Ford Fusion Hybrid Named 2010 North American Car of the Year

The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid was chosen over 15 competitors to be named 2010 North American Car of the Year. The award was announced Jan. 11, 2010.

The 2010 North American Car of the Year recognizes the most outstanding vehicle of the year, based on many factors, including innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value. To be eligible, vehicles must be all-new, or substantially changed from the previous model. The jury is composed of 50 automotive journalists in Canada and the United States, representing newspapers, magazines, Web sites, television and radio shows.

The 2010 Fusion and Fusion Hybrid are the most fuel-efficient sedans in America. The new models offer more power, class-exclusive technologies – such as BLIS® (Blind Spot Information System with Cross Traffic Alert and Ford SYNC® -- and more total passenger and luggage capacity than the Toyota Camry.

The Ford Fusion Hybrid was introduced as an all-new model for 2010. The Ford Hybrid team has developed a powertrain system that combines the best attributes of the gasoline engine and electric battery-driven motors to deliver the optimal experience for the customer in terms of driving performance and fuel economy. Additionally, the propulsion system for the Ford Fusion Hybrid transitions between gas and electric power and back more efficiently and seamlessly.

The overall system upgrade allows the Ford Fusion Hybrid to operate longer at higher speeds in electric mode. The hybrid vehicles can operate up to 47 mph in pure electric mode, approximately twice as fast as some competitors. Plus, the city driving range on a single tank of gas is expected to be more than 700 miles.

The Fusion Hybrid also offers drivers a way to be more connected to the hybrid driving experience, thanks to Ford’s SmartGauge™ with EcoGuide, a unique instrument cluster execution that helps coach drivers on how to optimize performance of their hybrid.

SmartGauge™ with EcoGuide features two, high-resolution, full-color liquid crystal display (LCD) screens on either side of the analog speedometer that can be configured to show different levels of information, including fuel and battery power levels, and average and instant miles per gallon.

EcoGuide uses a multi-layered approach to coach the driver to maximum fuel efficiency.