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Still seems to be OK as it has rapid spec 500A and NAV...
Now I feel better:-)
Has anyone got any Milan Hybrid from fresh order yet?
So far, I am quite pleased.
Ford cannot make a dent in the hybrid market this way. Ford customer support says that they will get back to me in "a few days"
Maybe I made a mistake.
Thanks for your cooperation and participation.
retired Ford engineer
About 10 years ago, I bought a VW Passat right out of the box. It had a couple minor issues in the first couple of months, but nothing since. I sold it to a friend a couple of years ago, and it has 180 k miles and is still going strong. :shades:
Forget for a moment this car is a hybrid. I have to believe the Ford Fusion is one of the best mid-sized sedans on the market. If you thought about buying a 2009 because of the rebates, you will be glad that you waited. This car is vastly improved inside and out for 2010.
We drove it about 15 miles today. What I was most impressed about was: (1) how long it stays in electric mode at speeds under 47mph; and (2) how seemless it switches between gas and electric. After driving it, the best way to maximize fuel economy is to get up to speed first. Then, let you foot off of the accelerator and you instantly going into electric mode. The switch from gas to electric is virtually undistinguishable.
We are purchasing a Spec 501a with leather, black on black. It took about 8 weeks from the point of the initial order (DORA). The dealer graciously accepted Ford X-plan pricing. This plan is offered to friends and family, retirees and shareholders of Ford. If you work for a larger company, you should check to see if your company participates. The trick will be finding a dealer who will accept it. The good ones will and it saved us $2,000 off MSRP of $30,780.
We have owned only mid-sized vehicles and the suspension on this car is sport-like. You are going to be really impressed with the fit and finish, as well as the quietness of the ride for the size of the car.
If your most important goal is to just get the greatest fuel economy, you may want to consider the Prius. However, if you are looking to drive a hybrid that drives like a sedan, and offers better fuel economy, this car is a game changer and you won't be disappointed.
The dealer told us that Ford will manufacture any FFH ordered through 4/30 and will guarantee delivery before the end of 2009. They are only planning to make 25,000 this year. Don't wait too long or you might be waiting until next year.
Good luck and good hunting,
rsnow95
I'm still waiting on my FFH, maybe this week.
As for the Z, the big problem is price. I want the backup camera, cross traffic system & adaptive headlights; and to get these items you have to buy packages that push the sticker to over $40,000. It's not a $40,000 car,
What is clear is that Ford will have to run the Mexico plant 24/7 to meet demand. That is a good problem to have.
I just paid $120 for a 64 gig flash drive so I guess I can just plug it into the USB port in the car.
I guess the only point I would make is why not lead the pack and put a 60 or 100 gig drive in the jukebox. It would set the car apart in one of the many areas.
Still I am very happy with the car. I especially like the cross traffic feature where you are backing out of a parking spot and you get alerted to a car coming your way. That and the blind spot features are some of my favorites.
Do you still like the inside fit & finish of your FFH? Or does it seem sort of gadgety after awhile? I'm talking about the LCD dash gauge and the slightly gaudy center console.
Its a stop-gap measure...why would you want to rip all your songs to your car when they are already on you computer and your iPod? Might as well just bring the iPod with you, since its bigger than that drive anyway. They are also slightly ruggedized to handle being in a car, and that makes them a bit pricier.
Do you still like the inside fit & finish of your FFH? Or does it seem sort of gadgety after awhile? I'm talking about the LCD dash gauge and the slightly gaudy center console.
I guess compared to the digital scale speedometer of the Prius and the center console display that washes out pretty much whenever the sun is out, it works well.
Compared to the old school gauges in the Escape Hybrid, it might take some getting used to but the information in the LCD is graduated to help the driver learn the ins and outs and not overwhelm. There are a few different modes of information so the driver can have the vehicle provide coaching, vehicle info, or just speed and how much gas he has left. Thats whats cool about the LCDs, they give just the info the driver wants since they can be reconfigured easily.
It need not be an MP3 player, as you know; it can just be a USB memory stick. Do you think the people who either boycott the MP3 experience or are technology challenged are going to spend the time to rip a bunch of CDs to a hard drive in their car? That is a pretty big leap across the technological divide.
I thought the main purpose of the HD was to hold vehicle info and navigation system data and the MP3 thing was kind of an afterthought.
