Kelleytoons

Well, the trips are in Florida, so no elevation changes <bg>. And wind? Um, maybe, and a stickler might even say different temps and different traffic (the latter is probably the only thing that really could be true and make a difference). But I also know that both trips were long enough to average out a whole lot of those factors. Plus, while I only have 1K worth of miles on this vehicle so far my averages have been so consistent in this regard I can predict within a decimal of what the gauge will show when I stop the car. Only rarely (on short trips of less than 3 miles) have I been surprised, and on those trips I chalk it up to either cold engine and/or built up battery that I get to use. IOW, in all the times that *I* drive the car I average around 49 mpg no matter *what* I'm doing. My wife is a whole different animal (and I mean that in a good way :>). As with Doug's wife, she just doesn't "get it" and all efforts to teach her different have ended in disaster. She drives fast up to the (red) light and puts on the brakes. She accelerates and I get pushed back into my seat like I'm in the space shuttle. And, just like Doug's, she insists she is the best driver in the world (she taught others how to drive for a living for a while, so she's an "expert"). Every time she gets in our mileage averages plummet. To put it another way, we have 42.5 mpg lifetime so far and I've put the majority of the miles on the car at 49+, so the rest of you can do the math.

We didn't want leather either -- we have leather in our Durango and in the summer here (and me in my tennis gear) it's not very nice at all. But we located an SE with all that we wanted *except* for the backup camera (it has the backup sensors and MFT and auto back gate, which is even more than we thought). I think that's the 202a package but folks here will know for sure. Actually, our dealer located it for us -- just let them know what you want and they will move heaven and earth to find it at their network of dealers that all help each other out. Eventually I may add a backup camera but I'm not really missing it right now. And I do love the cloth seats after I come off the courts (we hadn't had cloth seats in a car for 14 years and I forgot how nice they are).

So today I tried an interesting experiment. I had to make a trip of around 25 miles, half city, half highway (highway speeds not more than 55mph). Paul (ptjones) had set up my gauges so that I could more easily practice good driving techniques on Saturday and in those few days since I've been paying attention to them. So driving the first way to my destination I *did* pay careful attention, attempting to use the acceleration the way he said, and paying attention to EV usage, etc. It was a hot (92 degrees) day so I had the air as usual at 72. I got 49.2 mpg on that first leg. After shopping there for about an hour I got back into the car and drove back. This time, however, I changed the gauge back to where I had it before (where it just shows miles left on the tank) and paid zero attention to it. I drove like I've always driven (at least since the late 70's, when I was taught how to drive correctly because of the gas rationing that was going on). That driving includes accelerating as needed (and keeping up with traffic and not slowing anyone down but also not driving more than 5 mph over the limit). In short, I had *fun* driving and not thinking about my mpg but also doing best practices not to waste gas. The gauge showed 49.7 mpg when I reached home. Now, I realize the gauges aren't that accurate, and certainly the difference between the two isn't significant, but it has demonstrated to my satisfaction that I don't need to do anything different in my driving that I've always done to get good mpg from the C-Max. In my Durango I got around 14 mpg with the same route, so I'm getting at least 3x the mileage which is fine with me. Perhaps in the winter here in Florida, with no heat needed but no A/C either, I may get over 50 mpg routinely, but my conclusion is I'm no longer going to "worry" or monitor my usage. I drive as I drive, and at my (old) age I'm not likely to change how I do almost anything, especially something I've been doing for more than half a century (well, not *quite* half a century, but close :>). I love my C-Max <g>.

Temps have been in the 90's here pretty consistently (normal for central Florida) and I run the AC so the car is at 72 degrees, no matter what. I usually have the fan on at 2 bars, but sometimes when I first start off I switch to 3 and use recirc to cool things off quickly. Car windows are all (with the exception of the front, natch) tinted at 35 percent, which does help a lot. That said, if I don't get at least 45 mpg in the city I feel cheated. To me it all comes down to how you drive -- if you drive as if there is an egg between your foot and the gas and brake pedals, if you look ahead and watch traffic and lights so you can judge things properly, you can get good mpgs no matter what you drive. And, of course, in the C-Max they will be great. Conversely, even a Prius will get lousy mileage if you accelerate and brake quickly.

