Adrian_L

Sounds like the runaround, Rob. I bought on March 1. On March 3 I found a dealer internet ad for $500 less than I paid. The dealer's response? First it was a typo, then it was a different car (sorry, my VIN is in the small print). Then the ad had already expired at the end of February. When they brought up an oil leak in my trade in, I finally gave up. Key West Ford make the salesmen in Glengarry Glen Ross look scrupulous.

That would be a good question for the customer service number. From the PDF I read it that all 2013/2014 C-max's are eligible unless their window sticker shows 42/37/40.

Very easy to see if you're getting a check--plug in your VIN in the ETIS website. You'll see "Fuel Economy Customer Satisfaction 14B03" if you're getting one. Nothing to do with the dealership. They can swap stickers all they want but the checks come from head office.

Sorry I can't get my head around this post. While the C-max is not a luxury car, it isn't an economy box, either. There are a handful of those that cost around 10 grand and get 30 mpg. Much cheaper than the C-max in total operating costs. Probably much cheaper to insure as well. Previously having a gas guzzler definitely helped push me towards the hybrid market, but I never thought "OK, in the next ten years how do I spend as little as possible on a new car and gas to run it". If that had been the case I would probably have bought a Nissan Versa or Toyota Yaris.

It really boils down to your comfort zone in terms of risk. Personally, I'd buy a C-max again in a heartbeat, provided it was an SEL and built in fall 2013 or later. The SE wasn't an option for me (kids-leather seats thank you) but if I had read all the battery posts before I bought, I still would have bought. I confess I was hooked after the test drive but got a general sense from my car-guy buddies that Ford had upped their game in recent years. Can you fit a Fusion in a car pool lane?? (Thanks Kostby--no Fusion discussion here please)

You need the SEL with Equipment group 301A to get Nav and Sony 9 speaker audio system. The regular stereo has 6 speakers. 202A with the SE will give you 8" LCD with Sirius Satellite radio but not the Sony audio.

Amigo, I've driven a car with 250 horsepower and my C-max, God bless her, isn't that car. But hey, if anyone wants to put a K&N air filter and a Flowmaster muffler on their hybrid, all the power to them :)

Intriguing.... From what I remember, the "sweet spot" for a gasoline car was determined to be around 35-55 mph. It boils down to engine efficiency compared to drag, friction, etc. It's somewhat counter-intuitive but when you go slower than 35 you can't drive in top gear and the engine is less efficient. Electric cars are another matter. The sweet spot is 15-20 mph. How hybrids or the C-max fits into this I'm not sure, but given the weight of the C-max I'm inclined to be skeptical of the 68 mph sweet spot.

I tend to agree with Ford Engineers that the Prius EV, ECO and POWER buttons were considered "gimmicky" and not copied. The great thing about the C-max is you have power when you need it.

They say when you give up fried chicken and burgers for healthy eating, you lose the craving for grease. I was so sick of expensive fill-ups in my 335 hp Audi that I couldn't wait to get rid of it (Ok, so the engine light, oil leak and $8k-to-fix timing problem helped) And besides, the maintenance on that thing was killing me (I used to drive to the states just to buy 2 gallons of Castrol synthetic) I'll never buy a German car again, unless the Mercedes B200 electric proves too hard to resist :) Like Kelleytoons, I am lucky to be alive for different reasons--In my late teens I rode as a passenger in a car with a driver who was probably double-the-limit on a daily basis. He learned the hard way (DUI, Al Anon, broken friendships) Not much crash protection in a 1979 Honda Civic. Thanks for the entertaining story, Adrian Vancouver

Woah....check out the Sherlock Holmes eye on this guy!! I have heard it said that Ford hired an Aston Martin designer. This turns out to be untrue: the Ford was designed by Dillon Blanski, an American who never worked for them.

Finally! Love it. Most car commercials are repulsive: that smug look everyone has, like your metal and plastic transportation device is part of the family. Or will solve your problems. Or it will keep your kids safe---"I can sleep at night knowing I have a Dodge minivan". Please.... Ok. So I love my C-max, but that's different.

By high pressure I really hope you just mean a garden hose with a variable sprayer (40-50 PSI?) and not a power washer (1500-3000 PSI) I don't see why the C-max's engine can't be shampooed or degreased like a regular modern engine. Just follow all the instructions about covering intakes, etc.

Yeah. We have friends who are just like your friends. They see an full-size SUV beside them on the road, and it is like a personal insult to them. Other people lack "imagination" or are blindly "keeping up with the Joneses", but they are true individuals with their golf diesel and their triple-paned windows. Don't get me started on the organic toilet paper. I'm a car enthusiast, so I see the Prius dashboard and think "ATM". How you can remove all sexiness from a car is quite a challenge, but Toyota has succeeded admirably. I just feel sorry for those hot-shot young designers who get their ideas neutered by the "suits".

Exactly my experience. Really wanted an all-electric but even a 140 mile drive to Seattle would have been a problem. If they come out with an Energi with a big trunk and a 50 mile elecric range--I'm first in line.

Funny, the last time I witnessed an aggressive driver I didn't even consider their gender. Or their race or age for that matter. Maybe I'm just unobservant.

Hope I don't disappoint anyone, but the cheque is $725, not $895. I got mine last week in British Columbia

Thank you Snowstorm, Sometimes a naive hope exists that there is a quick fix for a complex problem. Initially it "seemed" that there was some sort of parasitic slow drain to the battery (like leaving the glovebox light on). But if you have been following the forum, this is clearly not the case. Buying a trickle charger won't help (unless you plug in your car 24/7 - who wants to do that?) "Maintaining" your battery every 3 months won't help. Buying a voltmeter won't help, unless there's some kind of alarm when the voltage drops below a danger point and you slap on a charger.

They missed us twice--had to drive to the airport to pick it up, but I consider that a pleasure cruise, like the time I dropped my mother-in-law off there.

A wise man. I have to say that removing the dealership decals and spraypainting the licence plate holders black (Plasticote for plastic) improved my C-max's look. Unless you love your dealership (I hate mine or rather my ex-dealership) why be a driving advertisement for them?

With the utmost respect Diesel1.......this is what you wrote: Everyone should own a battery charger. Especially C-Max owners. http://www.amazon.co...n shore charger You'll never suffer this problem again if you use it to maintain your battery every 3 to 6 months. Here it is......do this and you will have fixed the problem. What other way is there to interpret it? I'm not twisting words--it's unambiguous. Use a battery charger every 3-6 months and you will have fixed the problem!

At one point it used to cost me $115 to fill up my old Audi A6 with premium (in Canada, gas is taxed to death). It put me in a foul mood and was one of the reasons I started looking into the Volt, which led me to the Focus electric, then to the C-max.

Wasn't the other thread was about dealership stickers? (easy to remove with a hairdryer and WD40) Be careful - they could be rivetted on, covering a hole or two. Or attached with epoxy or contact cement.

That mirrors my experiences. I drive like a 96-year-old and I get 47 mpg. Then the next day I'm late for work, drive more aggressively and forget about P/G. I get 47 mpg.

Overnight? Why? So the oil level on the dipstick rises by 1/32nd of an inch to its "correct" level?! Why would you need such precision? You can get a reasonably accurate dipstick reading after being parked on level ground for 10-15 minutes.