Cars Auto

I think this will be the final one today, but perhaps Ill change my mind.


Introduction: The Ford F-150 is easily Fords best selling vehicle of all time. This truck has managed to break sales records and often dominate sales charts for the world despite selling a enormous amount mostly for North America. The F-150 spans from 12 generations with the earliest truck produced from 1948. The only time the F-150 fell in sales was during the high oil prices during 2007-2008 where the Toyota Camry finally managed to beat the F-150 on a few monthly sales numbers when it normally dominated. Lately the GMC Sierra and the Chevrolet Silverado combined has also taken the #1 spot for pickup trucks, on their own the F-150 still leads in sales. With oil prices down from record highs, its unknown whether the F-series can still dominate sales like it once did now that Ford has redesigned it.

By the time I got to drive the F-150 Ive driven the two Rams and the Sierra meaning it was down to Ford to show whether it was still capable of competing in this lucrative segment. Seeing as how both the new Ram and the Sierra are good, I wanted to see if the F-150 was even better.


Performance: The F-150 has 4 engine choices to choose from. Between two 4.7L V8s or two 5.4L V8s. The truck I drove had the 5.4L V8 capable not capable of taking the E85. This engine produces 310 hp and 365 lb.ft of torque. Acceleration numbers for the F-150 are about 8 seconds for a 0-100 km/h run. The V8 powers the F-150 pretty well but definitely not as well as the 2009 Ram with the Hemi V8. Still the engine is a rather pleasant one and at first it doesnt seem apparent its a powerful V8 as it cruises rather quietly. A pretty relaxing engine.

My Score: 8/10 - Good power, very quiet, reasonable fuel economy its just not as excellent as the Rams Hemi V8.

Handling: The big trucks are often a surprise as I have a hard time believing they drive so easy. The F-150 isnt much different from this aspect as I found it pretty easy to drive despite its massive size compared to many cars and even SUVs. I was even more surprised at how calm it handled bumps while not really sacrificing cornering ability. Steering is rather precise, just the way I like it and just for that reason I think its one of the better trucks when it comes to agility.

My Score: 9/10 - Really easy to drive, handles good for a truck and rides pretty comfortably.


Interior: This is normally an area where pickup trucks often put very little effort into however with GM taking the initiative to produce a good pickup truck interior this forced both Ford and Dodge to come up with better interiors. The Ford interior is in my mind...pretty good. It doesnt have the same problems as Dodge did when it came to the plastics. The interior is very user friendly and the materials are of good quality. The dash is simple and visibility is as good as any truck. The build quality on the F-150 is probably the best of the American trucks which is better than what it used to be. The F-150 is assembled in Dearborn, Michigan in the United States where Fords HQ is located.

My Score: 10/10 - A good pickup truck interior, cant actually find anything wrong with it.

Styling: The F-150 once had a simple look, rather generic for a truck. With Ford embracing its tri-bar grille, the F-150 now uses it as well. It turns out it wasnt as bad as I was thinking although it does now look a bit too similar to the GMC Sierra. The headlights are of a unique shape and if the grille is chrome it does stand out, the black plastic grille in my mind doesnt look good.

My Score: 7/10 - Still prefer both the GM and the Dodge trucks in style but the F-150 isnt bad.

Value for money: Much of the F-150 is very good and its in a very competitive, lucrative market. In all honesty due to how good all the trucks are it all comes down to style and preference and the F-150 in my mind is the best all rounder. Its not the very best in most areas but its probably the best when you take several things into account. Still its very difficult to go wrong with any of the American trucks.

My Score: 8/10 - Very competitive, plainly down to whats the right truck for you?

Overall: 44/50 - Ford has proven its not ready to give up on pickup trucks

I cant believe I already failed to post a review yesterday. Once again today will be a twofer starting with the 2007 Ford Fusion.