Um, don't see the pics of the Wal-Mart shade but like I said I'll post some here this afternoon (just about to head out now, in fact). What I *should* do is post a video, because it's not just how it fits but how easy it is for (um, the wife?) anyone to put in and take down. Literally takes less than two seconds for either process and thus isn't something you ever mind doing (because otherwise you just aren't going to do it. I can now do it so fast any passenger who isn't aware of how it works generally goes "Huh? How did you DO that?" and I have to slow down and show it in slow motion.

I used the "regular" (Universal?) sunshade from Wallmart (these are all made by Basix or whatever the heck they are calling their company that they use many names for) and it fits fine if you turn it lengthwise (which is to say, it's rectangular so if you turn the two of them clockwise 90 degrees they fit on either side of the rearview mirror). You don't have to lower your visors or anything, as they can fit fine jammed in between the mirror and the edge of the window. The jumbo ones are WAY too large for our vehicle (the problem is the rearview mirror gets in the way -- in theory, you might be able to use just *one* of these across the whole thing, but it's actually a little too small for that anyway, for those thinking they might do some cutting and trimming of it). But two of the regular ones work just great (and are SO much easier to store than a custom fitted one. I just fold them up in less than one second and stick them at the driver's edge of the passenger seat). Our C-Max came from Jacksonville, although we bought it in Orlando. (I'll try and post some images today to show folks how it works -- got to go out this morning anyway and get a new microwave, as ours nuked itself last night :>)

I have either that particular sunshade or one very much like it (got it custom made for $55) and *I* think it's too much trouble to put into place (having used the circular fold up ones for years on our Durango). Plus -- it takes up *way* too much room. So add another central Florida guy with a sunshield to sell <bg>. I may see if I can persuade my wife to use it when she takes Sestra to work (because she's really the one who would park it in the sun all day long for the two days of the week she does work) but I'm really thinking I'll see if I can find the largest circular shades they make and see how they work in our car (you can put them in and out with one easy motion and we used to use two of them in the Durango all the time). I'm not convinced these custom shades are any more effective. (Oh, and Rick -- did you get your C-Max from Sun State Ford as well?)

I'm going to get a nice black zinc plate holder, to match the trim (with no chrome in the rear it just seems more appropriate) as the "dealer supplied" plastic thingee is pretty cheesy looking. And now that I've got the dealer sticker off it all looks so much cleaner back there.

Thanks for the explanation and quick response. Zoom and lines I can do without. Not to flog a deceased equine, but when you say "take the place of the computer module" you mean (I assume) only the function that deals with cameras? Surely not the entire computer function (which does a ton of other things and wouldn't be something I'd want to mess with -- heck, I had them put some NAV TSBs on so my GPS wouldn't *wander* as it is, and don't want anything to stop working with MFT as it currently does). I've installed my own car stereos and bass expanders and feel comfortable with such things (although running wires is never all that much fun). But I wouldn't say I'm a "great" DIY type guy, just fair to middling. On a scale of 1-10 (10 being something that really requires someone who does it for a living, and 1 being my wife who, as I say, can't operate TiVo) how difficult would you rate installing the camera and Lockpick? Any "gotchas" that, having done it, you wouldn't do it that way again? (Or do it differently). In my old age I'm not above paying someone to install things but I kind of doubt I could find anyone in this area who'd have even a clue on how to do something like this, so I suspect it would all be up to me. And if I messed up the look of our new car my wife... well, let's just say it wouldn't be a pleasant thing for my continued existence.

