EV Advertising By Major Manufacturers Is Missing In Action, Presumed Dead

It’s obvious to everyone. Despite all their chest thumping and fist bumping by the major manufacturers that they are gonna do this and gonna do that, when it comes to EV advertising, there just isn’t any. Even the Sierra Club has taken notice of the gigantic disconnect between what car companies say and what they do. When it comes to telling the public about their EV offerings, they treat alternative fuel cars — especially those with plugs — like three day old fish. If you live outside California, the chances you have never seen any EV advertising.

That’s according to a new study commissioned by the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM). It was conducted by CompetiTrack and Motor Intelligence, two respected companies that track auto advertising activity. The study is for calendar year 2015, the most recent year for which data is available. The chart above makes the situation crystal clear. The blue bar represents national advertising for an electric car. The red bar is for ads that appeared only in the California market.

BMW has actually put some money into advertising its i3 electric sedan. Chevrolet has split its ad dollars between the national market and California, but the total sum is quite small. Oddly, Nissan invest almost nothing to promote its LEAF outside of California. Ford, however, is the worst. It spends nothing to promote the Ford Fusion Energi — which by all accounts is a pretty good car — outside of California.

Ford CEO Mark Fields, you may recall, is falling all over himself to kiss up to The Donald. He recently complained to the press that his company is being forced by the big, bad federal government to sell cars nobody wants to buy.

Too bad Fields didn’t ask his own people before running his mouth. In actuality, the Fusion Energi now accounts for 10% of all Fusion sales. How could the CEO of a major car company who enjoys a multi-million dollar compensation package not know that? Note to Ford shareholders. I would happily do Field’s job and only charge you half what he is making. Call me.

Overall, the industry has adopted a head in the sand approach to electric cars. Car makers spend billions every year to advertise their products, but in 2015, the total spent nationwide on EV advertising was under $25 million. According to my trusty Radio Shack calculator, that is a little more than 1% of the total budget. And you want us to believe you are doing everything in your power to promote electric cars? Please. You people lie almost as much as Donald Trump.

People marvel at how Elon Musk and Tesla Motors are disrupting the automotive industry, but it’s really no secret. The industry is doing everything it can to help Tesla succeed. It’s not that Tesla is so good — although their products are superior — it’s that the rest of the industry is so bad at recognizing the changes that are staring them right in the face.

It’s just another version of the “not invented here” syndrome that has been the bane of the American automotive industry since Engine Charlie Wilson ran General Motors. It’s what kept the Big Three from recognizing the revolution that arrived on their doorstep when the Volkswagen Beetle first came ashore in the early 50’s. Had they reacted sooner, Toyota, Honda, Subaru, Hyuundai, and Kia would never have gotten a toe hold in the American market, but Ford, GM, and Chrysler couldn’t make themselves believe people actually wanted small, efficient automobiles.

Instead of recognizing what Tesla is doing and adapting to it, the American car companies are trying their hardest to block Tesla’s direct to customer sales model and whining to anyone who will listen that nobody wants to buy electric cars except a few wealthy tech geeks. When the dust from the revolution settles, it may turn out that one or more of the Big Three car companies is already dead and just doesn’t know it yet.

Source: Sierra Club

Good News, Bad News For EV Sales In First Half Of 2016

The numbers are in for EV sales in the US through the first half of 2016. Tesla leads the pack by a wide margin, especially if sales of the Model S and Model X are lumped together. Combined they accounted for about 19,000 new sales. The Chevy Volt, which costs less than half as much, was in second place at just under 10,000 sold. The Ford Fusion Energi made a strong showing, finishing in third place, just barely ahead of the Model X.

Sales of the Nissan LEAF continue to be dismal. We have some LEAF owners among our regular readers here at Gas2 and they report they are reasonably happy with their cars. But the industry has moved on while the LEAF has changed since it went on sale in 2010. It is desperately in need of greater range and styling refresh. What might have been trendy at one time now is simply dated.

BMW has two cars in the top 10 list, but that is a testament to how poorly some other cars with plugs sell. Sales of the i3 fell to just over 2,800 units. The BMW X5 PHEV is not far behind and it only went on sale this year. BMW must be deeply disappointed that all the creative energy it put into the i3 has largely gone to waste, except as it gets used to enhance the capabilities of more traditional models. The 3 series, 7 Series and X5 all have plug-in options available.

