Taz

No, I get the potential disruptive aspect. Just like racing/competition improves the breed. I also see how Apple can stifle things as well. It is a double-edged sword to me. I've owned Apple products and too often the the performance doesn't live up to the hype. Case in point. the original iPod. What a POS when it actually came to sound quality. I wanted a music player with GOOD sound, not mediocre. I had to use the cursed iTunes to sync my songs as well. So for me it was a case of mostly sizzle but no steak. I had the original iPhone. You couldn't even copy and paste a number from a website to the phone. To top it off, sound quality was mediocre again as well. The phone functionality was clearly lacking. Again the lemmings flocked to in droves. I wasn't an adopter of their products because I wanted to. I had to imparitally assess and test the products for use in a large enterprise corporate environment. I had no skin in the game either way so to speak I just needed to find out what was best in breed and figure out how we could make it work in our environment of 50k plus users in the US. So I tried a lot of tech products. I am curious to see what they come up with. Hopefully it won't be the equivalent of another Segway. Problem is in states that need EVs the most, they make almost no economic sense. The absurdly high electricity rates of California negate a lot of the potentianl economic benefit of EV. So we'll see if the Apple car has real impact or just becomes a status symbol. Apple hasn't exactly been hitting homeruns lately. Their watch is a good example of that.

Considering how Apple locks down apps on the phone, maybe they'll limit places where you can drive just like they control the content on their phones. It is very unlikely I would ever buy a car from Apple. It would have to be something amazing and I don't think that is what they'll bring to market. Too many people will just fawn all over what they do like it is mana from heaven if it is a steaming pile of doo doo. I am not a lemming who buys what everyone else buys. Just by the sheer fact I have a Cmax Energi would likely be proof enough of that. I am not swayed by some facing name or a status symbol. At the same time I am not opposed to spending money when I get what I want/need. I don't think Ford is really serious enough about the electric car space yet. I hope they will they will increase their engagement. More players is a good thing and that is probably the only thing I'll be looking forward to if Apple jumps into the market. Just another car to clutter up Silicon Valley and maybe displace all the Teslas you see everywhere.

Looks very nice. Even better than i thought it might.

That is the process i had to go through with Audi on a buyback. I had far worse issues than this person did. I spent over 500k in 6 years with Audi and they treated me like I was crap. I took the car 12 times the dealer to fix issues, The dealer was on my side (mostly). Audi kept claiming I was doing something with the ECU (such as a modified ECU for more power from the turbos). Finally they agreed to my demands when I had just picked it up for the 13th time for the same issue and still hadn't left the dealer's lot and the CEL was on again. I pretty much went nuclear at that point. I called my attorney, the BBB, news stations, etc. Called the zone rep for Audi, national office, German office, etc. It took them almost 2 months to process the buy back and still acted like I was the issue. Long story short, they sent the car back to Germany to figure out the issue. Someone had swapped the connections for the O2 sensors when building it so it the right bank sent signals to the left side controller and vice versa. I would have been happy if they fixed the car ultimately but Audi's response and treatment of me so put me off on the brand I"ll never buy another one of their products (or related firms) again. They lost a ton of me as up until that time, 90% of all my cars had been Audis over the past 15 years. The dealer was really PO'd that Audi wasn't doing enough to resolve this and they were sort of caught in the middle. So now Audi is never on my radar to buy anything. I really liked the R10 but based on their treatment of me I ended up going with Lexus and Toyotas until the last few Fords I bought.

Keep in mind in regen mode down hills it can recharge the pack at a very high rate causing heat and extra stress on the cells. I would be careful doing this if you don't want to stress the pack too much.

B 32 H 51 E $0.33 C 0.72 $4.44 Good ol' SoCal pricing for electricity. It would be even worse if I wasn't getting so many miles in pure EV mode. If i was getting just 25 miles per charge it would be like gas at $5.68/gallon.

