http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/201...i-speed-chase/

Looks like an FEH yellow taxi, but can't be positive. But if it was a hybrid, good to know it's capable of engaging in a 100mph chase. No word on gas mileage during the pursuit.

 

I don't think it was a hybrid. For one thing, the news reports said the engine was running when the driver got out to help a sick passenger; if the ECON mode was on, the engine would be off.

Also, there were some shots of the right rear of the car, and I didn't see any hybrid emblem. Actually, it almost looked like a CNG diamond back there, but so far as I know nobody has put CNG on an Escape.

EDIT: I don't know, on some reports of hybrids, it appears they don't have the hybrid emblems on them. Maybe they were ordered that way. If so, it seems strange that the driver wasn't using ECON (or maybe the engine wasn't warmed up).

 

I can settle this issue easy! Take a look at the wheels, the hybrid uses two types of wheels, the standard FEH rims and the Limited FEH 6 spoke rims. This escape has 5 spoke rims that don't come on any FEH.

GaryG

 

I think it's a hybrid. Here's a picture of a SF hybrid taxi with the same phone number as the taxi in the chase 333-3333, and 5 spoke wheels.

 

Both taxis do have the same phone number of the same company, but the spokes in the non-hybrid don't have the same hybrid spokes shape. They are smooth and don't have the same light weight cuts. I've seen both the hybrid and regular Escapes with the five spoke wheels, and they are not the same. I've had both the '05 FEH rims and smooth '09 six spoke Limited FEH rims for years.

I visit my Son in Manhattan and have seen and road in more than 100's of FEH taxis. In addition, I've spoke to many FEH taxi drivers about their FEH taxi mileage. More than likely the SF taxi Companies stayed with the gas only Escape taxis because of available parts. The drivers loved the Crown Vic because it could be repaired faster.

In 2010, Ford changed the FEH to a POS electric A/C that kills City driving for hybrids. No taxi company will buy that POS, so they continued with the standard Escape until Ford stopped selling them with the taxi package in 2012.

GaryG

 

Not necessarily.

 

You can get a '10 - '12 CNG Ford Escape taxi and the wheels are the smooth 5 spoke. I think taxi drivers who purchase the CNG vehicles can get a $7,000 incentive vs only $2,000 for hybrid taxis. Here is a video:


Published on Mar 5, 2012
World CNG, in partnership with IMPCO Automotive, is pleased to offer the first-ever dedicated Compressed Natural Gas mini-SUV on the market: the EPA-certified 2010-2012* Ford Escape 2.5L. Boasting fuel economy greater than 20 mpg and storage for 14 GGE of CNG fuel, the World CNG Ford Escape is ideal for taxi and light cargo delivery fleets.

The configuration uses three Type-3 composite cylinders with a combined weight of 183.5 lbs; this amounts to a post-conversion weight gain of only 70 lbs! With just two inches of under hang from the factory bumper and an unmodified factory exhaust, impact on the rear cargo area is minimal.

*EPA Certificate for 2012 model still pending.

For more information, please visit World CNG:

With the price of gas, CNG can reduce GHG and be 50% cheaper to operate.

GaryG

 

IIRC San Francisco was one of the few cities that had a FEH taxi fleet to replace their old Crown Vics. The Los Angeles County lifeguards were another 4WD FEH fleet customer. Wonder how many of those FEH taxis are in service

Yes, Ford certainly made a lot of strange engineering choices on the FEH! Back in '09 they replaced the ICE with a larger engine and also ditched the rear disc brakes for drums.
Customers like you weren't impressed! No wonder even as the market for hybrids began to grow, the FEH's sales nosedived and Ford had to kill it. But Ford remained committed to hybrids and replaced the FEH with a superior MPG C-max platform and also Toyota made a larger Prius v.

I noticed Toyota announced they will continue with the Highlander Hybrid and also there will be a new Nissan Pathfinder hybrid with a supercharged 2.5l engine. Looks like hybrid SUVs are here to stay in the market that Ford created but had trouble competing in.

 

Out of all the changes in the FEH Ford made, going to the bigger 2.5L engine was the best. The weight went up in the '09, but yet the MPG went up also. There is no way I could get a 65mpg tank out of my '05 FEH or ever go 884 miles on 13.6 gallons of E10. The rear drum brakes I can live with because the way I drive I'll never replace them.

Going to an electric A/C compressor and elimination the battery aux A/C is what killed the newer FEH's. It's all about operating cost for the taxis and they must run the A/C in hot weather for their riders. Most of their driving is in the city and I've seen how the electric A/C compressor will kill SoC to a point the engine will constantly run to charge the battery. For a vehicle as heavy as the newer FEH's, Ford should have waited for a plug-in hybrid that the batteries could be changed out 24 hours a day for taxis. What I'm hearing is all electric taxis will have a method of pulling up to a battery exchange station that will change the battery with machines in a few minutes. The range of a taxi in the big cities is about 90 miles per day. There is no time to sit and wait for the battery to charge by plug-in.

That video of that stolen Taxi showed me it was a 2010 or newer Escape because the back cargo door had the newer door handle that changed on the '10 Escape. I'm sure once the cab drivers seen a big increase in the '10 FEH operating cost, Ford lost its market in the FEH taxis. This was what I suspect caused the end of the FEH.

GaryG

 

Just to set the record straight I called the Yellow Cab Cooperative to inquire about the taxi involved in the pursuit. It is a CNG powered vehicle.