Official Ford Focus Electric Thread

[evnow]

"This is the first I've heard of this. I had assumed they had proper liquid cooling like the Volt does. Is this something you heard from Ford guys ?"

I read it off their display. Said only air, not liquid cooling. I did not bring this up with the sales force there. Now am really wishing I took some photos to share. Could the display be wrong?

I've posted a question on Facebook - let us see what the reply is (if they do reply).

 

[evnow]

Ford says the use liquid cooling. The facebook msg said ...

Thanks for your participation on the Page. The reports you're hearing may be mistaken as the Focus Electric's battery system is liquid cooled. This method of temperature management offers many competitive advantages in both hot and cold climates, which aids in battery capacity durability. You can read more about this system here: http://tiny.cc/tvcg5" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

 

[Rusty]

I think I see where the confusion may have come from. The linked article says (in part):

The vehicle uses an integrated cooling system to keep the different systems in the vehicle at their optimal operating temperatures. The air conditioning system is actually used to refrigerate the coolant going to the battery using a “chiller,” so as the coolant passes through the chiller, it’s brought down to the temperature that the battery requires.

Which is similar to the way the Volt cools its battery. The way I read that is there's a single cooling system with multiple circuits. So yes, the air conditioner is used to cool the battery. But not using cabin air. Sounds like the signage c1987 found was poorly worded, at best.

Another quote from the article seems disappointing to me though:

Extreme temperatures can affect an electric vehicle’s battery performance and reduce its range. That’s why Ford will use an advanced active liquid-cooling and heating system to regulate the temperature of its lithium-ion battery packs, which are designed to operate under a range of ambient conditions.

I don't think Li-Ion batteries "are designed to operate...", I think the chemistry just works out that way. And I think the advantage for keeping a Li-Ion from getting too hot isn't so much for performance and range, but for battery longevity. I guess if you say the tradeoff would otherwise be to limit current draw to increase longevity when the battery's hot... And heating the battery when it's cold can increase range (compared to not heating it), but the way they phrase it sounds like heating it won't decrease range compared to a room temperature battery. That would be a really good trick!

Good digging and find evnow, thanks.

 

[LeafinThePark]

Just saw that someone in Seattle has placed an order with an expected deliver in April.

http://fordfocuselectric.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=947#p1906" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm ordering one today. I've been assured a lease will be available and the dealer will agree to refund my deposit if I cannot lease the car. I'm in Seattle and they're telling me delivery will probably be around April 2012.

 

[evnow]

My guess is FFE will get less than 1,000 orders by the time they ship in Q1. May be I'm being generous.

This can change if they announce a good lease (they should be able to match Leaf lease terms easily - after Volt with nearly 10K more MSRP did that).

 

[ChargedEVsMag]

Ford announced today that it’s cranking up the assembly line for the 2012 Focus Electric at its Michigan Assembly Plant. The new EV is billed as the first five-passenger all-electric car that will offer a fuel efficiency rating of over 100 MPGe... http://www.chargedevs.com/content/news-wire/post/video-ford-starts-production-focus-electric" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[evnow]

It is interesting Ford is claiming 100 MPGe - remember Leaf has a 99 MPGe rating.

 

[edatoakrun]

Ford announced today that it’s cranking up the assembly line for the 2012 Focus Electric at its Michigan Assembly Plant. The new EV is billed as the first five-passenger all-electric car that will offer a fuel efficiency rating of over 100 MPGe... http://www.chargedevs.com/content/news-wire/post/video-ford-starts-production-focus-electric" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I like your posts, but would appreciate them more if you placed them on existing threads, where applicable.

Focus topic below:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=6641&start=140" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Anyone know what Ford's current FFBEV production number plans are?

 

[adric22]

I watched the video. It was fascinating seeing how they have basically designed all of the EV components to fit in places that were designed for ICE components. For example, the charger fits in the exhaust channel. It also appears they have two battery packs. One goes on the bottom, possibly where a gas tank would usually go, the other inside behind the rear seat.

 

[evnow]

Merged.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQYKw6rdY7E[/youtube]

 

[DeaneG]

Looking good. I'll be cool to have three reasonable EV choices in 2012 - Nissan, Ford, and Tesla.

 

[Herm]

Nice video.. so the Focus is not vaporware then?

 

[Herm]

Looking good. I'll be cool to have three reasonable EV choices in 2012 - Nissan, Ford, and Tesla.

You forgot the Volt, PIP, Coda and the Karma.. plus a few test programs. Its raining BEVs and a couple of years ago people were still moaning about the EV1

 

[KeiJidosha]

Looking good. I'll be cool to have three reasonable EV choices in 2012 - Nissan, Ford, and Tesla.

You forgot the Volt, PIP, Coda and the Karma.. plus a few test programs. Its raining BEVs and a couple of years ago people were still moaning about the EV1

and Mitsubishi i

 

[AndyH]

Looking good. I'll be cool to have three reasonable EV choices in 2012 - Nissan, Ford, and Tesla.

You forgot the Volt, PIP, Coda and the Karma.. plus a few test programs. Its raining BEVs and a couple of years ago people were still moaning about the EV1

He said EV not hybrid.

 

[mwalsh]

I like your posts, but would appreciate them more if you placed them on existing threads, where applicable.

+1

 

[Herm]

He said EV not hybrid.

Some one posted this: if the motor is bigger than the ICE its a BEV, if the ICE is bigger than the motor then its a hybrid.. sounds like a reasonable simple explanation

 

[jimcmorr]

He said EV not hybrid.

Some one posted this: if the motor is bigger than the ICE its a BEV, if the ICE is bigger than the motor then its a hybrid.. sounds like a reasonable simple explanation

FWIW... IMHO... If it has an internal combustion engine it is not a Battery
Electric Vehicle, it is a Hybrid.

 

[TimeHorse]

FWIW... IMHO... If it has an internal combustion engine it is not a Battery
Electric Vehicle, it is a Hybrid.

FWIW... not in my opinion but some may find... if it's ICE can provide direct torque to the wheels in Mountain Mode, it's a hybrid.

 

[AndyH]

He said EV not hybrid.

Some one posted this: if the motor is bigger than the ICE its a BEV, if the ICE is bigger than the motor then its a hybrid.. sounds like a reasonable simple explanation

Someone trying to pull the sheep over your face, me thinks.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kriyQrcIAnM[/youtube]