borland

Don't worry about the advertiser assessment fees, they are included in dealer invoice, same for destination charges. You need to negociate around dealer invoice. You can find dealer invoice for your build at Kelly Blue Book dot com. Most dealers will show you the invoice so you can compare with KBB. Most credit unions can supply online average prices paid for new cars. The problem is the margins are so thin (difference between MSRP and dealer invoice), you won't be able to deal much off MSRP. Start with dealer invoice plus $500. So, only real deals are with significant factory incentives. There are photo of the trunk in the 'Test Drove Fusion Energiy Today' thread. Basically, you can place a bag of groceries sideways.

A thin hockey stick might work. I was thinking you could remove it. Not sure it is functional, but it probably improves the bass response of the stereo.

I test drove a Fusion Energi today. Very nice ride! My local dealer here in Southern California got two Fusion Energi's in, one is Titanium in platinum white, and the other a SE in sterling grey. Both had the black color leather interior. Both are available for sale. Drove the Titanium for about 3 miles, both on and off the freeway, all miles were in EV mode. Plenty of power in full EV mode. Good visibility and handling too. Very quite with climate and stereo off. Only noises I could hear was the tire/road noise. No noises from the transmission or drive train, except for while coming to a stop, I could hear a faint whine of the regenerative braking kicking in. When starting from a stop, I could hear a couple clicks up front, then nothing. Maybe that was a relay or somthing energizing. Even at a dead stop, the steering wheel has power assist without the engine running. Overall, very nice and quite. Trunk is very small. Very disappointing. The pass through area is obstructed by a large black piece of plastic that seems to be part of the center subwoofer, but extends all the way across. Both the Titanium and SE had this same piece of plastic. The SE had the standard radio, while the Titanium, the 10 speaker system. So there's only a 2" gap to pass anything through with the rear seats folded. Interior fit and finish is very nice. Carpets don't look very plush, but less of a problem getting them dirty. Trunk space is a big concern for me.

Last week, for a custom ordered Fusion Energi, my local Ford dealer would take a $1000 deposit with 8 weeks estimated delivery. They wouldn't prepare a purchase agreement that included the Ford incentives. They would only agree to the price less incentives, which was about $500 over dealer invoice. They also said they were pretty sure I could get the $1500 Fusion Energi web stated incentive even though it expires 4/1/13, but didn't think the mailed $750 coupon (also expires 4/1/13) would still be good when the car arrived. Only reason I went to the dealer showroom was the salesman said over the phone, that the incentives would be locked in. So, no deal, no order for me. Dealers should have inventory in stock soon. Problem is, if you look at what the dealers have ordered are optioned up Fusion Energi's which start out already optioned up.