Official Ford Focus Electric Thread

[DaveinOlyWA]

just to reiterate; no QC = no consideration. faster L2 means ZERO to me. i have all night and my "pathetically" slow L2 running at a mere 12 amps still gets done hours before i need the car

 

[edatoakrun]

Repeat after me, it is a compliance car. GM and Nissan are the only two major manufactures that are currently serious about their vehicles...

Well, GM is serious about PHEVs.

BEVs, not what I'd call a serious.

No BEVs made available to drivers (that they haven't since crushed) and GM's future BEV plans are not very "serious" either, IMO, as Spark EV sales might well make Focus EV sales, look huge in comparison:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=6198" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[WetEV]

just to reiterate; no QC = no consideration. faster L2 means ZERO to me. i have all night and my "pathetically" slow L2 running at a mere 12 amps still gets done hours before i need the car

Without QC stations, a faster L2 has some of the same usefulness as QC. Not all, but some. I agree that QC is better than L2 of any speed.

Overnight L1 would almost always be enough.

 

[TomT]

It still counts as far as I am concerned.

Conversely, the Toyota PHEV is a compliance joke as far as I am concerned... Likewise, what Honda and most of the others are doing...

Well, GM is serious about PHEVs.

 

[TimeHorse]

Charging after hours unless of course there are lower rates within a very narrow timeline that wouldn't allow a full charge at the lower charge rate of the '11/'12 LEAF would also be an advantage but again, my power is a flat rate regardless of when I charge it but I set the timer anyway because their is less stress on the grid at night as we all know.

That... that would be me. 1am to 5am to charge at Super-Off Peak and typical charge 4:45. Grrr.

As for CHAdeMO, not very useful when the closest one is 500 miles away. Grrr.

 

[evnow]

I have a friend that is a GM at a Ford dealership, he said that Ford charges them a huge up-front fee($25,000) just to have the "right" to stock/purchase the FFE.....they are not carrying them because of this.

Well, that $25k might include training fees ...

 

[palmermd]

I have a friend that is a GM at a Ford dealership, he said that Ford charges them a huge up-front fee($25,000) just to have the "right" to stock/purchase the FFE.....they are not carrying them because of this.

Well, that $25k might include training fees ...

I'm sure it does, but $25k is a lot to invest for a limited production car. Assuming a profit of $1000 per vehicle, they would have to sell 25 cars just to make up the cost. I doubt any individual dealership has sold 25 cars yet. They've barely sold that many in total. Unless I had a dealership in an area where there was a lot of customers asking about the vehicle, I'd probably pass on the option to stock the vehicle. If Ford were serious about selling this car, they would pay to train the dealers and get the car stocked on plenty of lots.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

I have a friend that is a GM at a Ford dealership, he said that Ford charges them a huge up-front fee($25,000) just to have the "right" to stock/purchase the FFE.....they are not carrying them because of this.

Well, that $25k might include training fees ...

pretty sure Ford goes the other way on that. they actually reward dealerships (or penalize them depending) on completed trainings by their management, sales and service people.

 

[Herm]

Probably includes some parts and special tools needed for the FFE.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Sounds like cost of charging stations to me

 

[evnow]

The way I look at it - dealers want to make profit with zero investment. I guess they are following Ford's lead on low investment to get the FFE out ..

 

[LTLFTcomposite]

Sounds like cost of charging stations to me

Oh, are they having Aerovironment install them? :lol:

 

[cwerdna]

I got an email from Ford and it had a link to FFE test drives.

Page is at http://register.fordgreendrive.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. There are test drives in GA, AZ, SC, NC, CA AL, and WA. Interesting Casa Grande is on there...

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

ya, me too. also got one for C-Max and they seem to give EVERY impression that the Energi is here now...

 

[mwalsh]

:idea:

I got an email from Ford and it had a link to FFE test drives.

Page is at http://register.fordgreendrive.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. There are test drives in GA, AZ, SC, NC, CA AL, and WA. Interesting Casa Grande is on there...

Thanks for that. I signed up for the Irvine, CA event.

