Thanks for the well wishes, y'all. I did forward that autotrader link on to the Ford customer service team handling my case. (I refined the search out to 500 miles, and it indicated 34 vehicles). And as for working out a better deal, there has already been talk of a no cost to me Premium Care Warranty plus making sure that my now-expired private cash offers are honored. We'll see how it goes, and perhaps the pot can be sweetened further after all is said and done. Fingers crossed!

Well, here I am a month after my car "arrived" in state, a few miles from my home and the dealership, and I still don't have a Fusion HyTi. It tunes out that Fusions built on two particular days in April (which happened to be when my car was built) have had steering gear problems. So my original car was shipped off to Detroit for analysis and (possibly?) repair, and I doubt I will ever see that one. In the meantime, Ford and my local dealer have attempted to get me another one via two methods: Locating a similarly equipped, same color HyTi at another local (or even nationide) dealer. In the last two weeks, they have found a handful of matching cars, but they have all been spoken for, and seem to be in VERY short supply. Relying on a "supplemental order" that was placed by the dealer when we realized there might be problems. The specs for this match my original order. This car was supposed to be built on 7.8.2013, but they got it moved up to 6.17.2013. Still, this puts its arrival in Maryland potentially sometime mid to late July (or...two to three months after I was originally going to take delivery).Everyone's been sympathetic and nice about it, but it still doesn't alleviate the frustration, nor get me what I wanted and ordered any sooner. Sigh.

This is getting very frustrating. Here it is a week later than my scheduled delivery, and I still know nothing about the car and its status. The car arrived at Allied Systems, which is just a few miles from the dealership, on May 5th. All the Ford tracking reports, according to my salesperson and his sales manager (and @FordService) simply show the status as "TBD." No further info is available. The sales manager had the Regional Ford manager call me last Friday, and while he was very nice and apologetic, he couldn't (or wouldn't) tell me why the vehicle was suddenly classified as "TBD." It's just their policy not to give out that information. So I don't know why it's being held there (spot testing? Damaged during transport? Failed inspection? Something else?), and nobody can give me a revised ETA. Will it be days? Weeks? Months? Should I give up on this VIN/specific car and order another one? Should I give up on Ford altogether and shop for a different make/model? My experience all through the process up until this point was easy, pleasant and hassle-free, but the past week or so has left a very bitter taste in my mouth. And it's not like I don't understand that sometimes "shit happens" and cars, especially the first of a model year, can have issues. Or that a vehicle can be damaged during transport. It's the lack of honest communication to let me know what the status is that really chaps my hide. I've been purchasing cars, both domestic and imports, for well over two decades now, and I've never had an experience like this one. How you can spend tens of thousands of dollars on a product, and not have anyone able to tell you what the hell is going on with it, is beyond my comprehension.

Well, shit. It seems I got my hopes up prematurely. I checked in with my dealer yesterday, and the car is mysteriously "on hold" at the railyard and has not been delivered to the dealership. As noted above, it's only a few miles from the dealer, but for some reason, it's in a limbo and not yet scheduled to be moved to the dealer for prep and delivery. My salesman has discussed this with the dealership manager, and they've reached out to Ford corporate to find out what the hell is going on. My salesman says he has never gotten this particular message, nor seen anything like this, in his 18 years. So...who knows?

Well, shortly after the VIN was generated, I was told my car would arrive mid to late May. Subsequent conversations with @FordService on twitter indicated the ETA would be May 15th. I checked again this morning, and they said it was looking like May 9th, but that my dealer would have better info. I talked with them, and the car actually arrived in the state this weekend, and the rail station is less than 10 miles from my dealership. So it's looking like I'll be able to pick it up in the next couple of days! Very pleasantly surprised that the dates have been shifting in my favor, and I can't wait to take her for a spin!

