Hypermilers Squeeze Ford Fusion Hybrid

Team member Tom Rolewicz driving in Washington D.C. The team went an amazing 1445.7 miles on a single tank of gas in Alexandria, VA, ending at 5:37am Tuesday April 28, 2009. The car had been running for 69 hours continuously. Photo by: Sam VarnHagen/Ford Motor Co.

By now, you may have heard reports about a Ford Fusion Hybrid achieving fantastic gas mileage, much higher than the EPA certified 41 mpg city, 36 mpg highway. Amazingly, a team of hypermilers squeezed the Fusion to deliver an astounding 81.5 mpg, a figure that should warm the hearts of high mileage freaks the world over.

Nice Publicity For Ford

That feat is a publicity coup for the Ford Motor Company who has been diligently working to raise the sedan’s visibility just as it released its second generation model. And, for the first time, the Fusion (and its sibling, the Mercury Milan) are now offering hybrid versions.

The team of drivers who set out to see how far the Fusion Hybrid could go on a full tank of gas included mileage maximize experts. These are the kind of drivers who can also drive everyone else nuts, coasting down hills and slowing moving away from an intersection from a dead stop.

Maine To Florida On One Tank Of Gas?

By also keeping windows rolled up and avoiding potholes and bumps which can take away from momentum, the team of hypermilers showed that the Ford Fusion Hybrid’s range of 700 miles can easily be achieved. In this case they drove 1445 miles on a tank of gas as they circled the Washington, DC area, a trip that could take someone from Maine to Florida.

The Fusion Hybrid 1,000-Mile Challenge as the event was dubbed also managed to raise more than $8000 in pledges for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.  Among the seven drivers who participated in the 69 hour non-stop event was Carl Edwards who was fresh off of destroying his NASCAR Fusion at Talladega the day before. Edwards survived a wreck that saw his race car slam into the fence, spiral through the air and flip over several times.

Good Lesson For The Average Driver

Though we can’t all be Carl Edwards nor do we all have the patience to drive as carefully as hypermilers do, the Ford Fusion Hybrid challenge demonstrates that with care drivers can maximize their car’s fuel economy, returning numbers far greater than EPA estimates under certain conditions.

With my own test drive of the Ford Fusion Hybrid I averaged 36.2 mpg for that trip, but I knew that I could eventually raise my numbers with extra special care and practice. Thus, having a goal of reaching higher fuel mileage is attainable, perhaps reaching numbers well above normal when conditions are most favorable.

Photo courtesy of the Ford Motor Company.

2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid: 700 Mile City Range, Class Leading Fuel Economy

There is good news for the family who wants a high quality sedan offering superior fuel economy: the soon to debut 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid promises to deliver all that and more when it goes on sale in 2009. The new hybrid Fusion is a class leading sedan with an impressive 700 mile city driving range, a car that will run on pure electric power for 47 miles.

First introduced in 2005 along with its Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr (now MKZ) stablemates, the Ford Fusion has demonstrated that the automaker can produce a high quality, affordable sedan that customers want. Beginning in 2009, the next generation of the Fusion will be released, a sedan with a new engine and transmission along with a special model not previously offered: the Ford Fusion Hybrid.

The hybrid technology developed by Ford for the sedans is new and will eventually be expanded to the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner, Ford’s popular compact SUVs which were the first models sold by Ford featuring this cutting edge technology.

For the 2010 models, the Fusion and Milan hybrids will offer the following advantages:

• Superior city driving fuel economy with Ford stating that it will beat the Toyota Camry Hybrid by 5 mpg.
• Extended city range driving of 700 miles.
• An ability to run on pure electric power for the first 47 miles.