Sorry to revisit an old thread, but this interests me as my SE with MFT (and Nav) didn't come with a backup camera although I thought it would. I wouldn't mind doing what a couple of folks here have done with Lockpik and a camera but just to be clear: 1) Does the camera actually show automagically when you put it into reverse (and a factory installed one would) or do you have to switch the MFT system to use it? (That would likely be a deal breaker, as my wife would be the biggest user of something like this and she can't even operate TiVo let alone switch any inputs around). 2) Does it or does it not void warranty? What, exactly, are you modding here with Lockpik? (I'm not going to do anything that even *slightly* messes with the warranty, at least for three years). TIA for any information.

Glad I found this thread as well -- just removed mine with no residue remaining. Since they got this car from another dealership I assume they removed *their* sticker and then put their own on. And their own was plastic/vinyl and easy to remove. Car looks much better without it. All the window stickers (and there were a ton) were removed by the guy who did the tinting, so now the car is "clean". I think I'll end up buying another plate holder, though -- no knock against the dealer (who I think is really good) but it's a bit tacky with those plastic advertising things. With our Durango I got a metal "Durango Owner's Club" holder that was part of joining that forum. Perhaps the folks here could get something similar made up.

I have to admit it was hard to get used to living in a state with no front license plates required. We've always had personalized plates and there's less incentive to "personalize" your car when you only have a back plate. But I agree that the C-Max looks better without a front plate (again, I'm used to cars and trucks that actually were designed to have a front plate, whereas clearly the C-Max is not).

Well, we DO love our Ice Storm color -- it actually matches our house trim (when we finally get our personalized plates I'll take some images and post so folks can see). It varies a lot -- I often see it as more blue than anything -- but our house trim is sort of a sea foam greenish tropical color that my wife and I both like. And we already have a silver car (the Durango) so we wanted something with a little color (but not too much, because at our age really strong colors are a bit too garish for our tastes). Ice Storm was the best color of the Ford cars we saw (although the Honda had a pretty terrific blue that we both could have loved... just not the car :>). Felt so strongly about Ice Storm they had to find a car at another dealership (and it was nip and go there as to whether we could get all we wanted on it). It would have been a deal-breaker not to get this color.

Ah, there is a commonality to us, Doug. I, too, lost some weight (about 65 pounds in around 9 months). The weight crept up on me slowly (was always thin well into my 30's) but one day I looked around and -- I was FAT! So I started eating healthy and never looked back (because there's no such thing as a "diet" per se -- it is a change in your life style that you dedicate yourself to doing, and the good news is that after you stop eating crap in a few months you not only don't miss it, you really can't eat it again. Quick tip for the mostly guys around here: we tend to "drink" our calories, so if you can only do ONE thing change to drinking *only* water and unsweetened tea and coffee and the pounds will melt away. I lost 20 pounds in the first couple of months doing this alone. Unfortunately, diet drinks are just as bad, for reasons they have yet to figure out, and as someone who was addicted to my soft drinks I *never* thought I could do it but I haven't had one in four years and when I tried as an experiment it tasted as horrible as anything I could imagine). Anyway, as I lost weight I was able to play more tennis (always played, but usually could only manage it once or twice a week) so it was a cycle that re-enforced itself. But, again to preach (I guess I *can* hijack my own thread :>) the key to weight loss is diet AND working your muscles. And this means either weight lifting or body weight exercises (like pushups, which I can now do 80 at once, which ain't bad for a very old man, and pullups, which I am still struggling to master). Major muscle groups (chest and legs) are really the key, as changing into muscle means you burn calories even during your off hours. The absolute best bang for the buck is to do HIIT (high intensity interval training) and I'll leave it to you to Google how, but if you do you might notice that tennis as an activity fits it fairly perfectly. So my pants size went from 44 to 32 and I can now beat almost anyone I play (although I pick my opponents carefully <g>) but the best thing of all is how my health has improved. I no longer have to take blood pressure and cholesterol meds, I can sleep through the night (no more apnea nor snoring) and I feel better than I did when I was in my 30's. I would advise anyone whose waist size is greater than half their height (this is the standard for all males to attain) to stop procrastinating and start doing it right. You will not only live longer, you will enjoy it far more (and for those of you who haven't made it to retirement yet, I can tell you it is all that I ever wanted and a LOT more -- it's the greatest thing I could have ever dreamed and every day is a vacation). Here's a link to some images of me before/after along with some tips: http://kelleytown.blogspot.com/2010/12/lose-weight-without-wait.html

