electric Archives - Page 3 of 9

Ford Focus Electric Test Drive – NYC

April 20, 2012 by mpg-o-editor

Fifteen months after first showing the Focus Electric in New York City, Ford brought a trailer-load of the battery-powered beasts to the Big Apple for a media drive. I let the mass media journalists and well-funded bloggers take their turns first, before I covered a Focus Electric with cameras and took a ride through mid-town Manhattan in late-morning traffic with Ford Engineer, Gil Portalatin.

The Focus Electric pulled into traffic effortlessly and I instantly felt at home in the urban environment. The first application of brakes felt a little grabby, but not overly so. This is to be expected with a vehicle that aggressively regenerates energy.

New Gas Mileage Standard:
54.5 MPG by 2025

November 16, 2011 by mpg-o-editor

Hold onto your hats. The United States Department of Transportation (DOT) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have finally pulled the curtain on their proposed rule for the Obama Administration’s new gas mileage standard. An average of 54.5 miles per gallon (MPG) by 2025 may seem like a huge leap in a short time, but the numbers are not what they appear.

The 54.5 MPG figure is the EPA number for passenger vehicles, not what you’ll see on the window sticker. It’s a fudge factory powered by greenhouse gas emissions. The automakers will be able to use a range of technology incentives in one place to offset their numbers in another, including flex fuel, hybrid, and electric power trains. In real world terms, we might expect a sticker average of 40 MPG for cars that run on liquid fuel. That’s not all that extraordinary, considering all the cars with gas mileage ratings around 40 MPG highway that we can buy today.

And they wonder why so many Americans are so skeptical of what goes on in Washington.

2011 Chevrolet Volt Review

July 15, 2011June 3, 2011 by mpg-o-editor

MPG-o-Matic 2011 Chevrolet Volt Review Summary: The 2011 Chevrolet Volt is both futuristic and familiar, with a range-extended Voltec drivetrain designed to provide efficiency, as well as flexibility. Top off the battery overnight and you’ll have approximately 40 miles of pure electric range in the morning. If you should exceed the Volt’s range before recharging, a fuel-efficient gasoline-powered engine will kick in to provide electricity to power the electric motor. Welcome to the future.

2012 Ford Focus Electric Car Debuts

July 15, 2011January 9, 2011 by mpg-o-editor

Ford has chosen a different path to electrification of the automobile. While the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt enjoyed a substantial marketing blitz in the build-up to their debuts, Ford was rather quiet by comparison. (If Jay Leno’s ill-fated prime-time show had not flopped, America would have seen more Stars in an Electric Car). Those in the know might recall that MPGomatic first reported on the low-key/high-result Ford Electric Car efforts way back at the 2009 Detroit Auto Show.

Automotive X-Prize: Lessons Learned

July 15, 2011September 23, 2010 by mpg-o-editor

The Automotive X-Prize competition whittled down a field of thirty-odd (some quite odd) vehicles to just three winners. While propulsion systems and seating plans differ, there are three clear lessons learned. The car of the future will be very light, it will be shaped like a fish, and the body will not be made of steel.