I went about it by putting together a spreadsheet and calculating the cost per mile. I plugged in a variety of values for fuel and per kilowatt. I then plugged in my best & worst miles per kilowatt as well as my best & worst hybrid mileage. I am forced pretty much to use commercial charging stations if I want juice my my C-max. As a result it is almost never cheaper to use electrons than hydrocarbons except in a few limited instances. Basically it only makes financial sense to use the pure EV mode when I am going to be stuck in bumper to bumper traffic at less than 20 mph. I am paying about $.33 kwh right now for commercial charging. Even at my super efficient rate of about 5.5 miles per kwh, it is still about 6.1 cents per mile. Gas just dropped below $3/gal in some places so I am at about 5.8 cents per mile now for the ICE in normal city driving. If I am on the highway (60 mph) I am get about 4 miles per kwh which is about 8.3 cents per mile. I can drive the ICE at about 75 mph for the same cost as driving on electric at 60 mph. Driving an EV in California pretty much only makes financial sense if you charge at home and aren't at one of the higher electric tiers here. I do love having the option though of going into the EV mode when it really makes sense. I also love being able to capture a lot more energy on downhills that I couldn't otherwise on a normal hybrid. On a trip from San Francisco this weekend I was able to add about 80% charge to my almost empty HVB on the way home. It was good for over 20 miles when I hit LA driving at night.

I am using the Continental Pure Contact on my Avalon Hybrid. They have performed quite well other than deep snow 4"+ (which is to be expected). They are the best LRR tires I've used. They are wearing quite nicely as well.

With respect to USAA, serve for a few years and you will save the rest of your life... I can't tell you how much they have saved me over the last 20 years. Car loans, insurance, mortgage, etc. It has probably been $2-3k every year, if not more. A pretty huge benefit that my children get now. Hands down they are the best insurance company and bank I've ever dealt with. I think they just opened up the bank side of the operation to non-vets. Might be worth looking into for some of you. Most of the benefits of a CU but with a lot more products.

I have the Contis on my Avalon Hybrid. MUCH better than the Michelins in ride, handling, snow, rain, etc. AND at least as good in the mileage department. They actually aren't terrible in the snow. The crispness of the turn-in when starting a turn is huge difference. It made the car a lot more sporty and I can't see any downsides so far. They seem to be wearing well. If they weren't marked LRR on the side I would have never believed it.

I just put the L1 charger on the back floor of my C-max. I run the extension cord into the back floor area and the "charger" out to the power port. No problem with the door closing on it, no kinks in either cord, and no issues with rain or theft.

They look nice. How much do they weigh? I am pretty picky about finding lightweight wheels wherever possible.

EV costs may vary a lot between insurance companies. I have USAA and they are cheaper than anyone else along with the best service for cars. Even then I was shocked how much my hybrids cost more than my "normal" cars. Don't forget all the other discounts you might be able to get. On my Avalon, I had the pre-collision detection system and that got me a discount. Not enough to offset the cost of the option but every little bit helps.

I would suggest looking at the overall costs if that is important to you. Perhaps you will save enough on the purchase of a Ford, over a new Volt, that while it might not quite get the range in EV mode alone, that the minimal gas you might need to buy might be more than offset by possibly a higher overall cost of the Volt. That is something I analyzed during my our purchasing decision. I ran the numbers on a pure EV vehicle vs our C-max Energi and realized that even if we can't go as far on EV alone that the amount we saved on the vehicle compared to others we considered will pay for a lot of gasoline. Based on some of the other pure EVs we looked out, our final price on our C-max was almost $150/month less on similar terms compared to others we looked at (not leasing) after everything was factored in. That would easily buy us 40 gallons of gas at crazy California prices and would be almost and extra 24k miles a year we could drive. One other thing to look at as well is insurance. I priced several cars to insure. Our C-max was cheaper than all the others I looked at for insurance. I didn't price a Volt but I did a Fusion and Focus Electric as well as a Tesla, BMW i3 and a few others. Apparently there is a very low loss rate with them. While hybrids and EV are more expensive to repair than normal cars, that was offset by the more sedate people who drive the C-max. In addition most accidents happen within a few miles of home, and since most pure EVs don't venture far from home, they seem to be involved in more accidents per mile driven according to my agent. Anyway like mileage, your cost may vary depending on so many factors but look into. You may not find you save as much as you think overall. My Flex is almost 40% cheaper to insure than my C-max which is cheaper than my Avalon hybrid by about 20%. Same coverage across the board.