In addition, to help drivers get maximum fuel economy, Ford is including SmartGauge, an in-dash device that will instruct drivers when to shift and what other steps to take to improve mileage. Specifically, Ford says that the SmartGauge with EcoDrive will help motorists in four areas:

– Inform: Fuel level and battery charge status — Enlighten: Adds electric vehicle mode indicator and tachometer — Engage: Adds engine output power and battery output power — Empower: Adds power to wheels, engine pull-up threshold and accessory power consumption.

For 2010, Fusion and Milan will offer Ford’s all-new Duratec 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine producing 175 horsepower; an enhanced 3.0-liter V-6 with 19 more horsepower than its predecessor; and a 3.5-liter V-6 that pumps out 263 horsepower on the Fusion Sport model.

Fusion models equipped with the 2.5-liter I-4 engine are expected to deliver at least 3 mpg better on the highway than the Honda Accord and 2 mpg better than the Toyota Camry.

All are paired with six-speed transmissions for up to a 10 percent fuel economy improvement and a host of other industry-first technologies aimed at improving performance while gaining fuel economy.

Ford will introduce its new hybrids at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November 2008 with these models hitting dealer showrooms in early 2009. With class leading fuel economy, an extended city range, and a terrific driving experience, the Ford Fusion Hybrid and Mercury Milan Hybrid could be just the cars consumers need to ensure that “pain at the pump” is a thing of the past.

(Source: Ford Motor Company)

Matthew C. Keegan is a freelance writer who resides in Cary, North Carolina. Matt is a contributing writer for Andy’s Auto Sport an aftermarket supplier of quality parts including custom Acura Vigor lambo doors and Acura Vigor mufflers.

Is Ford Itching To Sell Mazda?

Not too many global automotive relationships have lasted as long as the Ford Motor Company’s relationship with Mazda Corporation has. Since the early days of the 1970s, Ford and Mazda have collaborated on a number of projects starting off with Mazda supplying Ford with its first compact pickup truck, the Ford Courier, which eventually gave way to Ford building its owns small truck, the Ranger.

The Ford Ranger is the Mazda B-Series

In an amazing twist of events, the Ford Ranger is now sold as the B-Series in the US. In addition, the Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner, and Mazda Tribute are essentially the same and the platform that underpins Ford’s midsize models which includes the Ford Fusion, is the same platform which drives the Mazda6.

Now, word is coming forth that Ford wants to sell its 33.4% stake in Mazda in a bid to raise cash. Ford, like General Motors and Chrysler, has been battered throughout the year by double digit sales decreases and a need to raise cash to fund new product development. At the beginning of the year, Ford had enough money on hand to weather the current crisis, but with the financial markets being especially tough, the company is bleeding through cash at a record pace.

Unraveling Mazda From the Ford Web

Selling Mazda just a year ago would have been unthinkable, given the intertwining of the brands. Though Mazda is a separate company, they pretty much operate as a Ford subsidiary especially in North America.  Selling off Mazda could take years to untangle a very complicated relationship, then again the buyer may find that keeping its relationship with Ford intact could be in everyone’s best interest.

Other Alliances Shaping Up For Ford?

Ford seems determined to go it alone even as the global automotive crisis deepens. Quite frankly, there is too much capacity and too many brand names, with automakers trying to maintain market share as demand drops. Likely, the current economic mess is only temporarily, suggesting that by 2010 things will once again turn around, but in the meantime waiting it out could prove disastrous for financially strapped automakers.

General Motors has discussed merging with Ford (as it has with Chrysler) and idea that Ford is cool too. Both companies collaborated on a project to build six speed automatic transmissions and there is plenty of room for the two companies to work together on additional projects. If Ford had the cash, they’d probably make a pitch for Chrysler, if only to salvage the valuable Jeep brand. Perhaps tossing Mazda would help Ford do just that, but methinks that selling Mazda is a big mistake.

Ford management is denying that a Mazda sale is being considered, calling such reports speculative and distracting.  At the same time, the company says that Mazda and Ford’s operations are separate despite jointly developing several vehicle lines. What that sounds like is that Ford is leaving all options on the table.