SnowStorm

I see others have answered your questions (been "off-line" for a week). While I went to the museums, my wife and daughter went to the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House (wonderful they said) and the Detroit Institute of Arts. They had no trouble but did witness a fist fight in a parking lot!

So, a bit more about the museums - the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village - places that bring to mind the quote "People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like." If you like history, technology, innovation or all three at once, then you should find the rather pricey tickets well worth it - I did. Just make sure you have a full day (two would have been better). Greenfield Village Henry Ford dedicated this place in 1929 with Thomas Edison present as well. You can see Henry's boyhood home, a reconstruction of the Bagley Avenue Workshop where he built his first car (then had to knock out the wall to get it out!), the "Fifteen Millionth Ford", Edison's Menlo Park machine shop (world's first electric generating plant complete with a dynamometer to measure mechanical power into the dynamos - so you could calculate efficiency - they were 80%), replica of Edison's Menlo Park laboratory (walls lined with chemical bottles, the best scientific instruments, even a pipe organ!), the Farris Windmill (said to be oldest in US - [should have been the last!]), Noah Webster's home, birthplace of William Holmes McGuffey (adorable log cabin), Henry's school - it goes on and on. Then you have a scaled down version of the Edison Illuminating Company's Station A with "Jumbo Number 9", a "National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark" and a real operational steam engine roundhouse - kids can help rotate the turntable for a "hands on" experience with inertia. Henry Ford once owned a coal mine (to supply his factories) but hated paying the middleman to bring the coal so he bought the railroad! Now he had real trains to play with! They had a couple of his engines there (one was his favorite). He got that one to 65 mph and another to 100 mph! ("You can tell the men from the boys by the price of the toys!") I got to see them bring one of the engines in, onto the turntable, around it goes, and into the roundhouse! Cool stuff. There's lots more - and I didn't see it all. (Stay tune for more about the Henry Ford Museum.)

What they should have added was a mode to use up the battery charge (similar to what the Energi has) so you can hit the top of a twisty mountain road with minimum SOC. Then you have room for regen on the way down. The way it is now, you go up a twisty road at low speed, the full ICE capacity isn't needed so it charges all the way up leaving you no room for regen on the way down. It can be very frustrating in mountain driving, manually trying to hit a low SOC at the top, especially if you don't know the road or have traffic behind you. This "prius mode" seems useless to me - I doubt it is "less aggressive" about HVAC control than I am already. I bet it was added by the marketing folks because there are buyers out there that think it is a standard "feature" of a hybrid.

Welcome back Matt! Looks like I really need to get with this grill cover thing - been putting it off.

After 95,000 miles of travel The Enterprise made it back home! A recent vacation to Michigan allowed a quick stop at the "MAP" in Wayne, MI - where all our cars are born. (Anyone else been there?) The Enterprise didn't say much - may have been just a little too choked up. But then, I don't think it likes it when I get metamorphic about it! Also visited the Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village - absolutely amazing places. Will add some observations later.

You certainly can't believe what every shop says. My car went in for inspection a month ago at a local shop and they failed the rear brakes for "rust" or some such foolishness. I had it "rejected" and went to my Michelin dealer whose inspector nearly went ballistic over the fact that the other shop rejected brakes that were very much OK - even though they don't look as "smooth" or "even" as the fronts. This was with well over 90k miles.

You can pull the GPS data out of the OBDII port with an appropriate adapter and the Forscan software.

Well, it seems a hilarious idea - I wonder how long it would take for someone to notice? Check out your dash - its not the same left/right either! But you might want to rotate, at least front/back. Some of us have had cupping problems with our tires and rotations are supposed to help prevent it. My Michelin dealer rotates for free every 5000 miles since I bought a set from them.

Three years ago in a galaxy not so far away our C-Max (may it run forever!) got christened "The Enterprise" - oops, did I mix things up? Anyway, welcome to the forum and an awesome car!