Introduction: The Ford Fusion was introduced in 2005 as Fords newest vehicle for the important midsized car market. Ford used to use the Taurus for this important segment which originally sold very well to tie the Honda Accord for the #1 most sold car(not vehicle since the F-150 truck dominated this). Unfortunately Ford never continued with the success of the first Taurus and allowed the car to age eventually losing even the Taurus iconic jellybean shape for conservative. Ford decided to use the Fusion name for this new midsized car even though a completely different car uses the same name in Europe. The Ford Fusion is the first of the cars introduced by Ford of America to use the 3-bar grille. The Fusion saw enough success to be redesigned for the year 2010.

Now for my side, I was not all that excited to drive one of these vehicles since I never heard anything significant about the Fusion other than it being better than Fords past vehicle attempts. Considering how badly Ford allowed its car lineup to decline this was a pretty low bar to settle. Still, the Ford Fusion could not possibly be worse than some of the other American cars Ive driven so I was ready to see if Ford could actually challenge Toyota and Honda for that important midsized segment.


Performance: The Fusions I drove had the 2.3L Duratec 23 engine that produce 160hp and 156 lb.ft of torque. Well...I must say the Fusion unfortunately with its 4-cylinder was very underpowered. The engine selection was not suitable for this car since you can easily tell it was sluggish. I heard this engine was pretty much the same one used for the Mazda6 but that engine was far more suitable for that car than this engine is for the Fusion. Most clocked the 0-100 time of the Fusion to be 9.2 seconds, it doesnt feel that quick sadly. Since you think the car is slower than it is, youll be hearing some of the drone this engine has to offer and its not exactly pleasant.

My Score: 3/10 - The engine is inadequate for the car, if it feels underpowered then it probably is.

Handling: After seeing the disappointing performance of the Fusion, I can safely say this portion is much more positive. This Ford Fusion shares the same platform as the Mazda6, as a result the chassis is much better than average allowing the Fusion to do much better cornering. Ford however did make the car rather soft thus not allowing the Fusion to pull off this handling with as much dignity as the Mazda. The wheel for the Fusion is heavier than the Mazda making it produce more feel but it doesnt connect as well due to how soft the car is.

My Score: 7/10 - Good chassis, good steering feel...but tempered with a soft suspension.


Interior: The Fusions interior is not exactly a beautiful one. Depending on which colour you select might determine how good or bad it looks. The black interior does not do the Fusion any justice making it seem very bland and boring. The beige interior is much more upbeat and clearly makes the interior seem merely generic. The build quality is surprisingly solid despite being built in Mexico, normally car companies put lower quality control for their plants there.

My Score: 6/10 - Pretty bland and uninteresting especially in black but built surprisingly well

Styling: As mentioned earlier the Ford Fusion is Fords first attempt to place the 3-bar grille on every single vehicle in their lineup. I dont think the first Fusion did a good job in making the 3-bar grille look good. From the front it looks like a Gilette razor, from the rear its slightly more interesting with neat tail lights. Other than that its nothing special, the razor like grille might a turn off.

My Score: 5/10 - A generic car with a silly grille but a neat rear end.

Value for money: The Fusion was priced to compete against the likes of the Accord and Camry, but due to Fords past with this segment the Fusion is a tad bit cheaper by a few thousand. The result is a car that handles reasonably well but is hindered by either being cheap or boring in another area. It does look a bit different due to the 3-bar grille but that doesnt do enough to justify buying one. It however sadly is the best compared to GMs Malibu(pre-08) and Chryslers awful cars.

My Score: 6/10 - Ford didnt overcharge here, but in order to get the best results asking for a bit more for a better car overall wouldnt hurt.

Overall: 27/50 - A possibly good car hurt in several segments. Even worse, the Mazda6 its based off of is a better car in every way. Fear not, Ford actually has taken things seriously and has definitely addressed each one of my complaints with the 2010 Fusion(a review quite some distance away since theres a few older cars to get to). If you really wanted a domestic midsized from the year 2005-2007, then the Fusion is a good choice but not 2008 since GMs Malibu improved a lot.

New 2011 Ford Focus is equipped with a standard 2.0-liter,, 140-horsepower engine that reaches I4 24-mpg in the city and 35-mpg on the highway. A 5-speed manual transmission with overdrive is standard, and 4-speed automatic transmission with overdrive is optional.