Saturday, March 03, 2007

ford fusion v6 se fwd

I recently realized, mostly because I have been asked more than once, if I had decided what kind of car I'm getting. Yes, I did decide. Oh, you want me to actually tell you? Very well. I'm getting the car I test drove. Well, not that exact one, because it didn't have the options I wanted. It will be a 2007 Ford Fusion V6 SE with FWD and the only non-standard options I'm opting for are ABS and traction control. And since my color choice is somehow a window into my soul, it will be what they call dark blue pearl with the camel interior.

The other exterior color options were a couple different reds (merlot and redfire), purple (amethyst), black, and several variations on what is really gray (alloy, silver birch, dune pearl, tungsten silver). Black is the color I would choose if I wanted to pretend I was driving a stealth fighter and while I may feel that way at first, I suspect it would grow tiresome. To make the stealth look more complete, I would need to get the black interior and some black leather gloves and wear a motorcycle helmet while driving (to pretend I'm flying). Purple is out for obvious reasons, especially when it's being called amethyst. Red is also out, though the merlot, despite the name, has a nice deep hue but with this weird touch of pink. In the end, it's just too much of a color I'm not that fond of from a school and business rival perspective though I will make exceptions for especially worthy individuals. I've driven a gray car and it's nice, but it's time for something new. Like blue. As for the interior, black has the stealth fighter problem, stone is just more gray, so camel it is with a bit more color and personality.

More broadly, the Fusion is the right amount of car for me. It has all the features that I will use. Who needs satellite radio for a 10 minute drive to work? If you get bored with your own thoughts that quickly, then you've got a lot of other problems. More importantly, all the negatives and shortcomings that I see with the car are things I can live with. The large turning radius? I'm not slaloming through some urban environment into parallel parking spots. The high trunk line that limits rear visibility? As long as that elf on a mini-bike isn't tailgating me, it shouldn't be an issue. The turn signal stalk? A subtle hand position shift can easily take care of that. There is one thing I didn't mention from the test drive, which is a delayed click sound when using the power locks and some of the other controls. The control will respond immediately, but almost a full second later there is a click as if a module was cycling through. However, the controls it occurs on are not ones I would use or adjust very often.

Since a car with the specific features, let alone color, I wanted wasn't on the lot, I placed an order. I have already put down my deposit and they will keep me posted on the car's progress, but it will be several weeks before it arrives.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Blue; very nice. I like blue, too.

It would be interesting to hear more about that delayed clicking sound. What cost-effective decisions do you suppose led to that quirk?