Ford Focus EV photos and write up

Just as we had the Eisenhower Interstate highway program in the 1950-60s, we now need emphasis away from individual vehicles and toward walking & bicycle routes, rechargeable smart cars, light & high speed rail. PHEVs are a part of the solution, but not "thee" answer. We need to follow Germany's example: photovoltaic panels on every roof (home, school, business, church) and alongside every freeway - decentralized power production. A greater emphasis on slow money and slow food and supporting the local economy is more cost effective.

Discussion here is on point. PHEVs have difficulty in extremes of temperature (heat and cold) as well as driving range.

 

Is Toyota getting left behind? Or is it that they are so much farther ahead?

I want competition, and nothing against Focus EV or LEAF. But Hybrid technology I think is still the "alternative" that makes the most applicable, day to day, all purpose sense, to the greatest number of people.

Right now LEAF and VOLT and Ford Focus EV...can only dream of the success that Prius has already established. Not saying in a decade they might not have it..but right now they are just trying to establish a track record that "might" rival Prius...

And I have to wonder with some people if the sudden disenchantment with Prius isn't so much tied to perceived advancements in EV vehicles and technology, so much as it is the psychology of wanting the NEXT greatest shiny- rare thing...

Prius is getting "boring" to some...because it of it's success and mainstream popularity. While I am a great proponent of advancement and EV vehicles..I still have to say, while Gas Stations still remain the primary infrastructure of personal automotive transportation refueling...then Prius is still the product that makes the most sense for the most people.

Personally, I don't think Toyota is being left behind. While not thrilled about the new Prius v...I am excited about The Plug in Prius, which I think is a great hybrid of a hybrid between a conventional hybrid and a full EV....

And for myself, I EAGERLY await the Prius c with it's promised highest gas mileage of any Hybrid.

If there is an area I would say Toyota needs to improve, it's in interface electronics and dashboard instrumentation.

Ford's looks much more modern and "cooler". Which at some level might be superficial BUT it matters. IMO The 2nd Generation Prius with it's large informational screen was cutting edge for it's time. The 3rd Generation Prius with it's narrow slit like flourescent vacume tube digital dash, seems and looks dated. Reminds me of a digital Alarm Clock from the 80's. Toyota trumpets "Touch Tracer" while Ford has multi-colored totally adaptable dash display options...side by side? I have to give Ford the edge...

But is Toyota falling behind...no I don't think so. Toyota really has nothing to lose. They already have an established Hybrid market, which they cannot afford to abandon. If EV's become more and more viable and popular? Toyota's experience with Hybrids and Plug In Prius, I think will allow them to jump into the market rapidly and with experience even Nissan and Ford really don't have, even if they are the pioneers of mainstream marketing in this specific.

 

yes, that is correct. Prius; 95% solution for people wanting 50 mpg. i want more, much much more.

so we should not try? the Leaf may only cover 25% of the people but those are the people who will burn ZERO gas. in that regard, the Prius covers ZERO people

no disenchantment here. but a realization it is time to move on. the Prius still covers a need for me so i will keep one around. but it cannot serve all my needs. therefore i must look elsewhere

the Prius will cover a niche as long as there are single drivers in 25 mpg vehicles, something that will still be here in a decade no matter how popular EVs become.

 

"Right now LEAF and VOLT and Ford Focus EV...can only dream of the success that Prius has already established. Not saying in a decade they might not have it..but right now they are just trying to establish a track record that "might" rival Prius..."

I never said "we should not try"...I said they (Nissan, Chevy, Ford) are "trying"...BIG DIFFERENCE...

I applaud Nissan for creating and marketing The Leaf, and I hope that it is as succesful as possible.

As far as all your other comments? Well I'm speaking in opinon and generalities and you are of course applying them as a actual Leaf Owner.

I could debate with you what you mean as far as a vehicle not meeting ALL YOUR NEEDS...or you wanting MUCH MUCH MORE....

People are free to buy as much as they want. Or whatever they want. You want a Prius and a Leaf...and a VOLT and a Fusion and a Bicycle with a Bell on it? As long as you are writing the checks how can I stop you?

In my opinon, no vehicle usually meets someones potential EVERY need. Most people just make the best compromise they can.

I would ask you what you mean by NEEDING a Leaf? Unless you live in an enviroment inwhich gasoline stations no longer exist, and electricity is the only means of translating energy into propulsion, then I would say nobody really NEEDS a LEAF.

You can desire one, prefer one, want one...for any number of personal and/or political and social reasons..but NEED one? No. I don't think many people are purchasing Leafs on a absolute NEED basis.

That's probably true of the majority of automobile purchases.

What happens often on the internet, or in forums..is that if someone, such as myself offers generalities and opinion...especially with vehicles...or sports teams....people then take it personally...

I don't know you. I have no idea why you purchased a LEAF..and while I would question some of your statements...I do not sit in any judgement of your purchase.

I wouldn't spend as much time in Prius Chat, if I wasn't a proponent of alternative automobiles. If I wasn't entertained and fascinated with what I see as the cresting wave of change within the automotive world.

You are lucky enough to be able to afford to be one of the pioneer owners of one of those products. Good For You...your opinions and reflections about tangible ownership especially in relationship to being a LEAF owner AND a Prius Owner...are interesting.

