Ford Begins Selling Second Hybrid Vehicle

[NNN0LHI]

http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGB5B7D61BE.html

DETROIT (AP) - The Sierra Club, a longtime foe of Ford Motor Co., applauded the automaker Monday for releasing its second hybrid vehicle and said it will market the sport utility vehicle to its members.
Lincoln Mercury division spokeswoman Sara Tatchio said Ford already had received 27 orders for the Mercury Mariner Hybrid by early Monday afternoon. The SUV will be sold almost exclusively online. Customers can order the vehicles through Mercury's Web site and pick them up from a local dealer.

The San Francisco-based Sierra Club said it will tell its members about the Mariner Hybrid and offer test drives at its annual summit in September. It's a change of pace for the environmental group, which ran ads two years ago criticizing Ford's environmental record. At the time, the Sierra Club said Ford's 95-year-old Model T was more fuel efficient than the Ford Explorer SUV.

"For years, the Sierra Club has pressured Ford to make more fuel-efficient cars and trucks," said Dan Becker, director of the Sierra Club's global warming program in Washington. "They are now beginning to do that, and we want to help them succeed."

[okieinpain]

1. man, freakin american companies are always behind the times. if

the stupid executives could get their asses out of the strip clubs, they could probably make a buck, help someone get a decent job, and help the environment all at the same time.

[Maat]

2. Still think that I want the Ford Escape hybrid

I'm hoping the mileage on the Ford Escape hybrids will go up.

This one is neat, but looks too big for me, and the mileage is too low.

[AndyTiedye]

14. The Mariner Hybrid Is Pretty Much an Escape Hybrid in Different Trim

The Mariner Hybrid appears to be essentially the same vehicle as the Escape Hybrid,
except that it only comes in 4WD, while the Ford offers both 2WD and 4WD.
They are built in the same Kansas City factory.
The mileage spec for the Mariner Hybrid is the same as the 4WD Escape Hybrid
(not surprising as it has the same engine, electric motor, and all).
If you do not need 4WD, the 2WD Escape Hybrid is a couple of MPG better.

We've had the Ford Escape Hybrid since November and are quite happy with it.

We're starting to get better-than-EPA mileage on the highway with on longer trips.

[Maat]

21. Now, that is good news.

My hubby wants me to get the Prius, but that is just not my personal preference.

I think that your Escape is much more stylish.

Thanks for the report.

[papau]

3. Takes about 100,000 miles at $3 per gal to break even

The 2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid SUV starts at $29,840, or $4,190 more than a Mariner with a traditional engine and a luxury trim package (eqivalent to the trim standard on the hrbrid),

So 33 mpg vs 22 mpg is about 1500 gal or about $4500 saved.

[4_Legs_Good]

15. Awesome!

I already have over 100,000 on my Insight.

And that's 1,500 gallons of gas which = X gallons of oil still sitting under Saudi sand.

:)

david

[papau]

20. Very True! :-)

:-)

[zbdent]

4. If the Prius weren't so butt-ugly

(in the rear end)

I'd get in line for it.

I go 25 miles each way every day (I know, that's rather mild, but it still adds up).

I don't want a "slightly better gas mileage" SUV - I want a small car with great mileage - but they aren't selling the Smart Cars in the US yet . . .

[unhappycamper]

6. At 60MPG city, the Prius would use less than one gallon a day.

That sure sounds like a beautiful thing to me.

[zbdent]

8. Sure . . . I love Corvettes, but the new ones just suck in style

Of course, they'd blow the doors off my 76 . . .

(Mind you, I drive an economical car to & from work so that I can afford to fill up the 'vette every now and then . . .)

[LanternWaste]

32. Lucky dog...

I'm the first one to say that the '76 makes up for in s-s-style what it may lack in HP re: the newer vettes. Slickest looking car ever made. Man, what I wouldn't give to drive one to work one morning... B-)

[natrat]

41. i think jerry like the stingray vette

Daddy may drive a V-8 'Vette
Mamma may bathe in champagne yet
God bless the child with his own stash
Nine to five and a place to crash
which is to say...

Keep you day job
Until your night job pays

[LanternWaste]

46. Hmmm...

Either the name in your header is pure coincidence, or we know each other, or (and this is most likely), I've been careless with my real name.

