Is Tesla the New Automotive Standard? Quote on the new Fusion is case in point

[Robert1969]

In January, Pulitzer Prize-winning auto writer Dan Neil called Fusion the best car in the segment. His exact words: “best-looking, best-screwed together, most likely to appeal to grown-ups.” Neil continued: “Heavy industry rarely comes with quite so much lyricism and shrewd aesthetic judgement.” That’s a Fusion he’s talking about, not a Tesla (TSLA).

This article is about the new Ford Fusion and its growing sales. The interesting point about this is the way that Businessweek is buttressing an argument for the Fusion by throwing in a Tesla reference. Just two years ago the same point would've been something like this: "That's a Fusion he's talking about, not a BMW."

Right? I thought that was really cool.

 

[SebastianR]

Just two years ago the same point would've been something like this: "That's a Fusion he's talking about, not a BMW."

Right? I thought that was really cool.

Agree, it's really cool! Not sure if it is about automotive class or attention at this point (not to say Tesla doesn't deserve the automotive class reference but simply mentioning Tesla in an article these days seems to be a good way to get page views / attention...)

 

[MikeC]

Yes, definitely cool, especially because they're not talking about EVs, but cars in general.

 

[moollar]

It would be great if this happened in Australia. Unfortunately, 99.99% of the Aussie population has never even heard of Tesla....

Hopefully this will start to change when the RHD Model S starts to arrive "some time in 2014". There aren't many Roadsters over here due to the price tag being about double the U.S. price. Hopefully the price of the Model S won't be as extreme or lack of awareness may remain at 99.99%, which would be a massive shame. Australia has a lot of sunshine that could produce a lot of PV power for EVs, but when the only real options for EVs are the Nissan Leaf and Holden (Chevy) Volt at $40k and $60k+ respectively with no government incentives in sight, the takeup is pretty slim. As a result, there is hardly any EV infrastructure anywhere (including major cities like Sydney and Melbourne). Although, the NRMA (an Aussie equivalent of AAA) has just installed a DC fast charger at their head office in Sydney, I think it may be the only one in the country (let me know if I'm wrong about this - I don't mind if I'm proven wrong in this case :smile.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. Just had to get it off my chest.

 

[Zextraterrestrial]

.....just wait... :biggrin:
not like you have a choice, but...mmmmmm. Tesla!