Knowingly bought a car for my wife and not on ebay

WilliamM2

WLDock wrote: »

Even though Ford used to own Austin Martin at one time I have no idea how they pulled off the Fusion design without getting sued....must have been a pre-agreement?

Sued? Other than the bump in the center of the hood (which many cars have), they don't look anything alike. Headlights, grill, fenders, all completely different. And if you compare them from the side...

ZLTFUL

Nightfall wrote: »

I don't think anybody was offended, only defending their position.

This. It's all good.

I never thought I would own a BMW. I was brought up on GM and Ford luxury brands.

WLDock

WilliamM2 wrote: »

Sued? Other than the bump in the center of the hood (which many cars have), they don't look anything alike. Headlights, grill, fenders, all completely different. And if you compare them from the side...

Yes, you are right....they don't look anything alike..............................TO A DESIGN ENGINEER! I'm born in Detroit, a car guy, have two friends who are ex Ford Engineers, and we were all at the North American (Detroit) Auto Show last year looking at the car....So, I get your points from a technical standpoint.

However, the G.E. or General Effect of the two designs are similar to untrained eyes ..or the general consumer. Don't take my word for it....When we were looking at the car last year at the show the car had a lot of buzz. I was at the Ford display for about twenty minutes and over and over again it came up by person after person, group and after group how it looked like an A.M. Even both my buds said the front looked like an Aston. You can't really read an article, test report, forum post, etc without reading about others saying the same thing or how the design must have been influenced by the Aston.

Design lawsuits have been filed for less....but its such a complex subject.

Phasewolf

Yes Jeep tried and failed to sue GM over the grill they used in the Hummer.

mhardy6647

First thing that the Fusion grille made me think of was Aston Martin - I think the shape is, shall we say, suspiciously evocative :-). That basic grille style is endemic in the Ford designs now. The current Fusion is, I'd opine (by the way) a very nice looking automobile.

PolkieMan

The Fusion looks nice but it is not an Aston Martin, looks kinda fat.
Those thin low profile headlights when they get older because of the plastic getting cloudy get quite dim.
My daughter had a old Dodge Intrepid and man you could not see at night. It would be nice if the lenses were
easy to replace.

thsmith

Really like the Fusion and thought that is what we would bring home. I get the Ford D plan price but the features and price they are offering on 2013 Hyundai's could not be ignored.

Wife is happy and that my friends is winning.

mdaudioguy

I was going back and forth between the Sonata, Optima, Camry, and Fusion hybrids, and just about a week ago, the Fusion won out. But, that's just me. I really liked the Optima, though. All very similar cars. That Azera is a cut above. Hope it treats her well and she enjoys it!

thsmith

Thanks MDAUDIOGUY

tonyb

thsmith wrote: »

Wife is happy and that my friends is winning.

Happy wife.....happy life. Nothing more need be said on that front.

WLDock

PolkieMan wrote: »

The Fusion looks nice but it is not an Aston Martin, looks kinda fat. Those thin low profile headlights when they get older because of the plastic getting cloudy get quite dim. My daughter had a old Dodge Intrepid and man you could not see at night. It would be nice if the lenses were easy to replace.

Just like the paint on the front of the car the headlight take a major beating over the years. Paint is not cheap, however one can have the lenses refinished by a shop or pick up a DIY kit from the like of 3M. This is a good thing because for little costs and an decent effort one can make them look like this:



This is neccessary routine maintenance that so many on the road at night ignore. There is no need to replace the lenses unless they are really bad or cracked.

Dawgfish

Congrats on the new ride!

PolkieMan

It was my daughters, wow sounds a lot better than trying to polish those lens

nbrowser wrote: »

Polkie, most Intrepids you actually had to remove the headlight assembly to replace the bulbs, 2 bolts and a clip or two all accessible from the top. Made for an easy headlight swap.

PolkieMan

Yea I have done both my 12 years old Elantra's but the headlights were a lot bigger to begin with.

WLDock wrote: »

Just like the paint on the front of the car the headlight take a major beating over the years. Paint is not cheap, however one can have the lenses refinished by a shop or pick up a DIY kit from the like of 3M. This is a good thing because for little costs and an decent effort one can make them look like this:



This is neccessary routine maintenance that so many on the road at night ignore. There is no need to replace the lenses unless they are really bad or cracked.