I thought it was just me but chatted with 2 people about it and they do too. Again this morning I thought I saw an Aston and its a Fusion

Has it happened to you?

 

Ford copied Aston Martin and Land Rover as a "family look" while it owned them. No surprise there.

 

No mistakes here whatsoever, I know my cars. And considering Ford still owns a small stake in Aston, they can use whatever they want imo

 

From a distance I've mixed them up but as soon as I get close I see the truth.

 

Can't be helped, Ford NA's design director Moray Callum is the younger brother of Ian Callum--and he designed the Aston Martin DB7, Vanquish and started the DB9....and the current Jaguar XK.

 

Wow I did not know that fact, thanks.

 

I have mixed them up with a Maserati Quatropotte from the rear.

 

It's crazy how Ford has turned itself around under Alan Mulally.

Equally crazy that I know when it's time for my next car--I'm going to be test driving Fords first.

 

I have not confused the two. Aside from the Aston-esque front end, I have been noticing how horribly bland the Fusion really is. Front of the car is sharp...the sides and rear end are about as vanilla as it comes.

 

^^ have you met the Jetta/Passat?

 

There's a Kia Sorento driving around town that added something to the front grille to give it the BMW kidneys. Complete with chrome rings and vertical slats. Is it legal? Yes. Does it make you want to throw poop at it? Frick yeah. The new Fords with the xeroxed Aston grilles are even worse, because it's not just a grille, in some cases like the Fusion it's basically the entire front end. And they slapped it on not just one, but a series of cars. A pretense to make a "family look" out of a stolen grille.

It's also ridiculous for it to be justified by how many shares Ford owns or had owned. Reminds me of when Ford owned AM fully and put out TV advertising about "Ford heritage" inserting pictures of 60's era Astons. People then were thinking WTF, but Ford tried to argue that when they buy a company, they buy the entire history of the company too, which is BS. A century old company boasting about the past accomplishments of another company as if its their own just because they forked out some cash is insulting, and frankly, quite embarrassing for a company like Ford with such rich history of their own.

And even if the designers are brothers, does that mean one has the right to whatever the other does? Of course not. Is Jim Harbaugh privy to the books and strategies and coaching style of John and vice versa just because of familial ties? Frick no. So to reason that the copy is inevitable for that reason is ridiculous. If I were the brother of the head of design at Pininfarina does that mean I can get on board at another company and start pumping out Enzo and F12 clones? Of course not.

 

Same here

I know my cars too well!

 

It may look like an Aston, but that doesn't mean it looks good. It reminds me of the wiiide mouth frog joke from childhood.

 

It's so bloated/thick looking and with small rims it looks funny. All that thick beltline trend is bad but it's not going away anytime soon.

 

Yes, the grilles are somewhat similiar, but if it ever gets to the point, Mike, where either you or actually confuse a Fusion with an Aston, it may be time for us to stop doing reviews.