New Ford Fusion Hybrid Introduced; 41 mpg
Mar 2, 2009 – Ford Motor Company [NYSE: F] announced that its Fusion will be available with either a traditional engine or a 41 mpg hybrid engine and it will be introduced tomorrow night on “American Idol.” This will assist the automotive industry meet President Barack Obama’s goal of increasing the number of hybrid cars on America’s roads. Ford has NOT taken any government loan in contrast to GM [NYSE: GM] and Chrysler [private]. Car sales in the US dropped 18% in the USA last year. Ford is realigning its advertising to emphasize fuel-efficient small cars rather than its strong trucks. See the full article by Bill Vlasic in The New York Times.
WELL — getting BACK to 41 MPG is a good start in returning to the past. Ford and the industry are to be commended I suppose. Back in history, the year of 1985 I owned as did many other folks, a Ford ‘TEMPO’ which routinely achieved EXCELENT milage averging 50-54 MPG and it continued to perform in this manner up to the point I traded it away at 170,000 miles……
I AM DISSAPOINTED AND DISGUSTED AT ALL THE BLATHER OF A HYBRID VEHICLE WHICH HAS SUCH LIMITED PERFORMANCE CAPABILITIES – COSTS A SMALL FORTUNE TO OWN – WHEN THE TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN IGNORED TO ACHIEVE 75 MPG – THAT 3300 LB. TEMPO DID NOT EVEN UTILIZE A TURBO -THAT ALONE WOULD HAVE BOOSTED ITS ECONOMY BY POSSIBLY 10%.
Ford is also producing a battery powered electric vehicle based on their Focus model. I know this because I work for Magna Powertrain’s New Process Gear division in Syracuse, NY and we designed and built the transmission for the prototype shown in this wall street journal report:
http://online.wsj.com/video/test-driving-ford-battery-electric-vehicle/9CD81439-04BA-45AC-A281-66AC4499B6DA.html
Magna is the largest supplier in the auto industry, and as Magna Powertrain we supplied the transmission to Magna Advanced Technologies who engineered the entire vehicle. They purchased a Ford Focus, gutted the vehicle and retrofitted it with all you need to make a gas-powered car into a BEV. Then, they drove the electictrfied Focus over to Dearborn, MI and showed it to the Ford executives. I guess they liked what they saw because the initial contract is for 50,000 of them starting in 2010.
Now we’re busy working on an upgrade, incorporating what we’ve learned from driving that first prototype into the next generation of BEV transmissions. BEVs are challenge to auto engineers because they are very different from gas-powered cars. But these challenges are what will drive us to design and build better cars. The next few years are going to be a struggle at first, but I’m confident that we can get over this hump to a better way to drive to and from work each day – without the pollution, spending less of our paychecks on gasoline, and in a vehicle that’s fun to drive.
[...] New Ford Fusion Hybrid Introduced; 41 mpg [...]
[...] New Ford Fusion Hybrid Introduced; 41 mpg [...]
electric steam generator…
I never thought I will agree with this opinion, but you know… I agree partially now…
HHO hydrogen generator for car…
I like this particular post and am browsing through your past ones. Great job!…
Water Powered Cars…
I enjoy reading your blog on Hummer Guy ” 100 MPG Hybrid HUMMER H3 to Unveil in Detroit. I will surely pop by again….
Domestic Solar Power…
I agree with what you wrote here at Green Printer Blog ” Green Printing Myths – Busted! Why not make green …. Good points there….