SnowStorm

I haven't pushed it like some of the long range pros here but I've run MTE (miles to empty) to 0, near it or a bit past on numerous occasions without running out. Just be prepared for quite a song and dance on the left screen. It does its level best to scare you into a filling station! Not sure of the order but the gauge goes yellow, gas pump appears, gauge goes to "zero" then turns red and goes back up (simulating a reserve tank?) nasty-grams appear, bells chime etc. I pretty much ignore it all now and just watch MTE. Much simpler.

But the problem with doing it yourself is that you get no record with Ford. When I had my second incident I asked the dealer if they could make a record of it and was told "no". I would have to bring it in. Both times I charged the battery and went on. But as far as Ford is concerned, I guess it never happened. That's the downside of taking care of it ourselves - even though its much simpler as you say.

Yes. In fact, knowing everything I know now over when we bought it 15 months ago, I would buy it even quicker.

Interesting that he didn't say "do more work" or "get somewhere faster" but that he had "seen further". As you say, "the way we look at things". The transistor got invented because they were trying to do it, they could "see" that it should work. Someone didn't stumble across it. I wonder though, might Sir Isaac have been looking back (history) as well as forward? Sometimes we need to do that too. The big issue with highway mileage is drag coefficient. Cut it from 0.29 to 0.113, power needed goes down, smaller engine, less weight, less rolling resistance, etc, and your 70 mph mileage goes from 40 to 80. Yes, 0.113 is possible - looking back about 75 years!.

Superbe! (Knowing what I know today - I would be even quicker to go out and buy the C-Max.)

An SUV means two things: 1 - ground clearance to clear any curb or parking space stopper 2 - "wagon" style body C-Max fails on #1 so its not an SUV. Other choices from history and around the world (I'm sick of acronym soup): WAGON (or STATION WAGON). Dated - though I still like it. Who hauls baggage to the train station in their C-Max? (Maybe AIRPORT WAGON - oh no, an APW) ESTATE (or ESTATE CAR) What's wrong with that? Nice European flair. BREAK (or BREAK DE CHASSE or SHOOTING BRAKE). Might work in Quebec - but the shooting/hunting stuff - might be a tough sell. DEPOT HACK (or more completely DEPOT HACKNEY CARRIAGE). OK, I like trains but that era seems, sadly, gone. But, hmmm, a DHC C-Max - no, no acronyms!) SUBURBAN. No, someone "trademarked" that one. WODDIE. Now we're getting somewhere! We need a "woodie" version of the C-Max! The new 2015 color to replace Ice Storm! CARRYALL. Bingo! That's it folks! The C-Max is a "CarryAll""Now You All jus' pile in your CarryAll and come on by!

I guess 40+ years of addiction to CC is hard too shake. And the actual route/traffic/speed profile must also have an impact on how much gain can come from P&G. Can you summarize your baseline driving profile - before the +12.5 percent? I mostly drive three different "regions". Interstate, 65 mph, rolling hills, EcoCC. Car goes into EV on many (most?) of the downhills. Two lane roads (plus a bit of Interstate), 55 mph, slight to moderate rolling hills, EcoCC (standard CC in heavier traffic). EV use with CC varies with hill size. I've tried using P&G some but it didn't seem to help. (But I can't do daily comparisons.) Two lane roads, 55 mph, dead flat, EcoCC. Car will run "high ICE" indefinitely if road stays dead flat. I can't see how pushing it in and out of EV could help. Tried it some and, again, it didn't seem to help. Plus, changing speed on that road is pretty much a no-no.Or maybe I'm just too addicted. On the aero side, are you working on an all-out boat tail? That would turn some heads!

"...putting its faith in hybrid and fuel-cell vehicle technology rather than electric..." I want electric. "A more conventional dashboard than the current love-or-hate interior is also likely,..." Well that's a step in the right (or is that left!) direction. "...expected to keep the traditional "Prius shape." I guess you can't fix everything all at once!

I guess the flip side is that we get spoiled awfully fast! :drool: Remember when all you got was a speedometer and two "idiot lights"? Not even an engine light! :lol: :secret: Don't tell the "public" but I think here's a spy shot of the 2015 C-Max dash! You can't tell me Ford isn't listening! :lol2: http://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=46657&stc=1&d=1326014626

That pump connector is popping up a lot. My dead battery could easily have been after driving through rain or slush - and with road chemicals to-boot. Does anyone have the wiring diagram for the pump and connector? I'm wondering if there is an On/Off, or perhaps a variable speed signal, on one of the wires. Just a little bit of conductivity might send the pump to full speed without the fault having to carry any significant current. There might, indeed, be nothing wrong with the pump. Have a great trip - my wife and I love it over there! But why not try a B-Max? Boy would I love to have an Energi version of that neat little car.

I tried the compass - looks nice but it only jumps in 45 degree increments - lame! I can look at the sun and get it that close. If we must have the leaves there should be a running percentage of the time the "big leaf" was shown. My real gripe though - with all that space the temperature and time are so little. Huge waste of a screen. Oh, BTW, what kind of driving does it take to blow away ALL the leaves?

Frank, why go over speed by +5 or +10 (consistency aside)? Any time you go faster it takes more energy. It doesn't matter if you're in EV or going down hill, you don't get the extra speed for free. Have you ever tried your commute in EcoCruise at the speed limit? I doubt P&G in a hybrid like the C-Max does anyone much good (if any) - assuming you maintain the same average speed. (Our car doesn't have a regular daily commute like many here so I can't do daily comparisons.) Also, and perhaps it goes without saying, but battery SOC differences between beginning and end of these shorter runs can make a huge impact on MPG.

