Just yesterday, we reported on Ford's first-ever 300 hp/30 mpg ratings for the 2011 Mustang. The company has vowed to achieve best-in-class fuel economy numbers for every new model it launches.
Certainly the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid clears that bar, trouncing any other mid-size sedan with an EPA fuel economy rating of 41 mpg city, 36 mpg highway.
Camry Hybrid lags behind
By comparison, the Toyota Camry Hybrid gets 33/34 mpg, and the Nissan Altima hybrid is rated at 35/33 mpg.
The SmartGauge hopes to help drivers get the most out of their hybrids
2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid
2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid
Now Ford [NYSE:F] sales data shows that the Fusion Hybrid is bringing in more buyers new to Ford than ever before, with a full 82 percent of last month's buyers never having owned a Ford product.
Trading in imports
That's up from 70 percent in January and 63 percent for all of 2009, and the customers are largely coming from import brands: Honda, Nissan, and Toyota.
That's known as "conquesting," and it's the sale that makes an automaker happiest, since they're the hardest to get. The 2010 Fusion line overall has been high in conquests as well, rising to 60 percent of sales last month from a 2009 total of 49 percent.
Ford beats GM
But the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid is clearly the poster boy for the whole Fusion line, and perhaps even for Ford's recent renaissance. The company sold more cars in the U.S. than General Motors last month for the first time since July 1998, when a strike shut down GM.
Just for gravy, the 2010 Fusion Hybrid garners the highest customer satisfaction ratings ever for a Ford vehicle, according to a survey conducted by RDA Group for Ford.
Awards and sales records
The 2010 Fusion Hybrid represented almost 20 percent of total Fusion sales, and it was named North American Car of the Year at January's Detroit Auto Show.
Since March 2009, the entire redesigned Fusion line has set sales records every month except one.
[Ford]
