pantherdan

I feel your pain, I turned down a free 66 Mustang GT body that had been stolen and engine removed. I had no place to keep it while I restored it. The body was just fine. I will always regret not just taking it.

Heres a few pics I took when we got our first 2010 Sport in to wash at the dealership I part time at. I would trade in my 09 SEL SAP, but I dont want to start my payments all over again at this time. Its a killer ride, though. edit: Its Tuxedo Black which has a ton of metal in it. Looks great in the sun. The first pic does absolutely no justice.

The clamping method on the Ford part is much more secure than tips that use bolts or other biting type method to hold them on. I have had 3 Focuses in the past (still own one) and the bolt type tips would loosen over time or would not stay straight. The Ford clamping tips (I eventually bought) were designed the same as the Fusion tips. They are necked down at the clamping area and slotted to barely slip over the pipe and the clamp makes for a very tight and secure fit, while holding the tip straight. Plus they are stainless, which is very important when your chrome plated carbon steel tips start rusting.

The shield helps keep the engine clean and keeps road objects out of your engine compartment. The 07 I4 I used to have was the element (canister) oil filter version. There is a cover that will unscrew from the shield to reveal the filter. I'm pretty sure all of the I4s came with the element type filter.

Definitely something I would get the dealership to fix (quickly). Water in the wrong places can cause future problems. I've had a Cougar and a Mustang with a Moonroof. The Mustang had a leak and six months after it was fixed my dome light contacts were corroded just enough to cause the light to flicker, so I replaced them. With the amount of electrical and electronic components in a cars cabin today, I dont fool around with water leaks. Another instance for light reading: My Parents bought an '85 New Yorker 4cyl turbo new off the lot. After a rain (the first day the car wasnt garaged) my Father jumped in and when he took off a gallon of water literally fell in his lap from under the dash. Livid isnt a strong enough word. After WEEKS at the dealership, they found that the drain holes punched in the body werent punched. After it was fixed, I wrecked it. Lots of front end body and suspension damage, but not a total. Then, when he was driving over a speed bump, then front wheel engine and tranny literally tore loose and almost flipped over in the engine bay. It was a total then. The dealership was smart enough to avoid a lawsuit by letting him get another car at a great discount. They also had Olds at this dealership and he got a Cutlass. Much better car. Moral: Dont buy Chrysler or Keep your car garaged if you can. Either moral is a good one.

Remember the 2 cups and a string phone? Sounds also can be conducted through solids. That may be why a sound was produced on the passenger side and heard from the drivers dash. Nothing strange like that surprises me anymore. Good to hear the TSB worked for you.

ebay or www.steedafusion.com I dont know if those things really do anything, but thats where I would look.

I have an '09 SEL SAP V6. I had the opportunity to drive in the snow a few weeks ago (about 60 miles to a funeral), then again the last 2 days to and from work (26 miles each way). I had no trouble. I live in the NC mountains. Sure, the snow was only a couple inches, but snow is snow and ice is ice. I only lost traction once when slowing, but the ABS did its job. I am one of those who soft pedal and probably piss off those behind me, but I made it. I watched several slide all over the road and saw a few cars in the ditch when I drove on by. What did impress me was the fact that I have to travel on some pretty steep hills to get home. Maybe it was my driving habits, maybe it was the TCS and ABS or maybe it was the tires, but I went were others couldnt.

Its all good. :party2:

I'm not offended and do not mean to offend anyone either. L does change the shift pattern. L does downshift more aggressively when slowing to a stop. L does upshift at red line (actually about 6200 RPMs). These are facts. Try it yourself. Drive like a madman all around your favorite roads and highways in D and then do it in L. I have done this and I know for a fact that what i am saying is true. I understand what L was designed to do. The by product of these Engineers design is a more responsive transmission in L mode. I'm not saying it was designed to be a sport mode. I am saying it merely works that way. Many things were designed to do whatever but have other uses. Drastically different uses. Super Glue is used to find fingerprints. http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/feneric/cyanoacrylate.html Nuclear fission was thought up for power generation. Thermonuclear devices were a by product of that. Okay, you are driving at 35MPH in D. Your RPMs will be less than 2000 and you will probably be in 3rd gear (maybe even in neutral). You decide to pass this guy ahead of you and accelerate (floor it). Your RPMs will climb and the transmission will decide to shift if they get too high and/or throttle position is open enough. In D, that shift will occur at about 4000 RPMs or so. There will be time lost with the engine being in 3rd and downshifting eventually. Acceleration will take longer due to the fact that the engine is at a lower RPM and lower in the HP/Torque curve. Now, if you are driving along at 35MPH in L and decide to pass someone, the engine will be at about 4000 RPMs and maybe in 2nd gear. The acceleration will be faster since you will be at a more optimal area of the HP/ Torque curve. The transmission will also not shift until close to red line, which will keep the engine at a more optimal RPM (again higher in the HP/Torque curve). I have driven several manual transmissions in my life. Mostly motorcycles, but a few cars. I own a Ninja right now. When I get in Speed Racer mode, I keep the RPMs up (by staying in a lower gear for a stronger throttle response) and shift at red line when going all out. Wow. Exactly like L mode in my Fusion. Do a little theory to practice. Drive yours in Speed Racer mode in D and then in L. See the difference. I'll take you for a ride in my car and show you. You can time me. You can check my times down a curvy road. We can race each other. You can show me millions of articles and reports and papers and even somebodys thesis. Then I can take you down the road for a spin and you will believe me. Its all good. You can disagree with me and I can disagree with you. I'm not going to get offended and I hope no one else does either.

