fbov

Good post, Paul. At the same time, there's a limit to the amount of fossil fuel on the planet, so there is an argument for alternative fuels, among the many options for future energy supply/conservation (got to get the hybrid in there). It's a complex topic, one which will turn on geopolitical factors as much as technology. There's a reason gas is cheap now, and it has everything to do with politics, and nothing to do with oil reserves. Have fun, Frank

Rebecca, I'm happy at 3.6.2, so I won't add to your workload. Take care of the folks for whom this matters. Frank

In the FWIW column... I went looking when this first came out, and stopped when I needed a USB drive. I clearly was eligible for the update. Now, it says I'm fine as of October, 2013, with 3.6.2. I suspect Ford has just fixed a support headache... Now, I will note that Porter's "birthday" was October 1, 2012, so we've recently left B2B warranty land, if that matters. Frank, who now has an empty 4GB thumb drive...

I put in one of these. http://fordcmaxhybridforum.com/topic/1422-installing-the-torklift-central-hitch/?hl=hitch It costs more, but there's no drilling, and I like the idea of the third mounting location at the hitch. Never know what might get installed. This was for a cargo platform. It does desensitize with the kick tailgate, but that's not a bad thing. Frank

The only decline in EV usage I see is due to the lower temperatures of the Fall season. As you know, the original PCM software limited EV to 63 MPH, and when the big PCM update came down in late 2013, enabling 63+ EV-ing, that was a tell tale for a bad update. Given they're doing another round of update recalls, update failures are going to happen on occasion. At least you're in a good position to work with the dealership... HAve fun, Frank

Let's be clear. This 1500W pump is a circulating immersion pump. It goes in heater hoses, and has in internal pump to circulate water through the engine, with no need for special placement to insure convection. Assuming thermostats on the elements, this unit should be as good as the OEM. Let us know how things go! HAve fun, Frank

And if it's more work than you'd like getting to the block immersion heater, consider a lower radiator hose-based immersion heater. http://www.fivestarmanufacturing.com/kat_s

Wow, it's been a week! Now that folks are interested, it seems the VW scandal is old news for domestic tailpipe sniffers... http://jalopnik.com/did-one-company-spot-volkswagens-diesel-deception-six-y-1737309474 Sales are slumping, but no one's concerned in financial circles. I wonder why? Is VW's European market the only one European bankers care about? Is it that the US sales are a small fraction of the offending cars? Is VW too big to be punished by EU regulators? http://www.forbes.com/sites/neilwinton/2015/10/19/volkswagen-sales-start-to-feel-the-impact-of-diesel-scandal/ The psychologists and sociologists in the group might enjoy this one. It's a very real phenomenon, but I think it's a stretch for top management to claim ignorance. http://www.newyorker.com/business/currency/an-engineering-theory-of-the-volkswagen-scandal A little something to put VW's "scandalous emissions" in perspective... http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1100528_vw-joins-chrysler-with-dirtiest-tailpipe-after-diesel-scandal-revealed And the one that should have the investment bankers quaking in their boots. Legal precedent upholds the Clean Air Act prohibition against any emissions defeat device. http://jalopnik.com/how-the-epa-won-1-billion-from-diesel-cheaters-long-be-1732109485 Have fun, Frank

Thanks!

And I missed it - sorry! My bad. It would, indeed!

Really? They do plot monthly average MPG for the last year, but that's a time track, not a distribution. A roller coaster, not twin peaks. And thinking about it, that distribution is skewed to the low side by partial tanks. I don't always put in 13 gal.... in fact, some of my highest tank MPGs are partials. Have fun, Frank

And you didn't even say "Hello!"

That won't happen for very good technical reasons. One down side of reduced Cd is increased sensitivity to cross-winds. The wind initially pushes the front of the car off the line of motion. As the car turns, it presents an increasingly large cross-section to the wind, increasing the destabilizing force. It's the reason there's a fin on the back of old race cars, early rockets, and Porsche 911s. The fix is simple; add a fin in back. The cross-wind will also hit the fin, which will turn the car into the wind, countering the front torque. A more elegant solution is to make the car "clean" in straight-line air but "dirty" in a cross-wind. The increased drag will mostly occur to the rear of the car, acting like a fin. This is why the C-Max seems to have a recessed windshield. Air flowing parallel to the A-pillars is undisturbed by the recess, while air flowing askew the pillar will detach and become turbulent, with associated increase in drag. Another aspect of good engineering... found on nearly all the sleek SUV-shape vehicles. HAve fun, Frank

Given it's front brakes, and you live in Vermont, it could be traction control. TC will apply brakes to stop wheel spin. If you're a lead-foot, you could be using the engine to burn up the brakes. Or it could be from driving up snowy hills... any time you're accustomed to using wheel spin, is a time the C-Max could be braking to stop it. I'm at 40K and the brakes look very good. Have fun, Frank

You inspired me to do something similar, but graphically. As one might expect in the temperate climate zone, it's bi-modal, winter and summer, with tails to the extremes at the seasonal extremes; longest range of 707 was near Summer Solstice, and 54.2 MPG is the highest indicated tank (53.1 pump). Have fun, Frank

That's because they aren't using regen... they're cabbies!

