Ford introduces its all-electric Focus

[SpartanDem]

Source: Detroit News

Ford Motor Co. thinks its first pure electric passenger car, the Focus Electric, will blow away the Nissan Leaf.

Ford will be late to the party. Its Focus Electric goes into production late this year, while the Leaf — the first affordable electric on the market — is on sale now
But Ford is hoping the Focus, which replaces an engine with a lithium-ion battery pack, will be worth the wait with a range of 100 miles and the ability to recharge the battery in half the time that the Nissan requires.

"It's not about being first or last," said Mark Fields, Ford president of the Americas. "It's about bringing choice to the consumers. That's why we decided to electrify the platform and not just one vehicle," he said, hinting at more compact vehicles with electric motors to come.

Ford used the 2011 Consumers Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where CEO Alan Mulally was a keynote speaker today for the third consecutive year, to unveil its Focus Electric. The vehicle also will be shown next week at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.





Read more: http://detnews.com/article/20110107/AUTO01/101070421/Ford-introduces-its-all-electric-Focus

[itsrobert]

1. Just call it the Ford Electric

"Ford Electric" sounds like a winner, "Focus Electric" not so much. I don't know why, but I think the consumer will come around and just call it the "Ford Electric" whatever Ford goes with.

[bif]

3. They have a naming policy

Ford cars have to start with an "f". SUV's start with an "e". and Mercury's had to start with an "m".

[texshelters]

13. Then why not the "Ford Fermi"?

They are partners with Fiat, nes pas?

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[kmla]

24. Nope, sorry.

That would be Chrysler.

[Angleae]

28. Most but not all do.

Taurus, Mustang, and Flex seem to buck that trend.

[muriel_volestrangler]

29. That would limit them to producing one size of electric car

By putting 'Focus' in there, it's clear it's the same layout as the Focus.

[comtec]

2. only 20+ years AFTER THE EV1

better later than never?
where the FUCK were they in the 90's when people were DEMANDING this sort of vehicle?
ford and them never cease to disgust me.

i hope the focus will at least be made in the US, with American labor and parts, as opposed to their mexican plant.

[Beavker]

5. Both ICE and Electric Focus

will be built in Wayne, Michigan.

[FLPanhandle]

7. Battery technology is better now.

Range and charge time back then wouldn't have been acceptable for mass production.

It's still marginally acceptable even today.

[comtec]

18. The EV1 had an amazing range and were IN DEMAND

The charge time was also acceptable.
They were killed because of big oil and lazy industry.

[FLPanhandle]

26. EV1 had lead acid batteries

6-8 hour charge time vs the new Focus charge time of 3 hours.

Similar range, but the EV1 batteries needed replacing twice as often.

Battery technology was and still is the limiting factor for electric vehicles however, modern lithium batteries are MUCH better than the old lead-acid batteries of the past.

If the government really wants electric vehicles more research and money needs to go into battery technology.

[DCKit]

38. Sorry, no. NiMh batteries. They did the job just fine, thank you.

The Hondas with NiMh batteries are still on the road.

The patent runs out in 2014, and we will see new manufacturing and improvements to this affordable battery chemistry.

[FLPanhandle]

39. MiMh batteries were used after 1999

Before that it was lead-acid.

[SpartanDem]

8. There was so much demand that's why Toyota killed it's RAV4 EV

a few years later. What disgust me is how people like you let Toyota off the hook for doing same damn thing. The Big 3 were certainly late to the hybrid/electric game, but let's not play revisonist history here those cars were big money loser at the time for both companies

[Bluenorthwest]

10. Wow 'people like you'?

Have you seen the film 'Who Killed the Electric Car'? You should.

[texshelters]

15. Ditto to that

"Who Killed the Electric Car" will put you in a rage.

Peace,
Tex Shelters

[SpartanDem]

19. The movie who's director admitted he let Toyota off hook

because GM was the bigger target? No, I have no need to see that garbage and even less need for people like person I addressed who unfairly theh bash the american auto industry.


Many people who have seen the controversial documentary Who Killed the Electric Car? have noticed the conspicuous absence of Toyota in the crosshairs of director Chris Paine’s magnum opus about failed EVs in the marketplace. Toyota was leasing the RAV4-EV, a version of the RAV4 cute ute converter to run on batteries, at the same time General Motors was offering the EV1. Detroit Free Press columnist Mark Phelan was told by Ernest Bastien, Toyota’s VP of Vehicle Operations, that the movie, “was terribly one-sided.” The Toyota exec went on to say, “It was not balanced at all.”

Paine freely admits the movie lets Toyota off the hook, mainly because GM was a much higher profile target. There are other reasons, as well, including the fact that GM had invested much more money in developing the EV1 from the ground up, whereas Toyota merely converted its standard RAV4. For its part, GM makes itself such a willing target, too. In one instance, the filmmakers captured protestors being hosed outside of GM offices when the sprinkler system turned on. GM claims it was on a timer, but Paine disaggrees. Toyota, meanwhile, greeted protestors outside its offices with bottled water and keychains.

