RIP C-max

[djc]

Automotive News reported that the last Ford C-max hybrid was built Friday in Wayne, MI.

I haven't seen a report yet on the total number of C-max's produced 2012-2018.

I plan on keeping mine several more years, and to enjoy its scarcity value.

 

(Other Ford news reported that production at Ford's Mexico plants (Fusion, Lincoln MKZ, Fiesta) is way down.)

[SnowStorm]

Well, well, the end of an era. :sad:  Just 20 more years and our 2013 C-Max cars will be antiques! :)

    (Of course we might not be able to find any gasoline by then!  :stirpot:  Should have bought an Energi!)

[ArizonaEnergi]

RIP.  Plan to keep ours for in-town driving which it is perfect for.  May never replace it if it can last another 20 years, about my expiration date.

[Tom]

I too want to keep my C Max indeffinently.  Will Ford continue to support with parts, computer updates, batteries, etc.?

[JAZ]

Interesting read, but not very encouraging.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20131102/OEM10/311049982/factory-parts-for-an-older-car%3F-good-luck

[markd]

I owned a 1963 Chevrolet Nova and the flywheel broke and the only place I could find a new one was Chevrolet. It was 37 years old at the time.

[djc]

There were several C-max and Fusion hybrid batteries on Ebay last time I looked.  Seems to me salvage would be the place to get a replacement HVB.

 

 Suspension parts I looked at were shared with Focus and/or Mazda models. 

Used door locks are cheap (joke).

[MaxHeadroom]

There were several C-max and Fusion hybrid batteries on Ebay last time I looked.  Seems to me salvage would be the place to get a replacement HVB. Suspension parts I looked at were shared with Focus and/or Mazda models. Used door locks are cheap (joke).

True, the C-Max shares used body parts (like my own....) with a lot of Ford Focus's. Good news there.

 

The powertrain will live on a couple more years at least in Fusions, and possibly Ford Transit Connect NYC taxis. Fusions are now available for police car fleets and taxi fleets too.

[markd]

My buddy at Ford told me Monday that the Escape Hybrid is due in the showroom in March of 2019.

[MaxHeadroom]

My buddy at Ford told me Monday that the Escape Hybrid is due in the showroom in March of 2019.

Cool! Since Ford Fusion Hybrids (at least taxis & cop cars, maybe consumer cars too) will still be produced for a year or two more from now, I'm wondering if the Escape Hybrid will simply use a copy of the tried-and-true C-Max powertrain(?).

They had better beat the Pacifica Hybrid's gasoline hybrid MPG, which is an EPA combined city/highway = 32 MPG using a similar planetary gearset CVT like the CMax-Fusion & Prius use.

[markd]

He wasn't sure if there's a redesign but he did say they are being made at the Louisville KY plant.

[16redsel]

One local Ford dealer actually mentioned Cmax'es available in their TV ad in my town just a few days ago. You never hear that anymore, so

I was surprised.

I see about ONE other Cmax to about 100 Escapes around here, but strangely enough, there's a family right around the corner

with an Energi (mine's standard Hybrid) in the same color as mine (Ruby Red metallic).

Also our local Bus transit authority has re-branded some services, and is using the name "C-max" prominently on the bus stop shelters

they've built.

[MaxHeadroom]

He wasn't sure if there's a redesign but he did say they are being made at the Louisville KY plant.

Nice, in Kentucky. I guess it makes sense to make them there, because the Ford Escapes made in Russia, China, and Spain plants probably doesn't get the Hybrid powertrain, and is not near the Hybrid powertrain supply lines.

One local Ford dealer actually mentioned Cmax'es available in their TV ad in my town just a few days ago. You never hear that anymore, so

I was surprised.

Maybe some inventory clearance sales on C-Maxes are imminent. They have always sold slowly, and now they seem positively contrarian in this age of $2.70/gallon gasoline and AWD SUV's and PU's selling like hotcakes. Edited June 29, 2018 by MaxHeadroom

[jmcgliss]

We see several C-Max Hybrids or Energi's every day in the north suburbs of Chicago. A silver one parked next to us at church last Sunday which was cool.

