With so many up and coming electric vehicles like the 2012 Ford Focus Electric, San Jose State University recently completed a survey. They asked consumers preferences on 4 alternative-fuel vehicles. The surprising part is that electric vehicles were the least preferred!

“This report explores consumer preferences among four different alternative-fuel vehicles (AFVs): hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles, hydrogen fuel cell (HFC) vehicles, and electric vehicles (EVs).”Even with the current gasoline prices being at record highs and still rising in some areas in the country, most people surveyed said they prefer gasoline over all alternative-fuel choices. The main concerns buyers have with the alternative-fuel vehicles mainly boil down to convenience versus money. If consumers need to spend more on an alternative-fuel vehicle, they want it to save them time by either getting them farther or refueling faster, or they want it to save them at least $300 every 12,000 miles.

Does the 2012 Ford Focus Electric fit these criteria? We’re not sure – as the price of the Focus Electric is still unknown. We do know that the Ford Focus Electric fails on the getting them farther requirement, and it also fails on the refueling faster option since it will take at least 3-4 hours for the quickest charging option – a charging option that could damage the Focus Electric’s battery pack if it’s done too often.

Do you think Ford is jumping on the electric vehicle bandwagon with their Ford Focus Electric? And will Ford be on that band wagon before consumers are?