A total non-issue with me - if its an issue at all. If I hadn't read about it on this forum I doubt I would have ever given it a thought. Not even on the radar screen given all the other advantages of the C-Max.

For the hatch, do you have a kick-to-open problem or does it fail to release manually? Ours sometimes refuses to open - you might here a click but it won't let go (do not have the kick option). Had it to the dealer who said the lifting spring/shock thingies were defective and they were replaced. That made the hatch go up quicker but it still occasionally sticks. Not sure what happens now that we are passed 36,000 miles. (But its still a crazy fun car - don't want anything else!) We had one or two dead batteries back in the winter but nothing since. I say "one or two" because the first one may have been due to leaving the ignition on.

They had 40k tires back then. We called them "retreads"! :lol2: Do that once or twice and no problem. 40k on the same "tires". Anyone remember? (My dad used them until radials came along.) Went to Florida once and took two spares! They could come apart at speed - taught you to keep both hands on the wheel! But I loved those ads. Interesting tidbits: $1,565 - that was the whole car (such as it was ;))! "Practically no oil between changes" - you better hope not, with changes coming so frequently! :spend: (But does that mean no oil used or no oil added?) "And an engine that's seldom in the repair shop" - because you'd best learn to work on it yourself! :lol: Back to the numbers: the C-Max should be more like 42, 60, 38.

I agree, Marc. No need to bash them - even if I've never been in one, let alone driven or considered buying one. I'm OK with Toyota (have had a number of older ones) but I don't like the center dashboards they're stuck on or certain aspects of styling or the image that has (unfortunately) grown up around them. But they get my applause for saving gas and creating the market (along with the first Honda Insight!).

Thanks for graph and coefficients. But don't they look funny? The A much higher on the V? Tires must be a lot worse than on C-Max. The B coefficient negative? They better patent that quick. Bearing friction is helping to push the car along! And the C one much larger on the V? Implies larger drag coefficient - everyone claims its lower than C-Max. So I try curve fitting my coast down data and guess what? It looks just as weird: 38psi A= +33.382, B= -0.163734, C= +0.0235199 49psi A= +45.1284, B= -0.77455, C= +0.0313688 Crazy curve fits! You should just take a French curve and "eyeball" it! Those (impossible) negative B coefficients tend to push down the center region - gives better mileage at moderate speeds where most of the EPA runs happen - hmm... As Alice would say, "curiouser and curiouser"! Regarding drive-train comparison, they are hardly the same (as I understand) when it comes to the battery and electric motor. The C-Max can leverage the hybrid system longer and to higher speeds than the V. This difference should be a big help with all the starts/stops and speed changes in the EPA tests. And less drag, though helpful at 80 mph, doesn't help as much in the EPA tests. The C-Max is better!

If you feel unsafe in your Model S, I'll gladly take it off your hands! Don't get me wrong, fires are serious and the cause should be fixed. But why no clamor over gasoline car fires? A friend was barely able to stop and get the kids out before the van burned up. A coworker's car caught fire just sitting in the parking lot. Saw another car recently burning away on the roadside. And now there's another spot where something else must have burned to the axles. You might claim its a low percentage but if gasoline were invented today, it wouldn't stand a chance! Dangerous stuff!

You got that right! I would have loved an Energi, would like full electric, but for now I'm addicted to the no-shift drivetrain in the C-Max. No up-shifting, down-shifting, double-clutching whatever! Of course EV is even better. I suppose any sound you like could be synthesized and pumped through the audio system! Then program the electric motor to give an extra "kick" every 10 mph or so! Shucks, you could download the "sound and furry" of any car you like - real or imagined. Or a horse and buggy - with voice control to-boot. Gee - Haw - whoa Nelly.... I'd prefer an F15!

Then will Ford bring back the Lifetime screen?

Unfortunately, yes - details here. Although I don't remember seeing an engine light after a full recharge.

Maybe one of them covers packing batteries out of the way under the floor! Would sure help the NRG!

Neither can ours! Lifetime at 47.3 with 35,000 miles, 47.5 since August upgrade, last trip of 630 miles 61.1 MPG! All while getting paid back almost 3 cents / mile. That makes gas cost only $2 / gallon! Or, leave the price at $3.40 / gallon and it is equivalent to getting 80 MPG!!! :yahoo: :drool: :clapping: :shift: Awesome car!

Here is a csv file with the data (change extension back to csv). Above data looked OK when posting - don't know what happened. File has 3 more runs that aren't as good. Again, odd runs in one direction, even runs in the other. You will see a difference between the two groups so you can't really use Run 0 or it will through the average off. C-Max Coast-Down Test.txt

Feeling bored this summer? Well, find something named "Ford", park your C-Max next to the sign and post a picture. If you really can't get the car and sign in the same picture, at least you must have the car and place. Please now, no posts about all the places you searched out on-line that are "possibilities"! People can do there own searching! So, find a street, school, theater, whatever, get a picture and start posting. Who can get there first? Posts for the same place with different cars are very much encouraged - but it must be your car! Personal associations, history or other trivia is also encouraged. How many can we get by the end of August? (Variants like Fordham, Fordson, etc don't count.) The Enterprise made it to Ford, VA. There really are some buildings there, the sign just happens to be a bit before you get to "downtown"!