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kostby

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Everything posted by kostby

  1. I can't say how difficult it would be to get the old clear one off, but I suspect there would be lots of the original adhesive remaining on the bumper that would take some rubbing alcohol and lots of elbow grease to remove entirely. Install a black one like the UK bumper cover that Marc Smith used, and most the old adhesive probably wouldn't show. The European C-MAX design was significantly updated for the 2016 model year, so the newer UK item would not fit properly. European countries also have the S-MAX (extended cabin size C-MAX), that probably also has a different rear bumper shape. The C-MAX 2010-2015 design was sold throughout Europe, so there are likely suppliers in other countries who still sell accessories, if you can find an English-language website that sells and ships to the US. I purchased (partscheap.com) and installed the US 'factory' protection myself in 2014 after watching some YouTube videos about installing clear paint protection on hoods and fenders, to get a few tips from the 'pros'. Best practices: 1. Wash everything and dry it thoroughly. 2. Clean the attachment area of the bumper with microfiber cloth and rubbing alcohol to remove any wax. 3. WITH THE HATCH CLOSED, measure and mark where BOTH the center logo and BOTTOM EDGE of each end of the appliqué are on the part the surface that will not move. Otherwise you'll get the logo too far 'under' the closed hatch. 4. OPEN THE HATCH and again, mark the center, where the UPPER EDGE of the protector should be on the bumper AND the upper edge of BOTH ends of the bumper just inside the hatch area where you can easily see to align it on the bumper before adhering anything. It helps to have a second person to help hold, align, and mark it. 5. After peeling off the backing, apply LOTS of soapy water to both bumper and appliqué and work from the center to the outside edge, gradually forcing the water out using a flexible squeegee to get everything adhered properly. 6. Make sure ALL the water and ALL bubbles are forced out before you quit. 7. Park it in full sun for a day. More than 2 years later, it has accumulated a couple of minor scuffs (exactly what I didn't want to happen to the paint on the bumper itself), but it is still fully adhered. If this all seems like a lot of bother, you can always have the dealer's trim shop remove the old one and install a new one!
  2. 398 C-MAX Hybrid sold and 571 C-MAX Energi Hybrid sold in October 2016 for a total of 969 combined. These numbers will undoubtedly be used to 'justify' why Ford is moving future C-MAX (or replacement) hybrid production to Mexico. So NO advertising COMBINED WITH NO significant updates for 5 model years is the best way to sell these vehicles? https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America/US/2016/11/2/October-2016-sales-and-charts.pdf http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/ http://www.hybridcars.com/october-2016-dashboard/ As always, prior month table and charts are removed from prior posts because the current post contains all prior data.
  3. The Detroit News, posted 12:18am October 7, 2016 "Infotainment system flaws riled top Ford execs" A U.S. District Court judge last week certified classes of consumers from nine states in the 2013 lawsuit filed against the Dearborn automaker; a trial is expected in April 2017. The article includes statements attributed to Ford executives, engineers, and unnamed employees about early MyFord Touch and SYNC woes from court filings. Rather than cut-and-paste what to me appears to be a collection of juicy gossip worthy of a 2016 Presidential campaign leak, I'll let you read it yourself... Here's the direct link: http://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/autos/ford/2016/10/06/myford-touch-system-suit/91704242/
  4. 1428 combined monthly sales for September 2016 739 C-MAX Hybrids and 689 C-MAX Energi Hybrids. Just 50 more C-MAX Hybrids sold in September than C-MAX Energi Hybrids, the smallest margin ever. Perhaps there were more attractive dealer incentives on the Energi in September? https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America/US/2016/10/03/September-2016-Sales-press-release-and-charts.pdf http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/ http://www.hybridcars.com/september-2016-dashboard/ As always prior month table and charts are removed because the updates contains all prior-month data.
  5. 1586 combined monthly sales for August 2016 C-MAX Hybrids and 707 C-MAX Energi Hybrids. https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America/US/2016/09/01/August-2016-Sales-Release-and-Charts.pdf http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/ http://www.hybridcars.com/august-2016-dashboard/ As always prior month table and charts are removed because the updates contains all prior-month data.