Soon, every car in the BMW line-up will offer plug-in capability, including the cars in the MINI sub-brand. The i3 also pioneered advances in carbon fiber technology. That so called lightweighting is now trickling down to other BMW models like the 7 Series sedan.

Why are cars that cost so much like the Tesla Model S and Model X outselling far less expensive cars? There is no clear answer to that question, but Tesla’s Supercharger network has to be a big part of the answer. Then there is the “cool” factor involved with driving a Tesla.

The lesson is that people will buy electric cars, but only if they are “compelling” vehicles, in the words of Elon Musk. With 400,00 reservations for the Model 3 in hand before production even begins, people clearly find the offerings from Tesla to be compelling, despite their relatively high initial cost.

Source and image credit: Inside EVs

Ford Fusion Hybrid, Energi Shed $900 Off MSRP

Low gas prices may not have hurt plug-in car sales much, but traditional hybrids have been feeling the pinch as consumers go for sportier sedans or even SUVs. Some automakers have yet to come up with a response, but for the Blue Oval the next move is clear. The price of the 2016 Ford Fusion Hybrid and Energi models are being cut by $900 each.

This brings the base price of a 2016 Ford Fusion down to $25,675, while the 2016 Fusion Energi will now start at $33,900, down from $34,800. Besides the lower price, Ford hasn’t made many changes to the Fusion for 2016, besides the addition of a new EcoSelect mode. This retards acceleration and devotes less power to heating and cooling systems, all in the name of fuel economy.

Keep in mind that Ford was forced to adjust the MPG ratings of its hybrid models downwards last year after consumers complained they weren’t seeing the advertised numbers. Ford C-Max sales in particular have stumbled, and in addition to paying out millions of dollars to unhappy customers, new competitors in the form of the 2016 Chevy Volt and the 2016 Toyota Prius, both of which will be brand new as the Fusion enters its fourth year on the market. So rather than add new features, Ford just cut the price a wee bit to keep its hybrid models competitive.

The Fusion is expected to get a mid-cycle refresh next year, though, so if you can hang on for another year you can probably get a much better deal on a barely-used Hybrid or Energi model.

Plug-In Car Sales Top 100,000 For 2014

With November’s sales figures still being tabulated, Inside EVs reports that 2014 sales of plug-in hybrids and electric cars in the US have already topped 105,000 units through the end of November with another month of sales still to come.

That’s a substantial increase over 2013, when a total of 97,507 cars were sold in the entire year. If the current pace continues through December, the total for calendar year 2014 should exceed 114,000 vehicles. Avid followers of plug-in and EV sales can follow Inside EV’s monthly sales tracker for up to the minute reports.

Of course, some will say that the total number of plug in and EV cars sold is a mere drop in the bucket compared to the number of conventional cars being purchased. Industry analysts expect total vehicle sales in the US market to top 17 million in 2014. But the trend toward EVs and plug-ins is growing. Navigant Research predicts they will account for about 2.5% of all sales worldwide by 2023.

Nissan’s LEAF all electric vehicle is the overall sales leader in the US with monthly sales averaging around 2500 cars. The Chevy Volt is next with about 1700 sales per month and the Tesla Model S is in third place, delivering about 1400 cars every month. The chart includes several models that have just become available, such as the Kia Soul EV, Volkswagen e-Golf and Porsche Cayenne S-E.

Is BMW 2nd Only To Tesla In Electric Car Focus?

With Nissan being the world leader in electric car sales, and its CEO amd Chairman (Carlos Ghosn) being bullish on electric car sales for years, we often put it and Tesla at the top when it comes to electric car leadership. However, new data show that BMW is perhaps now #2 behind Tesla.

Looking at the past three months (August, September, and October), when BMW was producing more of the BMW i3 thanks to good consumer demand in the US, the BMW i3 accounted for almost 5% (4.93%) of BMW’s US car sales (as well as 3.85% of all BMW US sales).