But I would say you are rare. The majority of the populace, compromise and must compromise. Most of us cannot afford a specific vehicle, to meet our individual desires either in utility or social/political projection. So I would think for most of us, we pick the one, that we can afford..that comes closest to meeting those needs...

In anycase, I did not intend to "Call Out" Leaf owners. Just throwing ideas out...my opinions are not static.

 

I would like to see survey results from BEV owners with answers to -

How useful would you rate your EV on scale of ..

not at all
somewhat
fairly
very
extremely
....

and many other questions

 

found this on Cons. Reports. Some prelim findings.

link below -

"What's driving the EV market?
Right now, state and federal governments are pushing harder than consumers are to start the electric-vehicle revolution.

Specifically, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) is requiring the six largest car companies doing business in California to sell at least 12,500 zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) in the state by 2014. On the federal-government side, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act targets the rollout of one million EVs across the country by 2015 and provides more than $1 billion to make that happen.
...
Few consumers are open to electrified vehicles. Overall, 39 percent are considering a hybrid or electric power type for their next new car, and among them, 60 percent (just 23 percent of all motorists) have a conventional hybrid under consideration. Only 14 percent of those considering a hybrid or electric (6 percent of all motorists) will likely consider a battery electric vehicle...

In the end, the survey reveals consumers are willing to embrace electric vehicles, but they are held back by very practical concerns of cost, range, functionality, and safety."

Consumer Reports Cars Blog: Consumer Reports shares preliminary "green-car" survey findings at GridWeek conference

I like Tesla's approach in developing high-perf. electric cars. Everyone likes a fast, good looking car. Bit unhappy with Top Gear's take on the car, Clarkson ripped it a new one. He just loves BEV's .... not.

 

Dude,
Most of the people that I know make short trips, an EV with 120mi range would be golden. A secondary longer range vehicle would be a yard ornament for a single person and the wife's ride in a family unit.

 

I agree. 120 is my magic number too.

 

I may simply live in the right area but I already know 5 people who plan to do a Leaf and a Prius so the option is probably more common than one would think. Yes there is a cost issue but I don't think I am spending a whole lot more money here for this option.
Yes the Leaf is expensive but I consider the alternate option to be more expensive over the long term.
I also see that there is a significant short term benefit concerning cost especially now tha gas prices are getting out of control.
Now is this another temporary jump in prices? Well may e but even if gas was a buck, it would not have affected my purchase decision inn anyway.
Dollars and cents is not really that important and maybe its because I don't have that much of it to worry about out saving it for something else

 

I don't know - after watching Bill Gates' TED talk last year "Innovating to zero!" - it seems to me that the only option on the market right now that has the potential to get there are EVs. And since the Focus is just vaporware right now - the Leaf it is. In other words - everyone NEEDs a zero-emissions vehicle. As soon as possible.

Now granted the grid from which we will be charging our EV is currently far from being zero CO2 - but an growing percentage of it is going that way. Many Leaf owners either have PV on their roof, are planning on it or buying renewable electricity from their utility.

A car that runs on gasoline/diesel will do that forever unless a suitable biofuel comes along at the right price that can be scaled to large volumes. That's a breakthrough that's been coming in "the next couple years" now for what seems like decades. Same with hydrogen - never mind that the majority of hydrogen will be coming from natural gas reforming - if generated with electrolysis you're much better off charging a battery.

 

my Leaf would be rated "very" it has yet to be left at home when both of us were going somewhere together. now that will not last forever. we do 15-20 excursions a year that we wont take the Leaf on because of its range.

just finished another week of use. did 260.8 miles on it. 320 on the Prius. but we had illness in the house so a few days we went nowhere. my Son went from the flu to pneumonia so it was stay home time.

previous to that, we were doing about 55% Leaf, 45% Prius. now keep in mind to total weekly commute for me is 72 miles (ya that is RT mileage for the week) for her, its about 300. we try to do the Leaf on the longer commute once every 10 days or so (which is the day i get gas for the Prius since she hates to do it)

other than that; the Leaf does not have as much storage, but seems to have slightly more passenger space. we have not had storage issues yet and can sort of, almost claim we did alter our driving a bit due to the Leafs range one time. but the alternative ended up being a better idea (side trip to B&N) anyway. for my BD, we were meeting people for dinner and stopped at Trader Joes for shopping. we finished early, were meeting people about 90 later at a restaurant that was a half mile away. we had already spent the day driving around and i figured we had just enough to get home so no option for cruising neighborhoods checking on houses. but B&N was next door so i spent my time catching up on my magazine articles and picked up a few books for the kid.

 

kWh pack ?? Definitely higher than the Prius Plugin
battery chemistry ?? Definitely not NiMH based

 

trunk? non existent... it has 2 glove departments - once in front and one in back .

 

I was at the Anaheim Autoshow yesterday and I asked the Ford Representatives when the Focus EV will be on dealer lots, and they all said "Next month." So this could mean the end of October.

According to the articles, the Focus EV will have a 100 mile range. So for the people that think the Leaf is ugly, they will now have the Focus EV as an option. (personally, I think the Leaf looks cool) This is good, as it will expand the variety of different EVs available for different peoples' likes and tastes, and result in the total number of EVs being sold to increase.

 

as i understand it...the Ford "100 mile range" is exactly the same as the Leaf claim. would be interested to see some real range tests after owners start taking delivery