The climate control is one of the features from my old GTI that I miss most (that, and seat heater buttons that don't require me to open the door to access and automatic wipers). I really hate having to fiddle with the temp controls as I find that the difference between comfortable and too hot or too cold is 1/2 click. They could have a climate control with a "do your best while the ICE is on" mode, and a "do whatever it takes" mode, like the 2 AC modes we have now.

Cheers,

rcomeau

It would be quite easy to have a "simple" automatic climate control. A blower motor speed control circuit coupled to a passenger cabin temperature sensing thermistor (an IAT sensor, as it were). Automatically lowering the blower speed to minimum if the passenger cabin temperature is within +/- 2-3 degrees of 72F (you chose).

Otherwise raising the blower speed incrementally, say to the maximum set by the manual control, as a function of "distance to target".

If you really want to know Walt, post this same question on the Prius side... Toyota has this feature on their Prius. (At least my MIL's 05 has the Auto AC feature. She likes it. You know the old saying, "Set it and forget it..."

This is nice. This is the way the Auto climate control works in my wife's Pacifia. The only thing the driver/passenger has to do is select the "Auto High" or 'Auto Low" setting. The difference between the outside temperature compared to the cabin temperature, will help dictate the speed of the blower motor (as was posted earlier.) The only thing I don't like about the "Auto CLimate control" is that it alwys blows the warm air on the floor. I like the air to come out of the panel vents most of the time. When you select this, the Auto Climate Control alwys deactivates (both in my wife's Pacifica and her mother's Prius.)

The pictures originally posted can be found at http://www.leftlanenews.com/2006/11/...e-undisguised/

When looking at these pictures again, it looks as if Ford is finally installing a rubber skid pad over the rear bumper like the MMH has.