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My Popping sound was more like the sound of a ping pong ball. My Fusion energy was delivered in February 2013, so maybe it was one of the earlier ones. When I heard this ping pong 'THOCK', I never felt anything not right with the power delivery-- only the ping pong ball sound. The dealership said I was not in danger of the tranny seizing up-- or failing. And I never felt that it impeded, other than the shoddy sounding noise on accel/decel. But I knew it eventually needed to be fixed. After 2 or 3 complaints at the dealership, they finally decided to replace the entire transmission, since no one at this ford dealership in L.A. could service this very complicated piece of transmission machinery-- engine braking, region braking, ev accel, ICE accell, the whole nine... I was told that no dealership could service the Energi transmission-- too complicated. So replacement is their fix. Sounds like one big headache for Ford, at least to me. So after the tranny replacement, the car felt more sure, including shifts, accell, etc. I was very happy. Trouble is, I didn't see the pool of transmission oil on the floor of my garage, before excitedly driving this gorgeous car from L.A. to Sedona. At 2am 10 miles from Sedona, the 'transmission oil is hot' idiot light came on. Once I pulled over for 30 min, it seemed ok on the last few miles. Long story short(too late maybe) the next morning I heard some 'laboring issues' sounds coming from the tranny and immediately had Ford roadside assistance come and pick my beloved vehicle up in Sedona. Sounded like it was missing most of its tranny fluid. Who knows how bad it could be after a 400mile trek? So I rented a car to drive back to L.A. Fords Consumer Relations dept took over and is transporting my Energi back to Airport Marina Ford, where the tranny replacement took place. I have about 45k on my Energi, and was told by the service advisor that California law required 100k warranty on EV drivetrains. Not sure if that is true or not, but Ford did not charge me one cent of the $7800 bill for the new tranny. Maybe its my lifelong cool demeanor- or those heavenly negative ions from Sedona put a glorious spell over me that I could feel-- I don't blame anyone in this-- though i did tell the service guy before tranny replacement where I was headed the following days. I would leave for Sedona just 4 days after the transmission replacement. I should have paid more attention to the floor underneath my Energi. Back in the day of youth, 1 quart of oil a week into my 'hoop-ties'(old A#$ car) I checked underneath every day. But not on a new car I just purchased... Hindsight is 20/20. I was told by Ford Consumer Affairs that my Energi would be delivered to the dealership in L.A. on Monday to be sorted. I'll keep you guys updated.

Mine seems to have quieted down, since I have put a lot of highway miles(ICE) on mine, with several trips up to NoCal. Maybe the loudness is also an ICE break in issue?

Just received my stickers today. It took about 4 weeks from the day I mailed in the app and my 8 bones. I guess I'll have to slap them on. One small green sticker on right side of each bumper. Ugh they are pathetically ugly. Good thing I won't see them from the driving position-- but I am happy(and proud) to have them.

Whats a spare tire for again? It's been at least 25 years since I've dealt with one. Even if I had a spare tire, what's the use, when I have a cel phone in me pocket?

Your thought about pollution 'belched out' because of EV use sounds a bit strange. Have you ridden behind a diesel truck lately? I take from your arguments that natural gas or coal plants are completely clean in all of this, that coal and shale oil strip mining, fracking, coal ash floods and disposal issues, etc don't exist? Or that BP or Shell or whomever never spill or sully land or ocean thru oil exploration? jsamp I do appreciate hearing your point of view for sure. And rest assured that clean technology is not standing still, but gains in efficiency are moving forward at a great pace. But rather than get all soap-boxey, I'll include a link that is a bit more than a year old, but still is true today: http://mediamatters.org/research/2012/02/08/myths-and-facts-about-electric-cars/185798#carbon

Haha yes that 'retirement' thing may be true if the electric co didn't already lay off that poor bloke-- previous to my panel purchase, with the advent of smart meters that they monitor from a central database. They already fired that employee that used to physically sneaker in and check my meter. And I still pay for the grid, it's maintenance and infrastructure, employees to some extent, which I still am wired to. They take electricity generated by me as barter, which they sell to my neighbors. And as I save $, I may spend more, stimulating the economy which uses more energy, making that electrical employee more valuable. We are using more electricity every year, not less, solar panels or not, those vast solar and wind arrays being erected need soles to build, test, monitor, and maintain them. The solar and wind companies are hirin'.