 

As many C-Max observations as Tesla's. More C-Max's than Volts. The Prius is ubiquitous, however.

 

But when we tell people we bought a C-Max and our mileage-to-date is 50+mpg their reaction is "what is that"?  Did Marketing drop the ball or did Ford resolve to only sell a fixed number of them? Now that we have peoples' attention it seems a shame to say they are not being made anymore.

[raadsel]

We see several C-Max Hybrids or Energi's every day in the north suburbs of Chicago. A silver one parked next to us at church last Sunday which was cool.

 

As many C-Max observations as Tesla's. More C-Max's than Volts. The Prius is ubiquitous, however.

 

But when we tell people we bought a C-Max and our mileage-to-date is 50+mpg their reaction is "what is that"?  Did Marketing drop the ball or did Ford resolve to only sell a fixed number of them? Now that we have peoples' attention it seems a shame to say they are not being made anymore.

 

The biggest issue was that Ford initially advertised the phone as having 47 mpg both City and Highway, which many journalists (particularly Consumer Reports) challenged. Ford had a bit of egg on their face when they had to admit they didn't actually test the C-Max but, as allowed by the EPA, used the numbers from the Fusion (since it has the same powertrain). Then, after finding errors in their calculations, they again had to lower the EPA MPG ratings.

 

The combination of the embarrassment of having to lower the EPA ratings twice, as well as the fact gas prices dropped in 2014, pretty much killed any chance of Ford promoting the C-Max. In particular, with the gas prices falling to under $2/gallon in many areas of the country, people started wanting larger vehicles and there was little interest in a fuel efficient compact hybrid. Unfortunately, by the time gas prices went back up, Ford had given up on the C-Max already.

[plus 3 golfer]

We see several C-Max Hybrids or Energi's every day in the north suburbs of Chicago. A silver one parked next to us at church last Sunday which was cool.

 

As many C-Max observations as Tesla's. More C-Max's than Volts. The Prius is ubiquitous, however.

 

But when we tell people we bought a C-Max and our mileage-to-date is 50+mpg their reaction is "what is that"?  Did Marketing drop the ball or did Ford resolve to only sell a fixed number of them? Now that we have peoples' attention it seems a shame to say they are not being made anymore.

raadsel pretty much hit the nail on the head of the initial "blunders" of Ford.  In addition, the Sync / MFT never has lived up to the "hype" and had many initial issues which added to a poor JDPower rating.

 

Given that the C- Max is "overweight" and has a high CdA relative to new hybrids, the C-Max design can't compete in FE which is likely the key driver for most consumers. So, Ford, IMO, made the correct decision in dropping the C-Max likely many years ago and hence we saw virtually no marketing $ spent on the C-Max in recent years.

Edited June 30, 2018 by Plus 3 Golfer

[SnowStorm]

I'm not so sure about some of these arguments...

 

Of all the car buyers out there, I doubt there is 1 in a 1000 that has ever heard of the C-Max; and out of those, I doubt 1 in a 100 have heard about the 47 mpg thing (that was over years ago!).  So how can that fiasco have killed sales?

 

Then we say that people stopped caring about efficiency because of low gas prices but won't buy the C-Max because it doesn't get 47 mpg?  Seems like a bit of a contradiction.  (The difference between 40 and 47 mpg is about 1 cup of coffee per week.)

 

If Ford really wanted to sell the car, they should have pitted it against some classy European models, not a Japanese econo-box (OK, its not a box).  After all, the C-Max design and name came from Europe.  Ford may have intended it as a real world test bed for lithium-ion and newer hybrid technology.  If something really serious had gone wrong, they wouldn't want a million cars out there to fix.

[plus 3 golfer]

It's Marketing 101 - Never promise what you can't deliver.  Must deliver value to the target market.