The story here, however, is that GM’s main market rival is coming to its defense on the matter, and supporting the General’s assertion that there was no market demand for EVs at the time, and that’s what ultimately killed the electric car. In essence, Toyota has stepped up as a character witness for GM in the case. Does it sway Paine and his supporters? Not so much. EV advocates still claim neither company properly marketed the vehicles, and in Toyota’s case, the hyped-up Prius hybrid was clearly the company’s priority over the RAV4-EV.

http://www.allworldauto.com/blogs/2006/12/22/toyota-exec-defends-gm-in-case-of-who-killed-the-electric-car/

[zalinda]

23. Actually, according to Paul Scott

who, btw, is still driving his in California, and it has 70,000 miles on it, it was profit that killed the car. He was told by the auto industry that 40% of their profit comes from selling parts and services after the original sale. Here's a link to the interview, http://www.youtube.com/user/carpoolUK#p/u/14/H_nHyNbZTa4

zalinda

[joshcryer]

35. I believe it, electric cars are going to be magnitudes more reliable.

Servicing will be minimal and the things are going to last forever.

[quakerboy]

40. I disagree

Have you bought many consumer electronics lately? I'm amazed at how many things do not even make it to the end of the relatively short manufacturer warranty periods. I'm pretty sure the manufacturers will figure out how to get theirs, one way or another.

[joshcryer]

52. Yes, I've yet to have one break down.

It's basic math, the more electronics you have, the more break. An electric car has less moving parts, has less friction points, uses solid capacitors, the list goes on. They're also going to be really easy to repair or fix for people like myself who do that sort of thing.

Rebuilding an engine might be difficult if impossible for a regular person though, but replacing one should be magnitudes easier.

[benEzra]

49. Battery technology. The EV1 had massive battery packs

and had to have only 2 seats and a carbon-fiber frame to keep weight manageable, which means it would cost about as much as any other carbon-fiber car (i.e, only affordable for the upper class). Lithium-ion batteries are way lighter for the same amount of power than lead-acid or NiMH, so they make an electric regular car practical.

If you want to see how far things have come, consider that the EV1 weighed over 1500 pounds per seating position; the Focus Electric weighs around 750 pounds per seating position (~3690 pounds overall), even though it is made of steel instead of carbon fiber and meets crash standards that the EV1 likely wouldn't have passed.

[MannyGoldstein]

4. Go Ford! They've been making great cars lately.

After years of Hondas and Acuras, we now have a Fusion and a Focus. Excellent cars, god performance, gas mileage, and reliability.

[snooper2]

6. It's still a Focus

hope they found a better transmission to use in that thing...

[Lance_Boyle]

9. it's electric.

you can bet that the electric motor is not connected to that pitiful gasser's transmission. In fact, why would there be gears at all in a pure electric? I'm a diesel guy, but the electric Focus gives me some hope for American-made small cars. The diesels they sell overseas would go over well here, but they won't do it. No profit in 'em.

[snooper2]

11. you are correct..

"Not only is Focus Electric designed to provide outstanding energy efficiency and reliable operation, it also delivers real driving enjoyment. The all-electric powertrain and single-speed transmission provide immediate responsiveness and smooth acceleration when the driver pushes down the accelerator, up to a top speed of 84 mph (136 kph)."


Would be hard for them to mess that one up one would think :)

[MannyGoldstein]

14. Our Focus transmission (manual) has been stellar

Very precise.

Electric transmissions are a whole other animal than their gas engine brethren, I believe.

[tclambert]

17. Single speed transmission. Electric motors operate within a much wider RPM range.

Gasoline engines must run within a strict RPM range, and have to idle at about 1,000 RPM to keep from stalling. Electrics just turn off when you stop. You wouldn't need a second gear until around 85 mph.

[quakerboy]

41. My personal experience

We never had any issue with the tranny on our focus, but it did burn itself to the ground in an electrical fire for no apparent reason... And now they are adding more batteries and electronics. Hmm.


I hold a grudge. But I would still strongly consider buying one if it fit my needs in an auto the next time I am buying.

[defendandprotect]

12. Remember ... Germany has a car running on SOLAR battery ....

which will travel more than 350 miles before requiring recharge --

and will recharge in under 10 minutes!

What we do need is government to begin to support this industry --

electric and solar !!

[Name removed]

21. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tclambert]

22. What the heck are you talking about?

Can you give me a name or cite a source so I can look this up?

Could you be referring to Hochschule Bochum's Bo Cruiser? That's a solar car--solar cells cover the top shell--but it has lithium ion batteries, and while it will go 350 miles starting with full batteries and driving on a sunny day, it takes way more than 10 minutes to recharge.

