Trade my Prius in for a Ford Escape Hybrid in Protest?!

Yes, this is certainly a sh!t headed thing for the Japanese to do. But then what will you trade the Escape for? It's made in the country which emits the most greenhouse gasses and whose naval vessels drive cetaceans insane with intense sonar pulses.

Boycotts of Norway and Iceland, who are in cahoots with Japan on this deal, would be more effective as they have much smaller economies.

 

The way they are doing business, buying votes from poor countries, it almost reminds me of the United States....

Sniff! Sounds like our post-WWII baby nation is a chip off the old block. Almost enough to choke one up.

 

What the Japanese are doing is filthy. But note that in trading your Prius for a Ford hybrid, you will be trading down to the previous generation hybrid technology. Toyota leased its hybrid technology to Ford, but never the current-generation technology. Only the previous generation. You will have a less-sophisticated car. And it's debatable whether trading off a car you already own would have the same effect as cancelling a planned purchase of a new car. In fact, since Ford pays a license fee to Toyota for the Escape Hybrid, you would actually be buying a new item from Toyota (the license portion of the Escape, and maybe a lot of sub-contracted parts as well).

Selling your Prius would, however, enable one more person, who could not afford a new Prius, to get one used, and so you would make one person very happy.

 

Personally I see boycotting a Japanese made product in by buying a Ford product is sort of like cutting down an apple tree in your yard to prevent your neighbor from taking your apples.

I'm sure Ford/GM has done much more environmental damage with their continued production of larger and larger road behemths than Japan doing some whale hunting. Although I find it funny when whales are about to go bye bye in a particular reason we tend to cry and moan about it, when fishermen overfish an area to a point of complete collapse it's because that's how they make a living.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BNG4DBK @ Jun 4 2006, 03:43 AM) [snapback]265504[/snapback]</div>

Wouldn't you better off going with one of the GM products? I thought Ford bought somekind of licences to use the the synergy hybrid drive...

True GM only offers a partial hybrid... but your getting closer to a true Japan boycott...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Jun 4 2006, 10:33 AM) [snapback]265560[/snapback]</div>

Actually, daniel, that's quite incorrect. Ford's design is a clean room implementation and was similar enough to Toyota's design that Ford went and, uh, dug into some Toyota engines to find systems that infringed upon Ford's patents, which resulted in a patent swap. Ford's system is, in some ways, a lot more compact and clever than Toyota's.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jonnycat26 @ Jun 4 2006, 10:30 AM) [snapback]265633[/snapback]</div>

Except you can't run its air conditioning without starting the engine. It seems to share most of the drawbacks of the Gen I Prius, so it gets labeled as "old technology." Based on its fuel economy and its operating disadvantages, I would agree it is an inferior implementation.

Instead, boycott Japanese products going from this day forward. Start with home electronics.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jonnycat26 @ Jun 4 2006, 01:30 PM) [snapback]265633[/snapback]</div>

I never heard anything about a 'patent swap'. I thought Ford simply licensed the hybrid system/technology from Toyota for use in the Escape.

Toyota came out with the hybrid Prius in 2001. Ford comes out with a hybrid Escape five years later that utilizes an engineering design very similiar to the one in the 1st-gen Toyota and it's just coincidence?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rudiger @ Jun 4 2006, 03:42 PM) [snapback]265672[/snapback]</div>

Sometimes there's only one way to skin a cat.

http://www.autobytel.com/content/research/...icle/aid/139029

http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0508/08/A01-272872.htm

Plenty more where that came from.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jonnycat26 @ Jun 4 2006, 03:05 PM) [snapback]265678[/snapback]</div>

But, if Ford's hybrid technology is so good, why don't they offer more than one hybrid? Why don't they put it in the Focus?

