Ford Fusion Insurance

Ford Motor Co. will offer a more powerful and more efficient powertrain on the reworked 2009 Ford Fusion sedan, slated to debut late this year.

The midsize sedan's 160-horsepower inline four-cylinder engine will be replaced with a new 170-horsepower four-cylinder with variable valve timing. Coupled with a new six-speed transmission, the updated Fusion will be more powerful than the current model, and will boast better gas mileage.

The Dearborn automaker revealed the new powertrain offering to dealers in Las Vegas last week, telling them it hopes the new model will achieve best-in-class fuel economy once testing is completed this year, according to people who attended the event.

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Ford spokesman Jim Cain would neither confirm nor deny the announcement.

But product analyst Erich Merkle of IRN Inc. of Grand Rapids said he thought it was a good idea for Ford Escape Insurance to offer the new powertrain

"I think it's going to be a great engine," he said, adding that the more fuel-efficient offering could not come at a better time, with gas prices approaching $4 a gallon. "It is beginning to impact purchasing behavior."

The new engine is the same 2.5-liter motor that Ford unveiled in New York last month for the new Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner sport utility vehicles. The Fusion will also be getting the same six-speed transmission as those models.

Ford also said it would introduce a more powerful and efficient V-6 engine for the Ford Cougar Escape and Mariner.

While Ford did not make any announcement about a new V-6 for the Fusion, it is likely that engine will also replace its existing 3.0-liter V-6.

The redesigned Fusion will also feature a new front fascia and upgraded interior. A hybrid version had already been announced.

Ford introduced the Fusion in the fall of 2005, and it quickly became one of the automaker's bread-and-butter vehicles.

The car's quality has been heralded as equal to or better than such icons as the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord, but it faces new challenges from rivals like the new Chevrolet Malibu.