valkraider

Who said they don't mind? What people have said is that it is now a reality of technology. People make a choice: is the technology worth the risk? However, I am pretty sure that if Ford (why do people all caps FORD, it's not an acronym - it's a guys name...) were to start selling our data to those other interests and it hits the press that Ford will instantly lose sales. Also - it can be disconnected if you really care. It is a subscription service.

That open space goes away if you put the seat down. Anything under there will be squished - just a warning. Don't ask how we learned that lesson. ;)

No, the battery level appearance is misleading. The battery display starts over when you fill the "small hybrid only battery". It goes back to the bottom and you start filling the "big Energi battery". Since the display doesn't allow us to see actual percentages, based on rough eyeball estimates of the battery gauge I filled about .6 or .7 Kw in the "small hybrid battery" and then another 3Kw in the "big Energi battery". Maybe at best 4Kw total? I wish we had a display which would show us the Kw gained from regeneration.

According to Google Earth, from the exact point I parked was 5869ft and the exact point I stopped was 1479ft. That is direct - I was "nose out" in the parking spot right into the road and coasted to a stop on the side of the highway as best I could without impeding traffic. There would be a smidge lost due to one stop sign and accelerating back to 45mph, and there are a couple teeny uphills where I touched the accelerator to keep at 45mph so as to not impede traffic.

I spent a good chunk of time Saturday riding in the back seat. About 4 hours all said and done. I am 5'10" and about 215lbs. Beside me were two teenagers and in front of me another 5'10" adult. It was very comfy and I had tons of leg room. I was impressed. I did notice the ICE noise is louder in the back seat...

It was a Volt: http://m.green.autoblog.com/2010/08/18/chevrolet-volt-continues-to-handle-pikes-peak-with-ease-w-vide/ Capturing the downhill energy is one of the main reasons I wanted an Energi. Not even a normal hybrid car can do it as their batteries fill up before the bottom. :)

Are they broken up in folders or are they more flat? I couldn't get it to work with a fairly flat directory structure, but using an export hack I was able to get a much more well split out folder structure which worked much better with MFT. Also there is an update due us any day now which could improve this.

That's as far as I can coast on that route. But it is awesome going skiing and being able to recover some of the energy that was spent driving up the hill. :) Also, not touching the brakes at all on my descent is AWESOME, and saves me tons of stress and brake pads. Grade Assist worked flawlessly!

I think the fuel economy gains have not been "undercut" exactly. I don't think people drive more miles because fuel efficiency gains. I think people drive more miles because suburban sprawl and for most of the population a complete lack of viable alternatives. These trends are being slowly reversed as cities are revitalized and there is an ongoing urbanization boom. Cities are building and providing more viable transit options. Bike and pedestrian infrastructure is being enhanced. The younger generations are the first Americans in 8 decades who are not prioritizing driving licenses and car ownership. The Internet has changed youth's needs, cars are no longer necessities to have a social life. The younger generations are increasingly more urban, and more willing to walk and bike than ever before. My nephew and his friends don't own as many cars, they bike and train around and use car sharing services like ZipCar or Car2Go when they need wheels. I think that electric cars are a good "first step" but we really need to have communities where people have OPTIONS ( the American way right? Freedom to choose? ). For some people or some trips - transit or bicycles can work, for others a car may be needed.

Starting at Timberline ski area Government camp at the bottom of Timberline Rd At the point where I stop coasting:

I never said I was OK with it, I am merely showing it is a trade off. If you want the toys, the consequences come with them. For the enhanced MyFordMobile, SyncMyRide and other services you agree when you sign up. As far as the forms when you buy the car, it's possible: caveat emptor! As far as "asking for your permission" I am not sure that's even required. Black boxes have been on vehicles for a decade or more, and soon will be required by law. They have already started showing up in court cases. The black boxes track more and more info each model advancement. Additionally, any car with mapping software has GPS logs which track your movements and those are showing up in court cases as well. Personally I don't enjoy the tracking/logging but I enjoy the cars and phones and data more. I choose to give up some of my movements data in exchange for some fun services. If you don't like it, drive a 1974 Nova and change your plates after you pass through an intersection... ;) There are so many places people just click or tap "OK" without reading that I bet we all have agreed to some crazy things...

As they iron out the kinks in MFM and whatnot, it will get rid of any of my current gripes. Assuming they do iron them out...

Yes. Especially if you have an Energi. Everything is tracked anymore, this very website is heavily tracked. The linked article at WSJ contains many trackers. Cities track your license plates as you move through intersections. Banks track debit cards and credit cards. Google searches and XBox games are tracked. Phone calls are monitored and your cell phone is tracked. Internet providers monitor your connection. Your TV habits are tracked by your cable or dish supplier. Stores track your buying history. And all these databases are sold and traded and correlated and combined. Welcome to 2013. Your best bet for no tracking is never use electronics, only drive old cars and change plates regularly or walk/bicycle everywhere, and only use cash, wear a hoodie or hat to help with facial recognition but change it often to help with pattern recognition. And for heck sake stay off the phone.