 

You will most likely be very disappointed with the mileage of a Ford Escape Hybrid, especially compared to your Prius. Getting around 30 MPG average on a regular basis would be considered pretty good for one of them. The people that claim to get much higher with their FEH are implementing some wacky driving techniques. It weighs about 1000 pounds more than a Prius. Current hybrid technology can only go so far when used on a heavy vehicle.

The old-school A/C system on them really kills the mileage. They still have a belt driven compressor that can only run with the ICE running. There is a mode that can still blow air and shut the engine off... but all that does is switch the system to vent, which will blow hot air in your face at every stop and engine cut-off. So unless you live somewhere that rarely gets hot, you'll end up with lousy mileage or a serious case of swamp nice person by not using the A/C.

They are over-priced, the build quality can't be compared to a Toyota, they basically can't haul anything (which kind of defeats the whole purpose of it being an SUV), not really any bigger inside than a Prius, the MFD display is tiny and pathetic (also you have to get the pricey and questionable nav system to even have a screen), and the 4x4 models are really nothing to brag about. Some people seem to think they could do some pretty serious off-roading in one because it says "4x4" on it... they'll be in for a big surprise. All in all, I think they'd be alright if they were priced considerably less and Ford took care of some of their short-comings.

You'd really regret giving up your Prius for one.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dgstan @ Jun 4 2006, 04:50 PM) [snapback]265688[/snapback]</div>

They can barely make enough Escapes/Mariners. They've said for a few years now that it would appear in the Fusion in 2007 as well, so they are moving forward.

 

From The Detroit News article:

"Ford also licensed Toyota hybrids patents after its engineers realized that the system Ford had developed had features similar to ones patented by Toyota. (Honda developed a different hybrid system.)

The two automakers struck an accord last year that included an exchange of patents: Toyota gave Ford license to use some of its hybrid technology, and Ford gave the Japanese automaker diesel and direct-injection engine technology."

I don't know. Sounds kind of like Ford licensed the Toyota system, then gave Toyota other technology, all to keep from being sued...

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rudiger @ Jun 4 2006, 11:45 PM) [snapback]265814[/snapback]</div>

do not know how you read that from the article, but okay, sure... btw, got some land in Florida to sell ya.

 

Ford did not use ANY Toyota technology, just like Toyota does not use ANY Ford diesel engines. But Ford's hybrid system is similar to Toyota's, and Toyota's diesel engines are similar to Ford's, so they gave each other patent rights, but there was NO exchange of technology.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BNG4DBK @ Jun 4 2006, 12:43 AM) [snapback]265504[/snapback]</div>

Boycotting Toyota Prius because of something the Japanese government did would make about as much sense as someone boycotting American grown organic produce because of the US government's stance on the environment.

You are shooting your political protest dollar bullets at the wrong target.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(BNG4DBK @ Jun 4 2006, 02:43 AM) [snapback]265504[/snapback]</div>

I understand where you are coming from, and agree that what Japan is doing re whale hunting s disgusting. But keep in mind that 2 states in the US allow cockfighting, a truly savage spectacle that was outlawed in many places over a 100 years ago. And consider what is done to baby cows in order to make veal . . . if not the cruelest animal abuse of all, pretty close. Or read up on how breeding sows spend their lives beforeyour next meal that has pork in it. Then there are the canned "hunts" that take place on private land, and all of the infamous lab experiments (especially the horrors inflicted on animals such as chimps that have about 99% of the same DNA as humans). And, a doctor near where I live gets about $2 million per year in federal grant money to shoot cats in the brain for "research" purposes.

The above is just the tip of the iceberg of the cruelty that goes on here and around the world. There is an old Indian saying that when a man dies, his soul is met at the gates of heaven by all of the animals he has encountered during his life. And based upon on how he treated them, they decide who is allowed through the gates. Personally, I hope that is true. I'm not excusing what the Japanese do regarding whales, but we live in a mighty big glass house ourselves. I'm not creative enough to think of better ways to deter Japan from whale hunting, but I'm sure many others can and will. Have faith.

Gary