Meyersnole, this is exactly to what I'm referring. To add to your great explanation, the solar panels on top of my house do not require strip mining our landscapes. Nor do those panels(like gas) require the injection of thousands of gallons of undisclosed chemicals that bleed into the water table that my water company extracts our tap water from(thank goodness I am able to enjoy a reverse-osmosis water filter!) The mammoth exporting of dollars thru the gas pump to Canada, Venezuela and the Mid-East, etc is a drain on the economy-- those dollars hardly come back to the states. But money saved from electricity also stays in your own pocket, or at least stays stateside, lowering the trade deficit. These all add up towards the true cost of gasoline, among others.

Said the 'Flat Earth" society, as well.

Doug you are spot on. And like you, our emissions from plugging in(1 plug-in and one pure EV) is negligible(solar roof which is roughly equivalent output to our electric usage). So using as little gas as possible, is the big Kahuna for me. Since both me and the wife drive to multiple work sites daily, we can't bike or subway it. The oil drilling, fracking, shipping and refining are energy inefficient, and the military energy, equipment, and lives lost(not to mention more suicides in the last throes of the Iraq & Afghanistan wars than deaths) and Homeland Security endeavors for that matter, should legitimately be laid on the doorstep of the price of petro-- if we are adult about it.

Hey Shaggy thanks for looking to keep me honest, but if you have adaptive cruise on your NRG, I believe that the Eco cruise is part of that option. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRwEt-eQXfc And as for the Tesla, it's funny when I've mentioned those items that the Ti has that the Tesla is wanting, people had looked at me like I'm high-- especially when I coin the term 'Tesla light'.

I'm assuming that when the High Voltage or EV battery is depleted, the car would operate the same as EV later mode?

The elephant in the room is that, If you add in the true costs of gas then the savings would be many, many thousands more.

I don't understand why we would want to separate ICE mpg and regen. It sounds like your lumping regen in with EV. Do hybrid car owners, Prius car owners separate out their regen miles from their ice only miles? I don't believe it makes a difference, until you plug in. Then it feels natural to me to separate the EV only miles. On a long trip on the highway, the EV mles are negligible, and the regen miles are key. My hemi shut down 4 cylinders at opportune times to get better hwy miles-- but there shouldn't be a reason to separate out those 4cylinder miles. Hybrids are meant to use the regen miles to get the mpg figure of say, a Prius. Why break down any further than that? I don't say this directly to you, apm, but just in general discussion. I appreciate your feedback and mileage figures for sure.

Very unscientifically. My last car I always calculated using fillups. But I had read that the mpg display on the FF hybrids are pretty close to what people are calculating using fillup amounts. And the mpg figure rises very rapidly when I am solely using EV mode. It falls quickly when I hit the highway in hybrid mode. On my SF trip, after the first 200 miles or so, the mpg was pinned between 39.2 and 39.9mpg the entire time for the remaining 700 miles of my trip. Whether I was driving around the city all day in Sonoma then SF, or heading back on the open road, the mpg did not vary. I never plugged in until I returned back to L.A. So take the figure as it is.

Hey Doug nice post. Buying an electric powered car is an ethical, responsible choice. No one's limbs are being blown off fighting to protect Shells' product supply lines in the deserts abroad. There is a reason why gas companies go to great lengths to hide the contents of the 'water' they inject during fracking. And hundreds of thousands of people die every year in the U.S. from asthma related, and preventable ailments exacerbated by pollution. Sorry to get so graphic, but after all, we are adults, here.

