wescoent Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1228171440...hs&ru=yahoo -Mulally will cut salary to $1 if Ford ever needs to use the federal line of credit -GM to reduce debt and cut brands -Chrysler to seek alliance with another automaker New Ford Products: -Battery powered commercial van by 2011 -Battery powered compact sedan by 2011 -Plug-in hybrid model in 2012 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mustang_sallad Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 "rushing to launch new hybrids and electric vehicles by 2011, including a battery-powered commercial van and compact sedan. A plug-in electric vehicle that can be recharged from a standard electrical outlet should follow in 2012, he said." I don't understand how the 2011 battery-powered vehicles would not also be plug-in electric vehicles... Maybe by plug-in electric vehicle they meant plug-in hybrid. Or maybe the battery-powered vehicles aren't rechargeable, they just run off a bunch of non-recharble Duracell D cells? Anyway, miss-quotations aside, I think the commercial van must be something from Smith Electric Vehicles. They were already talking about coming stateside about a year ago. http://www.smithelectricvehicles.com/ The Smith Edison is an electric Transit with Li-Ion batteries, a 90kW motor, 1220kg payload, 100+ mile range, 50mph top speed, 5 year battery warranty. Really good for around the city, already used by the main grocery store chains in London for deliveries. Comes in panel van, mini bus, or chassis cab. Full details: http://www.smithelectricvehicles.com/EdisonFullSpecs.pdf They've also got the Ampere which is a Transit Connect, 70mph, 100+ mile range, and they were also looking at an electric F-750 for the American market only: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 "rushing to launch new hybrids and electric vehicles by 2011, including a battery-powered commercial van and compact sedan. A plug-in electric vehicle that can be recharged from a standard electrical outlet should follow in 2012, he said." I don't understand how the 2011 battery-powered vehicles would not also be plug-in electric vehicles... Maybe by plug-in electric vehicle they meant plug-in hybrid. Or maybe the battery-powered vehicles aren't rechargeable, they just run off a bunch of non-recharble Duracell D cells? Anyway, miss-quotations aside, I think the commercial van must be something from Smith Electric Vehicles. They were already talking about coming stateside about a year ago. http://www.smithelectricvehicles.com/ The Smith Edison is an electric Transit with Li-Ion batteries, a 90kW motor, 1220kg payload, 100+ mile range, 50mph top speed, 5 year battery warranty. Really good for around the city, already used by the main grocery store chains in London for deliveries. Comes in panel van, mini bus, or chassis cab. Full details: http://www.smithelectricvehicles.com/EdisonFullSpecs.pdf They've also got the Ampere which is a Transit Connect, 70mph, 100+ mile range, and they were also looking at an electric F-750 for the American market only: Good Info. Was not aware of the Smith vehicle-figured it was a transit in some form. Everything is on the table now. Maybe congress will guarantee that they will sell every hybrid vehicle the company produces! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordBuyer Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Good Info. Was not aware of the Smith vehicle-figured it was a transit in some form. Everything is on the table now. Maybe congress will guarantee that they will sell every hybrid vehicle the company produces! Makes sense to me. If the government is so serious about fuel efficency when it comes to us, then they should guarantee that EVERY vehicle in government fleet will be some form of electric vehicle by 2015 at the latest. That will insure that most electric type vehicles will be sold. And of course every electrice type vehicle sold should come with lucrative tax credits. Without that guarantee, the government is talking through its hat and full of nothing but hot air. Put up or shut up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ford Jellymoulds Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 (edited) I can remember when Ford said electric car would take the world by storm back in the late 1960's with the Ford Cumuta, it had a top speed of 40MPH and a range of about 40 miles and Ford sold only 2 Comuta electric cars. Edited December 2, 2008 by Ford Jellymoulds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