Or (and this is most, most likely), it's early and I've only had three cups of coffee so far.
:)

[Paulie]

22. Love my Prius

I'm getting around 52mpg in my 05 Prius with the A/C on, and my commute is 36 miles one way. So I fill up the car once a week, which is a definately plus.

When in the drivers seat, I rarely see the backend of my car. :) :) :)

[Ian David]

7. Hey, are you saying my car has an ugly rear-end?

Come on, look at it...

[zbdent]

10. Well, you've made some improvements . . .

[Ian David]

33. To paraphrase a fellow DU'er...

I chose the bumper-sticker option.

[4_Legs_Good]

17. I was just saying what a gorgeous car the new Prius is today

I think it's fantastic! If I didn't already own an Insight and a Civic hybrid I'd definitely pick up a Prius.

david

[Orsino]

19. I used to think so...

...but over the course of a year I first held my nose, and then stopped caring. As a new owner, I now think they're beautiful--in an odd way.

[thecrow]

40. Smart cars to be in US by 2006?

I want one too, but I fear that for highway driving they might be too dangerous in that if you get hit by an SUV (the car of choice around here) you wouldn't have a chance.
My son and I feel in love with them in Europe last year.

[underpants]

5. I'm no expert but I think they need to make them a faster than that

I'm just saying.

[Ian David]

9. The problems with Hybrid SUVs

1) You end up with a huge car that gets mileage almost as good as a regular car. This isn't as good as having a regular car that gets REALLY good mileage.

2) Having relatively fuel-efficient Hybrid SUVs removes some of the stigma of owning a non-Hybrid gas-guzzling SUV. It's sort of like During Gulf War I when they showed all the "smart bomb" footage but not the consequences of the "dumb bombs."

3) The resources required to CREATE an SUV are much larger than to create a regular car. More metal, more plastic, etc.

Hybrid-SUVs are an almost empty gesture.

I'll be impressed when Ford starts cranking-out little Prius-like vehicles that get 50+ MPG.

[RatRacer]

18. But then again...

The car companies are moving these system to regular cars as well. Honda has the hybrid Accord and Toyota is expected to have a hybrid Camry next year. Ditto for Nissan with a hybrid Altima. And GM expects to have hybrid versions of the Chevy Suburban and Trailblazer.

Also, the more vehicles they get hybrids into, the more they sell and the faster prices go down. It's all fine and good to build a Prius. I'd love to have one myself. But little cars like that aren't practical for everyone. Some people need larger vehicles either because of the nature of their business, the size of their family, or their own size (like my brother in law who is 6' 7"...not a ton of cars on the market that he fits comfortably in).

I'm sure it'll eventually get to the Focus and other small cars like that. But I can't blame them for targeting their more popular models first. Take a car/truck/SUV people already are buying and make it a hybrid rather than try to drum up demand for something all new.

[Ian David]

34. Yes, there will always be call for larger cars, minivans and SUVs

But we really have to repeal the SUV mileage/pollution exemptions.

And while I hate to say it, Clinton is partly to blame for that mess.

[Massacure]

11. Isn't Ford licensing Toyota's first generation hybrid technology?

It is a step in the right direction, but they are still behind the curb.

[krkaufman]

25. curve

http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/5/messages/1434.html

[maxsolomon]

12. i looked it up. its just an Escape with a Mercury badge.

ford will make 2000 of them? whoop-de-freaking-doo.

[CreekDog]

13. My hesitation is the tip-up in the rollover test

Consumer Reports pointed out that the Escape tipped up its wheels in the rollover test --otherwise, I like the utility of an SUV combined with the efficiencies of the hybrid setup.

A few places I go frequently are on dirt roads with lots of sandy/muddy patches, and basically requires a little more ground clearance. I would have a regular SUV, but can't justify using twice as much gas in all the other areas I drive that don't require AWD. In the meantime, I beat the heck out of my 2WD, low road clearance VW Golf going all these places that it shouldn't.

[HuckleB]

True. That is concerning.

Still, this redesigned Escape appears to be about ten times safer than the "bet-your-life-now" Escapes of old. I'm glad to know that Ford didn't choose to turn those old crash-and-burn models into hybrids. I would've wondered about many, many things, if that had been the case.