OK, per DOT data, Texas has over 21 times more "lane miles" than Alaska so I guess Texas is "the biggest".... but wait. Virginia has the most US presidents born in the state so Virginia is the "biggest"! (Not sure what all this has to do with this topic but I once worked with a great guy who liked to say "consistency is the mark of a small mind"! So I guess consistency to the original topic is at least the mark of an unimaginative one!) P.S. I once drove all the way across Texas, east to west, and its a loooong way! P.P.S. My answer to the original question? --- "The C-Max is so much fun to drive it makes gasoline cost irrelevant!"

Really? Alaska could split 3 ways and make Texas only 3rd largest - and leave another state bigger than New Mexico! (Maybe there are no C-Maxes up there so it becomes a moot point?)

Certainly the Model E will be a "platform" design which implies multiple body styles coming out. They should/could have: A Sedan (Fusion) for all you sedan lovers. Sleek with, no doubt, the lowest drag. A Tall Wagon (C-Max) for those who want higher seating and need to haul stuff. An SUV (Escape) for even more cargo space and high ground clearance. A Sports Car (Thunderbird!) A Van (Transit Connect) A Pickup Truck (Ranger)Who knows what Ford will do or when but once you go to a 200+ mile battery you get a lot more possibilities than just more distance between charges. The increased kilowatt-hours also brings a proportional increase in peak power capability. This boost can provide power for: Towing - hopefully a rating on all models but at least on the Wagon, SUV, Van and Truck Performance - a plus for all models but especially the Sports Car and sporty Sedan variants. All Wheel Drive - of course you can do it with lower power but it makes a lot of sense to dump all that power into all 4 wheels (and then you have the competition to consider). They should just make it standard on all models.Large batteries also give you: More total miles driven before capacity drops by XX% The possibility of those unlimited mileage warranties. The ability to get 2 hours of driving time from a 20 minute charge since you don't have to charge to 100% (the first part of a charge goes much faster - then the charger has to cut back on current). Of course the charger has to put out a lot of current which brings us to the last point:Ford needs to address the charging issue in a serious way. The chargers need to be available "everywhere", available for any use (not just "travel"), put out the necessary current and be free or priced in a way that keeps the cost low. Some options for pricing are: Free (or free during "off-peak" electric rate hours) Bought as an option with the car (your fuel gets rolled into your car payment - after which you can drive as much as you want). If you don't buy this option, you would use the one below. Priced per kW-Hr used but adjusted for time-of-day electric rates - you only pay actual electricity costs. Done right, this one could be the most "fair" (whatever that means!).

I paid for it - never really thought about getting Ford involved - the alignment was "in spec" and I hadn't rotated them very often so doubt I would have had a case. I paid about $220 for the arms (here they are) and $60 labor IIRC for my alignment guy to put them in. You can get cheaper ones that are fixed but I wanted adjustable since I intend to go past 250k miles and never want to have that alignment issue again. So far I'm totally happy about it.

Roger, do your tires have inside edge wear and/or cupping? My first set (factory) had both but I hadn't rotated as often as I should have and my rear camber was at the max (tires tilting in at top). The cupping was also on the inside edge. I replaced the rear upper control arms with adjustable ones and got the tires sitting up almost straight - now at minimum spec. With my second set I'm rotating every 5000 miles since that is what my Michelin dealer recommends and they do it for free. Also, I ask for the front-to-back swap sides as Ford recommends. So far at 23,000 miles on the new set they look perfect with no noise - of course there's a lot more miles to go. The problem might not be the tires (but I'm no tire expert).

That "INCREDIBLE" oil might persuade me to switch to 0W-20. I haven't wanted to because of the possibility (?) that there might be less wear protection with "thinner" oil. The only reason to switch, as I see it, is for better mileage - and where's any real comparative test data on that?

Well, I too get "View Result" and I can't search (real pain) but I always attributed that to my very old version of Firefox (7.0.1) that I'm still running under an old Linux distro (or some blocker stuff). Websites are constantly complaining about how my browser is "no longer supported" - blah, blah, blah. Of course I desperately need to update the whole computer but I'm "too lazy" and its soooo boring. I certainly don't have the problems Frank was having. I tried another computer with W10 and latest Firefox (just downloaded) and it too gives "View Result" but search works.