Electric cars on the whole account for less than 1% of US car sales. Nissan has this year seen 2.1% of its car sales coming from the Nissan LEAF. Ford has seen 0.9% of its car sales coming from plug-in models (the Ford Fusion Energi, Ford C-Max Energi, and Ford Focus Electric). And GM has seen 0.7% of its sales come from plug-in cars. Of course, 100% of Tesla sales come from 100% electric cars.

Electric Car Leaders

In the second chart, the % for BMW is only from the months the BMW i3 was on the market.

% of US car sales electric (past 3 months)% of US car sales electric 2014

Toyota

4.9

BMW

2.1

Nissan

0.9

Ford

0.7

GM

0.6

Toyota

Created with Datawrapper

Source: EV Obsession

Clearly, aside from Tesla, BMW is a step above the others. Even if you include the first three months of BMW i3 sales in the US, when things were just getting rolling, and as you can see in the chart above, sales were much lower than in the last three months, the i3 accounted for 2.3% of BMW car sales, asGreen Car Reports.

Interestingly, Tesla’s Chief Designer, Jerome Guillen, recently said in an interview that, aside from Tesla, he is probably most impressed in BMW’s electric vehicle program.

Here’s a look at more BMW numbers, from BMW via Green Car Congress: “In October, the i3 outsold the 1/2 Series (672 units); the Z4 (198 units); and the 6 Series (740 units). The 3/4 Series is still dominant in US sales, with 13,621 units in October, followed by the 5 Series, with 4,914 units.”

Worldwide, BMW sold over 10,000 BMW i3 EVs in the first three quarters of 2014, as well as 341 BMW i8 PHEVs from June through September. Worldwide, the BMW i3 and BMW i8 only represent 0.8% of its car sales.

 

Volkswagen e-Golf Prepares For Police Duty

City governments are some of the biggest consumers of fossil fuels, with police fleets guzzling more than their fair share of fuel. This has many municipalities embracing hybrid and electric police vehicles as a means to offset the cost of gasoline, and the Volkswagen e-Golf is ready to report for duty…at least in its home country of Germany.

At the General Police Equipment Exhibition, Volkswagen revealed its police-spec e-Golf, which may not be pursuit-rated, but for urban patrolling it’s the perfect vehicle, reports AutoWeek. Quiet enough to sneak up on perps but quick enough to get the jump on would-be speeders, the 70 to 90 miles of estimated driving range covers most of the average patrol shift. Plus there’s the advantage of plugging in overnight vs. refilling the gas tank means big cost savings for the parent government, which is why the Berlin city government has been busy integrating different hybrid and electric vehicles into its fleet.

To its credit, Volkswagen has done its best to make driving the e-Golf as familiar feeling as driving a regular Golf (which you can read more about in our test drive), a car which has found widespread use especially among European police departments. No details on how the lightbar or extra communications equipment might affect range, but probably not by much (if any). Here in America meanwhile, many police departments are looking to plug-in hybrids like the Ford Fusion Energi as a means to save fuel across what tend to be wider patrol areas. There are numerous advantages to electrifying police fleets, and over the lifetime of the vehicle fuel savings can amount to thousands of dollars each.

Some police departments have already embraced electric vehicles, including tech-savvy Atherton, which wants a couple of Model S patrol cars on staff. Not every department can afford $70,000+ patrol vehicles though, and with the Volkswagen e-Golf coming in at about half the price, it might be a better stepping stone to a fully-electric police fleet.

Source: Gas 2.

Testing Error Forces Ford To Lower MPG On Six Vehicles

A little over a year ago, Ford was riding high on a wave of enthusiasm for a product lineup that boasted some of the fuel efficient vehicles in America. Unfortunately, those MPG ratings proved to be a bit optimistic. The EPA has forced Ford to lower the MPG ratings on six of its vehicles by as much as 7 MPG, due to an internal testing error.

The hardest hit by the new MPG figures was the Lincoln MKZ hybrid, which saw its 45/45/45 MPG rating drop down to 38/37/38. The Fusion Hybrid also took a big hit, falling from 47 MPG across the board down to a 44/41/42 MPG rating. The other vehicles affected include all Ford Fiesta models (save for the Fiesta ST), the C-Max Hybrid, and both the Fusion Energi and C-Max Energi plug-in hybrids.

