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Intangibles. My wife bought a 2012 Elantra in July, 2011, and while it's been a good car at the right time, it also had EPA rating issues. She doesn't get near the rated mileage even after downgrade, albeit better than her '95 Volvo 945. All the advice in 2011 was to get a conventional, high-mileage drivetrain, a sensible approach given the available alternatives (Prii, partial hybrids), immature technology (NiMH vs. Li-ion) and limited longevity data. Her unwillingness to change driving styles just exacerbates things, not that it favors a hybrid either. My Father-in-law did well by us with his choice of the C-Max. It drives like a gas guzzler if you want, (thus the CR experience) but it's a very refined, non-luxury car with some real intangible advantages. It's easy to compare specs, but hard to compare how a car feels. I drove Volvos for 35 years, yet this short, fat grape fits me like a glove, even if I was frustrated at first (stuffing my FIL's rolling walker and wife's conventional walker in the back with a pre-recall kick tailgate that's still not happy with manual operation) and found my spot in the back seat very Toyota-ish (Volvo's seats are hard to beat, even in back). Now, I can't see myself driving anything but a hybrid, and our next car better be as good as this one! Granted, mine's been reliable, but it's the intangibles... the quiet (hard to hear when ICE starts)... the lackadaisical attitude one gets when fuel stops occur monthly instead of weekly... the handling (RSC not withstanding)... the cargo capacity! Headroom... good radio reception (I listen to a low-power station)... cold AC and warm heat, albeit with a fuel use penalty. The only real downside is my wife's inability to get in and out easily with a bad hip joint, but she prefers her Elantra, purchased before she needed a walker. OK, the color's on the spec sheet, but who knew it was metameric! Just another intangible... HAVe fun, Frank

I compute ICEmpg = (ICE miles) / (gal used) for every logged trip. Since june 30, 2014... - in highway driving (55-65 mph speed limit), I get 46.7 mpg, but 27.2 ICEmpg with 41.6% EV miles (ICE on 58.4% of the miles) - in my rural route (35-45 mph speed limit), I get 56.8 mpg, by dropping to 15.3 ICEmpg and increasing to 72.9% EV miles So, computing ICE FE is not meaningless, it's a measure of how well the driver succeeds in using the ICE under optimum conditions. Gas engine efficiency is described by brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), expressed in terms of fuel used per unit energy, typically grams per kilowatt-hour. As you can see from the chart in the link, low RPM and high load are key to high BSFC operating points... and Atkinson gas engines are the next best thing to diesels. On the highway, I have to run ICE to maintain speed, as the battery is quickly drained, regardless the terrain. On my rural route, I run the engine up-hill whenever the opportunity presents and SOC requires, the "pulse" followed by a downhill/flat glide, straight P&G. Fine tuning a route, for me, is just finding when I can store energy in the most places - speed, height and SOC - maximizing load at a given RPM. That's what makes ICE FE meaningful. I've done the calculation for Jus, and his "secret" is both ICEmpg in the high teens, and regen approaching 15% (I'm at 9.1% rural, 2.1% highway) Have fun,Frank

Just for grins, I plotted a non-highway route from Leesburg to Orlando on Google Maps, and copied the route link into GPSVisualiser. The map link is beside the printer icon, and you enter it above "plot profile." I set the scale for 200' to match my plot. And compared it with my rural commuting route... Mt. Dora gives you the same approx. elevation change (100 ft.) and while the distance is 3x longer to Orlando, you get the message that there are plenty of gentle hills in central FLA where you can play mileage games with your C-Max! I'd never have found the peak height on my route from the drivers' seat, it's just a gentle rise, but I got 45mpg going uphill (to a picnic) and 61 mpg coming down hours later...a 56mpg route average, that I see day after day since Spring! Just wait until yours is broken in! Frank

So, that was you flying by? Frank, who still has a BMW ticket magnet in the garage.

If you think about it, low-key advertising might be a smart move: - the car uses a lot of neodymiuim, a rare earth element which comes out of China, and is critical to small, powerful electric motors also used in things lke smart bombs and drones - China has a history of managing exports for political purposes - any mass-produced product line is in serious jeopardy when a critical component is single-sourced, and subject to short-term shortages and price increases - electric vehicle incentive programs have production limits, making the plug-ins a better deal only until they get popular . A smart company would manage each product line to maximize total profit, while minimizing profit risk due to external factors beyond their control, like trade issues and availability fluctuations. Ford is fairly smart, judging by how they dealt with the EPA ratings issues (no comment on how they got themselves into it). Tell her the hills are the secret to great mileage NYS is not flat, but I live and drive in the flat part south of Lake Ontario (western half of the state). The secret is to ICE up the shallow hills so you crest the hill with both speed and charge, to go with the altitude. Any of the three will make for long EV glides, but all three are incredibly effective. My 700 mile tank was74$ EV with 10% regen, averaging 30 mph. Jus gets 80% EV with 15% regen in what he's reported, but also at lower speed. HAve fun, Frank