I found the key is make sure the car is parallel to the curb where you will park AND that you are about a foot away from the cars you pull up next to. This is my second Ford with it (first was the Flex) and I've never had an issue with the system unless I wasn't parallel to my intended parking place. If my nose is slightly further away than the rear, then it normally is more likely to curb it and especially so if I am too close to the cars to begin with. I'll never forget the first day I tried on my Flex in the "wild". It was by La Brea Tar Pits in LA and I had the entire family in the car. Rolled up to a place that looks like it would barely fit, if at all, and let it get to work. The entire family was stunned as it slid in like Flynn. I would consider myself an expert level parallel parker and this definitely would have tested my abilities. When the Flex said it would fit i wasn't 100% certain it would, heck I wasn't even 50% sure.

What don't you like about your Focus? That might help. If you like your Focus a lot, but just want better mileage, maybe consider a C-max Energi. Nice compact form factor, nimble handling and great mileage to boot.

While I appreciate the Soul EV having a great range, it isn't likely to be under highway conditions. I've rented (not by choice) a lot of gas Kia Souls. I have found that of the current crop of small/compact cars it has probably the absolute worst mileage on the highway. On average I rent cars about 40 times a year for work. I run away every time I can when I am forced to drive a Hamstermobile. Yes, I think the car is cute and I loved the commercial but that is where it ends for me. Not much legroom and fairly cramped (other than headroom). It has apparently very poor aerodynamics as well. I was always in the low 30's with that car on the highway. By comparison even a 4 cylinder Camry would get upper 30's in the same usage and the Corolla low 40's. I appreciate their attempt but for pure BEV, other than a Tesla, I'd go for either the Focus (really does drive great) or the B class Benz. My fondness for the i3 is wearing off a bit but still a pretty cool car. My wife absolutely loves the BEV Focus. It was the first BEV she ever drove and wanted to take it home. We were spending most of our time in MN and not really the idea climate. It's range would have been marginal for my commute to the office in the winter. I did just run across a used 2013 for pretty cheap that if I could find an affordable way to put a L2 EVSE in our MN garage I wouldn't mind picking it up.

A few quick things. The PHEV Prius would need a sundial to measure its 0-60 acceleration on electric only. It can't go over 62 mph on EV anyway. My 0-60 time was on pure EV mode. Gas mode it is in the high 7 second range. As for efficiency, I'll stand by my earlier comments. Over 45 mph or so is an inefficient use of electricity. I've done a very careful analysis based on the costs where I drive my car. I've compared the cost per kWh and miles per kWh vis a vis the MPG and cost per gallon for gas. If I am in the inefficient range of the pure EV mode, it can cost the equivalent of $5/gal if running on gas. If I am paying $4 a gallon for gas, how is it more efficient to use EV? If keep the EV usage where it is most efficient, I can get 6 miles per kWh vs. 2.6 or so for driving high speeds. So I am spending 12 cents per mile to use EV at high speeds vs. 9 cents per mile on gas. Why would I spend 50% more to use EV just because I could. If I use EV in its most economical mode, I am spending about $2/gal for the equivalent mileage on gas her in California.

You can use the MFM (myfordmobile) website to also remotely lock, unlock, locate and start your car. This could be a real plus when you've locked your keys AND your phone in the car.

