Just to chime in on this thread from the experience of friends and family, I've seen a lot of good experiences with Ford vehicles...
Dad had a 1967 Mustang (289) that he bought in 1970 w/9k miles on it. Drove it 'till 1978 and about 150k miles. Rust wrecked the body, but apparently the motor still ran great. This is what I've been told.
He replaced it with a 1978 Chevrolet Malibu Wagon (305) that he had NOTHING but problems with. Within the first year, it had a new tranny and a new paint job; and by the end, it ran on about 5 cylinders, and dieseled for about 5 minutes at shut-off.
My mom and step-father later on bought a 1994 Ford Temp 2.3 brand-new, one of the last ones on the lot. They drove it for 8 years and about 110k miles, and except for a minor tranny problem at about 6 years old, it ran very well the whole time. Body help up well, too. I was suprised.
A buddy of mine bought a 1998 Escort ZX-2 when it was a year old and had 25k miles on it. He drove the absolute [censored] out of it for 10 years and 100k miles, and it ran well right to the end.
From personal experience, I have to admit I've never owned a Ford, but I had a 1985 Buick Skyhawk that was absolute junk, yet I now drive a 2002 Cavalier that has been pretty reliable.
Overall, I think Ford makes good quality vehicles, and I think the new Fusion is a great vehicle. I think Ford is going to do very well in the coming years. It was a very, very smart move of them to distance themself from the whle bailout mess, i think that will help them a lot....