The only thing a C-Max struggles with in winter is deep snow. It's no good for plowing, even though Traction Control can be switched off as needed. I'll second 4 snows. I got Michelin X-ice3 215/60-16's on Ford steel wheels from Tire Rack. It also makes up for the lack of spare if you hole a sidewall like I did. There is an argument for studs, but it depends on conditions. I expect you'll be a lot colder and dryer than we are, with fewer days above freezing, and a lot less salt on the roads. That last bit is a good thing, as a frozen snow-covered road is much safer than one that thaws every day, and freezes every night. And visibility... I love driving in snow with this car because I can see the road better than anything else I've driven these last 45 years. Have fun, Frank

I also think we had a bit of a scandal ourselves, back in the 1960's, with lead. When the health impacts were first reported, it was greeted like '90's concussion reports in the NFL - they destroyed the researchers' careers. However, lead is sufficiently toxic that spreading tons across our cities didn't go unnoticed, photo-chemical smog was easy to find, and with unleaded fuel, it was promised could clean the air with a simple catalyst! The result was the 1970's...

It's been enlightening, as I research this stuff, to look at European emission laws, and vehicle registration profiles. Regardless the VW scandal, diesel emissions are a really big deal for Europe, the US is leading the world for no apparent reason, and the EU just starting to get serious. 53% of new car registration in the EU are diesel, and that's nothing new, so there are generations of them still running. Diesels are 0.8% of new car registrations in the US, and in 2014, 2/3 were VW/Audi. EU NOx emissions standard (Euro 6) is 80 mg/km. The comparable US standard, Tier 2Bin5 is 40 mg/km Prior EU Euro 5 NOx limit was 180 mg/km., and there was no standard prior to 2000's 500 mg/km. EU NOx standard completed phased-in period last year, US phase-in was completed in 2009. EPA tests cars over 5 standard routes, albeit only the initial urban route (FTP-75) is used for emissions, likely because automotive air pollution was seen as an urban issue in the 1960's. EU's test route (NEDC) has similar shortfalls to FTP-75, so they're changing routes, too (WLTC). And best of all, I found some real test data... from the same folks who brought you the WVU report: the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT). They show data taken by Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club using a chassis dynamometer, comparing the two EU test routes with 32 cars from 2012-2014 model years. Cars pass the old test route... If Europe has a health issue due to diesel emissions, it's a result of their own inaction. The technology's been there for decades. The political will to use it has not. That's a scandal. HAve fun, Frank

Discovering one's ignorance isn't scandal, it's the first step of education. There was no deception involved in "diesel test cycle/real world discrepancies," just a lot of learning. You should not be surprised, then, to learn that these discrepancies are also true of gasoline engines. TANSTAAFL. As to concern over air quality, consider that: - EPA standard for NOx is 0.04 g/km, and has been since 2009. - EU standard for NOx is 0.06g/km, and has been since last month. The EU has yet to put their money where their mouth is. Perhaps the real goal is to sell newspapers... or internet hits. HAve fun, Frank

Nice work; this is one spare option that actually works! So here's the question... Did you need the 4.5" rise from the adapter? I have a 2" hitch and a set of snow tires... Have fun, Frank

Pull a sample!

You sure of that? I think every journalist reporting a diesel emissions failure is hoping they're breaking the next VW scandal. The good ones get to the rest of the story, but not all. I think the facts are that: - VW admits using a defeat device, and - all diesels will demonstrate the discrepancy you note between test-cycle and real-world emissions. It's news, but not scandal. The former is a real cause for public concern, debate, and judicial action. The latter is now being used to create a string of reports showing how each diesel manufacturer "exceeds emissions" as if they were on par with VW. The resulting public frenzy is unlikely to result in good legislative action, here or abroad. Expect scapegoats. There are real downsides to capitalism... HAve fun, Frank PS I think VW lucked out by doing this in software. I'll wager that the car is just locked in test mode, with no hardware retrofits where a urea system was not used to pass the lab test in the first place. The bigger question is the punitive aspect; how much fine, and how to handle the subterfuge.

Plus, isn't this Energi-specific? (I don't think I have a cabin coolant heater, and I know I can't drive-condition...) Frank

Have you ever played with a power-split simulator? http://eahart.com/prius/psd/ The simulator shows your road speed as a function of the speed of the other three elements. The ICE only rotates in one direction, while both motor/generators rotate both directions, as needed. (AC has no polarity.) Have fun, Frank