If you are experiencing conditions where the motor is starting on the Energi, most likely it is under circumstance where gas might be efficient than electrons. So if you are running purely electric, you will definitely see a huge draw down of your battery capacity in these instances. In pure EV mode, my C-max does 0-60 in about 15 seconds or so. This isn't exactly setting the earth on fire that is for sure but it's 0-30 time is pretty decent without even flooring it. It is all that wonderful right at the start torque the electric motors put out that makes it feel pretty peppy. With the motor running and in conjunction with the electric motors it is pretty quick 0-60, in the high 7 second range. Even with the bigger battery pack of the Volt, you aren't going to want to floor it all the time or dive at 80 mph. If I drive more cautiously I get 6 mile per kWh. If I don't, I am around 4 mile/kWH and if I through caution to the wind, then I am in the 3's. The GO times mentioned upstream are very useful. I also love the fact that I can adjust them with my phone, start, lock and unlock the car from the my ford mobile app. At also tells me where the car is (great when my wife once parked it a HUGE shopping area and didn't pay attention when she walked away) and also tracks your trips with respect to efficiency. Based on your usage, Raja's suggestion to check out a C-max might be a good one. The auto park feature is great on mine, I love the front and rear parking sensors, the panoramic roof would be awesome for tweens and it is a very fun to drive car in a very nimble package (18" shorter than Fusion and about 60lbs less weight). It has a ton of headroom and drives like a taller Focus which is already one of the best cars in its class. In Sacramento the liquid cooled battery pack won't be as much of a value as if you lived in Barstow or Phoenix. There are a lot of good things to like about the Volt. It will be interesting to see if the motor changes are as much as Chevy plays them up to be. I'll likely test drive one but I really like how well Ford has improved their interiors. The materials are nice and fit and finish is pretty good. I would sort of classify them as an "American Audi" when it comes to their interior design. I think Audi generally nails it when it comes to interiors in the last 10 years. Better than my recent MBs, BMWs or Porsches. I end up in a ton of rental cars as well and most of the GM cars feel cheap and plasticky until you get into a Corvette or Caddy. I would seriously think about a BEV in more depth. Based on your commute and a second car already, the typical 80 mile range would likely be more than enough. The electric Focus is a steal right now. It is very quick and smooth. Pretty fast recharge times as they have twice the rate of charging on 220v compared to the PHEV Fords (likely limitation of the non-liquid cooled battery pack in the PHEVs). Forgot to add one thing. Check the warranties. on the cars as well. I think Ford warranties the drivetrain and batteries for 8/150k in CA. I am not certain about that so double check but that is what one dealer told me. I never verified it with another one. We won't keep the car over 3-4 years so it was a moot point for us.

With respect to Gary, it seems like a total waste to buy a PHEV and never use the gas motor. Why lug around all the extra weight? Just buy a pure EV in the first place and go further between charges. Who gives a darn about your ranking on the MFM website anyway... As mentioned why subject the battery to the deep discharges needlessly anyway. Sure there is a safety margin by Ford but it still has an effect. By the pure EV and then rent a car to go on a trip if all your miles will just be local.

The reason I went with a PHEV (plug-in hybrid) is because I didn't want range anxiety any more. That is why I bailed out of the lease with the Leaf because in cold MN winters, I spent too many winter days trying to find a charging option just to make it home. When you are totally dependent on electric, it can be an issue. While I would still buy an EV at some point, assuming my commute and life were more stable, it might make a lot of sense. Then again if SoCal electric prices keep going up, it can cost more than gasoline per mile. As it is now, I absolutely need to avoid paid commercial chargers to be significantly ahead using electrons over hydrocarbons. I built a very detailed spreadsheet where I track the typical costs at charging stations vs. gas prices to see what makes the most economic sense. The good/bad of the Energi line is there aren't significant changes over the years. That is why I looked for used as there were no changes that really mattered to me on a 2015 vs. my 2014. My car only had been used about 300 EV miles so I know the batteries didn't have a lot of recharge cycles either. When my wife saw it she thought it was brand new. It was perfect in every way. One thing to keep in mind as well, in most states you still have to pay the sales tax on the entire purchase amount. So even if you got a credit on your taxes later, you still paid sales take on the 5-7k or so. This is another reason why leasing or buying used can save even more money.

