Monday, January 21, 2013


Ford comes through and breaks my 20 mile barrier...
(Thank goodness!)


It is one good looking family car! It will look down right mean in black or slate grey!


Yep! you plug it in as well!

As you all know I have officially decided that to be a true plug in Hybrid you have to travel more than 20 miles on electric only... now Ford was in a bit of a mess when it published EPA numbers in the 47 mpg range when no one... not even the EPA could even reach that number. Most hit the 40 mpg some came did come close to 44 (highway) (but they where most likely going down hill with the wind at their backs).

Personally I was very disappointed that Ford would play with these numbers just to bring in sales when the technology is actually there to able to hit 47mpg... and they can do so by tweaking a few things... Just look at the 2013 Nissan Leaf; Nissan was able to squeeze out a reported 10% more miles per charge. How did they do this? Aerodynamics and tweaking the regen breaks, throw in a bit of reprograming and ... 8 miles where added.
So I believe that Ford can hit the 47 mpg number they just got to make good and step up to the plate.

That said I am writing to report that Ford has come through announcing a 21 miles per charge range!
This is big cause I really like the Ford Fusion. It is a good looking car both outside and in. Has that Aston Martin grill up front and it fits 5! And when the electric juice runs out the Liquid juice takes over. I can really see this car as a fantastic commute family car. Drive it during the day to work and back, and on the weekends take the family up to the mountains or down to the swamps! One thing that I really like about his car is the top electric speed.... ready? 85 miles per hour before the engine kicks in! So if you are a highway commuter and for some off chance your drives takes you in the opposite direction to traffic you can cruise at 85 miles per hour on the highway to work!
And just think about this. If you do get pulled over make sure you tell the cop how excited you are that he just pulled over someone doing 85 on electric power alone... who knows he might just let you off with a warning!


The design works all around



Interior feels sporty and ford has done a great job with the material fit. Although it does still feel a bit plastic at times. I would love to see a bit more leather especially on the upper dash


Out of all the Hybrids out there I think this one is the best (yeah yeah you Volt fanatics calm down! I only say this cause the Volt only has four seats... add a fitfh seat and I am all yours). Now could they have made it better (as in longer electric only range)... Always! and there is the possibility when Ford sees how well the car is selling they might increase that range to 30 miles per charge or dare I say 40 miles per charge! Remember the average American drives 90% of the time under 40 miles per day. I am at around 95% with the Disney, Palm Beach and Naples trips making up the other 5%

Now price is $49,495 and you get the $3500 tax rebated from Uncle Sam which is nice! The volt on the other hand only has 4 seats (This will lead to the "Sorry honey your staying home today" male syndrome which will eventually lead to the "I don't think so and you are sleeping on the couch for the next week" female Syndrome) As for the other stable Hybrids out there the Toyota is still the cheapest at $32,000 (11 mile electric range, really Toyota? I expected more from you) and the Honda $39,000 (13 mile electric range, again kind off weak Honda) So the Fusion plug in falls in the upper middle pricing range and kicks Toyotas and Hondas tail pipes in electric range.

One thing I would wait for and I really hope Ford is paying attention to what GM has done with Leasing incentives, is that you might find yourself around the $270 per month with $3000 down. GM Leasing is at $269 per month with $2800 down. Without the GM incentives you would be looking at around $450 per month. So Ford has to follow these steps to have good sales. I think they will.

So where does all this leave good o'l me? Well, I still want the Tesla, but that ain't gonna happen any time soon. And even thought the Fusion plug in is now in my radar I am still on the path to go all electric by 2015. That plus with the new Leaf pricing it is a win win for the leaf (and mua).... but I will have to say this, I could live with the Fusion plug in, and better yet I think I could live with the Ford Fusion Plug in AND a Nissan leaf in my garage for three years... that is until the Tesla arrives!

As always... stay safe, don't text and drive... and go kick that gas habit, or at least put a hybrid patch on the arm....











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