Sometimes I *wish* it were only 4-5 times a week -- in the winter I usually play 6 days a week and seven or eight times (at least twice on Mondays). But this week I only played six times (five days, but twice Mondays). But I do what I can as long as I'm healthy enough (as there will surely be a time when I'll be lucky to get out on a golf cart and hit a little ball around once a week :>). I kind of like that commercial where they have all the folks write on the wall what they'd like to get paid for and then they turn around and say that retirement is just that. So I *am* getting paid to play tennis, create animations (we also do an animated series about life in an adult retirement community), swim and watch movies. I can't imagine any more fun than that (unless, of course, you're a Ford expert who can travel around the country getting great gas mileage and overall being a wonderfully nice guy who likes to help others :>). Again, many thanks for taking the time and effort to meet me, and let's hope it's not the last time we get together.

Paul could very well do that job -- I told him Ford ought to pay him to go around and give those tips and tricks.

I think you're right about highway, but city driving really depends on your own driving style and a lot of other variables (how often you visit certain places, so the EV+ can kick in, whether you use air conditioning or heating, how many short versus "long enough" trips you make, etc). In general I am averaging over 50 mpg in the city, even with the air conditioning on. I often turn off the car to see 55 mpg as my "reward" for having a light foot on the gas and brake <g>. (And yesterday on a six mile trip I got my best reward yet -- 67.2 mpg. But it was a trip my car "knows" pretty well now :>).

Yup, I got to see the covers among the other mods Paul has made to squeeze the last ounce of mileage out. After he left I went down to the auto store (for some more stuff for my emergency kit) and the kids working there were asking me what the heck it was that I was driving, as they are used to seeing almost anything and had no idea what it was that *I* had. If only Paul and I could have driven in together <g>. It's another tiny perk of having the C-Max (in that you aren't driving yet *another* Prius).

I had ours tinted (35% on all windows except front, of course) and I do think it's helped in the hot Florida sun (I have a custom screen for the front). It keeps the car a lot cooler when parked (at least 10-15 degrees cooler) but even better I think it keeps it cooler when just driving around. I didn't want it tinted any darker, though, because visibility is really important to me as well. I got it done at a custom tint shop that got great online reviews and for around $200 they did a great job with a lifetime guaranty.

So Paul Jones (ptjones) visits me today (driving over an hour just to take the time to help). He gave me great tips on getting the kind of gas mileage he does (which I'll *never* be able to match -- sigh) and even set up my gauges correctly. (Paul is the handsome guy on the left -- I'm the tired looking, tennis weary guy that remains). Thanks, Paul. Now if we could just get a C-Max get-together here in Florida of ALL the folks who live in the south...

Um, sorry to see this so late, but Dropbox is free and anyone who doesn't have it installed on ANY computer they have (including tablets and phones) is missing out. Then you can easily embed any of your photos on any forum with a Dropbox link.

I, too, went with Geico (which is a steal if you have Geico insurance, which I already did and have for years). It's one of those things they don't mention much but IMHO everyone who can get it should take advantage of it. Let's face it -- they *always* make money off extended warranties, no matter who sells. Just like with any insurance, if the company wasn't statistically making a lot of money off most people it wouldn't be in business. You are basically hedging your bets against something catastrophic (which is why a deductible shouldn't even be a factor for you -- you don't want something to make you go "ouch" but you also don't mind that it's high because it's really only for that "once in a lifetime disaster" that you should be using it anyway).