No, the independents could not do warranty work, unfortunately.

I am not sure you have ever driven in heavy enough rain then. ;) At 55mph driving through rain filled ruts sprays water onto the floor of our vehicles hard enough to be felt through shoes... And we do that daily for months at a time. :)

If you can't wash the underside than how can you drive in the rain? :)

We used to drive over to Slidell just for those drive-through bars. New Orleans and the bayou are just about the only things I miss from the south. Maybe a little bit of the Florida panhandle, and boiled peanuts. ;) I certainly don't miss the heat or the bugs. But I love New Orleans and the bayou despite the muggy creepy crawly. We "camped" on the French Quarter last year, it was so much fun - but I felt inadequate with my little tiny truck camper next to all those million dollar RVs.

Yeah, the worst part about VWaG is the dealer. :) But I have also had crap service from a Dodge dealer too. My closest Ford dealer is lame but I was happy with the folks I bought from - sadly they are all the way across town. :( I got all my TDI work done at independent shops who sent their guys to Germany for certs from VW - better than any dealers in the area. They were cheaper too, and used better materials. Crazy how they could stay in business for two decades with lower prices AND better service than the dealers!

They fixed it, so now it's not annoying to use the forum. :) Although you may be annoyed that I am using the forum again. Haha! ;)

Uhm, it *is* Microsoft. MyFordTouch and Ford Synce are Microsoft Auto (or more accurately currently referred to as Windows Embedded Automotive), and has been a joint project between Ford and Microsoft (although it has spun through a few different contractors as well). It started with Microsoft and Clarion as "Auto PC" in like 2002ish. Ford got involved 2005ish and the first product for ford was the initial version of Sync released in 2007. Microsoft uses NavTeq map data for "streets and trips" (and Bing maps) just like MyFordTouch uses Navteq map data. Microsoft has used Navteq data for a long time. Nokia bought Navteq in 2007 and in 2011 fully incorporated Navteq into Nokia operations. What you are all complaining about is a glitch in the way MyFordTouch (Microsoft Auto) is plotting the cars GPS coordinates onto the NavTeq data. It should be fixed or improved with the MFT 3.5.1 update. Microsoft and Ford have worked together on this since day one, and the maps have always been supplied by Navteq. Navteq provides the data not only for Ford and Microsoft but also for a ton of systems including: Garmin, BMW, Chrysler, Fiat, ESRI, Hyundai, Kia, Land Rover, Jaguar, Lowrance, JVC, Mini, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Qualcomm, OnStar, Rand McNally, Toyota, Volkswagen, Volvo, Sony, TMobile, Yahoo......... Just to name a few recognizable ones.

It shouldn't be any different than driving it on the road - except less wear and tear. Remember - due to the CVT and the generator this car doesn't really idle. The oil condition monitor goes off engine hours (and a few other variables) and not miles - so you'll potentially have to change the oil a tad sooner than you may have expected if you were to do this frequently. I have done the same thing with a site that has free wifi AND free charging. I plugged in my Energi and laptop, turned on the heated seat and went to work... :)

The Southeast has a bigger differential than many other parts of the country. I was amazed last year when we were there that diesel was like 40 cents more per gallon than regular unleaded! Here in the northwest diesel runs just about the same price as Plus. Except at Chevron who thinks they can charge 30 cents more than anyone else.... I have had two VW TDIs and let me tell you, their highway performance is OUTSTANDING. We only traded for the C-Max because 99% of our driving is in town, and very urban town at that. So our economy in the TDI was in the mid 20s city. Whereas I can do almost all I need on a daily basis in EV using our Energi model. Our Energi highway mileage is not as good as our TDI was but is good enough. You may be right though, the cost difference would be minimal anywhere diesel costs are high. But it may be worth it for a highway driver just for the amazing torque and cruising capability of the VWAG TDI vehicles. They are so so nice... I would love a TDI plug-in hybrid - but it would cost so much money since the TDI costs more than a normal version and a Hybrid costs more than a normal version, and a plug-in costs more than a hybrid - so the combination of the three would be really expensive. But it would be really awesome!!! :)

Well the Audi A3 plugin is coming to the USA, and the Jetta hybrid is here now, so maybe there is hope. However we have completely hijacked this thread, so back to the A4 nav card discussion. :)

This is what I see (both here and on the Energi forum - obviously this is a screenshot of the Energi forum and since they are crapping out the same I figured I would just use the one screenshot so as to not fill up too much of the internet)

The mobile site is not working, and the full site is painful on a phone. So you all have fun, and I'll check back from time to time to see if the site admin have straightened this out or turned on Tapatalk. Cheers, enjoy your C-Max!