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Ford Focus Electric qualifies for California HOV lane access, extra $2,500 off
Posted by: | CommentsFiled under: Government/Legal, Hatchback, Ford, Electric
Following in the footsteps of the Chevrolet Volt and the Honda Civic Natural Gas, the 105-MPGe 2012 Ford Focus Electric has been granted HOV lane access in California by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). CARB not only gave the upcoming all-electric vehicle the ability to let people drive alone in the High Occupancy Vehicle lane but also qualified it for an incentive that affords buyers an extra $2,500 off through the state’s Clean Vehicle Rebate Program (CVRP).
With an official range of 76 miles, the Focus EV is what Ford calls the “most fuel-efficient five-passenger car” in the States. As it has in other marketing material, today’s press release announcing the HOV designation, Ford is touting ways its car beats the Nissan Leaf (hey, it “only” gets 73 official miles, remember?), as you can read after the jump. For more on the controversial HOV lane situation in California, check out this article from AutoblogGreen contributor Chelsea Sexton.
Continue reading Ford Focus Electric qualifies for California HOV lane access, extra $2,500 off
Ford Focus Electric qualifies for California HOV lane access, extra $2,500 off originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 12 Mar 2012 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Ford Focus Electric officially rated at 105 MPGe with a 76-mile range
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Coming soon to select Ford dealers, at least those on the coasts, is the most efficient five-passenger car in America, the 2012 Ford Focus Electric, which the EPA has certified gets 105 miles per gallon equivalent, combined. This is better than what the Blue Oval was estimating publicly in December, when it said the all-electric Focus should get 100 MPGe. The Focus EV is also rated for 110 MPGe in the city and 99 MPGe on the highway. As you can read in the press release below, Ford is using the official numbers to go after the Nissan Leaf for the all-electric passenger car market. Ford says its new electric car:
… achieves a combined rating of 105 MPGe, topping Nissan Leaf by 6 MPGe while also offering more motor power, passenger room and standard features. Customers can make more use of this efficiency with Ford’s faster charging technology that can recharge Focus Electric in about half the time of Nissan Leaf.
To compare with some other combined MPGe ratings for plug-in vehicles on the market or coming soon: the 2012 Chevrolet Volt gets 94 MPGe (one better than the 2011 model), the Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid gets 95 MPGe, the Nissan Leaf gets 99 MPGe, the Mitsubishi i is rated at 112 MPGe, and the current champion, the Tesla Roadster 2.0, officially gets 119 MPGe.
The EPA also says the Focus EV will have a range of 76 miles. As Ford is quick to point out, again, that’s three miles more than the Leaf. Given the variances of EV ranges based on driving style and outside influences, those three miles won’t make all that much real-world difference to most people, but it does give the engineering team one more thing to brag about.
For all the comparisons that Ford makes in today’s announcement, it does leave one thing out: the Leaf’s one big numerical advantage. The 2012 Leaf starts at just $35,200, while the Focus EV starts at $39,200.
Continue reading Ford Focus Electric officially rated at 105 MPGe with a 76-mile range
Ford Focus Electric officially rated at 105 MPGe with a 76-mile range originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 02 Mar 2012 11:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
2013 Ford Fusion Energi PHEV will plug-in the mid-size segment [w/video]
Posted by: | CommentsFiled under: Detroit Auto Show, Hybrid, Sedan, Ford, Electric
Along with the standard and hybrid versions of the 2013 Fusion, Ford brought something completely different – for the mid-size segment, anyway – to the Detroit Auto Show this morning with the Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid. It’s the cleanest of the trio and it shows that Ford is ready to introduce a big change to the competitive (and somewhat staid) mid-size class.
Ford says it expects the Fusion Energi to get better MPGe ratings than both the Chevrolet Volt (93 MPGe, EPA rating) and the Toyota Prius Plug In (112 MPGe, but that’s on the European rating cycle). Ford won’t say for certain – the Energi isn’t due for another 8-12 months, after all – but the automaker is saying the plug-in should get “up to more than 100 MPGe.” That’s a convoluted way to say, “we think we win.”
Ford isn’t talking about all the details of this powertrain just yet, but we do know use the Fusion Hybrid’s 2.0-liter Atkinson-cycle engine at its core, matched with a lithium-ion battery. We’ll have to wait until later to learn about charging times, battery size and all-EV range.
In a short video about the different powertrains available in the 2013 Fusion, Eric Kuehn, chief engineer of Ford’s Global Electrified Vehicles says, “With a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, it allows the consumer to be a lot more empowered.” Given Ford’s emphasis on the whole “Power of Choice” thing, we’re glad powertrains were not excluded in the options matrix. Ford representatives are also answering questions about the car today on Twitter. Use the hashtag #FordAtNAIS to join in.
Continue reading 2013 Ford Fusion Energi PHEV will plug-in the mid-size segment [w/video]
2013 Ford Fusion Energi PHEV will plug-in the mid-size segment [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 09 Jan 2012 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Ford, Toyota will partner on RWD hybrid system for trucks and SUVs
Posted by: | CommentsFiled under: Hybrid, Truck, Ford, Toyota
Is the Prius V not big enough for you? Then you’ll probably be interested to learn that Ford and Toyota announced a partnership today to develop a new hybrid system for SUVs and light trucks. The “equal partners” deal should result in a gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain that will be ready “later this decade” – in other words, in time for the higher CAFE standards that the U.S. government just announced.
The exact models that will use the new powertrain are, unsurprisingly, not being revealed. Instead, all we know is that Toyota and Ford will develop a rear-wheel-drive hybrid system that will improve the efficiency of trucks and SUVs while still allowing them to be driven in the way customers expect them to. The powertrain’s architecture will most likely not be the same as what is used in the dominant Hybrid Synergy Drive that Toyota has refined over the past 14 years in the Prius.
The reason no one knows for sure? All that Ford and Toyota have as this moment is a Memorandum of Understanding. The next step will be a feasibility study to figure out what the exact implementation path will be, with the general outline being that the companies will work together on a powerplant that will be used independently in models that are specific to each company (i.e., this is not about sharing a platform or models, just a RWD hybrid powerplant). The two automakers will also work together on in-vehicle telematics.
Today’s announcement could further confuse some people’s understanding of the history of hybrid technology, since it has long been an urban legend that Ford licensed its earlier hybrid tech from Toyota. This did not happen, as we explained back in 2009.
Continue reading Ford, Toyota will partner on RWD hybrid system for trucks and SUVs
Ford, Toyota will partner on RWD hybrid system for trucks and SUVs originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 10:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.