A phrase only spoken by the brave! Frank

All I can say is THAT SUCKS! Let's hope the crack repair system does as well, as a good vacuum is the secret to a clean repair! Frank

Jus, you're thinking in terms of how much ICE power you can apply while still charging. The OP's asking the opposite, what's the most EV can you apply without starting the ICE? Even in EV+, I only get 2 bars. Otherwise, +1 to everything you said... HAve fun, Frank

My $0.02... Learning to drive a C-Max is like learning to play a musical instrument. Anyone can hit the keys on a piano in the correct order, at the correct time, but only some players can make a piano sing. I am reminded of a M*A*S*H episode where David Ogden Stiers' character, a classical music afficienado, has a patient who is a pianist, who has lost their right hand. He finds piano pieces written for the left hand, in hopes that the pianist will not abandon a gift that this character would dearly love to possess, but doesn't. Wow, this was easy to find. Don't you see? Your hand may be stilled, but your gift cannot be silenced if you refuse to let it be. The gift does not lie in your hands. I have hands, David. Hands that can make a scalpel sing. More than anything in my life I wanted to play, but I do not have the gift. I can play the notes, but I cannot make the music. You have performed Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Chopin. Even if you never do so again, you've already known a joy that I will never know as long as I live. Because the true gift is in your head and in your heart and in your soul. Now you can shut it off forever, or you can find new ways to share your gift with the world - through the baton, the classroom, or the pen. As to these works, they're for you, because you and the piano will always be as one. Now, I'm not equating this to driving a car, but there's a lot to be said for the synergy that develops with time, that learning is only the first step if one is willing to practice and practice... I'm getting markedly better mileage than a year ago, even though I gave myself a month to come up the hybrid learning curve. Tomorrow is my first anniversary of ownership, and I'm just starting to really know how to drive this car. And my wife's the same as you all describe... makes you appreciate our few female forum posters even more! Have fun, Frank

I grew up on Bradley Ave, one block below Memorial Ave, the 1-way street into the HS. I delivered papers in the high-rise behind the school, started playing tennis when they built the courts... but never attended that school. I took the train to St. Joe's Prep in Philadelphia, so, judging by the young guy in the pictures, my recollections may be ancient history! Where did you live? Frank

+1 to all of the above. My grill is blacked out as well, but not the whole car. See my Fuelly avatar. Frank

I see she has good taste!

One of several corrections I've requested... And, JAZ, I'm saying there was a half quart left in the box after the oil change, nothing more... Frank

Where exactly? I was born in Camden, and grew up in Haddon Twp., around the corner from the high school. Odd the map shows Haddon Twp., a town in three pieces, and Tavistock, a "town" of 7 people, but not the city of Camden... Have fun, Frank

DIY... I know of no commercial sources, save for skilled craftsmen like Paul. Then again... - my lower grill has foam pipe insulation, with small slits cut out for grill vertical slats. works in the middle, too - my middle grill has a 20x2.25 bycycle inner tube slid between the slats and held in with wire T's; no reason this wouldn't work below. Let the air out if it gets too hot. - my upper grill has a pair of plexiglas panels slid behind the slats (access by removing plastic rivets; just pull up the center and the plug comes out), but this grill is engine air intake only, no access to the cooling system I could see, and no functional loss in engine performance when used as a Hybrid instead of a race car. And there are lourvres behind the grill, described in forum thread, but most of us find they let in too much air. Then again, if you drive up long grades in hot weather, you will need to remove some/all grill blocks, or at minimum, monitor coolant temperature, either by setting up My View, running in Engineering Test (ET) mode, or using an engine interrogator like ScanGauge or an OBDII transmitter and Torque app on smart phone or tablet. HAve fun, Frank

+1 There's an "efficiency/power distribution" display on the dash (car outline with power channels) which will tell you why the ICE is running, due to: - acceleration - heater setting - normal operation. Sadly, they work in that order... If you back off the gas, it keeps running to keep you warm. If you turn off the environmental controls, it tells you it's normal operation. It's maddening to be driving down a hill with a full battery, and the !@#$%^& ICE won't stop! It's a 2-stage thing from cold start, too... just because it let you into EV once, there's no guarantee it will the next time! All driven by coolant temperature, which you can access (via unmarked gauge) in "My View" if you've gotten that far into dash displays... And regardless if you're a new owner or still shopping, ETIS is your friend. Enter the VIN of your car, or prospect, in the Vehicles tab and then select the "minor features" list at the lower right. Anyone north of Florida would benefit from an "immersion heater" but my Ohio-purchased car lists "less immersion heater" and my winter mileage reflects it. pjones in Atlanta has looked into retrofits, and retrofitting Ford's solution is $$$ compared with an oil pan heater, with commensurate improvement in effect (warm oil does not a warm engine make) Welcome, and have fun, Frank

