SEMA 09: Ford Fusion, Taurus, Transit Concepts

[nsap]

SEMA 09: Ford Fusion, Taurus, Transit Concepts
Ford continues its push at SEMA
www.gminsidenews.com
November 3, 2009

LAS VEGAS – This year, Ford is shining the spotlight on a range of vehicles, from a blacked-out Taurus SHO to a “Travel Inn” Transit Connect, at the 2009 SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) Show – Powered by Ford, to be held Nov. 3-6 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Ford is the featured automaker of this year’s SEMA show, the premier automotive specialty product trade event in the world representing the $31.8 billion aftermarket industry. Taking the stage for the first time at SEMA will be Ford’s all-new flagship sedan, the 2010 Ford Taurus.

“Customization enthusiasts are looking for a unique vehicle with quality, and the design, technology, craftsmanship and performance of the new Taurus provide the perfect platform,” said Pei-Wen Hsu, Ford Taurus marketing manager.

Ford SEMA Design Manager Melvin Betancourt agrees. “The expressive design of the Taurus opens a world of possibilities in the aftermarket,” he said. “I think people will go nuts with it.”

Adam Genei, owner of Mobsteel in Brighton, Mich., knew he wanted to customize the Taurus SHO when he saw the vehicle revealed at the North American International Auto Show. “I was just blown away by it,” he said. “I knew I could customize it into a really mean-looking ride.”

The Mobsteel Taurus SHO is completely blacked out – the body, windows, even the wheel lips. The only features not done in black are the wheel centers and badging, which stand out in a brushed aluminum finish. Genei says he also is making some performance modifications. “The Taurus SHO has a very refined drive. Our goal is to take a little bit of that refinement out and make it a little more hard-edged,” he said. “We’re hoping to get more than 420 horses.”

Scott Hoag, owner of MRT-Direct in Plymouth, Mich., also is enhancing the performance of the Taurus SHO. “We wanted to put a little more power to the ground,” he said. “We’re going to lower the car, give it a more street-aggressive stance and add some of our styling cues, with ground effects and a custom hood.” The MRT-Direct Taurus SHO features a red exterior with candied cherry roof and custom hood. “We developed a custom stainless-steel exhaust system to help the car sound more high-performance, and finished it off with an extreme audio entertainment system from Kicker,” said Hoag.

MRT-Direct also is customizing Ford’s popular midsize sedan, the 2010 Fusion. “We took the base Fusion with a four-cylinder engine and asked ourselves ‘How can we jazz it up to have some fun from a styling perspective but also from a performance perspective without giving up fuel economy?’” said Hoag. The answer? Take a metallic blue Fusion, black out the roof, hood and spoiler, then add a single intercooled turbocharger, H&R Springs street performance coil-over suspension and six-speed manual transmission. “We expect to be in the 275 to 300 horsepower range with this car.”

For environmentally conscious Fusion enthusiasts, M&J Enterprises is customizing a 2010 Fusion Hybrid that is green in more ways than one. “Our Fusion showcases a variety of eco-friendly accessories, such as air splitters, heat-reflective paint and window film, all of which are either lighter in weight than the factory items, increase fuel economy or eliminate petroleum-based products,” said Jonathan Garcia, a principal at M&J Enterprises in Phillips Ranch, Calif. The M&J Enterprises Fusion Hybrid sports a silver exterior with a two-tone paint job – dark charcoal with green pearl on top – and bright green striping. “We’re trying to show people that hybrids can be really cool with the right kind of accessory modifications,” said Garcia.

Ford’s display also will include the new commercial van, a 2010 Transit Connect, customized by Azentek and Grant Products of Grand Blanc, Mich. “The cool part about customizing this vehicle is the amount of room you have for many options,” said Azentek’s Bob Fehan. “We have a complete kitchen, sleeping arrangements and several LCD screens for viewing movies both inside and out. Our vehicle also features a canopy, port-a-potty, even an outdoor shower.”

[-World Class-]

Thanks for all the coverage!

[OLDSCHOOLGMFAN]

The Tauruses and Fusions look real nice.

[crooner214]

The transit looks like a squished picture of the last gen Fusion!

[Evo69]

The Taurus concepts look good I like them. But the Fusion's inherent design dont lend itself to much modifications that help the car's awkward appearance.

Still good going to Ford.

[Hitman1970]

That blacked out Taurus is hot!

[mikmak]

Wow. They all get a big yawn from me. Dumped on big wheels: how creative.

[Andonis]

Great covarage!

[Millefune]

*Laughs.* "Check it out! We can put some wheels and tacky paintjobs on Fusions!"

The stocker looks better than that crap. Ford did good.

[Bravada]

The usual SEMA awfulness aside, the Transit Connect is just desperate here. I am eagerly awaiting a SEMA version of the UPS van.

[EldoFan]

Love the blacked out SHO......would love it even more if it wasn't slammed (when will THAT trend die?!). The Vaccir (sp?) signature series Fusion isn't bad either.....reminds me of some of the special edition Lincolns from back in the day

[Buick61]

Originally Posted by Bravada

The usual SEMA awfulness aside, the Transit Connect is just desperate here. I am eagerly awaiting a SEMA version of the UPS van.

^What he said.


Not a redeeming concept among them.

[Uzzy]

Originally Posted by Millefune

*Laughs.* "Check it out! We can put some wheels and tacky paintjobs on Fusions!"

The stocker looks better than that crap. Ford did good.

I totally agree. Those modified Fusions look terrible. Especially the second one. Stock looks better.

[Evo69]

Talk about modified Fusions that suck. How come I dont see any modified Chevy Malibus? Would have liked to see what aftermarket stuff can do to that car. But then again not seeing any modded Malibus at SEMA may be a good thing lol.

[Uzzy]

Originally Posted by Evo69

Talk about modified Fusions that suck. How come I dont see any modified Chevy Malibus? Would have liked to see what aftermarket stuff can do to that car. But then again not seeing any modded Malibus at SEMA may be a good thing lol.

There was when it was new, I think. But there haven't been any changes to it yet. They tend to stick to the newer cars, but not always.