Ford Actually, Finally, Truly Begins Production Of Hybrid SUV

[hatrack]

"To strains of “Born in the U.S.A.,” Ford Motor Co.'s top executive on Thursday unveiled a vehicle that represents a stark departure from the company's storied 101-year history.

Bill Ford Jr., chairman of Ford Motor Co., brought a brand new green Ford Escape Hybrid , a sport-utility vehicle, to a stop on the shop floor at the company's Claycomo plant. He stepped out and introduced a vehicle that marks a series of firsts for the Big Three automaker.

EDIT

Ford has about 5,600 employees at the Claycomo plant, producing the Escape, the Mazda Tribute (Mazda's version of the Escape) and the Ford F-series pickup. Although assembling the new hybrid SUV has not created additional jobs at the factory, industry analysts agree that Ford's introducing new technology to the Claycomo plant as well as building popular vehicles there bodes well for the facility's long-term employment stability.

Better mileage

The Escape Hybrid gets 36 miles to the gallon in city driving and 31 miles a gallon on the highway, more than 50 percent better than the conventional Escape. The hybrid also produces 97 percent less emissions than vehicles that meet current federal standards. "That's about as low as you can get,” Ford said. With the popularity of its gasoline-guzzling pickup trucks and SUVs, Ford has come under fire in recent years from environmental groups that have urged the automaker to make cleaner and more fuel-efficient vehicles. The Escape Hybrid is the company's first vehicle that addresses those environmental concerns."

EDIT

http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=communique&newsid=6247

[nickinSTL]

1. 31 mpg hwy?

They couldn't do better than that?

The city mpg is better, of course, but 31 mpg hwy...the automatic transmission, 2wd Toyota RAV4 got that mpg hwy in 2001.

It may be less in the 2004 model, because they put in a more powerful engine, but still...

[Ready4Change]

6. Hybrids milage on highways generally drops to that of conventional cars.

Hybrids make a lot of their gains through regenerative braking. So they do really well in low speed, stop and go traffic. Want good milage in a hybrid? Find a traffic jam.

On the highway they have to burn energy to shove their way through the airstream, just like any other vehicle. Milage becomes more a matter of frontal area and aerodynamics.

Sounds like the the Escape's a bit old school, regarding driveline and aerodynamics. But at least they're trying, and maybe some other SUVs will follow suit.

[Bamboo]

21. Two men enter,one man leaves.

After an hour in bumper to bumper gridlock the Prius will run the gas engine to keep the battery charged but that has happened to me once,mileage went to 25MPG.The electric motor is needed on highway to help the gasoline engine which is designed for steady state,a small change in speed will turn on electric,I have not gone fast enough to keep both going constantly which tells me that even at 80mph it does not take American horsepower to push through the air.Transforming the indulgent SUV into a good citizen seems like making a healthy cigarette.Detroit really has my sympathy because they are changing the image of an SUV into a good girl in a time of fear which is risky to their profits if Americans think of vehicles in a practical way and not as ego statement.

[phantom power]

8. That's quite an improvement.

The regular Escape gets like 20/25.

If every SUV got that kind of improvement, it would represent a huge savings in fossil fuels. Especially considering that so much driving is stop-and-go.

[Scottie72]

19. What I find ironic is

that they are using from what I know Toyota technolgy.. and that the Toyota compact SUV already gets 30 MPG on the highway! Just wait till Toyota decided to make a hybrid SUV!

[still_one]

2. From what I heard

the hybrid components are being OEM'd by Toyota...

First generation hybrid from the Prius

[nickinSTL]

4. 1st gen?

The new Hybrid Synergy Drive is a LOT better.

So Toyota developed something better and sold the old crap to Ford?

Mwaahaahaahaa :evilgrin:

[madrchsod]

5. first generation?

maybe less cost per unit and tried and true technology. toyota just released their second generation power system in the models. no wonder toyota made more profit than ford and general motors combined.
i saw a new toyota mid size a few days ago.wow what a car-no noise!!!it`s really cool...

[midnight armadillo]

11. I'm not sure

I've done some poking around on this and it appears that the system is Ford-developed. Nissan licensed the Toyota system but hasn't produced anything with it yet.

Ford & Toyota did cross-license their patents, which I think cost Ford quite a bit.

It's the same type of system in each: electric at low speed, together at low batteries or high speed. Doesn't mean they're the same components.

[amandabeech]

17. Yes, that's what I've found, too.

There were some stories about the cross-licensing when Ford presented the Escape at the NY auto show a few months ago.

