C-MaxSea

Thanks all, looking forward to this next year with a well "behaved" (fingers crossed) Grouper, and hopefully a few more miles (and a little less gentle mpg break-in driving). Kind regards, Nick

Very well said, Will. Pretty much our experience to a 'T'. Hope you are tracking your Fusion on Fuelly & Fueleconomy.gov. Thanks. Nick

Yes today we celebrate Grouper's birthday - born Aug 23, 2012. He had a challenging & perhaps provocative first year, especially the first half, with some 'issues' at the hospital (factory), or perhaps in transit. Anyway, that is all behind him, and he is quite happy with all of us; and we are quite happy with him. He got to go for a swim yesterday as evidenced here: And, he delivered us home last night having achieved the 'holy grail' of C-Max MPG - Lifetime 47.0. (approaching 45 at the pump) (yesterdays trip, 166 miles, 52.0 mpg) FWIW, I punched the "Lifetime" reset at about 180 on the odometer. BTW, now with all of the updates, and having the one update zeroing out the "Regen Miles", I am thinking of doing a new Lifetime reset, but probably not. Too bad the updates messed the regen calc. Grouper's adoptive family, Nick & Karin & family

Laurel, Kingston is a nice place, but mostly a pass through town on the Ferry system. All of Kitsap Penninsula and the islands north thereof are wonderful. BTW, we took the day off today and traveled a favorite route of ours up Whidbey Island, and I would strongly recommend it. We stopped in Langley (a beautiful quaint, hip, artsy town), Coupeville and La Conner. All nice stops with a wide assortment of shops ........... The nature highlight is Deception Pass, which is two old bridges high over the rushing waters below due to treacherous tidal currents. We love the Anacortes / Fidalgo Island area as well, but just buzzed by today on our route. By all means visit Fidalgo Island, Whidbey island, Deception Pass and Langley.

Nice mnr, a whole herd of rabbits & "cavies" (not heard that one). Hope you find a pic to add. har, your tree sounds a lot prettier than my wheel barrows & saw horses! I can't quite picture it. Teased these two saw horses in on Monday - awkward shapes. Tossed this shot in for fun, first ferry ride with Grouper. He tried to flop into the water a couple times, but I kept him on a tight leash.Thought about titling the shot "We(s)t Turn" or "Widing on Wata" Nick

ARGH .......really, really, really a shame, to be sure! My sympathies MMM. We had to have ours in the shop for a 1/4 panel +++ repaint - not our nickel, and we were able to go to one of the best shops. Hope the bugger comes forward and foots the bill. A good shop, good job, and hope you will get past it.

Welcome ML. "I'm totally scratching my head over (those) who find it so completely impossible to get more than 37 MPG out of this car. I don't think I could have gotten mileage that low if I tried." Very much agree (at least in Summer). Nick

Excellent Frank. You even called my 'elevator' bluff. That rates a double :rating: . I will have to up the ante to 'the Brooklyn Bridge' or something. Nick

Good guess Laurel. I had the joy of moving about 15 yards of materials on a job a couple weeks ago - only lost 1/4" in height. :gaah: Now that is a load & a half of fun there Doug, sure you had a great time - really intrigued by the back configuration. Have not seen one of these hitch racks in person (is that what they are called?). Looks like a great solution for the 'extras'. :rating: Nick

Great post! Extra cool! :clapping: Nice shot of the threesome. Nick

Sorry to hear of your mishap (small accident) Queen14. We all have our not so good days. We all need to be extra alert with these (or any) cars, it is so easy to misjudge a distance. Take care, Nick

OK, let us see what fits. :camera: How about 16,000 cans of softdrink, 12,000 nappies, a phone booth, a small forklift, an elevator from IKEA (in boxes, of course), whatever - don't break anything or 'wish I hadn't done that'. Just a full sized wheel barrow here, went in very nicely with about 3/4 of an inch to spare up top when the wheel passed in. I was quite pleased. BTW, the WeatherTech box worked very well as a 'sled' in this case, especially with the nice flat surface from front to back. Nick

Wonderful story FranOr, thanks for posting. There is so much to like in the C-Max, a very exciting time in automotive engineering at Ford & all around the industry to be fair. Never thought in my wildest dreams that I would own a Ford, coming from Volvo, BMW & VW's. Swept away with the C-Max. So far so, so, so good! Welcome neighbor & congratz! Nick

Ho Hum, another day of 47+ mpg. This was last Tuesday - a round trip from Seattle to Shelton, mostly freeway (say 60-70%, 60mph), the rest beautiful windy country road. This whole EPA nonsense grinds my teeth. 47/47/47, 45/40/43 effectively a lie by nature of suggesting the definitive, regardless the numbers. 28-59 (whatever that quoted range is) a reasonable estimate of the truth and a most delicious opportunity - I think I may buy one of those marvelous vehicles; oh ya, I already have one! :jump_earth: The EPA should never have entertained comparative numbers, other than ranges. (Just my 2 cents worth) Nick

Ho Hum, another day of 47+ mpg. This was last Tuesday - a round trip from Seattle to Shelton, mostly freeway (say 60-70%, 60mph), the rest beautiful windy country road. This whole EPA nonsense grinds my teeth. 47/47/47, 45/40/43 effectively a lie by nature of suggesting the definitive, regardless the numbers. 28-59 (whatever that quoted range is) a reasonable estimate of the truth and a most delicious opportunity - I think I may buy one of those marvelous vehicles; oh ya, I already have one! :jump_earth: The EPA should never have entertained comparative numbers, other than ranges. Nick

Yes, yes, yes, and perhaps a little no - certainly hope more yes than no. I see some more 'dumbed down buying / reliance on' one or two 'opinion makers' for buying decisions. My 'best' cars & toys don't necessarily rate well with (or are ignored by) the 'gods of consumerism' out there (CR for one). Thankfully we & the internet product review juggernaut have a measure of influence here. Score: The cultural read (how the media ......... is/will report this): CR 1, EPA 0, Ford -2 (those dirty dogs at Ford) My read (purely arbitrary nonsense): Ford +2 for the balls to innovate, EPA 0, CR -1 for grandstanding Nick PS What a great car! Da__ Ford did a great job with the C-Max!

:redcard: Culpability tie between EPA & Ford ? (.......70/30, 60/40, 50/50, 40/60, 30/70 ....... :confused: take your pick). What a great car !!! Just having too much fun, keep on driving stealthily, Nick

"so what will everyone do with their early Christmas present check from Ford." Buying the first FE hood, liftgate & tire deflectors Ford puts out - Pretty please Ford.