My first set went over 70k miles at elevated pressures - perhaps averaging about 45 psi. I am now running at 49 or 50 and intend to continue that way. BTW, be sure your new tires are still the original P225 (P-metric) tire that has a service description of 93V and maximum pressure of 51 psi. They also make a 225 "Metric" (no P) Energy Saver A/S with a 94V service description but it is only rated for 44 psi. You can find the 93V on the sidewall under the "ENERGY SAVER A/S" logo - or just make sure the tire is a P225/50R17 tire. Of course the maximum pressure is on the sidewall as well. I haven't heard that anyone has mixed them up yet but I could see it happening.

Any luck with a Walmart rebate? I couldn't find any "participating" retailer nearby that was selling for less than about $34 so want ahead and got a jug of 5W-20 "High Mileage" at WM for $23. If the rebate doesn't work for WM, it comes out about the same - hate rebates anyway but would do it for $12! BTW, anybody ever use Milesyn Sxr Full Synthetic from Miles Lubricants? A 5 gallon (!) pail comes to $3.06 / qt. That's enough for 4 changes with 2 qts to spare. (Oh where is my electric car?)

Sad indeed, I sure hope you can find a solution and come back with more fun. Your input has been much appreciated. Now whose going to keep me straight on aero topics?

Frank, I think +3 might be closer. I often go about 6 miles down a mountain at 65 mph with 1000 feet of elevation drop. With cruise at 65 mph the battery will charge about 75% of indicated SOC. That is about 370 W Hrs (?) which is roughly worth 1 mile (I'm ignoring losses). So dropping 1000 feet gets 7 free miles. 7 X 3200/1000 = 22 miles which equates to about 1/2 gallon. As you say though, wind is a big factor. Sometimes I charge very little and other times it maxes out and the car goes into free roll! The difference seems to be in the fact that most of the energy that does come out of the ICE is being used to push the car along - only a smaller portion is used to increase its elevation.

Dear Ford: As you enjoy your new Tesla Model X and compare it to your future electric SUV plans, please consider these suggestions: Forget those fancy doors - instead, make them like the B-Max. Please make them like the B-Max! Forget those fancy 2nd row seats that just won't go away (see suggestions below). Put the batteries under the floor - you know why. All wheel drive standard - or at least an optional model. Selection of battery sizes with ability to upgrade later - would set Ford apart from everyone else (see below). SUV ground clearance - optional adjustable height would be great. Towing ability - proportional to size of vehicle. Spare tire options that include full size. At least provide a designed in storage space for a full size spare (see below). Good headroom on 1st and 2nd rows. Keep the front trunk and have storage areas in the back. Knobs for standard functions! Clean styling - no Cheshire cat grills of center passenger dashboards! Ready for autonomous driving upgrades. Best efficiency possible (with all the conflicting items above!). Some distinctive colors besides all the shades of white/silver/gray/black. As many independent options as possible (e.g. leather seats). A way to charge that competes with Tesla's Superchargers - both in speed, cost and availability!More Brainstorming: SEATS: A most important item! We don't stand around our cars admiring the seats, we sit in them or remove/stow them to haul stuff - there needs to be the utmost flexibility. The front seat should fold flat (possibly to the back) and other passenger seats should fold flat and, ideally, also be removable. You should be able to haul long items across the front seat and up under the dash. Provide as many options as possible for mixing bodies and boxes! SPARE: As mentioned above, design in proper storage capability for a full size spare. A full size or compact spare could be options or it could be left for the customer to obtain as desired. The front trunk might be a good place - or even a "Continental Tire"! BATTERIES: Battery size options that can be upgraded later would be a big marketing plus. Someone who only needs a short range can purchase a less expensive model knowing that they can add more battery later if needed - or when they can afford it. Small SUVs could have 25, 50, 75kW options, larger ones 50, 75, 100kW all using the same 25kW module. The motor(s) might be sized for the largest option (they're not that expensive) and the inverters be part of the battery modules and operate in parallel. CHARGING: Charging needs to be addressed right up front - similar to what Tesla has done. Why not install super fast chargers at all Ford dealers - Tesla doesn't have that option to any significant degree - and it would bring customers back to dealerships on a regular basis. Then add more at convenient travel locations. I like the concept of buying a "forever fueled car" - call it "Ford Forever"! Make the charging Free For Ford or sell lifetime charging with the car - just make sure it is very cost effective to drive that Model E Ford! Address all the above items and I'm ready with a deposit - even for delivery 2 or 3 years out! Send a PM! Best Regards, SnowStorm

