Ford’s Greening Plan: Will It Be Successful?
Part 1: The Hybrid
Last week, I had the chance to visit Ford’s headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. I test drove a variety of vehicles while I was there, including the Ford Escape Hybrid. I’ll admit that I was a bit skeptical of the SUV at first—after all, if you’re going to go the extra mile to drive a hybrid, why wouldn’t you buy a smaller car? But overall, I was impressed with the new Escape model.
According to Ford, the hybrid delivers 34 MPG in the city and 31 MPG on the highway—an improvement over last year’s model and an achievement that makes the Escape the most fuel-efficient SUV on the market. One Ford employee told me that he had heard of people getting up to 42 MPG, though that is obviously not the norm.
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The 2009 model also features a new engine processor that makes the transition between gas and electric mode almost seamless. Additionally, the braking system, which had previously been criticized, is now much smoother. I can attest that this isn’t just corporate speak—during my test drive, I had an extremely pleasant ride.
So if you’re looking for a hybrid SUV, the Escape might just be the way to go. Personally, however, I’d like to wait for the Escape Plug-in Hybrid to come to market—even though the release date is completely up in the air (and probably not anytime soon).
For more reviews of my Ford visit, check back here later in the week.
Posts Related to Hybrids:
- Snapshot of Battery Technology for Plug-in Hybrid Electric Cars
- Google To Spend $10 Million on Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle Project
- Plug-In Hybrids Could Require 160 New Power Plants By 2030 (Or None At All)
What’s part two?
green building materials
Ooh, I rented one of those with high hopes. Then when I tried to get on the freeway I thought we’d all be dead.
It is SO slow and underpowered for a highway drive.
Ooh, but I’ll still be reading part two…
I don’t get it. 34 mpg? What’s the big fucking deal? My mom’s hybrid gets 55-60 mpg. It’s much smaller, of course, but I keep seeing this. The Prius: people are so excited, cuz, ooh, it gets 35 mpg!
Time to step it up.
[...] wrote about my experience at Ford headquarters in Dearborn, Michigan. Specifically, I discussed the Ford Escape Hybrid. While I was in Dearborn, I also had the chance to check out some of the “green” [...]