kostby Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 My wife and I are retired, in our early 60's, and live in central Indiana near I-65 northwest of Indianapolis. (Honk as you drive by the 141 mile marker!)Our recent college-graduate son lives with us because he gets paid modestly for blogging while he searches for a 'real' job with benefits. I've been lurking here for while now as I gathered real-world information about the C-Max and attempted to separate the media hype and hysteria from actual user experience. So today, after a brief test drive, we made a great deal on a brand new white platinum 2013 C-Max SE with Package 201a and the sunroof. It's officially my wife's car, replacing her 1996 Taurus we purchased new 18 years ago. (Like I said, every decade or so). We got a 'model year close out' (in March, really?) +'make the end of the month sales quota'+'end of the quarter dealership quota'+ that extra-special 'the General Manager was really tired of looking at it' discount, and drove it home tonight. Car shopping is a sport for me so, I've been scouring the major auto-pricing sites for the last three months and looked at over 100 C-Max window stickers online, A) because it's been a long cold winter and staying indoors was preferable to facing the elements and shoveling snow, and B) because eventually I find the right deal and we buy something. Like every decade or so. My last new car purchase was a 2003 Pontiac Vibe, 10 years ago. I researched that one at GenVibe.com, a family-friendly Vibe and Toyota Matrix forum much like this one. (I'm kostby over there too.) If you don't know the history, the Vibe was built at NUMMI, the northern California auto factory jointly dis-owned by both GM and Toyota in 2010, and where they now build Tesla sedans. So, I've been looking for a new(er) Vibe-like vehicle for a year or so now. The C-Max has everything I love about the Vibe: Size, the space utilization, the cargo-passenger flexibility, decent looks in the 'tall wagon' category. I looked at about a dozen 5-door hatchbacks at a recent auto show (for some reason I couldn't find a single C-Max there!) and became interested in the Prius v.So I lurked in some PriiV forums (that IS the plural form of Prius v, right?) and discovered all the FUN people who ENJOYED DRIVING and being Green were C-Max owners, hanging out HERE! hybridbear, ScubaDadMiami and Adair 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-MaxSea Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 Welcome Kostby, and congrats on the new C-Max !!! Many of your reasons for buying are the same here, and we are still thrilled with the ride & features. It is a very different car than the antiquated gas guzzlers still being sold - thankfully so. Glad you got a great deal. Make sure they have taken good care of the 12v battery. Enjoy the great ride ! Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marshtex2 Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 Welcome kotsby, After starting life in California, spending a few years near your territory at Purdue U., a lot of years at a few other places, I too got a 2013 C-Mas Hybrid SE, Platinum White, no sun roof. About 9,000 miles now. Real mpg runs 43 to 46 per whole tank fill. A great car, replaced my 2011 Toyota Sienna 4 cylinder which was also a great car; didn't need its size any more. Enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fotomoto Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 CONGRATS! :happy feet: Jumping from a 1996 to a 2013 has got to be quite an eye opener for sure. If you have any questions, ask away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScubaDadMiami Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 Welcome aboard! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fbov Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 ...built at NUMMI, the northern California auto factory jointly dis-owned by both GM and Toyota in 2010, and where they now build Tesla sedans....I looked at about a dozen 5-door hatchbacks ...and discovered all the FUN people who ENJOYED DRIVING and being Green were C-Max owners, hanging out HERE!I'd wondered what became of NUMMI... And it appears you made a rational purchase for all the right reasons - Welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kostby Posted March 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 Thanks for the kind welcome everyone! Got to drive my wife's new baby yesterday for a quick trip to the bank.It's about 1/2 mile from home, so the whole trip was in EV mode. So Q U I E T!Instant trip mileage registered as 999.9 MPG! ScubaDadMiami 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordService Posted March 31, 2014 Report Share Posted March 31, 2014 ... So today, after a brief test drive, we made a great deal on a brand new white platinum 2013 C-Max SE with Package 201a and the sunroof. It's officially my wife's car, replacing her 1996 Taurus we purchased new 18 years ago. (Like I said, every decade or so). ...kostby, Congrats on the new car. I'm sure you'll have fun hanging out with us here on the forum. :) If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to come find me! Ashley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kostby Posted March 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2014 kostby, Congrats on the new car. I'm sure you'll have fun hanging out with us here on the forum. :) If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to come find me! AshleyThank you, Ashley! Your presence in this forum is one of the reasons I decided a C-MAX was the new 'Ford in our future', to borrow the 1940's ad slogan. Not every forum I visit has an on-line manufacturer presence ACTIVELY trying to resolve customer concerns! My wife let me drive the new car yesterday on a round trip of 50 miles. 46.7 MPG for the both legs of the trip, and that's on a new car with just 200 miles on it. Conditions were perfect 'hybrid' weather: little wind, little traffic, flat and a bit of gently rolling terrain, 55 degrees and sunny, so no AC or heater needed, and 55mph maximum posted speed limit. It's fascinating to glance at the Empower display as instant MPG decreases as the gas engine pushes the car up a hill (and leaves begin to drop off the plant!), then the MPG MAX-es out going down the other side as the car switches to EV mode. That 'teaching' display is so instructive. Kudos to whoever implemented it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtb9153 Posted March 31, 2014 Report Share Posted March 31, 2014 (edited) I'd wondered what became of NUMMI... And it appears you made a rational purchase for all the right reasons - Welcome!As I understand it they went away with the sunset. I live 10 miles from the now Tesla Factory and after sitting empty for several years after the NUMMI partnership dissolved between GM and Toyota it was reborn as Tesla Motors. Toyota still had interest in the plant and made a deal to help finance Tesla's moving in and make the conversion of the facility while getting Tesla to retro-fit their Rav-4 SUV to Tesla technology as a fully electric SUV starting at $49,800 MSRP Edited March 31, 2014 by mtb9153 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FordService Posted April 1, 2014 Report Share Posted April 1, 2014 Thank you, Ashley! Your presence in this forum is one of the reasons I decided a C-MAX was the new 'Ford in our future', to borrow the 1940's ad slogan. ...I'm so glad to hear that, kostby! Keep on working on those driving techniques and getting 46.7 mpgs will be the new normal. :) Ashley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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