soon, but the turbo 400 trans is bullet proof. What good is a vehicle you can't easily rebuild the engine affordably, or the trans. People don't fix new cars, they toss em, cause there not worth fixin, but people are rebuilding old vehicles from complete basket cases. Thats because the old vehicles are worth fixing, and they go up in value, not down. I wouldn't trade my ol truck for any new vehicle, no way ! I could never afford to maintain a newer rig. One visit to the shop for some computer diagnosis, and it would be game over. My friend took his wife's Honda to the shop because it had a miss, and I have no way to diagnose the new stuff, and it cost him $750.00 before they were done with him. In think we put a fuel pump and a couple of belts on his 68 Chevy pickup a year ago or so, and a taillight bulb last week, but that 2004 Honda is always in the shop. He said the average bill is like $350.00, so this one surprized them. Thats the way it goes with the new stuff. It get some mileage on it, and all hell breaks loose. One thing after the other. It wouldn't be so bad if the parts wernt so expensive, and the owner could do some of the work themselves, but with todays vehicles, you need special tools for too many things. There fine for well off people, but I need my money for fun things, not supporting a late model nightmare that I can't fix myself.