As recompense, Ford is refunding lessees and buyers as much as $1,050 to make up for the difference in advertised and actual fuel economy. Consumer Reports was one of the first to sound the horn on Ford’s overly-generous MPG ratings, and they’ve certainly been validated by the EPA. Already the lowered MPG ratings are affecting sales,especially of the C-Max Hybrid, which was supposed to be Ford’s Prius-killer.

So much for that.

Ford blames both virtual aerodynamics testing, and the Total Road Load Horsepower measurements, which produced these huge discrepancies. Ford claims to have discovered the error only in March, when it immediately reached out to the EPA.

Uh huh. Pardon my skepticism, but if you’re going to try to build some of the most fuel efficient cars on the market, I’d think you’d go to great lengths to ensure your cars are actually returning the claimed MPGs. All the wind tunnel testing in the world doesn’t compare to real world driving experiences, and if road engineers were coming back with wildly different numbers than what the lab tests reported, maybe that was the time for Ford to reconsider its MPG ratings.

I’m a Blue Oval fan through and through, but this whole thing reeks of bureaucratic incompetence at best, and underhanded trickery at worse. European automakers have been called out for deceptive fuel economy testing practices, and who’s to say American automakers aren’t doing the same thing?

Model Year	Vehicle	Powertrain	Revised(City, Highway, Combined)	Previous(City, Highway, Combined)	Lease Customers	PurchaseCustomers
2014	Fiesta	1.0L GTDI M/T	31 / 43 / 36	32 / 45 / 37	$125	$200
		1.6L A/T	27 / 37 / 31	29 / 39 / 32	$150	$250
		1.6L SFE A/T	28 / 38 / 32	30 / 41 / 34	$275	$450
		1.6L M/T	28 / 36 / 31	27 / 38 / 31	Combined MFPG not affected	Combined MPG not affected
2013-14	C-MAX	Hybrid	42 / 37 / 40	45 / 40 / 43	$300	$475
	Fusion	Hybrid	44 / 41 / 42	47 / 47 / 47	$450	$775
	MKZ	Hybrid	38 / 37 / 38	45 / 45 / 45	$625	$1,050
Model Year	Vehicle	Powertrain	Revised**(Charge Sustaining, Charge Depleting, EV Range)	Previous**(Charge Sustaining, Charge Depleting, EV Range)	Lease Customers	PurchaseCustomers
2013-14	C-MAX Energi	Plug-in Hybrid	38 mpg / 88 MPGe+ /19 mi EV range	43 mpg / 100 MPGe+ /21 mi EV range	$475	$775
	Fusion Energi	Plug-in Hybrid	38 mpg / 88 MPGe+ /19 mi EV range	43 mpg / 100 MPGe+ /21 mi EV range	$525	$850

Source: Gas 2.

Ford Could Build a Prettier, Cheaper, Better Cadillac ELR

Ford has been playing with the idea of a front wheel drive Fusion-based coupe for a while now- something like a modern-day Ford Probe, but different enough from theFord Mustangs and Chevy Camaros of the world to attract a different buyer altogether. A wealthier buyer. A buyer who wears suits, talks smack about the moon landing, and is all about Blanche DeVereaux, let’s say. I’m talking, of course, about Cadillac ELR buyers.

Let’s assume, for a moment, that Cadillac is 100% right about there being a Cadillac ELR-sized gap in the premium plug-in hybrid coupe market. We’d have to, then, blame the ELR’s slow sales on the fact that GM totally and completely missed the boat with the Cadillac ELR in terms of the car’s styling (awful, in my opinion) and nearly $80,000 price tag (laughable, in pretty much everyone’s opinion). If you assumed both of those things, then you’d have to say that a company capable of producing a premium-grande personal luxury coupe (as the old Lincoln MK coupes and Cadillac Eldorados used to be called) for under $50K in pre-rebate money would clean house.

Enter: Ford.

Ford already has the hot-selling Fusion sedan, which is making serious inroads against more expensive product by offering a premium interior, Aston Martin-inspired styling, and competent driving dynamics. Ford has also shown us what a coupe version of the Ford Fusion would look like, with the Evos concept seen here. Now, all you have to do is imagine a world where Ford didn’t build a production Evos on the back of an Ecoboost/go-fast Fusion, but on the same plug-in hybrid hardware seen in the Ford Fusion Energi.