 

Ford's target was the Prius V (we know the promotional ads).  Then, after the mpg fiasco, Ford tried to change the image to a "luxury" car with the "new generation" ads.  However, damage was already done.  It's near impossible to change without a redesign which takes years.  Lower gas prices coupled with the lower EPA FE diminish value and sales fall even more.  So, to get more value with low gas prices, consumers must buy cars with higher EPA ratings.   Hence, Ford pushed the Energi more in ads and came out with an SE model (lower cost) to increase value to the consumer.  

 

Also, the early purchasers of the C-Max received value in the form of two Ford rebates totaling, IIRC, $1025 for the lowered EPA fuel economy ratings.  Subsequent buyers did not directly receive thIs value.  That's the cup of coffee a week. :)

Edited July 1, 2018 by Plus 3 Golfer

[ptjones]

And the amazing thing is it is the best car I have ever own, I always got rid of my past vehicles by 100k or less and I have 201k mi. so $28k divided in 2 = $14k/100k mi.  It's been along time since I have spent that little on car and it keeps getting cheaper as the miles go up. :)  :yahoo:

 

Paul

[Tree63]

I agree - best car I've ever had, in terms of comfort ("like sitting on my living room sofa" friend said after 14 hour drive), features, maintenance, FE.

 

I put 325K km on our 88 Honda Civic Wagon over 15 years, with way more headaches.  As long as tranny holds up with the highway miles that I'm driving now, it will continue to be a great drive. 

 

I'm hoping there will be a swing to fuel cell (hydrogen) before I need another car.  Seems less expensive in terms of infrastructure with a shorter "refill time" than plug-ins.

 

ps my lifetime is down to 5.4L/100km, just haven't updated Fuelly for a while

[raadsel]

I agree - best car I've ever had, in terms of comfort ("like sitting on my living room sofa" friend said after 14 hour drive), features, maintenance, FE.

 

I put 325K km on our 88 Honda Civic Wagon over 15 years, with way more headaches.  As long as tranny holds up with the highway miles that I'm driving now, it will continue to be a great drive. 

 

I'm hoping there will be a swing to fuel cell (hydrogen) before I need another car.  Seems less expensive in terms of infrastructure with a shorter "refill time" than plug-ins.

 

ps my lifetime is down to 5.4L/100km, just haven't updated Fuelly for a while

 

Unfortunately, hydrogen isn't the answer -- at least currently. The problem is we don't have a good way to extract hydrogen from the air; current methods to "create" hydrogen costs more energy than is created. For hydrogen to become an answer, we need to have a major breakthrough.

[fbov]

Funny how we all love the car... me too, by the way. It was a big shift from a RWD Volvo, but I've come to dislike low cars with poor visibility. Old Volvos were upright for their day, but this thing's placement between the larger SUVs and sedans is a perfect fit for today's "me." I've gone looking... 

 

Hydrogen is the long-term answer. From an ecological standpoint, it's hard to argue with water exhaust. From an energy standpoint, turning it into Helium will take care of the energy balance issue. Of course, we don't know how to do that terrestrially yet. Details, details. 

 

Have fun,

Frank

[Redshift]

Unfortunately, hydrogen isn't the answer -- at least currently. The problem is we don't have a good way to extract hydrogen from the air; current methods to "create" hydrogen costs more energy than is created. For hydrogen to become an answer, we need to have a major breakthrough.

It's true we don't  have the tech to extract hydrogen from the air since air has no hydrogen in it. I believe you meant water.

[ptjones]

Funny how we all love the car... me too, by the way. It was a big shift from a RWD Volvo, but I've come to dislike low cars with poor visibility. Old Volvos were upright for their day, but this thing's placement between the larger SUVs and sedans is a perfect fit for today's "me." I've gone looking... 

 

Hydrogen is the long-term answer. From an ecological standpoint, it's hard to argue with water exhaust. From an energy standpoint, turning it into Helium will take care of the energy balance issue. Of course, we don't know how to do that terrestrially yet. Details, details. 

 

Have fun,

Frank

Boom! LOL :)

 

Paul