Any ideal how many Milans are being built? Is it part of the 25k number?
Where did this number come from anyway
http://myford.fordvehicles.com/
The dealer told me today that the ETA for my FFH is on the 25th. Ford had told me that it had gone into production on 3/30th and finished production on 4/6th.
That must be a very slow train from Mexico to Memphis.
Based on my experiences, it took 8 days from when the car was due to leave production.
I really like the car. Only drove it 20 miles tonight since I didn't get away from the dealer until 8:45. This is the first car I've owned that has a crt, backup camera, etc. The mpg readout is hypnotizing. For a 15 mile trip home 1/3 on interstate and rest on 40-45 mph streets, my mpg was 37.
New favorite feature: Cross-traffic alerts. Backing up out of a parking space it beeps if vehicles or people are moving near you.
2nd best feature: Auto traffic alerts that pop up on the screen while you are driving as they occur in almost real-time along your route.
I had one loose piece of rubber trim above the trunk. I just pushed it back into place, and the glue seems to be holding now.
I traded a full-size car, and I miss the Smart Key, ventilated seats and plush ride. The Fusion doesn't have a bad ride, however, and I am enjoying all the technology. :shades:
This is why the manual recommends 'that you do not run out of gas'
I'm going to assume that the technology is very similar to Toyota's ( yes I know it's Ford's own).
The one thing that you should NEVER do is run out of gas in the hybrids. They are not electric vehicles they are ICE-powered vehicles with an electro-mechanical assist. The one sure way to hurt the hybrid battery and to void the warranty is to run the vehicle bone dry and then to try to drive on battery alone.
In order to protect the hybrid battery I'm assuming that Ford has programmed in the same 'buffer zone' into the vehicle such that if some idiot ( yours truly ) were to try to stretch the gas tank to it's full limit and drive 100 mi or so with the 'fill me' light on then the vehicle will shut down before the tank gets bone dry. At that time ( from personal experience ) the vehicle will allow a short drive to safety at reduced power.
IOW 'Do not run out of gas'.
As you noted 41-43 is about the top limit on the TCH for a significant period. Since the FFH is new technology I'd expect that 43-45 mpg being the top values in the right hands in the right conditions with the average of all drivers being about 39-ish.
"At normal driving from say from Maine to Key West at 70+ mph you should almost never lose full charge."
By "full charge" do you mean the EV battery indicator is all the way to the top of the meter, or a little above the middle?
The reason I ask is because I've yet to see the EV battery indicator any higher than about 75%. Now I've only done city driving that might include 12-15 miles at interstate speeds. When I've noticed the indicator much above 50%, it seems to use the electric motor in more situations to assist the ICE.
This weekend I'm taking the FFH out of town so I'll get a chance to see how it handles on the road and what kind of MPG it gets.
Wyatt
So far I am averaging now 38 mpg. I drove all over town this weekend several trips back and forward under a variety of conditions. One trip from Downtown DC to Landsdown and then to Manassas cover about 60 miles. When it was over the trip indicator said I burned 1.2 gallons of fuel. You have got to love it!
After reaching this 'full' SOC level of about 85% the computer can then begin to intervene more often to have the battery and e-motor drive the vehicle more often. Up until then the ICE is doing most of the work both to drive the wheels and to charge the battery on the fly.
When the battery does reach this 85% level the computer will direct the e-motor to draw down the battery in order to drive the vehicle in times of low demand ( light foot pressure on the pedal - termed 'feathering' ). After a period the battery will go to a lower SOC because of the draw from the e-motor. Then as the SOC goes lower the computer will instruct the ICE to kick back in again to do the primary driving of the wheels and to recharge back up to the 85% level again.
Wash, Rinse and Repeat indefinitely.
In the Toyota display the battery charge indicator is 3 bars at its lowest in the moring at the beginning of driving. After 15 min it's up to 1 bar below the top and it never leaves that level even if one were to drive 800 miles in a day. Since the two systems are cousins I'm assuming the Ford Hybrid System operates in the same manner.
In both systems the SOC of the NiMH battery never reaches 100% and it never falls below 35%. This is the key reason that the public is finding that the batteries never need to be replaced in a normal period of ownership ( 150,000 to 250,000 miles ). SF Taxi owners recently were angered when they were forced to retire their Escape hybrid taxis at 300,000 miles ( all taxis in SF must be retired at 300K miles ).