battyr Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Good to here that there is more, better hybrids coming after the Fusion. I see the PEV as being very limited for in city use only by only a few commercial users. The idea is to reduce the cost by getting rid of the engine. I would think something like the Volt would be better for a commercial vehicle. Save money by having a smaller battery and extending the range with gas sounds like a better solution to me. I think Ford is just throwing this in because they don't have to do any development work on it. I would rather see Ford buy engine/generators from GM (Volt) and put them into Ford vans. Ford says they need government funded research (not to Ford), to get the cost of batteries down to make HEV and PHEV economical. Ford can develop the hybrids if the government gets the batteries done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FoMoCobra Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 I wish they would release more information on the future of the Plug In Escape. It seems like a great product already with around 100 mpg avg city/hwy. Wonder why that wasn't highly promoted... That powertrain could be used in all sorts of vehicles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 More interesting info from the release: - 2011 Ford Explorer with better highway fuel economy than Toyota Highlander HEV. - 2011 Ford Fiesta with better highway fuel economy than Toyota Yaris and Nissan Versa. -Ford is forecasting annual market sales of 12.5M, 14.5M, and 15.5M vehicle in 2009, 2010, and 2011, respectively. -Improve Ford’s U.S. light-duty vehicle fleet fuel economy from the 2005 model year baseline every year. From Ford’s largest light duty trucks to our smallest cars, we will improve the fuel economy of our fleet by 14% in 2009, 26% in 2012, and 36% in 2015. -EcoBoost Engines (turbo-charging plus direct injection combined with downsizing – with up to a 20% improvement in fuel economy) – following introduction in 2009, application of this technology will increase to more than 85% of Ford/Lincoln/Mercury nameplates by 2012 and 95% by 2015 -Electric Power Assisted Steering – will be available on 90% of Ford/Lincoln/Mercury nameplates by 2012 and 100% by 2014. -6-Speed Transmissions – currently offered in more volume than any other manufacturer. 6-speed transmissions will be in 100% of Ford/Lincoln/Mercury nameplates by 2012. Interesting reading in the business plan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 I wish they would release more information on the future of the Plug In Escape. It seems like a great product already with around 100 mpg avg city/hwy. Wonder why that wasn't highly promoted... That powertrain could be used in all sorts of vehicles The business plan noted that a plug-in hybrid powertrain should be available sometime after 2012. Beyond that, there were no specifics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKII Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 I can remember when Ford said electric car would take the world by storm back in the late 1960's with the Ford Cumuta, it had a top speed of 40MPH and a range of about 40 miles and Ford sold only 2 Comuta electric cars. Also the 2 seater "Think" Nordic cars and Ford also leased out some electric Ranger trucks in the late 1990's, but scrapped both ideas and focused on hybrid instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKII Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 From thr article "Half of the Ford-Lincoln-Mercury lineup will qualify as advanced technology by 2010," justifying government funds under a new energy law, Mr. Mulally said." What is this new energy law? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvrsvt Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 - 2011 Ford Explorer with better highway fuel economy than ToyotaHighlander HEV. Sooooo we are gonna get a Explorer Hybrid or is it going to beat the Highlander HEV with a regular (ecoboost) Engine? Kills me that they make such a big deal about these Electric Green Cars, but yet Ford won't make any money on them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted December 2, 2008 Share Posted December 2, 2008 Sooooo we are gonna get a Explorer Hybrid or is it going to beat the Highlander HEV with a regular (ecoboost) Engine? It could very well get better highway fuel economy without being hybrid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pioneer Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Kills me that they make such a big deal about these Electric Green Cars, but yet Ford won't make any money on them Don't ned to make money on them. The Government is payin for it! :happy feet: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loyalbutconcerned Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 It could very well get better highway fuel economy without being hybrid. You are spot on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noah Harbinger Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 "rushing to launch new hybrids and electric vehicles by 2011, including a battery-powered commercial van and compact sedan. A plug-in electric vehicle that can be recharged from a standard electrical outlet should follow in 2012, he said." I don't understand how the 2011 battery-powered vehicles would not also be plug-in electric vehicles... Maybe the key point was that it could "be recharged from a standard electrical outlet"? The 2011 vehicles, being intended for commercial users, are more free to use non-standard equipment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 free to use non-standard equipment. Like two loose ends of a wire