LOS
ANGELES, CA (November 17, 2009) – MOTOR TREND today announced the Ford
Fusion has been named MOTOR TREND's 2010 Car of the Year®. This year
marks the 60th anniversary for the MOTOR TREND award – the longest
standing editorial automotive award of its kind.
“There
has never been a more turbulent backdrop to the MOTOR TREND Car of the
Year in its 60-year history. We have experienced seismic shifts in the
global automotive industry landscape with iconic corporations going
bankrupt, new model programs being canceled and OEMs killing off entire
brands,” said Angus MacKenzie, MOTOR TREND Editor-in-Chief.
Despite
the economic turmoil, the industry still delivered a large field of 23
new or significantly improved vehicles launched in the U.S., all of
which were evaluated by MOTOR TREND editors. After tallying the judges’
feedback, the redesigned Ford Fusion came out on top.
The
2010 Ford Fusion range demonstrates impressive bandwidth, from a
fun-to-drive entry-level model with a four cylinder engine and six
speed manual transmission, to a high-tech, highly fuel efficient
hybrid, to a sporty version with a 3.5-liter V-6 and all-wheel drive.
According to editors, this year’s Ford Fusion offers a “sweep across
one of the market’s more hotly contested segments.”
The
extensively revised and redesigned 2010 Fusion is a better, smarter,
nicer, comfier and greener car than its predecessor. “It looked, felt
and drove like an entirely new machine,” noted one editor.
“Ford
has proven its resilience in these tough times by delivering to market
a car with broad appeal to a broad range of consumers. The Fusion range
has matured into a competitive roster of midsize sedans, able to
compete with the sales juggernauts such as the Toyota Camry and Honda
Accord. It is no surprise the Fusion now ranks in the top ten best
selling cars in America,” said MacKenzie.
MacKenzie
added, “The Fusion’s combination of performance, comfort, fuel
efficiency, and technology made it a clear winner among our panel of
judges.”
The Contenders
The Fusion took home the Calipers from a field of 23 diverse contenders
that included a number of highly anticipated models loaded with luxury,
plenty of new features and a great range in price, size, and style. In
addition to the Fusion, contenders included:
BMW 7 SERIES
BMW Z4
BUICK LACROSSE
CHEVROLET CAMARO
FORD MUSTANG
FORD TAURUS
HONDA INSIGHT
HYUNDAI GENESIS COUPE
KIA FORTE
KIA SOUL
LEXUS HS 250H
MAZDA3
MERCEDES-BENZ E-CLASS COUPE
MERCEDES-BENZ E-CLASS
NISSAN 370Z
NISSAN CUBE
PORSCHE PANAMERA
SUBARU LEGACY
SUZUKI KIZASHI
TOYOTA PRIUS
VOLKSWAGEN GTI
VOLKSWAGEN ROUTAN
To
judge contenders for the award, MOTOR TREND’s editorial staff conducts
an exhaustive evaluation process. Phase one of the process includes a
tech check and weigh-in, then full track testing to establish baseline
data for acceleration, braking, and handling. Each judge also drives
each contender on special vehicle proving ground roads. Phase two
involves the judges driving the contenders on 28 miles of real-world
road surfaces and traffic conditions to evaluate ride and handling,
engine and transmission smoothness and responsiveness, wind/road noise,
and ergonomics. Throughout the process the judges discuss, debate, and
evaluate how each contender performs against the six criteria. At the
end of the week-long process each judge votes in a secret ballot to
determine the winner.
Newly
Expanded Testing and Evaluation Process
Until recently, the editorial staff of MOTOR TREND has evaluated
eligible vehicles based on three key criteria: Superiority,
Significance, and Value. This year, the editors updated and expanded
the judging criteria to six new categories:
•
Design Advancement – well-executed exterior and interior styling;
innovative vehicle packaging; good selection and use of materials.
•
Engineering Excellence – total vehicle concept and execution; clever
solutions to packaging, manufacturing and dynamics issues;
cost-effective tech that benefits the consumer.
• Intended Function – how well the vehicle does the job its planners, designers, and engineers intended it to do.
• Efficiency – low fuel consumption and carbon footprint, relative to the vehicle’s competitive set.
•
Safety – a vehicle’s ability to help the driver avoid a crash, as well
as the secondary safety measures that protect its occupants from harm
during a crash.
• Value – competitive price and equipment levels, measured against those of vehicles in the same market segment.
Car
of the Year is not a comparison test and is only open to all-new or
substantially upgraded vehicles that have gone on sale in the 12 months
from November 1 of the previous year. MOTOR TREND looks for the pick of
each year’s crop of new cars, and does not revisit vehicles that have
been on sale for the past few years.
The
complete report on the MOTOR TREND 2010 Car of the Year testing and
selection is available online now at www.motortrend.com, and will be
published in the January issue of MOTOR TREND, available on newsstands
December 1, 2009.