Sorry to go all nerd on you, but my son's solar car team (University of Michigan) beat them twice. He now works desinging electric and hybrid cars, without solar cells. There really isn't enough surface area on a car to make a "solar car" practical. But if you put the solar cells on the roof of your garage . . .

[defendandprotect]

25. Unfortunately, I didn't save the post made here at DU ... check the archives ....

maybe around October --

if I knew how to use the archives, I'd do it --

This is a new design -- don't remember all the particulars -- but

solar -- and as I recall recharged in something like 6 minutes --

and it was a thread posted by another DU'er ... not me.

[NickB79]

27. Exactly right on the surface area issue of solar cells

Look at the Toyota Prius. One option is a solar panel on the roof that can be used to ventilate the interior of the car on hot days so that it doesn't get as hot when left sitting in a parking lot all day long. All that panel can do is provide enough current to run a small fan intermediately throughout the day. To top off a battery pack, you'd need a deployable solar sheet several times larger than the car itself, and would require many hours, if not more like days, to fully recharge a drained battery.

[Gregorian]

16. People have been holding off buying until a true plug in came along.

I'll be looking into electric just as soon as I get settled. I can't wait. Time to trash the internal combustion claptrap.

[Kennah]

20. Hopefully ...

... it won't be the Ford Fuck-up.

[NuclearDem]

30. They already had that...

Remember the barbecue that seats four?

[sarcasmo]

31. 100 miles is much better thant the 40 for the Volt. It won't satisfy commuters but grocery getters

and soccer mom's should be alright with the 100 mile charge.

[Kennah]

32. EVs and E-REVs are totally different animals

Ain't the same ballpark, ain't the same league, ain't even the same sport.

I could use a foot massage.

[midnight armadillo]

42. Why not commuters?

How many commuters do you know who do 100 mile daily trips? When an EV is sitting still in traffic...it doesn't use any energy except for accessories. There's no such thing as "idling" an electric motor.

My commute is a long 40 miles round trip. A Leaf or Focus would be a perfect commuter vehicle for me, and I could always plug in at work for a little extra juice (at 120V) if need be.

[sarcasmo]

45. There are a whole lot of people here in Western Michigan that it wouldn't work for.

Commuting from up north down to work so they don't have to live in the city.

[midnight armadillo]

47. It's enough range for most of the market

http://www.bts.gov/publications/omnistats/volume_03_issue_04/html/figure_02.html
federal bureau of Transportation statistics. 92% of commutes are under 35 miles one-way, with 51% under 10 miles.

Why does everyone insist that to be successful an EV must satisfy 100% of the market?

[Frank Booth]

43. 40 miles with the Volt is more than enough for many commuters, and unlike

the Leaf or the electric Ford it also gets you from Los Angeles to Las Vegas (and still with great gas mileage).

If the Volt weren't so damn expensive I'd be lining up to buy one.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

44. But if you live in the country, 40 mile a charge won't cut it

In fact the closest town that has anything (better prices and jobs) is 35 miles away. I don't think the grocery store will let you "plug-in"(even if they could).

[benEzra]

50. A Chevy Volt would work, though.

Most commuters would use it in pure-electric mode, but if you need to go further, it has a 1.4L onboard genset that can kick on to provide 300-400 miles range, like a regular car. The genset also kicks on above 70 mph.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Volt

Good articles on the Ford:

http://www.automobilemag.com/auto_shows/detroit/2011/1101_2013_ford_focus_electric_look/index.html
http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/alternative-fuel/electric/2013-ford-focus-electric-debuts-at-ces?src=rss

[LisaM]

33. This is great information - thanks - but

I don't think a car (the Leaf) that starts at over $25K is what I would call "affordable".

[joshcryer]

34. The demand for these cars is going to be overwhelming, so the price won't come down for awhile.

But when it does I think the Focus will be a good buy.

[LisaM]

37. I would love to buy a new American car

but $25K is just way out of my price range.

[JNelson6563]

36. Go Detroit!

:toast:

[azul]

46. Better late than never.

Where did we go so wrong? I figure that we could have now 100 million electric cars and solar panel systems for the price of the Iraq an Afghanistan oil adventures, and be at peace. We would have not lost the thousands of lives and suffered all the injuries to soldiers and we would not have killed hundreds of thousands of civilians and made enemies around the world that we now will have to defend against for years.

We went stupid and have gone broke supporting oil dictatorships and driving gas guzzlers when we had a better choice. Were we railroaded into this bloody bankrupting mess? Oil + military interests + corrupt government = f#@&%*& criminal screw-up.

[JohnWxy]

48. no mention of price. Guess that would be too much of a "shock" ...Sorry, couldn't help myself.

[Odin2005]

51. 100 miles on one charge? WOW!!

That is fucking awesome!