Ford is currently taking pre-orders on the 2012 Ford Focus Electric vehicle, and most of the general public will have to wait well into the New Year to reserve a shot at getting one. There are many benefits to working for an internet search company/global powerhouse like Google, and now you can add access-to-not-yet-released cars to the list!
Google’s Ford Focus Electric is the first 2012 Focus Electric off of the production line as far as anyone seems to know (although it was delivered before Christmas and information about it was just released today).
No information was released as to what Google plans to do with the vehicle, but rumors are floating the Google plans to use the Ford Focus Electric in it’s autonomous vehicle program, a research project at Google that creates self-driving vehicles. Google has already logged almost 150,000 unmanned miles on California roads with only one crash – and that was when the vehicle was rear-ended by another vehicle.
The Ford Focus Electric is the first of many vehicles that Ford has planned for the coming years – Ford is hoping the Focus Electric will receive a MPGe rating of over 100MPG which would beat the Nissan Leaf, and give the 112MPGe Mitsubishi i-Miev a run for it’s money.
The 2012 Ford Focus Electric is the first 5 seater all electric vehicle to hit the market with a 100 MPGe rating and will offer faster charging than the Nissan Leaf at 240 Volt outlets.
Ford is expected to release more Ford Focus Electric vehicles soon in California and New York/New Jersey. Following that, Ford will start expanding availability to the 19 rollout cities it originally planned on.
3 Comments
I just put a deposit on an electric Ford Focus and have a bunch of questions I can’t get Ford to answer. Anyone have an electric Focus that can answer them?
I saw something about the Electric Ford Focus that fixed the range at 76 miles. I had planned to go to my Dad’s house, 80 miles away and hook it to a charger there for 4 hours while we visit then come back. The trip is mostly interstate. What can I do to make it to Dad’s?
ALSO
• When operating large lithium battery packs, is it better to keep it on the charger every chance you get or is it good to run the battery to near the charge bottom once in a while?
• How can I get the best range on the highway? (all the accessories off, heating, A/C etc.; ‘Drag&fly’ slow uphill, fast down hill; draft a large truck?)
• I’ve got to tow the Focus back from NY to Charlotte. I know the preference would be to use a full trailer. Would it be damaged by using a ‘tow dolly’ (rear wheels on the road)? Do the back wheels have any drive or brake regenerating function or do they just hold up the back end like on the gas Focus?
• If the dealer has put my order in, about how long before it’s built? 8 to 10 weeks? Early May?
THANKS!!!
Hi Whit, all great questions! Unfortunately we don’t have many answers yet. Here’s our best guesses:
1. Lithium battery packs aren’t supposed to have any memory so it doesn’t matter if you never really drain the battery, and in fact, draining the battery fully may shorten battery life – it will be interesting what the Ford Focus Electric manual has to say about that.
2. Check out this list of hyper-miling techniques: http://ecomodder.com/forum/EM-hypermiling-driving-tips-ecodriving.php
The EPA real world range of the Nissan Leaf is only 72 miles, but many people are getting further than that, so 80 miles shouldn’t be much of a problem.
3. Ford will probably to tow the Focus Electric on a flatbed like Nissan did with the Leaf
4. No idea – Ford hasn’t released order/delivery details yet.
We are taking orders for 4 Focus electrics we have in production.
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