Best of all, the 2014 Ford Fusion Energi starts at $34,525.

It seems to me like that $45K price tag could be realistic enough for a low-volume Ford Fusion Evos coupe, and- if it looks anything at all like the Evos Concept- that should be both “premium” enough, and “green” enough for Ford’s marketing people to drive it right up Cadillac’s smug tailpipe.

What do you guys think? Could a Fusion coupe out-Volt the Cadillac ELR? Watch the video, below, look up the Ford Fusion Energi, and read Jack Baruth’s article on Ford’s up-market moves, then tell us what you think of a Ford Fusion coupe’s chances against the ELR in the comments section at the bottom of the page. Enjoy!

Sources | Images: The Truth About Cars, Ford.

PlantBottle Ford Fusion on Display at Chicago Auto Show

We first met Ford’s PlantBottle Fusion Energi PHEV last fall, when Ford announced a partnership with Coca-Cola to develop a line of sustainable, recyclable, and bio-degradable plant-based plastics for use in Ford’s automotive interiors. At the time, the company talked about plant-based fibers being used in the seats, headliners, etc., but the question was out there: how does it feel?

And, by “it”, I mean this …

… it’s a sharp-looking interior, sure. The Ford Fusion Energi has all the modern mainstream touches that its competitors have- big touchscreen, thick steering wheel, sporty-looking seats, a giant knob in the middle of the dash, etc. It also has a few neat-o touches like a repeating “leaf” graphic in the seat inserts and a shock of neon-green- well, it’s not exactly piping. It’s like piping, though. Unfortunately for Ford, however, the seats felt weird.

How do I mean “weird”, exactly? I couldn’t say- but they definitely felt a bit “off”. Maybe they felt too sticky, or not sticky enough- but they certainly didn’t feel like cloth and they certainly didn’t feel like suede (neither Alcantara, Novasuede, or the kind that used to be a cow suede), and I sincerely wish I could do a better job of explaining the tactile sensations I got from the PlantBottle stuff. That said, if the in-laws asked me how it felt, I’d tell them it felt “cheap”.

So, yeah. The PlantBottle interior feels cheap.

Still, that doesn’t mean the plant-based plastic future is a bad idea- the technology may just need time to catch up, you know? Until then, you can check out some of the close-up details that went into setting this particular Ford Fusion Energi apart from its more pedestrian brethren in the photos, below.

Source: Gas 2

2015 Ford Focus Energi Rumored: 25 Miles Of Range, $27,500?

Ford's sales of its two Energi plug-in hybrid models climbed steadily throughout 2013, and now it appears the company will add a third model to the Energi family for 2015.

If rumors are correct, the 2015 Ford Focus Energi will add a plug-in hybrid model to the existing gasoline and battery-electric versions of its compact hatchback and sedan.

Ford C-Max Solar Energi Concept at CES 2014

Its existence was first mentioned by Autocar, which noted it as an addition to a range of updated 2015 Focus models. The British magazine said only that it would use the same 2.0-liter engine as the C-Max Energi.

We did a bit of asking around, and confirmed that Ford has been quietly talking to fleet managers and others about the potential new model.

Company representatives, our source said, have quoted an electric range of 25 miles--up from the 21 miles rated for the C-Max and Fusion Energi models--and a price of about $27,500. (That could be a fleet price, however, with the actual retail price a few thousand dollars higher.)

The 2014 Ford C-Max Energi is pricier, starting at $32,920, and the Fusion Energi tops the range at $34,700.

A Focus Energi would be more expensive than any gasoline Focus, though less pricey than the Focus Electric. A bare-bones 2014 Focus S sedan starts at $16,810 (plus delivery), with prices ranging up to $23,575 for the high-end Focus Titainium hatchback, and then $35,170 for the low-volume Focus Electric hatchback.

Assuming the 2015 Focus Energi were to use the same powertrain and battery pack now seen in the other two Energi models, it would qualify for a $3,750 Federal income-tax credit and a $1,500 California purchase rebate.