Updates on my order for the tracking spreadsheet: Sticker Date:4.16,2013 Build Week:4.22.2013 Actual Build Day:4.23.2013 ETA Date: 5.15.2013 (From @FordService on twitter)

Greetings, all! Just wanted to say “howdy” and introduce myself, since I image I’ll be posting here quite a bit when my new car arrives. I’ve lurked for a while, and posted a couple of times, and look forward to engaging more with everyone soon. This is my first hybrid, and my second Ford (I had an Explorer back in the mid-90s). My last few vehicles have been a BMW 5 series, a Lexus RX-300 and a BMW X5. My X5 is a 2002, but very low mileage for the age (80,000) and I decided to get something more “practical” before age (and pricey repairs) finally caught up with the BMW. What I love most about the FFH is the balance of functionality and form. Yes, it’s very practical (hybrid, warranties, mileage, cost of ownership with Ford vs. a luxury import) but also dare I say “sexy.” There’s great tech in the car (especially compared with the decade old stuff I have now) and it has terrific eye appeal and “luxury” features for a moderately priced domestic sedan. My tuxedo black HyTi (which I will name “Drusilla”) was built last Tuesday, and now I’m joining the waiting game to find out when it will be shipped to the dealership here in Maryland. From looking at the spreadsheets and other posts, I’m guessing (hoping) it will arrive in the next couple of weeks. The forums have been very useful in helping me make my purchase decision and learn more about the car, and I look forward to chatting it up with y’all in the future.

I'm in the same boat with you, so I would love to see the answers to this. The things I've picked up on thus far: the aluminum pedal covers (which, if they've been removed for some reason, I plan to add as aftermarket), making sure Sync is updated to the latest softward (3.5.1., I believe), and are the cupholders illuminated as part of the ambient lighting like in all the marketing materials.

Malibu, you can use "DR308994" for the VIN. Thanks!

If we're tracking, you can add me to the spreadsheet, too. Anxiously awaiting my new HyTi!

I've just found it frustrating that I haven't been able to get a straight answer, or find a definitive picture of the color, from any official sources. And the singular term "charcoal black" has been shown in many pictures as distinctly different colors across different models of the Fusion Hybrid.

I'm talking primarily about the colors of the seats, dash, steering wheel and other "hard" parts of the interior. From the pics I've seen (some of which are attached to my original post), there's some confusion over whether these elements in the Hybrid Titanium are in reality a deep, dark BLACK or a lighter GREY. Confusingly, I've seen both of those colors/hues labeled "Charcoal Black" by Ford.

Hi gang. New poster and frequent lurker here. I recently ordered a 2013 Ford Fusion Hybrid Titanium (Tuxedo Black, Charcoal Interior). This forum has been a terrific source of information about features, negotiations, pricing (I found the $750 private cash coupon thanks to y’all!) and expectations, so I thought I would tap into your knowledge about one of the more perplexing issues I’m facing. I test drove the Hybrid (non-Titanium) at my dealership, and loved it. (As is the case with many dealerships across the country, there are no HiTys on the lot to drive/view). I did all my research online, read the reviews, sorted through the available features and decide on the HiTy. I’ve looked at all the Ford-provided images and the images owners have posted, and I’m still a bit confused about the actual color of the interior of the HiTy. And by “interior,” I mean the seats AND the color of the molded dash components and inside doors, etc. The official description says “Charcoal Black.” I’ve looked at a host of images, and there is no consistency to the coloring. Some images portray “Charcoal Black” as a deep, midnight, jet BLACK. And yet others portray “Charcoal Black” as a lighter, slate GREY. I realize lighting and photoshopping can often make the same color appear differently in different images, but this appears to be two distinct colors going on. For example, at the Ford website, in the gallery the picture of the interior is “grey.” However, in the build & price section – and the colors and 360 sections – charcoal black is shown as “black.” At the dealership, I took a picture of the interior of a (non-Titanium) hybrid with the interior labeled as “charcoal black” and it was definitely “grey.” When I look at the Ford website, and the Fusion iPad app, there are other representations of the interior (like the Nav System and Ambient Lighting features) where the interior is the much deeper, darker “black.” (look at the attached pictures to see what I’m talking about). I talked to the Ford 800 number customer service, and did the online chat with a Ford representative. They both seemed to understand the confusion, but assured me that the interior of the HiTy was BLACK (not lighter GREY), and that some of the feature images (like “Titanium Leather” and “Ambient Lighting” were accurate). Does this mean there are three different interior colors for the Fusion – “Dune” (the light tan), Charcoal Black (non-Titanium, which is actually GREY) and Charcoal Black (Titanium, which is actually BLACK)? So my question is this: exactly what color is the “Charcoal Black” interior of the Ford Fusion Hybrid Titanium?