This is an interesting thread. Yesterday I had our own brand new 2014 C-Max into the dealership because the Nav wasn't working all the time (it had that "wandering" problem) and I was able to quote some TSBs that needed to be applied direct from the knowledge here on the forum (thanks, everyone!). When I picked it up and drove it back from Orlando the Nav problem seemed fix, but I also saw "EV" on the gauges for the first time during my cruise home on the highway (never saw it at highway speeds before). I just assumed it was some setting on the gauge I had never turned on but now that I read this I'm thinking that when they applied some of the updates they also fixed this. My service guy wasn't there yesterday when we picked up the vehicle so I wasn't able to find out exactly what they did to it but come Monday I'm going to see what they say.

A USB stick is just a small drive -- sorry for the terminology mix up. I have this one in the car (the 64gb size which holds all the music I ever want to hear there): http://www.amazon.com/SanDisk-Cruzer-Low-Profile-Drive--SDCZ33-016G-B35/dp/B005FYNSZA/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1406973657&sr=8-8&keywords=usb+drive I also stream from my iPhone via bluetooth and it connects terrifically -- sometimes it connects so fast I can be talking on the phone and it suddenly switched to the car before I've even had a chance to sit down. As I said, the advantage with the USB media play is that you can use voice commands to select music unlike from bluetooth but if you are listening to some streaming stuff (like Pandora on my phone) then you don't need to do that anyway. I didn't drive the C-Max extended -- what I drove were cars my neighbors had lent me as ours had died. They were various mixes of things we were interested in and some (like the Prius) we could cross off the list right away (the Prius was a *horrible* car, although we didn't tell our friends that :>). We only took the usual test drive of the C-Max but by that time I had a pretty good idea what I was looking for in a car. The Escape was our first choice but our Ford salesman (who was terrific, by the way -- no pressure compared to all the other sales folk from other companies) said he considered the C-Max the hybrid version of it and I do think he's right (it's not an exact analogy but pretty close). Compared to the Prius it has tremendous drivability and while the mileage isn't quite as good it's certainly a ton better than the Escape. And I really do think Ford got SYNC right -- it's certainly not perfect, but compared to all the other tech in the other brands we looked at it's miles ahead (as I said, I really do love using the voice commands which work very well. Even Siri can't do as well). I think you just need to define what's important to you. If you want a hybrid that will narrow it down and there aren't any hybrids out there that I know of that will handle like this one. If gas mileage isn't that important your choices get wider. For me the tech and gas mileage were the top two things I was interested in, all in a vehicle that was fun to drive. C-Max is that car for me, but YMMV (literally and figuratively :>).

I bought an SE with a package that included the large touch screen. It handles streaming from my iPhone just great (that was indeed one of the things I bought it for), although I now find that I like the ability to play my music from a tiny (unnoticable) USB stick even better (for one thing I can use voice commands like "Play Album Rubber Soul" or "Play Playlist Jazz Singers"). In point of fact, the voice command response is so good I use it for a lot of things, including climate control ("Fan High", "Set Temp 74 degrees") and navigation "Find Address 5429 Disney Drive, Leesburg"). While some bemoan the MFT for it's touch (or lack of) I find it just great and far, FAR better than anything else out there (the Honda top of the line was a joke). We also didn't want leather seats (which is why we went with the SE). The audio is just fine -- perhaps it's because the car interior is so quiet but I like the sound much better than even my custom sound on our Durango (that I installed myself and still paid $$$ for). Remember it depends on the source -- make sure you try it with a USB one to get best quality (bluetooth is about the next best, although FM HD is also very, very good). The battery thing doesn't worry me. Even if it's as high as, say, 5-10% the odds are still long that it will affect you, and there are things you can do (lemon law) to protect you if you are an unlucky one. I have gotten a battery charger/jumper thing to put in the back just in case, though. But that's just me -- if you talk with someone who's had the issue they will obviously have a far different opinion. In my runup to getting this I drove six different cars for extended (some as long as a week) periods of time and no one was as fun AND economical to drive (the Prius was more economical, but much less fun, and others were fun but no where near as economical). The only other car I might have considered would have been the Escape but, again, due to SYNC (which, if you are an IT guy or just like gadgets like I do, is a whole lot of fun).