The problem for some people with it being a tax credit, is you may not have enough Federal taxes to really benefit you. Not to mention the process isn't fast. However if you lease the car, it is all factored in up front into the cost. I found that was a better way to go with my Nissan Leaf. I didn't have to hassle with the paperwork, wait for my credit, etc. For me it worked out great as I realized i wouldn't want to own the Leaf long term after driving it for a while. I was able to walk away from it after 2 years and not look back. One thing to really keep in mind that the Volt is based on same platform as the Cruze. This is a compact car inside. Like being in a Honda Civic or a Kia Forte whereas the Fusion is a midsized car. So if backseat size is very important to you, then the Volt might not be a good fit so to speak. I do think Chevy made a lot of improvements in the car from the last gen car. Keep in mind that there could be some teething problems since it is the first year of the new generation. I wish they had done a bit more with the styling. It really does look a lot like a Kia Forte sedan now. I do appreciate larger battery pack though Chevy did sneak in a bigger one on the 2015 models. I do appreciate that like Ford, they are conservative with how energy they want to draw from the pack. They didn't do much to address the range when not on electric. I like being able to have a 600 mile range with my car. It gives me a lot of options of where to fuel up on a trip or wait an extra week or so if I think gas prices might go down.

The Fusion is a nice car. Spend more than a few minutes in both. That will help you decide. As for my point about not buying new, I saved almost 20k by buying a 1 year old car. It had only 2900 miles on it and the balance of the factory warranty. That 20k amounted to a lot more than the 9k in state and federal incentives. Just something to think about. My payments to own the car are less than even lease payments would have been on a new one. Then factor in the biggest hit for depreciation has already been taken and I can probably drive the Energi at a very low TCO. One final major plus is not having to deal with all the paperwork trying to get my tax credit from the Feds. If you have teenagers, the Volt is cramped in the back. My two oldest never would have fit in the back of a Volt do to the very swooping rear roof line. On sort of a side note, the way GM handled the bailout made sure I'll likely never buy another car from them even though I'd really love to have a new Vette. Anyway most likely once realized how nice it is to choice what energy source to drive you'll might wonder why you waited to buy one. I had a Nissan Leaf and a lot of things to like about it. But having no choice but to plug in was a lot of stress especially in a colder climate.

Have you thought about buying a used Fusion? I bought my C-max for about half the price of new with just 3k miles on it. Keep in mind that if you have to run the Volt on gas, it isn't as efficient as a Fusion in hybrid mode. As for the recharge cost, less than what you think. Ford has been very conservative (best approach) in order to extend the life of the battery. Typically you only get to use about 5.3-5.5 kW from the pack. So factor in about 80 cents to recharge it. On my C-max I can go over 600 miles on a tank now and starting with a full pack. As for electric consumption, I am getting about 6 miles per kW used. Ford factored in about 3.7 miles per kW when they said the range was 20 miles. I drove a friend's Volt quite a bit and my coworker had one. Not a bad car but I like a lot of the stuff Ford has done. The driving experience is very engaging. In addition the Ford app is very useful. I can monitor my charge from my phone while the car is in the garage. I can change charging times, setup the AC or heater to condition the car before I get in and more. Ford put a lot of homework into the app and while not perfect, it is pretty good. I also like that I can fit 5 people in the car if needed. One last plus is the autopark feature. My wife loves this as it makes parallel parking a breeze. As one more data point, on this tank until I was pretty much using electric, I was at using mostly hybrid mode. In my LA commuting I was at almost 57mpg. My lifetime average until this tank was 40 mpg. This included a 1,700 mile trip (more like a race according to my wife) across the Southwest. No attempt was paid to try and get good fuel economy. Basically we had a lot of ground to cover and racked up the miles in a bit over 2 days. Again this in the C-max which might not be quite as efficient as the Fusion.