The 2012 Ford Focus Electric and2013 Fusion Energi on Jay Leno's Garage

Since it appears the Focus Energi will be sold in Europe too, we suspect it will be built into the hatchback model--just as the Focus Electric is--rather than the sedan, since European buyers prefer hatchbacks to sedans.

But the possible launch of a Focus Energi begs the question: Will there be a Focus Hybrid as well--just as there's a conventional Hybrid version of each of the other two Energi models?

Like all automakers, Ford does not officially comment on its future product plans. So we'll just wait and see whether its plug-in hybrid lineup expands this fall or early next year.

Meanwhile, the company sold more than 13,000 Energi model last year--more than Toyota sold of its single Prius Plug-In Hybrid model.

Adding in 2012 sales as well, Ford has sold 9,528 C-Max Energi compact hatchbacks and 6,089 Fusion Energi mid-size sedans.

If a 2015 Ford Focus Energi joins the lineup of plug-in hybrids, which of the four plug-in Fords would you prefer?

Source: Green Car Reports

Birò Electric City Car Has an Answer for Range-anxiety

Range-anxiety. It’s the kind of thing that you either “have” or “don’t have”. If you have it, but you still want to cut back on emissions and live the electric life, you can buy a plug-in hybrid like the Chevy Volt or Ford Fusion Energi. If you don’t have it, you already have your Leaf or your Brammo and we’re all done here. That said, what if you’re not sure if you have range-anxiety or not? What then? If that sounds a bit like you, and you live in a big city, the Birò might be the tiny electric city car for you.

The Birò uses a removable battery to help ease commuters’ range fears. Unlike battery-swap programs proposed by Tesla and Project Better Place, however, instead of an expensive “swap station”, the Birò driver simply disconnects the battery from the rear of the NEV-sized 2-seater, extends the handle, and takes it into their office like a carry-on. If the Birò is being used as a company car in a dense, urban environment, one could easily image a row of pre-charged batteries lined up along the wall in case an employee has to run out on a sudden errand.

If this all seems like a concept that will never go anywhere, look again: though the Birò is unheard-of here, the tiny range-anxiety fighter has, apparently, been selling in Europe countries for several years now, for a “not terribly obscene” 15,000-ish dollars (after the conversion, of course). For that, owners get a 30 mph two-seater (with “speed boost” button for merging/passing) that can get them just about anywhere they need to get in the old countries’ narrow streets.

Would it sell here in the states? Probably not … but it’s still pretty neat.

Source | Photos: Birò, via Gizmag.

Quick Drive: 2014 Ford Fiesta And Ford Fusion Energi

Last month I attended the Ford 2014 Model Year, where I felt very out of place with colleagues (can you call them colleagues if you don’t get paid?) from the big car publications and also felt quite at home with my cronies from Internet obscurity. But I was there to drive some cars and give some impressions, and that is what I plan to do.

We all dabbled in the Escape, Explorer, and the F-150’s, but I was there for the Fiesta.  I’ve stated it a number of times on my website hat I have a soft spot for small hatchbacks, and the Fiesta fits right in.  I was excited to head to Dearborn to possibly drive the Fiesta 1.0L 3 cylinder EcoBoost or the Fiesta ST, as both models should be available in the US coming later in 2013.  Sadly, neither was available for us to drive. I cried a little into my coffee, but I was able to pull myself together and enjoy some autocross and a nice cruise in the 2014 Fiesta.

The 2014 Fiesta is powered by the 1.6L 4 cylinder engine that makes 120 horsepower and 112 ft-lbs. of torque at 5,000rpms.  This is the reason that I began to find things I liked about the Fiesta as I kept the revs up high.

The Fiesta does come standard with a 5 speed manual transmission, which I liked a lot.  The clutch was light and the gear shifter felt solid.  You can start from a standstill in 2^nd gear, but I do not recommend doing this unless you want the elderly to pass you on their mobility scooters.

There is also an optional PowerShift 6 speed automatic transmission.  I only drove the Powershift on the autocross, which meant that it shifted to second and that was about it.  It might have gone back down to first a couple of times, but I didn’t really notice.  I was having too much fun driving a slow car fast!

