Ford-Fusion

Ford-Fusion

The Ford Fusion, code named CD338 for the first generation (2006–12), is a mid-size car produced by the Ford Motor Company since the 2006 model year. The 2010 model was awarded the Motor Trend Car of the Year and its hybrid version won the 2010 North American Car of the Year Award. The Fusion is manufactured at Ford's Hermosillo Stamping & Assembly where the similar (and now discontinued) Mercury Milan and the Lincoln MKZ were also built. All three cars utilize the CD3 platform.
Production on the first Fusions began on August 1, 2005. The Fusion replaced the Mondeo for the Latin American markets—except in Argentina (where the current European Mondeo is available) and in the United States and Canada (where it superseded the then mid-size Taurus). The Fusion is positioned between the compact Ford Focus and full-size Ford Taurus. In the Middle East, this model is sold alongside the Mondeo. Versions sold there are available only with the 2.5-litre engine. Unlike in the United States, Canada and Latin America, no V6 engine is available in that region. The same is true in South Korea, where only the 2.5-liter engines (including those for the hybrid model) are available as of the 2012 model year.

The 2013 Ford Fusion NASCAR Sprint Cup car, unveiled as part of the Charlotte Motor Speedway Media Tour, was worked on by Ford designers in an effort to bring brand identity back to the sport. The result is undeniable with the 2013 Sprint Cup car mirroring the recently unveiled 2013 Ford Fusion production car.
Featuring a completely redesigned sleek new silhouette and fresh face, the 2013 Fusion Sprint Cup car was designed to be the face of a new era of stock car racing.
"We wanted Fusion to be the car that helped return 'stock car' to NASCAR." stated Jamie Allison, director, Ford Racing. "I think fans, when they see the car, are just going to smile and cheer. It is going to reengage them with the sport and make the sport better because there is just something natural about seeing race cars that look like cars in their driveways."
This marks the third time Ford simultaneously launched production and NASCAR versions of a new model. The first dual launch came in 1968, with the sleek fastback Ford Torino. Legendary NASCAR driver David Pearson drove the Torino to back-to-back NASCAR championships in 1968 and 1969. The second time came in 2006, when the then newly introduced Ford Fusion appeared in showrooms and on the track.

 Ford  unveiled the new generation Fusion  in early January 2011 at the Detroit Auto Show and, right on cue, it has been followed by the NASCAR version. This is, in fact, the third time Ford has simultaneously launched production and NASCAR versions of a new model. The first dual launch came in 1968, with the sleek fastback Ford Torino  and then again in 2006 with the Fusion  
The NASCAR Ford Fusion features a very aggressive stance from the outside and the inside, but keeps the proportions found in the production Fusion. There are brand and design cues on the side of the vehicle and an identifiable front end grill with the distinctive look of a Ford. 

Ford designers, led by Nicoghosian, addressed three main issues to mirror the 2013 Sprint Cup Fusion to the 2013 production Fusion found on showroom floors:

• Designers addressed the overall proportion of the race car to reflect proportions found in the production Fusion.
• Brand and design cues in the side of the vehicle.
• An identifiable front end grill with the distinctive look of a Ford.

"It looks fun to drive and very much eager to go and tear up the track. It has a very aggressive stance from the outside and the inside. From all angles the vehicle exudes performance and I think it reflects our general attitude of how we go about setting up our cars very, very nicely," said Nicoghosian. "It brings a certain level of nimbleness and lightness and agility to the NASCAR platform, much like we do in our production cars, because all of our production cars have that nimbleness and agility and eagerness about them.

NASCAR

 The 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Generation 6 version of the Ford Fusion as driven by Ricky    Stenhouse, Jr. at Martinsville Speedway.
The Fusion also became the new body style for Ford automobiles in NASCAR beginning in 2006, replacing the Taurus. This marked the first time since the Torino in 1968 that Ford introduced a new model that went racing in NASCAR at the same time as its launch. It debuted at the 2006 Daytona 500 and won its first race a week later in California when Matt Kenseth took the checkered flag. For safety reasons, the Car of tomorrow became the car style for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series from the 2008 season, but Ford continued to use the Fusion name. Kenseth took his  Fusion to victory lane in a rain-shortened Daytona 500 in 2009 and did so again (as a rain-delayed race) in 2012. On February 20, 2011, the #21 Motorcraft Ford Fusion driven by 20-year-old Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500, echoing the NASCAR Hall of Fame Inductee, David Pearson, when he won it in a similarly decorated Mercury in 1976. The car is owned by the legendary Wood Brothers.