Great blog, Doug! All of the items you mentioned are just great items on this very high tech rich car. Dare I say it, the hi tech feels almost Tesla lite, in the sheer number of high tech items packed in. Actually, the FF Ti has a few hi tech items you can't get on a Tesla, as well. I'm adding some of the things I discover every couple of days that aren't necessarily new, but still, it's great technology! - When you're outside heading toward your car in the parking lot, I love the '3 touches on the remote, all the windows roll down to air out the car on a hot day' feature. Or roll them up. - Love the touchpad that allows you to open the doors without a key. - The radio, even though it is the upgraded Sony and has a sub-par subwoofer, is so much better, and the car is so much quieter, that I listen to music much louder and with much more satisfaction with this car. They still could stand to give us the ability to customize the eq settings for each source. - The adaptive cruise (or eco cruise) really maxes out your cruise control comfort level with the adjustable car lengths distances, and it maxes your gas mileage for your given speed on the highway. - The bliss system(amber flashing lights on the side mirrors when cars enter the blind spot) works well, though I'd be happy with the '2nd mirror' I see on other Fords where you see the actual blind spot image in a smaller little 'window' in the mirror. - I love the ability to check my EV battery charge level, as well as gas tank level, from my iPhone. I can remote lock or unlock the doors from the phone too. - Love the seats, which are so comfortable, that I believe there was a lot of hi-tech that went into those seats to make them work this well. - The heated seats option feels spa-like, in it's execution. -The dreaded tiny trunk, though it looks forlorn, actually has a very useable space. I've carried a lot of gear in the last 3 weeks back there. The fold down seats work well for carrying cargo as well. I was able to fit a 46" monitor in the back seat. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to squeeze my 9' surfboard in there, like I was able to in the '13 FFH. But the cargo space is workable. You just have to spend a bit more time organizing your haul.

Washington State and DC would be considered two different regions if you ask the folk from Tacoma. ;-)

Using the adaptive cruise, even with lots of traffic, helps the mileage on the highway. But since being back home in L.A. and Including driving to Ventura(about 65 miles away) I'm at half full from filling up 2 weeks ago. The nice tech touches never cease with this car. If I'm at 0 EV miles the beast knows when I'm almost home and totally leans on the hybrid battery to climb the 3/4 mile hill to my home driveway. .

FYI on the SF trip I averaged between 62 and 85mph on the 5.

From L.A. To San Francisco and back I averaged 39mpg. Same in the city in hybrid mode. And my NRG Ti wasn't broken in yet(200 miles driven at the start).

:rockon: This is true. I suppose I should get some sort of prize...? Maybe they're looking to keep the California numbers up. And God bless Costco!

After finally driving off with my NRG Ti with all of the options(the hi tech of this car is full of awesomeness), my deal is thus: Invoice -$3750 (fed tax rebate). My $750 coupon expired March 31st, so I was about a week late for that. But I received the price(invoice + any qualifying Ford incentives) thru the Costco car program. No haggle. I did a trade in which netted me about 1k less than I thought I could sell on ebay or cars.com. Total $4500 down, and the remainder cut to me in a check. I'm applying now for the CA state tax rebate of $1500, as well as the car pool lane access sticker. The lane assist and the adaptive cruise are killer. The seat construction is extremely comfortable. Though I have some awkward connectivity issues with my iPhone 5, this is one nice beast of a car. I'm a happy camper.

The larger wheels 19" wheels will be a necessity for me and I'll just go aftermarket. The 17" LRR wheels have very little grip at speed. And they counteract the coolness factor the tinted windows exude.

Yes this makes sense. And when not coasting or braking, but 'gassing' it, the carat is on the bottom of the battery.

Yes, though the NRG shows a separate yet different display for a 'battery' while in hybrid mode. And the first time I see that different battery display, it has never been full, like you would see after a full charge.