QOTD: Can You Crystal Ball Future Ford Fusion Fortunes?
Have you driven a Ford, lately? I haven’t — but Ford has nonetheless been on my mind. Last week, my QOTD inquired about the upcoming Bronco, and whether Ford would mess up the established Bronco formula. The majority of you seem to think they will. That same day, we ran a post about the cancellation of a Fusion redesign.
And that’s left me with even more Ford questions, and fears about future Fusion fates. Let’s discuss.
The program in question was called CD542N and its goal was the creation of the next Fusion, supposedly hitting lots in 2020. We’ve heard some recent murmurs (unsupported by Ford) that Fusion production would move from Mexico to China — the coffin nails seem to be piling up. At stake are the Fusion, its international variant (known as Mondeo), and Lincoln’s MKZ. The Fusion and MKZ aren’t spring chickens, having entered their sixth model year in 2018. The Mondeo variants (sedan, liftback, wagon) are a year younger, having followed the North American Fusion introduction. What happens now? I have some theories.
Drag it out Back
All three models carry on for a couple more years, perhaps with a face lift for 2019 or 2020. Ford pulls a Taurus method, and gets as much mileage as it can out of the current models. Replacement isn’t necessary in some markets, but perhaps others get a long-wheelbase Focus or the like to satisfy the sedan faithful.
A New Beginning
Fusion (and Mondeo especially) have name equity in their places of sale. Ford isn’t keen on letting this go, and the Fusion and Mondeo are reborn as CUVs in the near future. Fusion X and Mondeo X have nice rings to them, don’t you think? The lineup would seem crowded, but there’s always room for another utility vehicle exercise.
Knock Me Down
Perhaps in combination with the first theory, Ford’s denial that Fusion production would move to China wasn’t just a line. Instead, it’ll use a different location — perhaps the factory where the Mondeo is built in Spain. Or maybe Ford do something with complete knock-down kits (CKD) from some country with excess production capacity — like China.
None of these scenarios leave me with a good feeling for the MKZ, which is a pretty niche and America-centric product. Maybe it moves over to become a Continental-lite at the Flat Rock plant. I don’t have a great answer for that one.
What say you, B&B? Speculate away and share your Fusion fantasies.
[Images: Ford]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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Fusion will disappear. It will be Mondeo worldwide. Assembled in Europe, China and possibly US.
As a Fusion owner I don't see Ford walking away from the segment all together. In 2014 when I was replacing a very well used 1998 Accord the Fusion was hands down the best mid-size at that time. I've also driven the all new Camry and Accord this year and neither would get me to trade-in a my 4 year old Ford. So, while the design is dated somewhat it's still competitive all around IMO. Maybe I'm biased but I just don't see the Fusion as a vehicle that should be put out to pasture. My prediction, Ford keeps stamping out the Fusion into the 2020's and literally lets it die on the vine like they did with the old Taurus. Sad, but that's their M.O. Ford builds a winner sedan every 20 years or so and in-between they do nothing.