Fusion Hybrid Paces NASCAR

In a first for a hybrid electric vehicle, Ford's 2010 Fusion Hybrid, along with its Fusion Sport counterpart, will be an official pace car of the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, leading the field to the green flag at the coming NASCAR Sprint Cup season finale. Because both Fusion variants have yet to be officially unveiled - that will happen shortly at the Los Angeles Auto Show - they will pace the field in wild NASCAR inspired camouflage paint designs to visually mask their exterior styling. Ford had previously released only a single front view of the new Fusion Hybrid.

Ford's 2010 Fusion Hybrid is setting the pace in other ways as well. It will do something no other production hybrid can do - operate exclusively on electric drive at speeds up to 47 mpg. This allows a driver to make better use of the fuel saving electric traction motor at higher speeds around town and rural routes where the typical hybrid is powered by gasoline.

As a hybrid, Ford's roomy five-passenger sedan will offer best-in-class fuel economy. The EPA has yet to release certified city/highway fuel economy figures, but Ford is on record that the Fusion Hybrid will best the Toyota Camry hybrid city fuel economy by 5 mpg. With the Camry at 33 mpg city and 34 mpg highway, that places the Fusion Hybrid at a very impressive 38 mpg on the city cycle. Highway mileage should be in the 35 to 36 mpg range as well. We expect that frugal driving will push fuel economy above 40 mpg under the right conditions. Ford has also stated that in city mode, the Fusion Hybrid should be able to travel more than 700 miles on a single tank of gas.

Mechanically, the Fusion Hybrid, along with its close cousin the Mercury Milan Hybrid, will feature Ford's 'next' generation hybrid system. Essentially, the powertrain is a major upgrade of the gasoline-electric hybrid configuration used in the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner Hybrid compact SUVs.

The Fusion Hybrid is powered by a 2.5 liter Atkinson cycle four-cylinder gasoline engine mated to a transaxle that incorporates an electric traction motor, all driving the front wheels. An Atkinson cycle internal combustion engine holds the intake valves open longer to make the compression stroke shorter than the power stroke, improving fuel economy. This hurts torque output a bit, but thanks to the electric motor's abundant torque, this isn't a problem.

Hybrids can be driven very efficiently with proper driver training. This is why so many Prius owners complained that their cars didn't achieve the promised fuel economy. In fact, hybrids do deliver advertised fuel economy when driven the right way. Ford's approach to solving this problem is an innovative interactive driver display called the SmartGauge with EcoGuide. SmartGauge can be tailored to deliver as much or as little fuel economy information as a driver desires, ranging from simple fuel economy and battery charge status to a full blown graphic representation of all major functions affecting fuel economy. It even has a function that adds leaves and vines on the right side of the cluster as you drive more efficiently.

The Fusion Hybrid is a significant vehicle for Ford, representing a major step forward for domestic automaker hybrid technology in a mainstream family sedan with exceptional fuel economy.