Comments on: Test drive: All-electric Mini and Ford Fusion Hybrid

The 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid and Electric Mini are the latest cars to use electric battery power to improve fuel efficiency. CNET News' Martin LaMonica takes them both for a spin.

[Grumpypaul]

Maybe the Mini IS the better choice~

I don't want to see your St Bernard at the beach when I'm there!!

[AppleSuxLeo]

St Bernards and other dogs are welcome at the "Dog Beach" part of Huntington Beach ;)

[maeckg]

Both are interesting choices: different drivers need different cars. Most of us face a lot of stop and go traffic, rush hour congestion, drive mostly short trips, drive alone and less than 80 miles a day. The eMini would be OK for most of us and would save millions of barrels of imported oil if only 10 to 20 % drive an electric car. Since most families have more than one car, it would be a hedge against higher gas prices to have at least one evehicle.
Hybrids also take advantage of regenerative breaking, so fit for most of us who drive in metro areas.Hybrids allow for range, flexibility and can improve efficiency of larger cars. This last point has not been recognized enough for the American market.
If you drive mostly on highways and freeways at higher speed, a hybrid will not be the best fit. This is part of the disappointment some have had here in the US. An efficient flexfuel internal cumbustion engine could do better. That said, regenerative breaking modules as an auxilary system could help most vehicles, especially large ones. They could be hydrolic based storage and not electric.
The main goal is to reduce use of petroleum for reasons of national security, economic security and growth, environment and keeping up with the rest of the world. Besides, all the Minis I have driven have been fun to drive and I would expect the eMini to be as good. I hope Fod has a winner for people who need a bit more room. But where is a hybrid or electric pickup, which is what I need.?

[willdryden]

Like most people, you are misinformed. Serial hybrids are the best fit for mostly highway driving. That is why trains have been done that way for the last 80 years. They get 5% better fuel use even throwing away the power from regen braking.

[Captain Bebops]

This would be less of an issue if US mass transit systems weren't such a joke. Good mass transit has of course fallen victim to the auto and oil industries as good mass transit would really severly impact their sales. BART in the Bay Area is a joke becuase it only serves limited areas and often a commute via it can take longer than driving by car. Light rail has proven to be more practical and less expensive.

A lot of people including myself would keep their current vehicle for distance driving and use an inexpensive all electric for local trips (about 90% of my driving). However many proposed electrics aren't inexpensive. GEM cars were sold locally but they are just glorified golf carts and I don't think I'd want a enraged bunch of drivers following me at 25 mph on a street with a 35 mph limit. And unfortunately local mass transit isn't a practical option.

[AppleSuxLeo]

I get 30 mpg fwy. in an `09 Taurus Limited. PZEV engine (Wards 10-Best Engines) six-speed , US Govt Safest Full-Size car (NHTSA AND IIHS) , electronic stability control system standard , safety canopy and Microsoft Sync system places my calls hands-free and plays my 32 GB flash drive with voice control (no iPod needed) 21.2 cu.ft. trunk holds my bike EASILY and great comfort for 5 large humans.
Why suffer in a down-sized jhap-mobile when you can "have it all" for a great price ? I feel sorry for any Prius that runs into me.
Built in Chicago without any TARP funds and the fact that I bought "F" at little over a dollar and now they hit $6 already has made me a lot of $$$ makes me partial to the "Blue Oval".
Alan Mulally will/should win "CEO Of The Decade".

[kevinskrause]

Your taste in cars is helping me better understand your prejudiced comments about computers. Thanks for clearing that up.

[willdryden]

Now turn it into a serial plug-in hybrid. You can cut the engine size in half, get 60+ MPG on the highway, and use cheaper domestic electricity for all the local trips. And PZEV is a lie that CARP came up with so the car companies could crush the REAL ZEVs in 2003 IE battery electrics. Don't believe me? Close your garage door with the engine running.

[AppleSuxLeo]

April marked the sixth time in seven months that Ford gained retail market share. Those gains may be attributed to declining consumer confidence in Ford's U.S. competitors, General Motors and Chrysler. Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday, and GM has a June 1 deadline to restructure or face bankruptcy.

Ford said it sold a record number of Fusions ? 18,321 ? as the company rolled out its 2010 gas and hybrid versions of the car.

[KenGrubb]

A stock Fusion hybrid was recently hypermile tested in Northern Virginia. 81.5 MPG over 1,445 miles! Ford Fusion hybrid rules!

[AppleSuxLeo]

Fusion Hybrid FTW !

[SteveW928]

@ KenGrubb -

So?

[Vonmaxx]

Ford has a great small diesel in europe for midsize cars and suvs, They should bring it here in Ford cars and F-150's. It is a clean diesel and used in all 50 states.
I had a 1978 diesel rabbit that got 55 miles per gallon. Put 10 gallons in it and start driving after a couple of hours you began to wonder if the gage was broken. I find it hard to understand people bragging about 40 or 45 MPG. In 2009 economy cars should be getting 80 MPG.

[jim barin]

Electric cars are not so green and clean as the eco-terrorists would have you believe.

Given the total environmental costs of making all the components and the car itself, its lifetime of use and its disposal impact, my 4x4 gas guzzling 4 litre V8 LandRover Discovery causes less environmental damage than the Toyota Prius. Nust examine the manufacturing lifecycle of the Prius batteries to see how unfriendly they are to the environment.