After I drove the FFE at the OC Auto Show, I got a survey, ostensibly from the Auto Show promoters, that was clearly from Ford, and was about how I felt about the FFE and C-Max Hybrid. Of course, I said that they were the best things since sliced bread. LOL!

But major kudos to Ford at that show for handing out a $10 coupon for the food/drinks concessions at the Anaheim Convention Center with a test drive. Much better idea than the usual swag, and I really enjoyed my sodas and candy (I had already eaten lunch before I got to the show).

 

[EVDrive]

Ford is not all in for making the Focus EV a success in my opinion. If they are serious, they will add the SAE DC socket to all their cars going forward. They said the Focus is ready for DCQC already and they were simply waiting for a standard... the wait is over. Bring on the fast charging Focus and install some capable QC stations.

 

[scottf200]

Ford is not all in for making the Focus EV a success in my opinion. If they are serious, they will add the SAE DC socket to all their cars going forward.

I think you are right. There is a lot more effort and energy into the:

* Ford C-Max hybrid going after the Prius
. . . . .http://insideevs.com/ford-launches-c-max-ads-going-directly-after-prius/
* C-Max Energi PHEV 21 EV miles and overall 620 range
. . . . .http://insideevs.com/ford-c-max-ene...v-range-of-21-miles-total-range-of-620-miles/

This seems to be a winning line up with performance, space, and price. These may take over the market.

 

[edatoakrun]

Ford is not all in for making the Focus EV a success in my opinion. If they are serious, they will add the SAE DC socket to all their cars going forward...

IMO, Ford now faces the same dilemma as GM.

Both have invested heavily in PHEV technology and production, and now both must deal with the same reality.

Once the American DC infrastructure is in place, the demand for PHEVs will probably drop precipitously.

So, do ford and GM produce just enough DC capable cars to slow CHAdeMO expansion?

Or do they produce enough DC capable BEVs/PHEV to actully support a DC infrastructure, accelerating the sales of BEVs by other manufactures, including the company with the largest EV production capacity by far, Nissan?

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Ford is not all in for making the Focus EV a success in my opinion. If they are serious, they will add the SAE DC socket to all their cars going forward...

IMO, Ford now faces the same dilemma as GM.

Both have invested heavily in PHEV technology and production, and now both must deal with the same reality.

Once the American DC infrastructure is in place, the demand for PHEVs will probably drop precipitously.

So, do ford and GM produce just enough DC capable cars to slow CHAdeMO expansion?

Or do they produce enough DC capable BEVs/PHEV to actully support a DC infrastructure, accelerating the sales of BEVs by other manufactures, including the company with the largest EV production capacity by far, Nissan?

Ed; dont see it that way and neither does Ford. the C-Max was introduced for those who want an EV/Hybrid household of which the Prius dominates.

it is no mistake that the C-max is slightly larger than the Prius, slightly cheaper than the Prius and has slightly more EV range than the Prius.

 

[edatoakrun]

Ford is not all in for making the Focus EV a success in my opinion. If they are serious, they will add the SAE DC socket to all their cars going forward...

IMO, Ford now faces the same dilemma as GM.

Both have invested heavily in PHEV technology and production, and now both must deal with the same reality.

Once the American DC infrastructure is in place, the demand for PHEVs will probably drop precipitously.

So, do ford and GM produce just enough DC capable cars to slow CHAdeMO expansion?

Or do they produce enough DC capable BEVs/PHEV to actually support a DC infrastructure, accelerating the sales of BEVs by other manufactures, including the company with the largest EV production capacity by far, Nissan?

Ed; dont see it that way and neither does Ford. the C-Max was introduced for those who want an EV/Hybrid household of which the Prius dominates.

it is no mistake that the C-max is slightly larger than the Prius, slightly cheaper than the Prius and has slightly more EV range than the Prius.

And it is also cheaper and with shorter E range than the Volt.

Will GM, Ford, or Toyota ever put fast charge ports on any of their PHEVs?

If they do, I think the majority of those PHEV drivers will start using them, and figure out how much superior an alternative it would be to buy a BEV, instead of another PHEV.