SnowStorm

Quite incredible for sure. Enough now reserved that, from what I hear, the $7500 tax break is over for any additional buyers (as well as many Model 3s already reserved). I agree about the knobs - I do like touch screens in general but not in a car for common functions. I guess we are supposed to be using voice commands but I've never had much luck with them so I gave up. However, it wouldn't stop me from getting one (the price might!) - the real reason for a Tesla is access to the Superchargers. For me, Tesla has solved the range issue right there. I can live with a 20 minute break every 2 hours - you should take one anyway. And going all over the country without spending another dime would be awesome. The Bolt looks nice and I can't wait to see what Ford comes out with next but they will have to come up with the equivalent charging world or I won't be that interested. In any case, the next couple of years should be exciting.

So what did the battery "gauge" indicate when you ran out of Electrons? Was there any warning that it was about to stop running on EV? This information might be helpful this summer if I try for another record tank - I'm still predicting 1000 miles will happen! (Unless we all get bored and loose interest.)

They are at 45 psi now which is about what I usually use - has been higher at times. My tire dealer says the undriven tires are prone to cupping (in the "bad ol' days" it was the fronts!). I'm convinced that frequent rotations are essential to hold down the noise and wonder if Ford's 10k recommendation is often enough. Proper alignment can sure prevent other wear problems but may not prevent cupping.

Here's the post about fixing the rear camber issue (may want to read the whole topic). I agree that tire rotations won't fix inside edge wear but are essential to prevent cupping and the associated noise. My theory was that the extra pressure that caused inside wear might also aggravate the cupping since my original tires had cupped on the inside edge only. We may well run The Enterprise past 250k miles so I went ahead with the adjustable arms. My Michelin dealer recommends rotation every 5000 miles and does it for free so I'm taking them up on it! So far at almost 20k miles the new tires show even wear side to side, about 7/32 tread in center, 6 to 7 near the edges and no noise. So I think it was all worth while.

Has anyone had experience with Ford's "The Driver’s Seat Community"? I received an email invitation to join, where you can be part of a group/forum that gives "feedback to decision makers at Ford on many aspects of vehicle ownership." I think I'll sign up if its legitimate, but was wondering if there are any cautions or praise about the site. Thanks.

Would strongly suggest getting a "normal" can of tire sealant - available anywhere, much cheaper and no danger of using the wrong hose and shooting sealant into a tire when you only want air (like I did!).

I have a slope going up into the garage so I back in (EV mode - no fumes in garage!) then pull forward onto 2x lumber right at the exit of the garage giving another 1.5" (set brake, chock rear wheels). That gives plenty of room. On a flat I certainly expect you would need the 3" or more. Be sure to hook the back of the belly pan into the underside of the car before putting the bolts back in. You hook it in place, put one bolt in the front and the rest is easy.

So that's what Ford is doing with the "Model E" name. Tesla wanted that name but Ford beat them to it! But no black only please, this is the Model E, not the Model T! Can't wait for more details - hope there is a version similar to the C-Max or a crossover with good headroom, flexible cargo spaces and at least some towing capability. SnowStorm predicted the End Of The ICE Age almost a year ago!

That's interesting - but I have a lowly SE with no key-less entry, door sensors, etc...at least I didn't think so!

This one is weird. DW went to leave recently and upon opening the door to the garage we saw that the interior and parking lights were on as if a door wasn't fully closed. As she walked past the car to get in she happened to touch the headlight and all the lights went out! The car started just fine and all has been normal since. I didn't think to check the 12V battery voltage but the lights appeared normal brightness. No idea how long the lights had been on or why. (Was it too spooky in the dark so the car turned on some night lights?) Or why touching the headlight made them go out - coincidence just seems too remote. Perhaps static? Has anyone else had anything like this happen?

Being a good Priusite!

But how did the absolute mileage compare between bikes and no bikes at the same speed - like 65 mph? I agree that 70 seems a big hit - I usually drive 65 in 70 zones (its not illegal).

Interesting that you mention the Fit as we drove one about 150k before getting the C-Max. Then it became a "college car" for some years and now its back as our "extra" run-around car. The Fit is no comparison to the C-Max overall. My wife took it out recently and thought she had gotten in a toy by comparison - and she used to drive it all the time. Don't get me wrong, it is a very nice smaller car with lots of flexible cargo space - especially for its size - we liked it a lot. But its in a different class as far as overall driving feel goes. We don't have many short trips so get very good mileage - present lifetime indicates 48.1 MPG. IIRC, the Fit was averaging about 36 MPG so to date we've saved like $1500 on gas. Learn from the folks here, hang in there for a year and you may feel a lot better. (A total aside: when we first got the Fit in 2006, people kept asking us if it was a hybrid!) Edit: A few thoughts on heat. With what little short-trip winter driving I've done I'm totally convinced that max use of recirc is essential to managing the smaller "waste" heat from the ICE. Constantly heating outside air from 20F to 70F (or whatever) takes way more heat than taking cabin air from, say, 50 to 70. Also close unused vents (like the back) - heat yourself, not the whole car. The system likes to kick out of recirc after some time so keep an eye on it. Similar thinking goes for A/C in summer. Of course when humidity gets too high you need outside air but I've found that is quite infrequent. As mentioned, seat heaters are a big help - they came with the "winter" option.

