From a columnist of Newsweek, a hardcore liberal that drove the Ford Escape through Manhattan for the newly-famous 38 MPG ride tells of his surprise.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4724092/

Hi Jason:

___38 mpg with a brand new Ford Escape Hybrid through downtown Manhattan with completely untrained hybrid drivers? WTF! And it’s a PZEV to top it all off! That 30,000 limit business sounds pretty bad however :( I wonder if I should trade in the MDX ;)

___Thanks for the link. I passed it on to the Edmunds groups as well … I hope you don’t mind?

___Here are a few more thanks to Google …

http://www.detnews.com/2004/autosinsider/0...utos-115977.htm

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/20...hybridcars.html

http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=1740183

http://www.evworld.com/view.cfm?section=co...que&newsid=5402

http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/040408/241/eqnkc.html

http://money.cnn.com/services/tickerheadli...84932.13368.htm

and on and on and on …

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

Wayne,

Links aren't copyrighted material. I promise. Though, I do remember hearing years ago about fluke lawsuits for linking to a website... :) No joke.

38 seems too good to be true. To be honest, I don't think that the Prius could do it. Not with Manhattan traffic. Too many people, taxis, ambulances, and general chaos.

i think the prius could do it w/ "expert" driving. the perfect use of regenerative braking, coasting, and the principle of WOT being efficient...it could do it. not having the ICE running all the time would help emmensly.

Hi Jason:

___Good thing too because I added a few more above ;)

___Now I have to go through all the non-sense of calculating and estimating if the Hybrid drivetrain is worth it in terms of fuel savings, performance, comfort … given the scant few specs I have read in the last hour or so :(

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes
___Hunt Club Farms Landscaping Ltd.
___Waynegerdes@earthlink.net

Steve,

The Escape Hybrid was not driven by "expert" fuel-efficiency drivers. In the article it clearly states that the columnist drove for a bit and then handed it off to Kevin Bacon for a portion of the trip.

ok, ill admit it, i didnt actually read the article untill just now ( i guess i would be considered "anti big-3". pretty good read though. it does interest me however how that economy was possible as the escape runs on a borrowed version of the HSD. very intriguing.

Ok I'm sorry but I've been begging for a big 3 to come out with a hybrid!!!

I've been in contact with 2 dealships....but when is your best guess when this thing is comming out?

Thanks from you immpaticant friend!

The release date on the Hybrid Escape has changed so many times that I’m not sure what to believe anymore. Last I heard it’s expected in early 2005. Looking at Ford’s recall history, including some nasty ones with the Escape, not sure I’d buy one right away.

I read the other day, that the Ford Escape was coming out this month.
Also Toyota is bringing out two additional Hybrid models, the Highlander sometime in early 2005, and late next year the Sienna. :D