Toyota confirmed that Ford developed its own system, but that there were similarities that resulted in the licensing.

Another story from the auto show, IIRC, was that Toyota offered GM a license on the Toyota system. GM and Toyota have worked together for some times on the Corolla/Prizm clones and now on the Matrix clones. However, GM refused the hybrid technology in favor of hydrogen, which GM sees as the future of automotive propulsion.

[Massacure]

3. I think Toyota still has a huge advantage over the big three.

[hatrack]

7. To say nothing of a seven-year lead . . .

The first Japanese Prius debuted in fall, 1997. Now, in August 2004, Ford's first hybrid SUV arrives. And while GM and Chrysler have talked big about their hybrid pickup trucks, neither company will produce more than a few hundred in the next 2-3 years.

Oh, but I forgot, it's easier to blather about the hydrogen economy than it is to produce an actual car that people will buy. I do give Ford credit for actually doing it.

[NNadir]

9. This is great news if you actually need an SUV.

Personally I have never met a person who actually needs an SUV. Maybe someone can explain to me what exactly an SUV might be needed for. What is a "sport utility?" Is it an electric company on skis?

It would be better if Ford, like Toyota and Honda, made a hybrid car. They they could get a part of that overamped market. American car companies are pretty much hopeless.

[phantom power]

10. I think that many people "need" one, a few days per year

We own two sedans, and I'm frequently amazed at what we can fit into those cars. In this regard, the fold-down rear seat may be one of the best inventions ever in car technology.

But there are always a few days a year, when I really do wish I had something like an SUV, or pickup truck. Things like trying to get a large box home from the store, or going camping, etc.

The obvious solution here is to borrow somebody else's truck, or rent one for a day. I think our culture has an impact here. People don't seem to be as willing to just borrow cars (or anything else). We want to have one ourselves. Nobody shares resources anymore. I'm as guilty of this as the next guy.

There's also the idea of "delivery". Didn't more things used to just get delivered than they are today? now we have this model where we buy large things from warehouses and are assumed to truck them home ourselves.

[Name removed]

13. Deleted message

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

[hatrack]

14. Well, richp0469, it hasn't really been fun, but it's sure been instructive

Buh-bye!!

[phantom power]

15. Did Rich say something mean about me?

the post was deleted before I saw it.

[hatrack]

16. Nah, some BS about hybrid yachts, trucks, ATVs, battle cruisers . . .

. . . followed (with truly boring predictability) by "Wunder how many uhdem John Kurry ownz" huhhuhhuh (insert Beavis laugh here).

You didn't miss too much.

[DustMolecule]

12. Repubs 'need' their SUV's

because if they get into an accident they want themselves (or their kid) to be the one who comes out alive! (As repug-nant as that sounds, I actually heard one of them say that).

It just chilled me to the bone when I heard it.

[kestrel91316]

20. Re SUV's in accidents

IIRC, folks in SUVs are not any less likely to die in an accident, but they sure are a heck of a lot MORE likely to kill the poor slob the plow into. Real nice reason to own one, huh??

[amandabeech]

18. I don't see a distinct need for 4-wheel drive SUV's

except in truly adverse climates or terrain, where you actually need the 4-wheel drive to get around and you have to haul equipment and/or several people. A four-wheel drive van or station wagon would work, too, but you see few of them.

I grew up in the Lake Michigan snow belt. Even with heavy-duty snow-removal equipment, we would be snowed in for up to a week in a rural area. One of my friends lived close by, and her father worked for the local electric co-op. He had to go out in very, very heavy snow over unplowed roads to fix downed lines. He also had to go out in extremely heavy rains, sometimes across deep road-side ditches and down dirt roads with huge mud holes to fix lines downed by lightning, wind or ice. Believe me, he needed 4-wheel drive. Other people involved in emergency services had them, as did a few people who really lived back in the woods. Frequently, though, folks with an SUV had a regular sedan that registered the most miles.

Without the 4-wheel drive, SUVs become like vans, trucks or station wagons, and are frequently used by tradesmen, farmers and delivery services. Most of the time, regular people don't need them. My father had a Wagoneer for a while, but usually he drove pickups so that he could haul parts for his autobody repair shop. I liked the pickups because their high seating position gave me a much, much better view of the road, particularly to the rear. Guys, scootch down in your driver's seat six inches and look around. Imagine driving like that!

[Pale Blue Dot]

22. Why do they always use "Born in the USA"?

Doesn't anyone ever listen to the lyrics of that song? Irony is dead.