Ford Touts Torque for 2017 Fusion V6 Sport, Strongly Implies Lederhosen Soiling
Hey, you know what lederhosen are, right? They’re those short breeches with braces that are commonly associated with Oktoberfests and German culture festivals, and as being the primary fashion choice of everyone’s favorite Simpsons character, German exchange student Üter Zörker. This relationship with German culture no doubt goes a long way to explain the title of a press release put out by Ford today, “NEW FORD FUSION SPORT GIVES OWNERS OF GERMAN SEDANS 380 REASONS TO CHANGE THEIR LEDERHOSEN.”
Do you get it? It’s because they want to sell this car to Germans and people who like German cars. And Germans, you see, wear lederhosen sometimes. It would be like if Ford wound up bringing the Ranger or EcoSport to the United States, and the press release in Europe announcing the news read something like “NEW FORD RANGER GIVES AMERICAN TRUCK DRIVERS REASON TO PUT DOWN CHEESEBURGER, MOMENTARILY STOP WATCHING FOOTBALL, RECONSIDER VOTING FOR UNQUALIFIED REALITY TV PERSONALITY.”
Stupid press release title aside, the 2017 Ford Fusion Sport actually does seem like a vehicle tailored specifically toward grabbing shoppers who currently drive or are interested in the BMW 535i, Audi A6 3.0T, or Mercedes-Benz E400, particularly in that the Fusion V6 Sport’s 2.7-liter twin-turbo EcoBoost generates peak torque of 380 lb-ft and the comparatively affordable $33,475 starting price includes standard all-wheel drive. And its pothole mitigation system is really great for reducing damage to your car when you are driving on THE AUTOBAHN BECAUSE YOU ARE IN GERMANY.
In addition to lederhosen jokes, Ford uses its release to point out the inception of the Fusion Sport was born in part from the success of the Explorer Sport and Edge Sport in converting luxury-brand customers. Explorer Sales rose 103% from 2013-2015, and Edge Sport sales rose 62% at a time where sales of the previous-gen model were ostensibly flat.
The impetus for the Fusion Sport also comes from four years of current Fusion customers asking about a higher-performance variant.
“It’s not just Fusion buyers who want something hotter,” says Wade Jackson, Ford Fusion marketing manager. “Owners of other midsize sedans, along with our own dealers, ask repeatedly. So buyers get a 2.7-liter EcoBoost that makes 325 horsepower and a more impressive 380 pound-feet of torque.”
That figure, by the way, is greater than the peak torque of the Maserati Ghibli, Porsche 911 Carerra S, and Jaguar XF V6. And 380 lb-ft of torque, as you know, is also enough in and of itself to make Germans or German performance sedan owners change the lederhosen that they are almost definitely wearing. The real question: what effect do the Fusion’s new cup holders have on traditional German attire?
Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.