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This is how I think of driving the car. You take energy out of the gas tank and store it as:- momentum of the car's motion- charge in the battery- elevation You lose energy through aerodynamic drag, which rises very quickly with speed, and rolling resistance, which is nearly constant with speed.- rolling resistance is the "price" of going anywhere- aero drag is the "price" of getting there sooner. Here's some real data, plotted vs. temperature, comparing a "rural" commute at 30 MPH average, to an "expressway" commute at more like 60 MPH. It should give you some idea of the temperature sensitivity, and the effect of driving faster. My lifetime is just over 40 MPG, but we inherited the car, and lifetime then was 38. I tell people I get between 30 and 60 MPG. Have fun, Frank

I may have posted it, but I assure you I copied it from someone else... Frank

Next time, pull the radio fuse. Rare but maddening. Frank

If you get a Ford donut spare, you'll be fine. Just don't go too old; the tire's rubber has limited life. Frank

Re-read Plus 3's post, as he's exactly right. Drag Force = Drag Coefficient X Cross-sectional Area, by the definition of the Drag Coefficient. The "limitations on the shape" you reference, such as height, effect the cross-sectional area, and so total drag force, but not Cd. Have fun, Frank

(More forum access issues continue to get in the way. Can't quote, can't paste, cant' see the forum - THIS IS BROKEN!!!) I would paste the service codes when mine was replaced, under a TSB, but PASTE is not a supported function. No longer having fun, Frank

When I asked my dealer for 0W20 full synthetic, they drove down the street and purchased house-brand oil from an auto parts store. Not what I expected... they left the 6th bottle in the box. Choose to make the choice, or you never know what you might get. Have fun, Frank

But you can't delete the duplicate when the forum double-posts.

Tachometer is a My View option.

There is no way pump gas with increased octane can hurt the car. (The opposite is not true.) For the greatest effect, make it ethanol-free. Then drive routes and speeds where you can get at least 2/3 EV, as that puts the ICE in the right operating mode to eek the most energy out of the fuel. If you're driving routes and speeds that don't pull all the energy out of 87E10, you're not likely to see benefit from 91E0. For me, that's highway driving, 40% EV or so. have fun, Frank And no, you'll never save money this way.

You can get to 40 MPG in winter, just not your first winter! You've heard some references to "Fuelly" a web site that tracks fuel usage. Above is my lifetime track, for Rochester, NY. Winter 2014, I drove the expressway and stayed warm, but only got about 30 MPG. Winter 2015, I drove the back roads, shivered a lot more, but almost made 35 MPG, despite a near-record cold winter. Note that both summers (2015, 2016), I have tanks well over 50 MPG, with trips in the 60's... same exact commute every time. There is a learning curve, and short trips are the stress case. Hang in there, and if anyone mentions the grill blocks (I have them too), just say it's an old truckers' tip you got from your Dad. When you see a long-haul semi with a zipper up the grill, you know their grill block is adjustable. Have fun, Frank

+1 A similar post went to bit-heaven thanks to forum issues... this is getting old. Anyone else hate the new forum SW? My one comment is that VW will not be found a willing participant. Delay is their only weapon against a huge financial loss, and given the government of Lower Saxony has veto power over any such plan, you know actual $$$$$$$$$$$ will never change hands. VW will leave the US diesel market first. My money's on obsolescence. VW waits so long, the offending cars are no longer on the road. Fine is nominal. It's the government way (and I'm not talking domestically). HAve fun, Frank

We're accustomed to the tear-drop shape because it's the optimum for one specific application, a surface blister (as for engine clearance in the MG-C). The blister has twice the drag of a body in free space. When you let air underneath, the drag doubles. When you add wheels and tires, internal airflow and perturbations for windows, you're 10x the free-body drag. Once there's wheels, and a windshield, intakes and exhausts, there are a lot of solutions. A flow-splitting hood, pushing air to the side of the windshield, may become as common as raised A-pillars. Have fun, Frank

Forum upgrade... "quote" is not working and "link" (which has a new format window) freezes the tab until you refresh it. Paul, aerodynamics does what it wants, not that we think it should do. If not, why did Toyota put the BMW i8 hood on the Prius? Frank