What do you think would happen to the $18,000,000,000 if the EPA did collect it? Pay every US citizen about $56 Buy about 500,000 new electric cars and hand them out to half a million happy winners of the "Great Electric Car Sweepstakes" As above but 200,000 Teslas (you may need that bio-filter!) Build huge air purifiers for each metro area Pay off 0.1% of the national debt "Absorb" it within the agency (about 1 million dollars per employee) ????Its a lot of cash.

Maybe its sort of like the reason helicopters can fly - they're so ugly the earth repels them! With certain cars, the air molecules see them coming, are terrified and just jump out of the way! Voilà - low Cd.

Not waiting.

Well, that puts an interesting spin on the electrons. Build more electric cars and charging station and we'll forget about the "unfixable" diesel pollution? Anymore though, I have to wonder what they mean by "electric cars"? It should mean no gasoline - battery only. But recently, it seems any car with an electric motor is an "electric car". Confusion reigns supreme! Since the article links charging stations with the cars it may indeed mean true electric cars (battery only). We must wait and see, as we breath the noxious fumes.

We bought a used full-size rim and new tire for it almost two years ago for our long trip into out-of-the-way places. Its been back there ever since strapped down under three of the tie-downs. (When we needed new tires, we bought three and the best old one became the spare.) My intention is to get a compact spare and only carry the "big one" on trips where the "donot" spare ("do not" go fast, "do not" go far, etc) is not acceptable. It takes up a bunch of space but we just put the back seats down and throw everything there - works for us as there's rarely more than two people in the car. We've had only one tire problem (quite recently) with a piece of metal (large nail?) that caused a very slow leak - thankfully it was repairable.

As far as I know, Virginia is not one of them.

Has anyone heard if there is a repair option that's cheaper than replacing the whole thing? I'm still concerned because The Enterprise is pushing 90k miles and I don't know if it has the "fix" (mid April 2013 build date).

Quite an interesting car - my thoughts: An HUV (Hybrid Utility Vehicle)? Is Kia the first to use that moniker? (If Kia takes it to England it should be popular in the Holbeck Urban Village!) :redcard: They may be using the DSG because they already have one (why develop a new transmission of different type). Of course you then push any advantage you can think of - real or imagined. I guess it does save one motor/generator and associated power electronics. :spend: As Kelly says though, I'd hate to go back to "shifting" - seems so archaic. Just like hearing a normal ICE car starting up now - "rowl-rowl-rowl-rowl-verooom" - so antiquated. Funny how for 100 years ICE cars needed, guess what, a battery and electric motor just to get the fool thing running! :shift: That TMED (Transmission-Mounted Electric Device) has got to win the YCA award (Year's Clumsiest Acronym). Shucks - it could be a relay, a piece of wire, most anything! Paul already has a TMED on his C-Max - a heater! :lol2: The "high" roof in these cars (including C-Max) may be a result of best aero design once you fix the needed height of the hatch. An SUV type body requires the top of the hatch at a certain minimum height to give an adequate opening (the C-Max is at a minimum here). Once that height is set, you can't just run a straight line to the top of the windshield - you need a smooth curve. Lowering the roof (while maintaining the hatch height and top of windshield) might actually increase drag. (Maybe Frank has a thought on this theory?) If you lower the roof, you lower the back of the car - and you get the Prius shape! :superhero: The long list of details on soundproofing seems to indicate no active noise cancellation - we'll see how well they do. :waiting: The dedicated hybrid design with battery under the seats certainly sounds good. :salute: No 12V battery is interesting but I don't see why it should be a fundamental problem. There should be plenty of ways to handle all the functional, fault and safety issues. For all we know, they could have a few cells in there that function independently of the main battery. They could also provide a "jump start" ability where a 12V jump starter could still be used - it would cost something but I'm sure it could be done. And, no doubt, there will be a lot of safeties to prevent complete discharge. :victory: Driver assistance stuff is great - really want adaptive cruise (to complete stop). My son has it on his car and its impressive. :thumbsup: But if there's no pano roof I'm going to :cry:Will certainly have a look when it comes out (but really want a BEV).

Very interesting and thanks, hybridbear, for the info. So the car is pretty much "brake by wire" unless you hit it really hard. At least that explains why, in my opinion, the transition from regen to friction is so smooth. I'll have to try the trip summary test. From all you've said it sounds like the lifetime braking score may indeed include all braking activity, not just complete stops(?).

FWIW, I recently was looking at some old data (2013) for fill-ups where I compared "car gallons" versus "pump gallons". The average error for 37 fill-ups had the car reporting 0.40 gallons low. The histogram data for (car minus pump) was: 3 -1 or more 2 -1 to -0.75 11 -0.75 to -0.5 8 -0.5 to -0.25 9 -0.25 to 0 2 0 to +0.25 2 +0.25 to +0.5 Data from 14 recent fill-ups shows the car reporting 0.66 gallons low on average.

I'm curious about the lifetime brake score. Does it average in ALL braking - even when you don't come to a stop and get a score displayed? Also I expect you can brake hard (friction brakes) down to, say, 10 mph then let off for a second and brake gently to a stop and still get a 100% score. Maybe the "lifetime" score isn't what we think it is. ;)