The ride in the Fiesta is pretty good for an economy hatchback.  I was able to take the Fiesta out onto the mean streets of Dearborn for a roundtrip of 17 miles.  I kept examining the road surface to make sure that I WAS hitting the bumps and not just driving on the most pristine road ever.  There were plenty of potholes, gaps, crevices, and quagmires (what?!?!).  Ok, not really quagmires, but the road was still recovering from the previous winter.  The Fiesta handled all the different surfaces fairly well.  The ride is something that always stands out for me in an economy hatch and the Fiesta passes.

The backseat of the Fiesta is not huge.  The rear legroom is listed at 31.2 inches, more than enough room for two full size child safety seats.   You also can get two rear doors in the Fiesta.  I like the look of the four-door hatch to that of the sedan or two-door coupe.

The Fiesta handles very well.  I thrashed the little red SE 5 speed manual around the autocross course a number of times.  There was wheel spin, tires screaming, body rotation, and some damp underpants.  The last one isn’t true…

On turn in, the Fiesta snaps to the corner.  I was pleasantly surprised by how readily the back end rotates through the corner.  Normally I’m used to big power rear wheel drive cars having the back end step out to help rotate through the corner.  The Fiesta does it as well, even though it’s a small front wheel drive hatchback.  This is a very good characteristic to have, especially when we start talking about the Fiesta ST.

The ST was there, but we weren’t allowed to drive it.  It was the four door hatch, which is the style we will get in the States.  Europe gets the two-door.  I personally like the four-door better, but there are a lot that like the two-door better.  I’ve got kids and I see four doors as essential to me keeping my sanity, so I’m assuming my subconscious has told me that I think the four-door is the more attractive car.

The ST has a robust powertrain for such a small car.  It gets the 1.6L EcoBoost which makes 197 horsepower and 202 ft-lbs. or torque.  If it’s anything as good as the Focus St (and it should be), then this is going to be a great car.  The kind of car that I’m definitely going to try and get some wheel time in.

I’m still looking forward to the 1.0L Ecoboost. I’m still a little sad it wasn’t there to drive.  It’s such a good little engine.   It’s won the International Engine of the Year the last two years.  Plus Ford is going to put it in their European Mondeo’s.  That’s a three cylinder engine in a mid-sized sedan.  Sounds sketch but if there’s an engine that can do it; it’s the 1.0L EcoBoost.

I also spent some time with the Fusion Energi.  This was the most relaxing part of the day.  Ford had us compete on their low speed test track to see who could save the most energy while regenerative braking and also who used the least amount of energy total while driving and while braking.  They called them the “Kinetic Ninja” and the “Zen Master.”  The graph from all of our scores had to look kind of boring.  Everybody drove the same at the same low speed.  My vehicle had almost all 100% scores for our regenerative braking.  I let us down a couple of times.  We didn’t win…

The Fusion Energi is a plug-in hybrid.  On full EV (Electric Vehicle) mode you can go 22 miles.  The cost to recharge the battery at the nation’s lowest average rate is $0.80, but it takes 7 hours at 120 volts.

Once you’re done with your 22 miles of EV range, then the Fusion has a 2.0L four cylinder engine that kicks in.  It makes decent power at 141 horsepower and 129 ft. lbs. of torque.  The total system (electric + gas engine) combines for 188 hp of sustained power.

Ford has said that the Fusion has a 600 mile range on the engine.  That’s the whole 14 gallon fuel tank achieving a combined number of 43mpg.  The city number for the Energi is higher (44mpg) than the highway number (41mpg).  600 miles is a long way between fill-ups, especially at $4 a gallon.  At that point the fuel is outlasting the bladders in the backseat.  That’s the nice thing about having kids; I can blame their little bladders and not the fact that I would have to pee before I was able to drive 600 miles.

I liked the Energi and had a nice relaxing time in the car.  Ford has so many different options for fuel saving and they build almost all of them down the same assembly line.  Whether you’re looking for a plug-in hybrid, a hybrid, or an EcoBoost motor, they know they’ve got at least one option for you!

Thank you to Ford for letting me thrash their Fiestas and I had a lovely time relaxing in the Fusion Energi.  Can’t wait to see the Fiesta ST and 1.0L EcoBoost engine here in the States!

Source: Gas2.0