It is typical for Ford and other manufactures to bring in mid year changes as they come in from vendors. An example is the change in the A/C intake/ cabin air filter. Its the same as the 08. John sounds like you are right mainly software refinments. But I could only hope

 

More details about the 2nd generation battery were mentioned recently by Ford's chief of hybrid programs. Regarding a question about the noticeable difference in driving experience and mileage from the '07 FEH to the '08 model, she mentioned "a tweak of the battery chemistry that allowed it to run in a little wider temperature range". She described a "smarter use of our data", which I take as a reference to the previously discussed changes we know were made in control parameters like charge in/out, state of charge, temperature regulation, etc.

She's often cagey about future product plans, as one might expect. She said that she doesn't think customers should know anything about battery chemistry or cells and that the main questions from buyers now are about environmental impacts like recyclability. Most of the interview was about battery suppliers, lithium ion issues, and the upcoming Fusion/Milan.

 

Terry,

Got a link?

Cris

 

This is from an Automotive News subscription-based service and it's copyrighted. But check them out anyway. They run specials a lot and you can usually get a week's free trial, which would at least allow you to read the last few interviews with Ford people. They also re-run some of their content in their sister publication, AutoWeek.

Or google Nancy Gioia. She gets interviewed frequently and is quoted elsewhere.

 

I am a lot more concerned over the $7,000 replacement cost, than what happens to the old battery pack.