Ford brings hybrid, EV work in-house to beat Toyota

Ford brings hybrid, EV work in-house to beat Toyota - Chicago Tribune

"Ford Motor Co, vying to beat Toyota Motor Co's record on fueleconomy, is accelerating development of its hybrid and electric vehicles by bringing the design and production of key components in-house. The No.2 U.S. automaker said Wednesday it will spend $135 million to design parts for its next wave of electrified vehicles and double its battery testing capability by next year."

Always good to see progress. It benefits all of us in the end, and maybe it'll help Toyota push some envelopes with what they can do. Heck, maybe they have an ace up the sleeve somewhere they're waiting to play.

Either way, FORD definitely gets my consideration when it comes time to get a new vehicle, which will be a hybrid or EV of some sort. I think it will also be cheaper for Ford to do it in house with their own team, and should allow for much better collaboration and focus towards what THEIR goal is.

Having bought 2 new Ford products over the years, I know to stick with Toyota.

+1 Agree

I looked seriously at the Fusion hybrid before buying the Prius. If the price would have been a little lower and the mpg numbers a little better I may have one now. The Fusion was better, IMO, with the interior styling and handling.

They will definitely get my consideration when I am ready to replace the Prius with another hybrid or EV.

It would be nice to see a US manufacturer be the one pushing the envelope for a change.

The only envelope US manufactuers will push is for higher executive compensation!

+1
I've been hoping this would happen for a long time.
Ford sees the nissan battery plant about to come online and no doubt they do not want to fall behind.

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Like GM has managed to with the Volt.

If FORD has an ACE up their sleeve, TOYOTA owns the casino...LOL. But it is good that there is serious competition out there. I would like to buy a different hybrid in the next few years because I hate buying the same thing. But then, how can anyone ignore the reliability of a Prius. Mine has 216k, and is still running like new.

I meant Toyota having an ace up their sleeve. Spec wise and advancement wise, Ford seems to be moving faster. Granted, they were behind to begin with, but if they can move that fast, then Toyota should be able to as well.

I love my Prius for what it is, but a more dynamic driving experience, better interior materials, etc would go a long way to convince me to change brands.

Earlier it said they saved 20% on the hsd. That means they must be saving more than 30% switching from sanyo/panasonic nimh batteries, to panasonic lithium cells (likely the same as in the toyota alpha) built into batteries in house. That could mean panasonic is now making lithium cheaper than nimh, or they might have been getting a really bad deal

With its $40k+ price tag, and underwhelming 37mpg charge sustain mode, it's still not too bad considering it's from GM - and realistically - it's GM'S 1st real attempt in their 75+ year history to sell a quality ride with both decent features as well as an attempt at being super efficient. It's a new frontier for GM.

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I'll offer more faint praise for GM and the Volt: it only took them 12 years to produce a fairly crappy Prius imitation.

It is more like $30K after the tax credits and dealer incentives. I lease mine for $12/day and I've got a lifetime 157 mpg so far.

The Volt is my first venture back to GM in 20+ years but so far I am happy with the vehicle, although I did lease rather than buy. It's not a Prius imitation, quite a bit different drive train approach. Something between the Prius and the Tesla in my view.

Prius:
Efficient, Atkinsonized ICE
Planetary gear set transmission (first ever to market)
Software that optimizes ICE and electricity for efficiency

Volt:
Crappy ICE
Planetary gear set transmission
Software that uses battery until depleted, then runs crappy ICE

p.s, I did not forget that the Volt has a big plug-in battery. In terms of tech progress that is about the same is adding a big fuel tank.

The battery doesn't get depleted. It gets down to a reserve level and then the CS mode kicks in and is very similar to the hybrid mode of the Prius, balancing ICE and electric for efficiency. Not sure if the ICE is "crappy" but I don't really use it very much, less than 20% of my driving has been in CS (hybrid) mode.

PS, the battery isn't very big.

First, good for Ford. I hope they can do wonders with whatever they come out with. If it beats the Prius drivetrain, then great! I love my Gen III Prius hatchback, but I know that Toyota or another company will better that design in a few short years. Makes me excited for what I'll be driving next.

My guess is that a Prius GenIV version will still rule the competition in sales. We have only a year and a half to find out.

Yep, inability to efficiently mix electric and petrol, while using a crappy ICE, makes for fuel economy that is ~ 75% that of the Prius.

As I said, a rather poor copy of the Prius, albeit with a much larger plug-in battery.

and much higher MPG than the Prius.

Sometimes, depends on use. However, that is not relevant to my post.

However, I'll wager that your Volt is in a junk yard before my 2004 Prius.

I have a 2007 Prius, second one I have owned. My kids are the primary drivers of both the Prius and the Volt. The Prius is getting 48mpg and the Volt is getting 157mpg with almost identical use, although my son is somewhat addicted to the sport mode of the Volt.

My past experience with GM has me as biased as you concerning the life of a Volt, one of the reasons I leased the vehicle. The other reason I leased was that I expect to see significant improvements hit the market in the next 3 years.

I couldn't find a Toyota product that could deliver 100+ mpg for $12/day. I'm hoping that changes by 2015.