Welcome to traction control. If you're accustomed to using a little wheel spin in snow, you will find the car very odd to drive. The brakes will stop any one wheel from spinning, and the throttle will, if both spin. I find it disconcerting, as the car tends to dart sideways as wheels slip or grip. It can be disabled, but I never think of it at the right time. It's only been an issue for me in deep snow (but I stayed home yesterday). That said, it's been awhile since I noticed it, so perhaps the calibrations have changed. Or it's been a warm winter... HAve fun, Frank

I'm happy that our SEL has proven immune; I wish yours had! Frank

I was reacting to the non-hybrid related, major systems that seemed to fail on all the Malibu's. Water pump, AC compressor, balance shafts, oil pan are not the technology-intensive areas of a hybrid. I can forgive Ford for not figuring out a tranny bearing a lot easier than this stuff. And you're right that the Volt looks a lot more reliable, but I will be a skeptic until we see if that reliability makes it to the Malibu. Have fun, Frank

That's not alarming... This was alarming! Note the date... one year after initial deliveries, Ford had recognized a problem. http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/3094-ssm-44252-hybrids-in-taxi-service-hf35-transmission-bearing-noise/ If it hasn't gone by the end of the 8/100 warranty, I'll think about my options instead of blindly running to failure. Have fun, Frank

From a drivetrain standpoint, perhaps not, but I was referring to the Malibu's service actions. We are discussing reliability... it's a disaster. Frank

Fuse 14S21 RCM recall Then check your mileage and purchase date, as my repair was covered by the 3/36 warranty. Mine felt like it had a short circuit in the heater, then it stopped working. The RCM recall (mine broke, so I got it early) got me to check the seat heater and discover the issue before I hit 36K. HAve fun, Frank

Welcome to the forum, and to C-Max ownership. I'm another 2012-vintage build, now at 43K miles, and planning many more. I'm also concerned about the tranny. Someone recently posted a link to the Advanced Vehicle Test Activity, which includes hybrids. They buy and test cars, with periodic measurement of battery capability and a full list of service actions. Don't look at the Malibu, it's a disaster. Comparing the 2010 Prius with the 2013 C-Max, the biggest difference is the Toyota's have a 6K oil change interval, so they're in the shop more often. Of the four C-Max, one lost a tranny at 90K miles. The cars are still in test, to 160K if I read it right, so we'll have to see if any more trannies fail. (The Prii tests are completed.) Conversely, you may want to compare the HV battery test data... one of them's a wimp! Have fun, Frank

I didn't mean to suggest that you'd save money on the deal, just that it has a positive effect if you're driving style allows. I don't see any difference in highway driving. And I know of no vehicle ever made that could be damaged by using premium. Steve's right when he says 87 is a minimum, as you can destroy an engine with pre-ignition. I'm doing this for the knowledge; never know when I might need to get an extra 10% out of a tank. Plus, Paul's got all the bragging rights sewn up! HAve fun, Frank

+1 There are three things you can do that have been proven to reduce the car's fuel consumption: - grill block - block heater - good fuel Here's some data, for a car with grill blocks, but no block heaters, on snow tires (Thanksgiving to Easter). This is a "rural route" with 12 lights and 6 Stop signs, but very little traffic, allowing great freedom in when to use ICE and how fast to go. Trip time is held constant. Data is shown for all of 2014 , with 2015 data split by the type of fuel used. I did this in June/July with very similar results. Summer fuel comparison, shift from 54.7 to 58.7 MPG, roughly constant temperature. Winter fuel comparison, 3-4 MPG shift, greater at higher temperature. I can't control the weather, but I can choose to use high-octane fuel, and avoid ethanol. That's still no guarantee, as the driver remains the major determinant of the car's mileage. Have fun, Frank

My bad.

It will be interesting to see what kind of EV system it has. Same with the Rav4. I've been looking at the AVT data on hybrid batteries, and there's an interesting observation. All batteries that meet EPA goals for power and energy delivery are lithium-ion. I only went back to 2010, but both Ford Fusion (5.5 Ah, 1.5 KWh) and Prius II (6.5 Ah, 1.3 KWh) NiMH HVBs have capacity on par with their Li-ion descendants, but they can't deliver against the EPA goal of 25kW@ 300Wh, averaging less than 20kW@ 300Wh. BTW, the C-Max battery leads in every performance category. It's not the highest capacity, but it runs at the highest system voltage, can deliver 55kW@300Wh, and is pushing 1000Wh@25kW. There's also no trend in the charge/discharge characteristics at 50% SOC. It's the kind of data you'd like to see. HAve fun, Frank