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"Ford chairman Bill Ford said his company expects to have five hybrid petrol-electric vehicles on the market in three years. "It's only the start and it's only one of the fuel efficient technologies we're working seriously on," he said."
What took him so long? Ford could package the FEH powerplant in the Freestyle crossover vehicle right now without having to re-program the computer (Freestyle is in the same weight class as FEH, and is FWD). That would have spread out their R&D investment and have a formidable competitor in the minivan market. The cheesy thing is...when Ford says they will offer 4 more hybrids, they really mean 2 more platforms but badged twice (Ford and Mercury). How about a hybrid Focus with a 1600 cc (or smaller) engine. That would be able to compete with Prius and Civic. But, at least Ford is trying, and was the first US automaker to offer a true hybrid!! Maybe Alan Mullaly could light a fire under Ford's management and the board of directors.
Last edited by GaveUpOnGM; 08-04-2007 at 12:45 PM.
What took him so long? Ford could package the FEH powerplant in the Freestyle crossover vehicle right now without having to re-program the computer (Freestyle is in the same weight class as FEH, and is FWD). That would have spread out their R&D investment and have a formidable competitor in the minivan market. The cheesy thing is...when Ford says they will offer 4 more hybrids, they really mean 2 more platforms but badged twice (Ford and Mercury). How about a hybrid Focus with a 1600 cc (or smaller) engine. That would be able to compete with Prius and Civic. But, at least Ford is trying, and was the first US automaker to offer a true hybrid!! Maybe Alan Mullaly could light a fire under Ford's management and the board of directors.
LOL, why not ask the simple question? Where is the Ford Fusion Hybrid? It was shown to us in 2005. There's even a picture of a parking lot full of them taken in 2006!
The answer is, in all likelyhood, because the FEH, and indeed all Ford hybrids were never really meant to be sold. Oh, sure, it's great that people buy them and love them, but really the FEH's duties aren't in that arena, it's to raise the CAFE standards, give them something to help advertise the conventional Escape, gives them a media shield that they can fall behind (Take a look at their new advertising for the FEH, about the recycled components. Why?), and to deflect criticism. "Why aren't the American companies making hybrids?" We are, there's the FEH. And perhaps in the future, there may be more.
The FFH was shown to us, announced loudly in the later months of 2005. Then it didn't make news and wasn't shown at the Auto Shows. Then around that time, it mysterously dropped off www.fordvehicles.com and the head of the Hybrid developpment and future sustainable technologies quits and leaves Ford. Then rumors popped up, the FFH was canceled. Then what? Nothing. It disapeared off everyones radar. People at the Auto Show circuits had no idea about the FFH, or any other hybrid prospects, and now here it is, 3 years later and there isn't so much as a peep. Instead, suddenly the new micro RV Hydrogen powered Hy-Wire shows up! Wow!
The initial idea was to hybridize the FEH/MMH/MTH, then the Fusion, then the Edge, and finally the Freestyle by today. That was the timeline we were shown and this was told to us by the engineers at Ford, during the Ford Escape Experience along with the department people and the head of Hybrid and sustainable technologies. It seems clear now why there was a change in leadership, and why suddenly despite all the lead time that they had in the FEH in the Hybrid SUV market, you never see it heavily advertised and why it's remained the only Hybrid offering on the road. Because Ford Motor Company doesn't need another hybrid for their marketing and media shielding purposes that's already on the road. Future ones that are sometime off are great, and serve the purpose of keeping people from examining why there aren't more now.
Hopefully one day, they'll wake up and get moving. However, they've lost a lot of time doing nothing. GM's Dual Mode may well give HSD a run for it's money, especially if they mate it to a smaller engine (They're still attaching it to V6's and V8's ), and they don't seem to be as interested in competing in the midsize sedan or small vehicle class either hybridwise.
Personally, if I were Ford, I'd have already Hybridized and released the S-Max. It's a EU vehicle that replaced the aging Focus design. It wasn't released in the USA because Ford didn't feel there was sufficient need to change the plants over. It just happened to get tremendous FE on it's own, as a Diesel, and won Europes car of the year, a first in the history of Ford. It's a sharp looking vehicle that I think would sell very well over here, and with a good Hybrid Drivetrain could give the Prius a good run for the money, but again, that would be a sensible move, and since it doesn't involve the F-series trucks, it's a second tier product at best.
Anything that Ford says will take more than 2-3 years to develop is irrelavent anyway, since that company will be out of business in 4-5 years if they don't figure out how to build vehicles that Americans actually want to buy. (Ditto for GM, except they probably have a 5-6 year time horizon before their doom is unavoidable)
I don't know why Ford refused to develop hybrid counterparts for their popular cars like the Focus and Mustang. Geez! How could you lose with a hybrid Mustang? Sporty AND fuel efficient?
is there anything we could do? write a letter to Ford or something? If they did some of the ideas on this post, they could beat Toyota! they have already done that in Quality (according to JD Power)... with these new ideas of a Taurus X Hybrid and a few more, they would be unstopable! Why arent they doing this? What is stopping them?
The Taurus would have made a great hybrid, might have given Toyota a run for the money if they had been that smart. At one time, it was the most popular car in America. They just stopped improving it and updating and from what I heard stopped building it this year, which actually made an ABC news story. (They might have decided otherwise, not sure.)
The Mustang would also have been a nice hybrid but probably not as good a mileage car as the Taurus would have been.
Ford does have some good cars but I don't know what the heck they are doing. I had an ancient Ford Falcon once which was a good little car and maybe the last American car I ever owned.
Heh, I've missed out a few things on my little rant.
Bill Ford, as you may recall, started doing commercials about the re-invigoration of the company at about that time (summer of '05), and indeed came up with the Hybrid Promise, 250,000 Ford Hybrids on the road by 2010 (? Might have been later) and then, just after Mary Ann Wright, the nice lady who was the mother to the FEH, head of sustainable and future technologies, left Ford Motor Company, about two weeks later, Ford backs out of the Hybrid Promise, and starts the Ethanol Promise.
It's about that time that the FFH dropped off the radar.
The Fusion, with a similiar drivetrain to the FEH would've been easy Ford competition to the TCH and the HAH (When it was out) in the Hybrid sedan market. A Focus or (again) the S-Max would've made competition with the Prius and HCH MPG wise.
I was at the Chicago Auto Show, where they unveiled the "Taurus" the "Taurus X", and the "Sable". I was immensely disapointed, but in reading the materials my disapointment grew. They didn't just change the badging. They decided to install a larger engine and a higher price tag to them as well: A move that I call disasterous. The Freestyle was already far too expensive (As I've pointed out before, it costs more than an Explorer, and is about the same price as 2 FEH's!), but then they lower the FE and raise the price? How is that going to help in today's climate?!?
It's almost as if they're deliberately choosing to shoot themselves in the foot. Repeatedly.
Ford to have four more Hybrids in next 3 yrs
), and they don't seem to be as interested in competing in the midsize sedan or small vehicle class either hybridwise. 
Re: Ford to have four more Hybrids in next 3 yrs
about $0.03/mi
about $0.06/mi
about $0.06/mi