  6. +1 on folding front seats! Car manufacturers seem quite blind to "borrowing" great innovations like that from one another. I suppose it's a cross-licensing or patents issue. My 2003 Pontiac Vibe (Toyota Matrix) has been my 'truck' for years because the front passenger seat-back folds completely flat forward toward the dash. I've put three 8'x30" folding-leg banquet tables inside tilted on edge, or a folded 16' extension ladder completely inside the Vibe with the hatch closed. The front passenger seat-back also features a hard plastic 'desk' surface when folded, not ideally positioned, but OK for occasional laptop use or writing out forms longhand from the driver's seat.
  7. I wonder how much heat is 'too much', leading to a failure? I pose the question for used cars that were originally titled as rental vehicles in one of those states, then resold at auction elsewhere after a year. I'm under the impression that a lot of early C-MAX vehicles went to car-rental agencies. When I first started searching for a C-MAX in early 2014, there were dozens of used 2013 "Special Order" cars that were originally sold in Florida (based on Monroney Sticker info and/or the CarFax reports).
  8. 1112 C-MAX Hybrids and 755 C-MAX Energi Hybrids sold during July 2016 for a total of 1867. http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/ http://www.hybridcars.com/july-2016-dashboard/ https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America/US/2016/08/2/July-2016-Sales-Release-and-Charts.pdf As always prior month table and charts are removed because the updates contains all prior-month data.
  9. Can't find it quickly now, but somewhere in these forums it was revealed that for 2013's at least, just turn the car on and off 11 times in row in the same location to set the 'Home' GPS location for EV+ use. This may or may not be related to the Navigation feature. I believe it can also store a second 'Work' location for using EV+ to maximize fuel economy, but it cannot be too close to the original 'Home', a distance of several miles, at least. Can't speak for newer models, we own a 2013 SE without Nav.
  10. 2118 combined, 1486 C-MAX Hybrids, and 630 C-MAX Energi Hybrids were sold during June 2016, both increases from May, but still down from prior year numbers. Two months short of four years since introduction (September 2012), and Ford consistently sells a combined total of well over 1000 C-MAX and C-MAX Energi models every month without spending ONE DOLLAR on national advertising! That must be seen as a WIN for 'word of mouth' advertising! It's possible that the better-advertised, better-selling, and recently-updated Fusion Hybrids and Fusion Energi Hybrids are bringing Ford some additional C-MAX sales, hybrid customers who prefer a hatchback configuration over a sedan. https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America/US/2016/07/1/June-2016-Sales.pdf http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/ http://www.hybridcars.com/June-2016-dashboard/ As always prior month table and charts are removed because the updates contains all prior-month data.
  11. 2017 C-MAX Hybrid is available in SE and new Titanium trim, SEL disappears. 2017 C-MAX Energi Plug-in Hybrid is available in new SE trim level and Titanium trims, becoming consistent with Ford naming conventions for other Ford models. 2017 Fleet guides might not list every option, and there are few details about what standard equipment is on the new Titanium level, but it appears that the equipment group offerings are limited to 201, 202, and 301. Current equipment groups 203, 302 and 303 seem to have vanished.
  12. Save the "Toyota Tax" and do-it-yourself for a couple hundred, or less. Fry's Electronics carries all kinds and sizes of solar panels, including durable ones for RV's and campers, many of them are rated as 'trickle chargers' designed for 12v battery maintenance. http://www.frys.com/search?search_type=regular&sqxts=1&cat=&query_string=solar+panel+charger Find a folding one to fit the windshield/dash area, or maybe one or more to fit inside the moonroof opening.
  13. The Michigan Assembly Plant is not open for public tours as far as I know. Ford has the Rouge Factory tours in Dearborn: https://www.thehenryford.org/visit/ford-rouge-factory-tour I've been through the Rouge Factory twice, once in October 1962 when they were building Ford Fairlanes (I was 10), and right before the Rotunda caught fire, and again in July 2004 while they were assembling F150's, shortly after public tours began again.
