tseibel76

It is really nice today. I'm kiddy-corner from the XCEL Energy Center and watching everyone stream into the Lady Gaga concert. As you can imagine, the traffic around here is horrible. I see all of these ICE cars just sitting in traffic and think, how much gas would be saved right in front of me if they all were driving electric?

I concur. At the same price point, with your commute and the ability to charge at work, the FFE is the clear winner. Not to mention the intangible benefits of driving in all electric almost all of the time.

By the way, Fungi is sitting back in Bismarck. Down here for work. I now will get my first 12-volt test, as it will sit in a parking lot from Sunday morning until Wednesday afternoon.

Hey larryh, I'm in the Mpls./St. Paul area through Wed., May 21st. It rained cats and dogs here today (Monday, May 19th). I talked to my wife and she said it was sunny and 75 back in Bismarck and we might see low 80's this weekend. So, we might get a "warm weather" test run soon!

"I wouldn't have justified this car without the HOV stickers. Yeah, the technology is great, and I really enjoy the car, but I couldn't have justified $10k+ over a similarly equipped Fusion." I built a FFE and a regular Fusion on Ford's website. I selected the Titanium trim level, moonroof, universal garage door opener, heated steering wheel, heated/cooled seats, and navigation (basically how I would order the car right now). The FFE came in at $39,730 and the regular Fusion came in at $33,830, a difference of $5,900. Then, you get a federal tax credit of $4,007, bringing the difference down to $1,893. In California, you also get a state rebate of $1,500, which now brings the difference down to $393. Depending on your driving/commute, $393 can be made up in a couple of months. This does not take into account the pleasures of electric driving, not having to stop at the gas station, etc. I don't think you need the HOV sticker to justify this purchase.

I live in Bismarck, ND. I have had my Fusion Energi for 7 months. I love it. To think that you need a "sticker" to justify this car is extremely foreign to me. I can make it work here. Come on.

I leased my 2013 FFE primarily for the concerns you raised regarding future technology advances. I love the car but I wonder where the technology will be in 3 years. If the 2017 FFE gets 50-60 miles on a charge, it will have a serious impact on the values of our vehicles. Also, I wanted to ease into electric driving to make sure it was for me (it is - I can't imagine going back to an ICE vehicle). The FFE is a great vehicle for this because you have the ICE as a back-up, if needed. This is my 4th Ford lease. The previous 3 were all for pick-ups and all went fine without issue. With regards to your questions: 1. On a typical Ford lease, "unused" mileage does not rollover into a new lease. I've never heard of a lease that does this. Besides, this would be up to the leasing company/financial institution doing your 2nd lease (i.e., the new lease) to accept these "unused" miles. The current lease cannot bind a potential future lessor. 2. I believe my current lease calls for 25 cents per mile in excess of the allowed mileage (12k per year for my lease). So, if you have a 3 year lease with 12k per year, and you turn it in with 40k miles, your bill for mileage will be $1,000. I think this is the most important factor to consider when deciding whether a lease is right for you (the other being whether you typically want a new car every few years or whether you hang on to your vehicles). I think mileage is where people get into the most trouble with a lease. Having a good idea of how many miles you drive in a year is crucial. Your per mile charge is negotiable. 3. I think the lease contract requires the lessee (you) to have the car maintained according to Ford's recommended schedule. However, I have never had a dealer ask me for maintenance records when I turned my vehicle in at the end of a lease. In any event, there is nothing that I am aware of that prevents you from performing your own maintenance. 4. The warranty is the warranty, regardless of whether you lease or buy. If I went with a 15k lease, I would purchase an extended warranty or try and negotiate it into the deal. There is nothing about leasing itself that gets you an extended warranty. The other thing to remember about leasing is that it allows you to "hedge". In other words, you can purchase your vehicle at the end of the lease for the agreed-upon purchase price. If the vehicle is worth more than that, and you want to keep it, you can. If it is worth less, or your ready for something else, you can turn it in. Finally, I have never had a dealer "nit pick" the condition of the vehicle at lease end. However, I'm pretty gentle on my vehicles.

Fair enough, but most people don't sue their moms either :)

Illegal? Is it "illegal" to have your headlights on while you drive? This is ridiculous.

If you think they are keeping our data confidential, you're a fool. No different than any other company/service today. Hell, our own government is at fault. Until we all wake up and realize that, it will be more of the same. If we want to change it, let's do something. I'm in.

I always drive in L. I wonder if it makes a difference? It sure is much easier than always trying to feather the brakes to get a 100% score. It seems to me that if you can drive in L, do it. You can get some pretty sweet numbers. I drove around yesterday, 29.8 miles, 220 MPGe. I like that.

I am amazed how people on this forum freely give legal and tax advice. Are you qualified to do so? If so, are you qualified in the jurisdiction where the inquirer is from? Think of it like the La Brea Tar Pits.

Ditto.

The highest I've seen on the dash at the start of a drive is 35. The most I've actually gotten on a charge is 34 miles, which was in near perfect temps (around 60) and driving conditions.

What I have found that really gets people's attention is when I tell them how far I can go on a tank. This seems to be what people are most interested in. I think it also makes them realize the benefits of the car in a way they understand. However, as discussed, this gets their attention but I'm not sure it really educates them about how the car works. I think it does make them to start thinking that with the vast majority of their drives, they would be in all electric.