fastened to a circuit breaker? I bought a used 220v A/C that a guy had installed in his trailer. Trailer didn't have any 220 outlets, and he being well, lazy, just stuck the A/C in the window closest to the breaker panel, popped the door off the breaker panel, cut the plug off the A/C, and fastened the A/C right to a 220 breaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 I suspect it's more likely that Ford will repackage and resell the commercial solution that an after market company's got in the UK first--as that appears to be somewhat plug and play. http://www.autobloggreen.com/2008/04/12/sm...ransit-connect/ Subsequently, plug-ins developed more inhouse could be offered. Curious about the cost issues, though. Those Transits pay for themselves after 5 years, but diesel costs way more in Europe than it does in the US. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 (edited) Kills me that they make such a big deal about these Electric Green Cars, but yet Ford won't make any money on them Don't need to make money on them. The Government is payin for it! :happy feet: Right on ! It will be interesting to see how well they sell. I'm glad to see that Ford is "partnering with" (i.e. re-badging) 3rd party solutions. They certainly don't have the manpower or time to play "catch up" right now. The Smith Electric Van only has a range of 100 miles. It doesn't sound very practical in most suburban delivery environments. Edited December 3, 2008 by theoldwizard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 The Smiths Electric Van only has a range of 100 miles. It doesn't sound very practical in most suburban delivery environments. Suburban, maybe not. But 100 miles would be a terrific option for a city van. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theoldwizard Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 The Smith Electric Van only has a range of 100 miles. It doesn't sound very practical in most suburban delivery environments. Suburban, maybe not. But 100 miles would be a terrific option for a city van. So how many do you really think they can sell ? A couple thousand ? Most parcel delivery companies have "drop points" in the suburbs, near the interstate. The trip from the warehouse to downtown (and back) can eat up half of the charge, especially when driving 55 (or better). Maybe the low sales will convince our legislative "automotive experts" that electric vehicles (using current battery technology) are not the answer to "all problems" in the automotive world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickF1011 Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Suburban, maybe not. But 100 miles would be a terrific option for a city van. So how many do you really think they can sell ? A couple thousand ? Most parcel delivery companies have "drop points" in the suburbs, near the interstate. The trip from the warehouse to downtown (and back) can eat up half of the charge, especially when driving 55 (or better). Maybe the low sales will convince our legislative "automotive experts" that electric vehicles (using current battery technology) are not the answer to "all problems" in the automotive world. I'm not saying it would be a magic bullet or anything. A few thousand seems reasonable, as you pointed out that it's not the answer for everything. It's just another peice of the puzzle, that's all. One part of a broader effort to increase economy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biker16 Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 the electric Van would meet the NYC Taxi requirements. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardJensen Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Yeah, but the 100 mile range wouldn't. Those guys'd be going through taxis like Kleenex during a shift. Typical cab gets 100k miles put on it in a single year. That's 1,000 charges, or close to three charges a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthewq4b Posted December 3, 2008 Share Posted December 3, 2008 Where they may them would be to small buissnesses that do delivery's Such as Florists and auto parts out lets. Most of these places do a run in the AM and a Run in the PM. Giving charge time of a couple 3 hours between runs . The may also find favour within some municipalites for managerial fleet vehicles. As these untis do not usually see high daily milage or use. They also would make great meter maid units they as well do not see high dialy milage. Many towns could also use them for Postal drop point delivery's. The 100 mile age is limiting if it was 150 miles it would open a lot of of other doors. Then they would have more than adequate range for urban meter readers. There are lots of applications they could be used for. There are also many many people that put no where near 100 miles a day on ther vehicles as well. Some regions such as here, buisnesses hotels and even some shopping malls already have outlets placed in the parking stalls for block heaters. It is not as much of a no starter as it seems at first glance. Matthew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.