Bill Pierre Ford

Ford Motor Company is seeking 2010 Fusion and Fusion Hybrid owners to participate in Fusion 41, an automotive relay race designed to build awareness around the all-new Fusion. The Fusion owner of the winning team will have their vehicle paid off, and team members will win free gas for one year. Interested applicants must be passionate about their Fusion and have a compelling desire and ability to spread the word about it on social media sites.  To apply, visit www.fusion41.com. Fusion 41 is an extension of the Ford Drive One campaign, which focuses on customers sharing all the cool and positive experiences they’re having with their new vehicle.

How Fusion 41 will work
According to a Ford press release, eight 2010 Fusion owners from throughout the country will be selected to participate in the Fusion 41 program. They will be chosen based on their passion for Fusion and their ability to share compelling information about the vehicle on the Internet. Applicants must have a current Facebook profile with a minimum of 100 friends and an active photo collection.

Each of the eight Fusion owners will then choose four friends or family members to join their team, and each team will be given a 2010 Ford Fusion or Fusion Hybrid to drive in an automotive relay race. To complete the relay, each team member must fulfill an assigned task within 41 hours, tracking competitive variables such as miles driven, stops made or the number of passengers picked up.

Ford’s press release says the winning team will be chosen based on their ability to complete the activities and provide proof by uploading photos and videos to various social media sites, including Facebook. The Fusion owner of the winning team will have their vehicle paid off, and team members will win free gas for one year.

2010 Fusion owners interested in competing in Fusion 41 may apply at www.fusion41.com between now and November 6, 2009.

Even in times as financially bleak as these, Ford seems to be moving from strength to strength, at least on the product front. They are able to stand on their own, financially speaking, and have not been propped up by the government, as has GM and Chrysler. The cars they have been turning out have been getting good review and very positive feedback from consumers. And now it’s looking like Ford hybrids are going to own a serious chunk of the green market.

Ford says that hybrid sales have been up considerably over the last year. Sales in September were up 73% from the previous year, and according to Automotive News this will put Ford within a few thousand cars of passing Honda as the second largest seller of hybrids in America. Not bad.

“More than 60 percent of Fusion Hybrid sales have been from non-Ford owners, and more than half of those are customers coming from import brands, mostly from Toyota and Honda,” says David Finnegan, Ford hybrid marketing manager.

Compare Ford’s hybrid sales figures with those of the top dog in the green car market, Toyota. During the same time period that Ford has seen that 73% skyrocketing in hybrid sales Toyota, has seen sales of its hybrids drop by 28%. Overall though, Toyota is still king of the hybrid hill, owning nearly 66% of all US hybrid sales.

New hybrid shoppers have been attracted to the ford line of hybrids due to superior mileage numbers and increasing consumer confidence in Ford build quality. The Fusion Hybrid is certified by the EPA at 41 mpg in the city and 36 mpg on the highway, thumping the Camry hybrid by 8 mpg in the city and 2 mpg on the highway.

Taken in total, what this all means is that on a level playing field Ford is a serious player. They will most likely surpass Honda soon, and if green-minded car buyers start to get a more patriotic bent in their buying decisions, Ford could also start to worry Toyota.