  14. A combined 1865 C-MAX Hybrids and C-MAX Energi Hybrids were sold during May 2016. If it isn't obvious by driving past a large Ford dealership, Ford is thriving on light-truck and SUV sales. As always, prior month charts and table are removed because the current chart contains all prior data. https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America/US/2016/06/1/may-2016-sales.pdf http://www.hybridcars.com/may-2016-dashboard/ http://insideevs.com/may-2016-plug-electric-vehicle-sales-report-card/
  15. kostby

    Hello!

    Ours is "Galileo" after the Star Trek shuttlecraft, and of course, the astronomer.
  16. Combined sales of 2228 C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi Hybrids during April 2016, up 24.5% over prior-year combined sales. https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America/US/2016/05/03/april-2016-sales.pdf Details and charts posted: 1621 C-MAX Hybrids and 607 C-MAX Energi Hybrids were sold during April 2016 http://insideevs.com/monthly-plug-in-sales-scorecard/ http://www.hybridcars.com/april-2016-dashboard/ As always, prior month charts and table are removed because the current chart contains all prior data. I edited the appearance of the charts slightly for readability as the number of months of data increases.
  17. Probably wiser to just buy a used Focus RS for fun, and keep the Hybrid for mpgs. But if you have 50,000 miles to experiment, and don't care about the impact on ride or MPG's ignore the 'Touring' tire category entirely and look for 'high-performance' or 'ultra high performance' tires. TireRack.com is an easy place to find lots of options in stock rim sizes as well as packages with larger wheels & tires. Conventional wisdom suggests going +1 or +2 on wheel size to 18" or 19" wheels and matching tires MIGHT also improve handling, but only the portion that is dependent upon achieving better grip and less sidewall flex. You've been around the forum quite a while, so you already know you're unlikely to find much on performance mods here. (Us old retired guys just don't take our C-MAX Hybrids to Track Day that often, though I HAVE driven our C-MAX around the Indy 500 track, but only at 20-30mph on Community Day.) High performance tires usually do have a stiffer sidewall and more aggressive cord angle, so they definitely provide a stiffer (some would say harsher) ride, but also improve handling characteristics a little, maybe closer to the design limits of the stock Focus-based suspension. Adding 1000 pounds and 12 inches above the beltline to a Focus chassis to arrive at a C-MAX Hybrid means you'll never get close to the handling of a Focus RS though, unless you go for lowering, springs, struts, and so on.
  18. I'll add the caveat that the Google Chrome browser for Apple Macintosh OS X can be a 'UGE' (to borrow a phrase from a recent political candidate) resource hog of both RAM and processor cycles on Apple Mac. That results in frequent 'beachballs' when the entire system slows to a crawl. Although Google claims to keep improving Chrome for OS X, Apple Mac users with 4GB of RAM or less are advised to simply avoid the Chrome browser. I'm currently running Apple Safari 9.1 browser on OS X "Yosemite" 10.10.5 to access this forum. I have never experienced any of the problems mentioned by Frank, going back my oldest Mac running Safari 5 on OS X 10.6.8 that I was using when I first signed up for the C-MAX forum.
  19. All I can say is that remaining oil life is always displayed on the Vehicle Health Report for our 2013 C-MAX Hybrid SE. Here's a screenshot of the top of the email report, with some information blanked for privacy. Of course it may be different for C-MAX Hybrid Energi, and for other model years.
  20. Remaining oil life is one of the items included in the Vehicle Health Report. "How to run a Vehicle Health Report with SYNC" https://owner.ford.com/how-tos/sync-technology/sync/vehicle-health/how-to-run-a-vehicle-health-report-with-sync.html
  21. Not among the monied and fortunate first 500 people to order the actual car? You can still reward your inner race/car-designer and play with the color, stripe, interior, and wheel options Ford has provided to configure your own personalized 2016 Ford GT. https://www.ford.com/performance/gt/
  22. If the Model E won't start production until Sept 2019, that would be a called 2020 or even an early 2021 model. Depending upon when the Michigan Assembly Plant switches over to Ranger production, C-MAX could potentially survive the 2017, 2018, and even 2019 model years. But don't hold your breath... Hmm, Model E rhymes with Model T. Coincidence? Probably, since about 95% of those who would instantly understand a 'Model T' connection were born before 1960, and they are likely NOT shopping for a better Prius. BTW: Hope the mandate has gone out that Ford marketing geniuses and engineers in charge SHALL NOT suggest the new Model E is a Prius-fighter. That and using Fusion Hybrid EPA numbers were the kiss-of-death to the C-MAX. It upsets the alleged car testers over at the alleged Consumers Union magazine.
