UrbnGeek

I'm sure most of you have seen the pics already but I didn't notice a thread. The new Ford Fusion has a uncanny resemblance to the A7, particularly from it's side profile. It's almost as if an A7 and Aston Martin spawned a lovechild.

What do you think about it? Is it a copy or just Ford bringing sexy back?

trieste

Funny! I saw this online and I thought they ripped off Aston Martin. But you're right the profile looks A7.

carljones11

That is a VERY nice looking car!

cbb09

Neither.

I don't like the front and silhouette. The rear looks good though.

audionlineparts

Thats definitely one sexy looking Ford!

trieste

I guess this is the sign of our times. I think this car rips off a lot of the A7 design cues - here are a few that jumped out at me.

The roof doesn't slope as much as the A7, it looks like b/w the A7 and the BMW 6

UrbnGeek

And get this...it also has a wifi hotspot, lane-keeping system, parking assist, side assist, adaptive cruise control. I wonder if the hotspot will run t mobile?

fkaufman

This is the sign of our times, though not the way you have meant it. Things are getting much more sophisticated (read complicated) and even the largest companies can't afford to be an expert (let alone a leader) in every aspect. This is true for all industries. So computer manufacturers by chips from the specialized chip manufacturers, machine tool manufacturers buy motors and bearings from their specialized makers and so on.

In turn, manufacturers of specialized products need to find markets for their unique products and offer them to others which includes companies that are actual competitors in the same field.

This methodology just recently reached automotive manufacturing on a large scale. The turbo chargers on most cars (regardless of brands) are made by Honeywell as an example. The MMI in our A7 (and in MB, BMW and others) is made by Harman-Becker.

While there may be a minor modification to suit the individual client, these devices are basically the same. It stands to reason that the developer of a device will offer it to many of the car companies, thereby the same feature shows up (around the same time) on different brands. So they are not copying (ripping off in your words) each other, just take advantage of something that has been made legally available to them.

As far as the body contours, there is a saying in engineering: "Windtunnels don't lie!"

mp906

I am late to the game here, but I just saw the Fusion.

This pisses me off. I understand taking design cues from a leading design company like Audi, I mean hell Chryslers have LED DLRs now...but this looks like an 80% copy of the A7!

Shame on Ford. Come up with your own material for God's sake.

sgroer

I don't see the resemblance at all. I think it's got some Aston / Jag in it, but I seriously see almost no similarities between it and the A7.