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Hey all, so today I picked up a new to me 2008 Ford Fusion... 2.3L 4 cyl 5 speed manual. This car is a lot of fun to drive and handles really well. I bought it from a mechanic who did a lot of work on it and did a lot of custom upgrades... More pictures to come, it was getting dark and I only took one so far...

The mechanic who sold it to him has a late 90s Escort wagon that came with an automatic. He converted it to a manual transmission. My kind of mechanic! Super nice guy. He even filled the gas tank in the Fusion before selling it to ClutchDisc. This Fusion is completely up to date on all maintenance and sports a set of Goodyear Eagles in great condition with excellent tread depth on 17-inch wheels. I am so impressed with this car that I might even get one for my next vehicle. Frankly, while the Focus was nice, it did not impress me near as much as this Fusion does.

nice car, but i have to ask... what happened to the grill??

Aftermarket grill... Didn't like it at first but its growing on me.

ClutchDisc wrote: ↑Thu Aug 09, 2018 6:18 am Aftermarket grill... Didn't like it at first but its growing on me.

would have to see it in better light...

Keep us abreast of how the car treats you. I didn't know they ever made a Fusion with a cogswapper, being it was the natural successor to the Tornass which didn't offer a manual outside of SHO guise for a long time.

tankinbeans wrote: ↑Thu Aug 09, 2018 10:33 pm Keep us abreast of how the car treats you. I didn't know they ever made a Fusion with a cogswapper, being it was the natural successor to the Tornass which didn't offer a manual outside of SHO guise for a long time.

Same 2.3 DOHC 16-valve that is in my wife's Mazda 5 van and it is pretty peppy with a 6500 redline. My Ranger had the same engine but not as powerful because in 2004 the engine was upgraded in power. Still the Ranger was a blast.

As for the thread title. The more I look at this car, yesterday and tonight for a few minutes, the more I am sure ClutchDisc did NOT find a replacement for the Focus. Rather, he upgraded to a much nicer car in just about every aspect.

potownrob wrote: ↑Thu Aug 09, 2018 2:57 am nice car, but i have to ask... what happened to the grill??

I much prefer that one to the men's shaver this model came standard with. The few versions I've seen with the body coloured grille were nice too, especially in that candy apple red.

tankinbeans wrote: ↑Thu Aug 09, 2018 10:46 pm

potownrob wrote: ↑Thu Aug 09, 2018 2:57 am nice car, but i have to ask... what happened to the grill??

I much prefer that one to the men's shaver this model came standard with. The few versions I've seen with the body coloured grille were nice too, especially in that candy apple red.

Yeah, the stock grill is not the greatest. I think he is as well off or better off with this black grill. Another option is a grill from a Mercury Milan with the vertical bars.

As I said, more pictures would come. I just removed the tint from the front windows today and cleaned out the inside really well. Major improvement!

Better lighting with the grill:


Removed the front tint:


Inside shots:

I would have kept the tint, but to each his own. That car looks huge, at least in pictures. It looks much more space efficient than the current generation Fusion. This interior reminds me a lot of my car.

Is that a stock radio?

My truck had similar tint all the way around when I bought it. I found it significantly increased the degree of difficulty of driving at night and destroyed the usefulness of the right outside mirror when the sun was low in the sky and behind me. It was also one more thing the gendarmes could give me a hard time about if they so chose.

Minnesota has a 50% limit on tint. Mine are as dark as they can go and they don't make driving any harder. That tint looked closer to 30% so I can buy that it would have been an issue.

IMBoring25 wrote:...Gendarmes...

Great, now I have to reread The Count of Monte Cristo.

tankinbeans wrote: ↑Sun Aug 12, 2018 10:04 pm I would have kept the tint, but to each his own. That car looks huge, at least in pictures. It looks much more space efficient than the current generation Fusion. This interior reminds me a lot of my car.

Is that a stock radio?

The tint made night driving really difficult and I didn't like the blacked out look. Much happier now. Its a mid size car, looks bigger than it really is I would say. Doesn't feel big driving it.

Radio isn't stock... the guy I bought it from added it. Its a Sony Android Audio unit. Sounds great!

IMBoring25 wrote: ↑Sun Aug 12, 2018 10:48 pm My truck had similar tint all the way around when I bought it. I found it significantly increased the degree of difficulty of driving at night and destroyed the usefulness of the right outside mirror when the sun was low in the sky and behind me. It was also one more thing the gendarmes could give me a hard time about if they so chose.

It felt very unsafe to me... found myself opening the windows at night just to see.