I was invited to take part in the Ford Fusion Challenge being run by Car and Driver/Road&Track magazines. It was held on the 21st at the California Motor Speedway in Fontana, CA.

Unfortunately, there were major COLD Santa Ana winds gusting to 65 MPH during the event. As we huddled in the briefing tent (that rose and fell with the winds) trying to keep both warm and on the ground, we watched as the tent ceiling rose as much as 5 feet and then fell back down. A quick shot of 10 inch nails (the real kind) held the tent base in place for about 10 minutes and then they too rose about 18 inches off the pavement baring those 10 inch nails as nasty fangs.

We were handed a clipboard with a check sheet and attempted to walk to the cars in two groups. Immediately my paper was ripped from the clipboard and it soared nearly 100 feet in the air. I was told they would get me another one later. There were three black AWD V6 Fusions and three white V6 Camry's. I got in one of the Camry's along with two other drivers and a French pro from the Formula One circuit.

The wind continued to blow as one of the other drivers pulled the Camry up to the line at the beginning of the coned off road course. He stomped the throttle and the Camry's front tires bounced, hopped and spun furiously. Too quickly a marked off lane change maneuver came up. The driver turned hard left then right to avoid hitting the cones. Fortunately we were belted in as we flew side to side as the Camry leaned and turned like a rubber band stretched and released. The driver continued the pedal to the floor driving around a large sweeping curve as the Camry tried to under steer its way thru at nearly full throttle. The drivers hands flew off the wheel as he spun it side to side as the Pro quietly told him he should try to keep his hands firmly on the wheel. All the while encouraging the driver to go as fast as he could. All too soon the short lap was done and the driver was told to take a second one. The second lap was about as wild as the first. I couldn't tell if it was the wind or just his b@lls out driving that tossed us around the car.

We pulled over and then the second driver got in. Not quite as aggressive but still pronounced wheel hop and spinning tires. A little less oversteer going around the turns. The cones lining the course started teetering and a few fell over from the wind. Two laps and my turn. On such a short course I did not see the reason for full throttle and drove much smoother through the cones. Steering felt fairly neutral but with lots of body roll. As I came to a stop more cones started blowing over.

On to the AWD Fusion. The first driver again floored the accelerator off the line. This time there was little wheel hop and much slower acceleration. Through the lane change a bit smoother and then into that wide right sweeper at full throttle. The car understeered hard as we kept pushing toward the outside cones, but acceleration was considerably less than the Camry. The second driver was somewhat smoother then came my turn. As I started off the line the car felt like it was dragging an anchor. No trouble through the lane change and I smoothly entered the sweeper. As I turned right the car kept pushing left, more power, more push. Easing off the throttle corrected a little, but the car really wanted to go left instead of right.

As I was coming to a stop I noticed that there were a number of cones passing me. They had fallen over and the shape of the cone was catching the wind and racing each other across the course. The Pro was holding my clipboard when he stepped out of the car. A gust hit him flinging his hat high in the air and launching my clipboard. Its wing like shape allowed it to take off and come down about 100 feet away.

At this point we were told they would delay the continuation of the test drive until the winds died down. They promptly secured all the tents by tying them to their vehicles. After 30 additional minutes with no let up in sight, the event was cancelled.

There were cameras in the cars recording our reactions and comments. Ford is currently running ads about 600 drivers in Washington who thought the Fusion was by far the better car. I listened to their comments and can only say that people lie when they know they are on camera. The Fusion did feel more roomy but was extremely underpowered. Its handling was atrocious and the Camry was way overpowered for its chassis setup.

We never did get a chance to drive the Honda Accord...