I had an '07 SE I4. I got an '09 SEL SAP (for Christmas :woohoo: ). The hesitation I noticed on the '07 was the fly by wire throttle. I did the throttle body ground mod on the '07 and it helped. I havent noticed the problem on my '09. Maybe Ford has grounded the newer models better.

L mode can be "designed" for whatever but I know how it works. It is a "Sport" mode. While driving in D mode, the car will up shift at 3k or so and coast in neutral and etc. It acts drastically different in L mode. Drop it in L on the highway and you will drop a gear or two, usually causing the RPMs to hit about 4k. Yes, there will be engine braking, but with that there is also great throttle response and power on demand because you are running at the right RPM for high Torque and HP. I've also noticed that it downshifts when it should when slowing for a stop and will stay in gear until red line before it upshifts. Whoever programmed that L mode copied my racing philosophy with its RPM management. bbf2530, I have to disagree. You do get performance gains by using L mode. Line up 2 stock Fusions and race them, one in L and one in D. In a 1/4 mile or a curvy road, Ill bet the L would win. The Tranny performs better and uses that same HP and Torque differently in the two situations.

Thats the "made for each other" exterior color on that one. I like it. Good choice.

I purchased an '09 SEL V6 SAP Vapor Silver and I also think the painted pockets are the same color. The black chrome grill looks to have nearly the same color. I looked at that car and a White Suede SE I4 SAP for a couple weeks. They were behind the dealership waiting to be detailed for sale. The White is really nice, but I like the "made for each other" look of the Vapor Silver and SAP package. Plus I wanted a little xtra power. I owned an'07 I4 and it was great, but the V6 pulls these hills in NC better.

If you look in the owners manual, it says the Fusion is not rated for towing anything. I think thats because the transmissions dont have an off button for the overdrive. I havent put a hitch on my '09, but I wouldnt think towing a small load (like my Waverunner) would be any worse than having five 200lb adults in my car. I will put a Hidden Hitch on mine eventually. I tow with my little '07 2.0l Focus, so if my '09 Fusion SEL V6 Sport Package cant handle towing my Waverunner, Ford deserves to go bankrupt.

I bought a brand new '07 SE I4 three weeks ago and the original stereo wouldnt recognize mp3 folders. The unit they just put in changes stations every time the power is cut off or if you hit ANY button on the steering wheel controls. Thats 2 for 2 radios that are bad. I'm taking it back (again) tomorrow to see if the third time is the charm. These radios suck. I dont know if they are made by Kraco or what, but so far they have earned an F-.

Its good to hear that I'm not the only one to like the whale body cars. Personally, I would like to have had one with a three deuce 406 or a "lightweight" 427 model. Thats why I compensated with the 429 (because I could find one of those).

Hello. New member. Hows it going. Sorry if this is a repeat, because I really only skimmed the multiple replies. I live in the Mtns of NC. Due to my driving habits, though, I usually get close to the average MPG on any car. I reset my gauge every fill up and I am currently running 28 MPG on my '07 I4 Fusion. Terrain is a challenge, but driving habits can greatly effect mileage. True story. I have a '05 Focus SE 4dr (now it belongs to my Wife). I got anywhere from 28 to 32 avg mpg on it regularly. I calculated every tank using my trip meter (I'm anal that way with these gas prices). No matter what, my wife gets 24 to 26 mpg on a tank. Same area, same terrain, different driver. Watching her, I see she takes off from a stop like its race day at the track. No kidding, foot straight to the floor, every time. I've tried to explain to her what soft pedal theory is, but she no comprende. She also cant stand to use cruise control. I've shown her the delights of being able to bend your legs on long trips, but that also is foreign to her. When I approach a long hill, I speed up before I get on the incline and let if fade to the speed limit. She just floors it when it starts slowing down. That was a short list of differences. There are so many variables that can cause bad mileage. When I was a kid, I had a '64 Ford Galaxie we shoe-horned a built 429 into. Back then I raced any fool to pull up along side. A phrase I heard all the time still fits today (in different scenarios). Its not always the car, sometimes its the driver.