Very true... But you won't find bypass filters and extended drain intervals with anything but synthetic, due to synthetic's naturally wider viscosity range, eliminating most "viscostiy improvers" required to get dino-juice to stay thin cold, but still thick warm. I am using synthetic due to the short ICE duty cycle in summer, and lack of ICE heat retention in winter. Under ideal conditions, my ICE never gets to operating temperture for very long, and lots of cold starts qualifies as "stress conditions" in my book, even if the engine's only on 1/3 to 1/4 of the time. Make sure you request "TBN" aka total base number, a measure of the remaining buffering compound in the oil, and $10 extra. When I tested my oil at 15K (10K on oil), TBN was quite low, PORTER-013114.pdf HAve fun, Frank

Bearing noise should be independent of road surface or tires used (if you have snow tires, or replace them), and speed to a certain extent. Tire noise should vary with road surface, and usually varies in pitch with speed. Have fun, Frank

Much easier to see when you don't stand in front of them! I figured out who was who from the grill, and only later noticed the wheel covers and well lips at the rear... and the 3-prong plug in the grill. I was thinking I'd run the heater plug up to the base of the windshield, so I'd trip over the power cord getting in if I forgot to unplug. And on an aerodynamically related note, I had the dealership do an oil change this weekend, and they had issues getting the car on a lift due to my side skirts. There's plenty of room in front, so I'll need to check the back... at least they a) didn't remove them, b) didn't damage them, and c) found a work-around (used alignment rack for the oil change). No comments on the air dam as I made sure the engine cover was in the clear! Kudos to Van Bortel Ford for working with the customer! HAve fun, Frank

You're the guy in front of the handsome car on the right... let's get our priorities straight; Ice Strom beats drab old Ingot Silver any day... and direct sunlight nicely shows it to be green as well!! HAve fun, Frank, who hasn't retired yet, but is working on his waistline, nonetheless...

Had my oil changed at the dealer over the weekend, for reasons I'll go into elsewhere, and requested 0W20 full synthetic, offered at a premium price... was very surprised to find a 6-packl box of oil in the car with one, partial bottle remaining... even more surprised to find it was generic auto parts store oil! Apparently, the dealer didn't have a Ford-branded option; something to consider if using a dealer for oil changes (as I will while under warranty). This is the third oil change, at ~25K miles, with all prior changes using Ford 5W20 synth blend. The oil monitor had not yet activated, but with 9,840 on the oil and other factors necessitating a dealer visit, I decided it was time. As at 15K, I sent a sample to Blackstone Labs for analysis, and will report findings when they arrive. Have fun, Frank

I have, but only through My View. I haven't seen it above center yet, but this has been a cool Summer, and I haven't done long trips up steep hills, although I will be doing a short trip up one of the steepest local hills... hosting a tour of the Mees Observatory Saturday. I haven't dug into the OBDII/Torque data either... although I did look at a phone mount that would let me see the readouts. Gets in the wife's way... And yes, engine heaters are still in my future... I lose EV control even at 70F ambient; !@#$%^&* normal operation! Thinking of them as a birthday present; we took possession last Aug. 8. Hoping I cna find a good place for a second one, as you suggest. HAve fun, Frank

Latest update, after a month or so of driving with an air dam and side skirts... Clearly a lot of improvement over last Fall's baseline period; mods include (in order applied): - PCM update - hood seals above lights and across top of grill area - VGs on the rear quarter panels, above and below the tail lights - top grill blocked with plexiglass - middle grill blocked by an air bladder (bicycle inner tube) - lower grill blocked by foam pipe insulation (for easy removal in the event of heat issues) - full width, 2"-deep air dam in front of engine acess panel - 1.5" side skirts between front and rear wheels. And the biggest mod in my estimation, better driving practices! I gave myself a month to learn to driver a hybrid. It wasn't long enough... and I started with 8K miles on the car, so vehicle break-in isn't an issue. HAVe fun, Frank

Aerodynamically, the best thing Ford did was get the side mirrors away from the body far enough they're out of the laminar flow region. Granted, a bluff body will have a heck of a vacuum behind it, but the biggest improvements are always at the downstream break, and I can't see much opportunity there that wouldn't also interfere with basic function and safety. As usual, Paul's thinking in the right direction, even if regulators haven't caught up with that opportunity. Have fun, Frank

+1 My first thought was tires, too, causing the hummmm. The flapping could be something loose on the underside, like the tire spoilers (little plastic pieces ahead of the front tires; compare drivers' to passengers' sides.). HAve fun, Frank