Adrian_L

Brother, I have dreams about real wood on dashboards. I saw a Volt with a similar treatment to your link/pic. and it felt like a Bentley in there. I just sent off a quote for the 47 piece package in dark burlwood. Not sure why they don't have prices on their site. (EDIT: I was referred to another site and you're looking at $300 for the 47 piece kit). As to the original post, in my opinion, you can't beat the combination of chrome and gloss black.

That sounds like "he who smelt it, dealt it". Is that where we're going with this?! I'll leave other members to draw their own conclusions and will no longer engage you. What angers me is that good folks like Jenie come here for guidance and are met with the kind of comments that (rightfully) anger them and probably will keep them away from the forum. If everyone else is OK with that, then so be it.

I would be interested in trying out grill covers if they were substantial and I could just take them on and off like clip-on shades for glasses (only analogy I could think off). Plexiglass, fiberglass, lexan--whatever. Not crazy about using packing tape although I'm not suggesting they don't help.

There was another thread about this. For the 2013 hybrid, the manual says 5W20. Then when the 2014 came out it became 0W20 Some intrepid forum member (Plus3Golfer if memory serves--always appreciate his info and graphs) pointed out that the engine was basically the same and then found out Ford officially stated either 0W20 or 5w20 was appropriate in the 2013.

Welcome to the forum. My only regret with my (aka the wife's) C-max is I never seem to get to drive it. It's a solid and satisfying-to-drive car.

Nope. Occasionally the double-click doesn't work with my auto trunk lid at below 0 celcius. I'd spray a bit of lithium grease in and around those shutters just to keep them moving well and inhibiting any rust caused by that snow/water.

Jenie, glad to hear there appears to be some progress being made. "I'm more of an expert than you". What is this, grade two?!? I'm just curious if anyone knows if forum members have signed petitions to remove aggressive, rude, condescending or disrespectful members from its membership? I understand our chief offender (who apparently "doesn't have a problem"--we all do) has been kicked off the forum once but apparently that doesn't phase him one bit. Jus, can you shed some light about the possibilities of a petition and if it would be applicable, how many members would need to sign it.

In other news: Apple's chief designer, Sir Jonathan Ivy, who was knighted in 2012 for his services to design - was also critical of another brand, [in a New Yorker article criticizing Motorola], suggesting Toyota's Echo model was "shocking". "It is baffling, isn't it? It's just nothing, isn't it? It's just insipid," he said of the vehicle, which is also sold as the Yaris. A spokeswoman for Toyota declined to comment.

Keep in mind commercial Li-ion batteries were introduced by Sony in 1991. The problem in recent years is prohibitive cost. For example, they make much better deep cycle batteries for RVs and golf carts, but most RVers can't afford them and settle with AGM deep cycle or flooded cell. in 2012 the plug-in Prius started using Li-ion batteries. Ditto the C-max, Nissan Leaf, recent BMW i3 and more-recent Soul EV. The immediate future looks to be secure for Li-ion chemistry. Navigant Research forecasts that the global market for Li-ion batteries in light duty consumer vehicles will grow from $3.2 billion in 2013 to $24.1 billion in 2023. In 2009 Li-ion batteries cost about $1200 per kwh. Today it is about $500-600 per kwh. And the good people at Mckinsey.com predict it will be about $160 per kwh in 2025. http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/energy_resources_materials/battery_technology_charges_ahead

The dead battery thread?! Yeah I loved #1002 Some classic stuff from a certain individual. There are exceptions to every rule. Just because your uncle Bob smoked two packs a day and lived to 97 does not cancel the fact that the best way to live to 97 is to never smoke. My point is that I would fix the leaky toilet myself, but my coworker would rather pay a plumber $150 to do it and have the peace of mind that it was fixed by a pro and (in all likelyhood) done right. A plumber isn't going to overtighten nuts and crack the ceramic toilet base.

Good points. I'm predicting that in 10 years Lithium Ion batteries will be as cheap as chips. Even if I have to put a new battery in mine in 2025 I'm ok with that.

Sadly, that's par for the course, these days. From what I remember from my R&D pre-buying phase, the majority of car manufacturers give you a choice of White, Black, Champagne(beige if you prefer), Silver, and occasionally burgundy or dark blue. Boooring. Remember those great turquoise and mustard orange colors from VW/Porsche in the 70s?

Excellent points. There's also a confidence factor. I'd consider myself somewhat mechanical---I can repair an (older) car, install appliances and do my own plumbing and electrical, but some folks simply aren't comfortable working on 115 volt electrics ("what if I burn the house down?") let alone swapping a transmission. There are bolt tightening tolerances to consider, etc. and stuff that is second nature to a good mechanic. It is simply not everyone's cup of tea, and Youtube or Hanes don't cover everything. And besides, taking anything to a specialist gives the consumer the peace of mind that it gets fixed or installed and they don't have to worry. I'm pretty sure the wrecking yard windshield I just glued into my '85 GMC van is not going to leak........but.......... Adrian

You going with a K&N oil filter, Paul or just sticking to Motorcraft?

Great idea. Thank for sharing. Too bad there's no selectable oil temp or trans oil temp gauge in the cluster.

The poor-man's Aston Martin?! I considered it, but I was trading in a monster sedan and it was a pain to park. The Fusion is 20 inches longer than the C-max.

Watching TV last night I was bombarded three times with the new Kia Soul EV commercial (engineer hamsters hit a red button and leather-clad bombshell female hamster steps out of car) Makes me wonder (again) why Ford are so reluctant to promote the C-max. Or the Focus Electric for that matter. www.Kia.ca/soulev for those who are interested.

What a drag. Not exactly easy to find a wrecked C-max. I'm surprised the collision place hasn't suggested alternatives---blow-in expanding urethane foam for example.

I have noticed our (double-click) FOB would not unlock/open our hatchback a few times when the weather was very cold. We either used the door handle or button under the stereo. Later in the day, it worked fine.

I'm all for venting. Why not?! But you've had the car for almost two years and it let you down three times. I'm not trying to trivialize things, but I don't think we're ready for the car crusher, yet. When I took my '13 SEL for it's first service (big dealership in big city), none of the service guys had heard of battery problems with the C-max, so Kellytoons's suggestion to take advantage of the Ford rep is a sound one. It appears that your dealership may need to be brought up to speed about the bulletins referring to troubleshooting, wire-wrapping, etc. Best of luck, Adrian

Welcome to the forum! The C-max will thrive in your warm weather. Not so great MPGs up here this time of year, north of Seattle.

I've been an RV enthusiast for years and this 40% optimum charge was news to me. I'm not saying they are wrong, but isn't "fully-charged=best" the rule of thumb for most batteries? I'd like to read what lithium ion manufactures recommend. Or folks like Makita who use lithium ion batteries in their tools.

Maybe I'm missing something, but aren't DRL pretty well an international requirement these days? Up here in Canada it's the law. I think everyone had their headlights on during the day in England when I was there in October. Even if it isn't the law, doesn't it make sense to be more visible, especially in overcast or wet weather? We like our SEL too.

Man. I miss the old days when panels (sometimes wood) were held in with phillips screws. Just be careful with those plastic grommet things--they snap easily.

It's an enzymatic spray deodorizer, mainly for getting the smell of pet urine out of fabric. You'll find it in Petsmart, etc.