  23. Combined sales of 1702 C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi Hybrids during March 2016. 1092 C-MAX Hybrid and 610 C-MAX Energi Hybrids sold in March. PERSPECTIVE: C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi Hybrid total less than 3% of Ford US passenger cars and less than 1% of Ford's combined US monthly vehicle sales of cars, trucks, and SUV's in March 2016. In February 2016, Ford surpassed 100,000 combined C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi Hybrid sales in the US, since introduction 43 months ago, in September and October of 2012. By comparison, in the US in the MONTH of March 2016, Ford sold over 72,000 SUV's, over 72,000 passenger cars (including C-MAX models), and over 99,000 Trucks (F-Series, E-Series, Transit, Transit Connect, and Heavy Trucks) combined, a total of 245,022 vehicles. https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America/US/2016/04/01/Sales_Release_March_2016.pdf http://insideevs.com/march-2016-plug-electric-vehicle-sales-report-card/ As always, prior month charts and table are removed because the current chart contains all prior data. I edited the appearance of the charts slightly for readability as the number of months of data increases.
  24. When you said the Vibe mpg while towing 1500 pounds is 25mpg, you revealed one key to your lower mpgs with the C-MAX. The Vibe weighs about 2700 pounds. The C-MAX Hybrid weighs about 3600 pounds. So compare your C-MAX results when towing 900 pounds with your Vibe. I own a 2003 Vibe base automatic. We're retired now and live in a small suburban town in the Indianapolis area, so we drive lots of short local trips, year round, often 2 miles or less. In the Vibe, I get 16-19mpg in the winter including a few minutes of warm-up time, always at 0mpg, on short local trips, versus about 30 mpg for mostly interstate driving. Year round, we average about 26mpg in our Vibe, lower in winter, higher in summer. Link to the last several years of Fuelly data for our Vibe: http://www.fuelly.com/car/pontiac/vibe/2003/kostby/280860 Year round, we average a bit above 40mpg in our C-MAX, lower in winter, higher in summer. Link to Fuelly data since purchase for our 2013 C-MAX Hybrid SE: http://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/c-max/2013/kostby/280857 With your driving patterns, a Toyota Prius or Prius V hybrid wagon, or C-MAX Energi plug-in Hybrid MIGHT have been a better choice for you purely based on fuel mileage. This is a C-MAX Forum, so I'll let you research the Prius and Prius V hybrid wagons on your own. The C-MAX Energi Hybrid can be pre-heated or pre-cooled while attached to an electrical outlet (a feature not offered on the C-MAX Hybrid SE or Hybrid SEL). The up-to-20-mile maximum range in full-electric mode of an Energi Hybrid might cover most of your trips on one charge per day. The major disadvantage of the Energi is the larger battery, so greater weight (3900 vs 3600 pounds), and a higher rear 'floor' over the larger battery, resulting in decreased storage in the rear of the car.
  25. 1370 combined C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi Hybrids sold during February 2016. 880 C-MAX Hybrids and 490 C-MAX Energi Hybrids were sold. https://media.ford.com/content/dam/fordmedia/North%20America/US/2016/03/01/february-2016-sales.pdf http://insideevs.com/february-2016-plug-electric-vehicle-sales-report-card/ http://www.hybridcars.com/February-2016-dashboard/ If you're interested in detailed market sales figures for C-MAX and Fusion hybrids and plug-in hybrids and Focus Electric against competing products, I suggest reading the hybridcars.com February 2016 dashboard report, linked above. As always, prior month charts and table are removed because the current chart contains all prior data. I edited the appearance of the charts slightly for readability as the number of months of data increases.
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