Why do I make such a claim, the answer is simple, the environmental damage from the manufacture of the Prius batteries and the lifetime of power production from coal, oil and gas power stations to make the electricity to charge its batteries, a process less than 30% efficient, and their disposal, will produce as much polution as my car ever will because my car runs on LPG and used for less than 6,000 miles per year.

[SteveW928]

@ jim barin -

You're kind of mixing some things up here.... if you're running off LPG, you're not the typical LandRover... so probably not the target of the 'eco-terrorists' you speak of.

That said, you do make a good point about overall planet damage and the reaction to global warming, etc. If we're not looking at the big picture, and just get hysterical about some perceived issue... we're likely going to do more damage. Just going electric doesn't solve that much of a problem... it is more marketing hype to an uneducated people (though good-willed... wanting to help the environment).

If we just slow down a bit and come up with some actual good long-term solutions, we'll be much farther ahead. We CURRENTLY know how to produce vast quantities of energy in a very green manner (utility scale solar concentrating technology). We can work on more green batteries, and hydrogen has come a long way (which we can produce with enough energy). We're close to having some pretty good bio-fuels. We just need to get some of these things in place, and then start adjusting our vehicles to use them.

[eeee]

I posted this comment when the frist Prius and other hybrid articles appeared and got hammered by others for driving an American car: Ha Ha I still do; the same car; has been flawless for me
It is a 200 Dodge Intrepid with the 2.7 liter V6; no sludge no problems no grief. AC, CD, tranny, motor, and everything including the huge trunk and back seat and the comfort still all work and are enjoyed each week. On highway (strictly highway) I see 32-34 mpg with AC on keeping the cruise control clicked on no faster than 60 mpg; throw in stop and go stop and go city driving to get to appointments and the mpg drops down to 17-19 mpg but why would I sell it to spend another $23,000 plus tax for a Prius with less room and less trunk
If you must start your hammering again
It is Inferno Red and people say "new car?" after it is washed

[eeee]

missed a digit: it is a 2000 Intrepid and other than tires, brake pads, oil changes, fluid changes, new Champion plat plugs (OEM) and filters, the car has been flawless as I said. "let's use your car" is what I hear since the Intrepid has the room and 2 Corollas and a Honda in the family are not as comfortable or roomy

[Jet-Ranger]

I this vehicle is 300 pounds heavier than a standard mini (BMW) and can only carry two passengers, where is the savings? This vehicle requires more energy to move than a standard mini: whether you burn gasoline in an engine or coal in a power generating plant this is still a waste of energy and NOT "green" (never mind that you need TWO of these vehicles to move four people...
They are simply 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'.
What about the extra cost in dollars and wasted energy required in manufacturing, transporting and disposing batteries?

[SteveW928]

Good points.... they are using trade-offs... and many are fooled into thinking electric is automatically green (yes, electric generation at utility scale is more efficient than directly using gas.. but it IS NOT pollution free as many think.... plus the pollution involved with production and disposal of the batteries... eekkk!)

But, many people only drive with 1, sometimes 2 in the car. Many people only go on fairly short trips 90%+ of the time. It is kind of moving in a good direction.... but a long way to go. I think there are much better solutions if we looked at the whole picture.

[SteveW928]

I was glad to see the author mention concerning the Mini, "... there are no emissions from the car itself." I'm surprised how often this point is missed in much of the journalism today. Just like the electric busses in S.F. that say 'zero emissions'.... kind of needs a * with a disclaimer on it. Most 'green' people seem to be fooled into thinking somehow electricity is pollution-free.

[AppleSuxLeo]

Most of the electricity in this country comes from COAL. Plug-in hybrids put out plenty of emissions.

[venuesdotorg]

Consider running a household air-conditioner, electric oven, or a couple of heaters ALL NIGHT. That's the kind of "green" energy consumption an electric car uses when it charges. Think how will that impact on the power bill...

[AppleSuxLeo]

DETROIT - Detroit?s Big Three is becoming Ford and the other two.

While its rivals stay afloat with billions in government aid, Ford grabbed a bigger slice of the American car market in April with record sales of its fuel-efficient Fusion. Those results pushed it past Toyota to retake its post as the nation?s No. 2 car seller.

[ssnash]

cwlqwp
Not exactly. Ford bought Toyotas 1st gen Prius technology and have incorporated it into their vehicles.

[markb1967]

Most of the big car makers are still screwing with us. They can do better, but their gas buddy pals like Chevron (let's not forget they bought newly invented batteries years ago that were about to change the game, and put them on the shelf to rust.). They also don't want to lose their gas motors and all the parts, repairs, changes that come with them... Give me a few months in my garage, and I could make a better electric car than GM...Just look at the EV-1, 15 years later and they can't do better?

[northoftheborder]

Before buying any of these cars do your homework well. The mini today as it is has no parts to fix it's transmission. It will go at approx. 110 to 120 Kilometres and it will need to be replaced at a cost of over $10000. They get out of paying for the cost by checking if the owner has changed the trans fluid at 80K as per the manual.
These hybrids and electric cars are new and you can bet that things are going to break down and I seriously doubt that unless one reads all the fine print and the car manual from beginning to end, they'll find a reason not to pay for it.