I listened to the show.

In the FE savings tips, I think the Ford guy is wrong is suggesting that the battery be used in isolation instead of the engine to accelerate. The stored energy is put to much better use in low power demand situations, e.g. in prolonging a glide; or in assist mode to keep the engine in the efficient range of it's power output curve.

As for the "hybrid tech, created in the US" propaganda -- goebbels would be proud. Anybody have access to a listing of the hybrid related patent portfolio of Ford, as it is implemented in the Ford Escape ? A compare and contrast with Toyota would be telling.

R2-E2, 2G Prius.
Highway/City/Husband/Wife MPG: 56.5, as of 12/2005, 26K miles

Jac Nasser, Ford President: "We are planning to launch a hybrid version of
this car [P2000] within this year [1998]. We will also make FCEV available in
2004."