Ford sticking with Fusion brand for new Sprint Cup car

Ford sticking with Fusion brand for new Sprint Cup car

Special to Sporting News NASCAR Wire Service

(July 20, 2011)

With NASCAR going to a new version of its Sprint Cup car in 2013, Ford officials had originally expected to switch from the Fusion to the Mustang after a successful roll out in the Nationwide Series.

But they recently switched gears and have opted to continue with the Fusion, which Ford it has raced in Sprint Cup since 2006.

"We decided to have two brands in NASCAR—one in Cup with Fusion and the Mustang in Nationwide," said Ford’s North American motorsports director Jamie Allison in a phone interview Tuesday. "We believe that will be good with both brands, and we believe the fans will love what they will see."

Ford introduced the Mustang with the new Nationwide car that appeared in four races last year and is being used for the full season this year.

The roll out of the Mustang generated incredible enthusiasm in the muscle car world and resonated with NASCAR fans. It appeared a no-brainer that Ford would go to the Mustang in creating its 2013 Cup car, which will be the second generation of the new car NASCAR introduced in 2007.

"Our initial perspective was this was doing that well with the fans in Nationwide and it’s our iconic brand, let’s consider it in Cup—and our initial submittal did have the consideration of Mustang," Allison said.

"But Fusion is an important brand for us. It is our top-selling car. It is doing admirably in the series with Carl (Edwards) and a Fusion leading the championship."

Allison said he could not comment on Ford launching a new Fusion passenger car in 2013. He said the 2013 Cup car will have brand identity for the Fusion.

Keeping Fusion in Cup will help sales of the car. Allison said there was a time when NASCAR fans trended toward trucks and the Mustang, but recent data shows now the interest has moved to cars, such as the Focus, Fiesta and Fusion.

"Our data is unequivocal that when we win on Sunday, we sell on Monday. … We find on average 40 percent of those who intend to buy a car are motorsports fans and 84 percent of those say NASCAR is the sport they follow," Allison said.