rprobst

Wish I could give you good news. My car was built on February 23rd. Since at least March 4th, 2 weeks ago, it has been sitting on a ramp in Hermosillo waiting to get on a train. Some people are seeing faster shipping, but it's a matter of good luck or bad.

Interesting to hear others have seen a rear-seat-belt problem in ETIS. I thought I was the only one. ETIS also says my car is missing ("less") ESC, but I'm pretty sure that must be wrong. Anyone else seen that problem?

Cyberdman's alright. Last time I asked him for an update, I neglected to put the VIN in the post, thinking he could just look at an earlier post in my thread and get the VIN from there. But he ignored my request. Which led me to re-read the rules and see that he asks for the VIN (or dealer number / order number) in every bump.... and that he says he won't give a reminder, so if a request is ignored, we should re-read the rules and figure it out. Well, I added the VIN and mentioned that I had had to re-read the rules. He replied right away with the updated info, and also said "I got ya covered". He's a real mensch.

Agree. I think the distinctive DRLs, which allow you to identify the make of a car from far away, are really intended for Europe. When driving on a speed-limit-free highway (like an autobahn), you will sometimes see a car in your review mirror, closing on you at over 50 MPH -- that is, you're doing 100 MPH but he's doing 150. The manufacturers want to make it easy to identify their cars from the front. IMO, this is why the grills have become so distinctive. But DRLs in fancy shapes are even easier to identify from far away.

Couldn't help but notice they took the buggy-whip antenna off the car. I plan to replace it with a shark fin, whenever my car eventually arrives.

It's an ELR

I would pay an extra $3000 for an Accord Plug-in that looks like a Fusion. That's a markup that would add value.

Let me try that again, with the VIN this time -- I just re-read the rules... Could you please give me an update on this car? Thanks! VIN 3FA6P0SU5DR254613

Let me try that again, with the VIN this time -- I just re-read the rules... Could you please give me an update on this car? Thanks! VIN 3FA6P0SU6DR282520

I agree, gravity is a theory.

Early adopters always pay more for a new technology. That's what helps new technology come to market, the eager anticipation and participation by the early adopters who can afford it. Supporting new technology is an appropriate role for government. Without that, we would not have the interstate highway system or the Internet. Does government ever pick a loser? Sure. Does venture capital ever pick a loser? Do big corporations ever make a losing investment? Well, yeah. Not all bets pay off. Over time, the costs of this technology will come down and the later adopters will never believe that there was this kind of debate back in the dark ages.

Any change? Thanks!

Any change? Thanks!

A long way from where it all started. Here's the first-ever Jeep (in the Heinz museum in Pittsburgh). http://www.fourwheeler.com/featuredvehicles/129_1102_jeep_the_first_70_years/photo_03.html EDIT: Actually, this is the first-ever Jeep, but before the name was made up, and apparently no longer in existence: http://www.fourwheeler.com/featuredvehicles/129_1102_jeep_the_first_70_years/photo_02.html

At least this dealer does not pretend to be offering added value for the markup. It is listed on the car as just plain dealer markup.

I didn't tell him that I've got a Fusion Energi on order.

Well, Silicon Valley is sort of electric-car crazy. Not that there's anything wrong with that; I'm electric-car crazy myself... But I think the GM is just going to see what the market will bear, and will drop the markup if nobody bites soon. He hinted that I should check back later.

Also, there are no options on the Accord Plug-in. It comes one way. Moonroof, adaptive cruise, parking assist, leather seats are not offered. But otherwise matches a fully-loaded Fusion Energi: voice-driven navigation, lane-keeping, blind-spot, dual climate, etc.

No, definitely not. This is pure dealer markup. The GM said that Honda told him he would get exactly 2 Accord Plug-ins for 2013, so he is not trying to move this car quickly. He wants to see if a buyer will show up who doesn't care about an extra $7500 -- and in this neighborhood, that's not unlikely. I have been seeing a lot of Teslas lately.

My local Honda dealer just got in their first Accord Plug-in. MSRP is $40,570, but the dealer has added $7,500 to that, for a grand total of $48,070. The GM said with Facebook just up the road one direction, and Google down the road the other direction, there are probably people who won't mind the markup.

jeff_h, please post a link to that YouTube clip; sounds cool!

That looks like one of the SEMA Fusions. Is that LED part available after-market yet?

Notice LongIslander's VIN. The 14th digit is a 7, the next 3 digits are 005. My guess is that that will be the 5th Fusion built that week.

Right you are.

Yes, this is all very mysterious to us outsiders. I found one dealer who would only sell Energis at X-Plan for retail orders, and another dealer who would sell a dealer-ordered Energi at X-Plan. So it seems to be up to the dealers. The dealer who agreed to sell me a dealer-stock Energi at X-Plan has a lot of Energis coming in. Their GM told me that he sold a ton of Focus Electrics in 2012. He offered them at a great price, and the buyers flocked in (remember, this is Silicon Valley, where electric cars are hot). He sold so many that he ended up buying Focus Electrics from east coast dealers who couldn't move them. That turns out to have been a brilliant strategy. Apparently Ford decides a dealer's allocations for electric cars based on previous sales of all types of electric cars, combined, and the dealer can decide how to split that up between Fusion Energi, C-Max Energi and Focus Electric. So his success at selling a lot of Focus Electrics last year has given him a big allocation for Fusion Energis this year. Smart dealer!