[Futura06]

Now/This Weekend:
February Car and Driver magazine hits mailboxes with Fusion pic/story. I haven't persoanlly seen this yet, but someone over at carspyshots.net says its in there.

Sunday, January 9-1:00 – 1:35 p.m.:
Ford press conference in Cobo Arena. This is where the Fusion will be officially unveiled to the press. All official photos and press releases should be widely available online by this time. The materials could start showing up as early as midnight on Jan. 9. Check the Autoweek link in the other thread as well as autodeadline.com for photos as they break.
Source: http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=19836

Friday, January 14:
Official Fusion consumer website opens.
Source: www.fordvehicles.com/autoshow/

Fall 2005:
Vague on-sale date for the Fusion
Source: www.fordvehicles.com/autoshow/

 

[mz6zoomzoom]

I have the Feb C&D sitting on my lap right now... hasn't been in anything I"ve read yet, but I'll look.

 

[mz6zoomzoom]

OK all it has on the Fusion is a NAIAS preview saying this:

2006 Ford Fusion

Based on the Mazda 6 sedan, the front-drive-only Fusion will slot into the Ford lineup below the Five Hundred and above the Focus. Exterior styling borrows from Ford's 427 concept car that was shown at the 2003 Detroit show. Furthermore, the Fusion's three-bar grille is the new face of Ford sedans. Two engines will power the new sedan, a 2.3-liter four-cylinder with 160 horsepower and a 3.0-liter V-6 with 210 horsepower. Six-cylinder models will come standard with a six-speed automatic; four-cylinder models will coem with a five-speed manual or automatic.

There's also 1 small pic. Really nothing new.

Interestingly, no mention of hybrid.

They also have something on the Lincoln Zephyr... nothin really different htan the Fusion.

 

[Futura06]

Looks like no V6/Manual combination. That dashes hopes for a high-performance model, at least for the first year or so. That said, I'm very pleased to see the four-cylnder model will get a manual. Should be a great combination of performance and efficiency, and also a starting point for tuners.