The intent was that the "self-driving roadway" would use personal electric vehicles you drive right out of your garage - and it would power and charge them as they drive. I think Americans aren't that in tune with "public" transportation - we want a private car (I do) that we always use, not some public car that who-knows-who has been in lugging around who-knows-what! Long distance trips could be non-stop - the car could be like a mini motor-home - 24 hours and you've crossed the continent using less than 100 Watt-Hours / mile - and when you exit, it would be fully charged. We could do it! Good grief - we went to the moon when I was a kid, many moons ago!

Interesting comments about number of gas stations versus number of pumps. Another way stations have changed is from "service stations" to "gas stations". How often do you see a real service station now, let alone a "Mechanic On Duty" sign! Cars now require so little maintenance compared to the "old days". "Stations" today are more oriented to the needs of people rather than cars. As to infrastructure for electric cars, we only need to note that electricity is far more available than gasoline - virtually every mile / kilometer of every road (or exits for limited access roads) have electricity every foot of the way. All you need is a charging station which is much simpler than a gas station and no environmental issues. Tesla already has super fast charges covering the entire US - that's one "little" company with only, maybe, 100,000 cars. Batteries are already "good enough" (cost is dropping) - the issue is charging speed and a universal charging system. Imagine having to find a Ford gas station or a GM gas station, or a Toyota gas station, etc! We need a national or world standard for all charging stations but I doubt it will happen. Atomic power could probably be done but everyone's afraid of it and it generates thermal pollution. (Electric cars can run from solar power which just diverts the sun's energy through the car before it completely enters the environment - same amount of heat as if the car hadn't been there.) The electric car is here now - what we still need is the following 3 items, first two short term, last one longer term: Lower costs - in process Fast and universal charging - not sure what will happen but its NOT a technical issue New electric roadway infrastructure that would provide high speed, safety, low energy consumption (automatic "platooning" and low friction wheels), convenience (autonomous - "driver" can sleep/read/whatever) and battery charging while you ride. This last feature would eliminate most charging needs since short trips don't need charging and long trips would be made on the new system. It wouldn't even need to be "fast" charging - better for the batteries. The present infrastructure is aging and needs to be replaced with something far more energy efficient (if we really care about the environment!). The cars would still operate on conventional roads - drive it right out of your garage, make local trips or hit the "electric thruway" to get there fast, charge your car and read, watch a movie or catch up on your sleep - all while using 20% of the energy we use today - and still in your own personal vehicle!

The Enterprise sets a new record - 825.6 miles on one tank (returning to same gas station!). Conditions were 49 psi tires, no aero mods, 87 E0 gasoline, about 50 to 70 F temps, fair amount of mostly cross winds and about 200 to 400 pounds in car (various times). Speeds ranged from 25 to 65 mph with most of it at 35, 40 and 45 mph. I did a number of test runs at various speeds and got the following approximate numbers for steady driving on nearly flat roads with some winds - and quite a few stops (had to get out of peoples way!). Of course this was all on "out of the way" country roads with very little traffic. 25 mph - 80 mpg (about a 20 mile run and a real pain!) 35 mph - 70 mpg 45 mph - 60 mpg 55 mph - 51 mpg (from past runs) So, I'm still wondering how slow you have to go to get the maximum possible mpg (academic question of course!). Anyway, the above number show that one could certainly get 1000 miles....maybe later this summer! Oh yes, ran the tank out of gas running back and forth near station (enough EV to get there!). You get a chime and the "Stop Safely Now" message. As Paul has said, put in the gas and it starts right up like nothing ever happened. After filling up (and going about 20 miles) the MTE read 848 miles! The computation doesn't appear to change very fast. Here's the proof: Please update SnowStorm with the new number. Thanks!