[dissent1977]

16. This is Ford's problem, they think we all want large vehicles

I don't want a hybrid SUV, I want a hybrid car. If you want to reduce the amount of gas you consume a normal internal combustion engine in a smaller vehicle is still going to get better gas milage than any hybrid SUV. When I buy another vehicle I am going with either the Prius or the Civic Hybrid, screw Ford.

[HuckleB]

28. Great, there are hybrid cars available.

The Escape, by the way, is smaller than most mid-size cars.

[Logansquare]

37. They're hooked on the profit margin for SUV's n/t

[Robb]

23. There's another solution:

My 2001 vehicle, bought for $2,000, gets 78 MPG.

...Just sayin'. Most of the time, most people aren't carrying anything significant besides themselves. :shrug:

[krkaufman]

24. Better than standard SUV but still poor mileage

The Mariner Hybrid's fuel economy is nearly 50 percent higher than a conventional Mariner, Ford said. The Mariner Hybrid gets an estimated 33 miles per gallon in the city and 29 mpg on the highway.

I'm glad Ford is offering *something*, but 29/33 mpg doesn't do enough to lessen oil dependency.

[Logansquare]

39. My Ford Escort gets 28 city and 38 highway

I mean, I suppose it will seem exciting to an SUV owner, but I am used to driving for a week on $18.00 worth of gas.

[RatRacer]

42. I think it does

If we spread those out to the entire SUV line and people start using them, a jump from 18 mpg 33 mpg in town and 21 mpg to 29 mpg in town starts to add up. And this is just the first generation of these. As battery technology gets better, there could be even further boosts.

One other thing I wish these car companies would do is make the electric battery packs have the ability to be plugged in at night. That would allow many people to barely use the gas engine on many days because of how much energy the batteries could store. One estimate I saw said you could boost the fuel mileage of a Prius to almost 100 mpg with that option because for normal in town driving of less than 20 miles, you might not even use the gas engine at all. Over half the country drives less than 20 miles per day so unless they are a speed demon, that would be a significant increase.

[northzax]

43. I think that wears out batteries faster

and there have been problems with electric vehicles catching fire from overcharging (your cell phone battery has the same potential) so it's not worth the risk. Can you imagine your car burning in your garage at 2 am?

[krkaufman]

44. wholly agree regarding hybrid pluggability

I've no idea why this isn't an option, as it would seem to be a simple, powerful addition.

[krkaufman]

26. A totally token gesture

Ford plans to produce 2,000 Mariner Hybrids at its Kansas City, Mo., plant for the 2006 model year. The company believes volume will eventually grow to 4,000 vehicles annually. Ford sold more than 3 million vehicles in the United States last year.

2000/3000000 = 0.07% (less than one-tenth of one percent) of Ford production overall

[HuckleB]

31. Yes.

And a bizarre one, IMHO. It seems like they would be able to bring down the price if they made more vehicles, and, if the price were closer to the regular small SUVs of competitors, the gas mileage might just turn the Escape into a favorite of the genre.

[AlCzervik]

27. How about Ford making-a-car hybrid?

make a bigger focus and use hybrid technology, i see tons of those everyday.

[HuckleB]

29. Wow! I didn't realize that Ford improved the safety of the Escape, too.

The Escape's prior to the redesign, were scary vehicles. Very unsafe. It appears that Ford has done much to improve that aspect of the vehicles as well.

[IDemo]

30. I love hybrid vehicle technology, but

when battery technology catches up, plug-in hybrids will almost double their mpg ratings. Plug-in diesel hybrids will make it that much better.

Until then, here is my current commuter vehicle:

[Porcupine]

35. I'd like to see a biodiesel capable pickup or van.

There are a huge number of contracters and tradesmen like myself out there who drive trucks every day becouse they HAVE to. We want an alternative.

Volkswagons TDI technology or or designed in biodiesel capability would be a huge selling point. Imagine the images of Farmer Joe driving out to his cornfield talking about how it's good for farmers and good for America. I grow my own fuel and some of yours.....

[IDemo]

36. Porcupine, if you own a diesel van or pickup

you already have a biodiesel-ready vehicle. The biggest problem is in finding outlets for biodiesel fuel. The second (if you can call it a problem) is that B100 will flush out much of the crud that petroleum-based diesel has left in your fuel system. One or two fuel filter changes should do the job.

Check out http://forums.biodieselnow.com/default.asp for a wealth of information on biodiesel, including instructions on brewing your own.

[Massacure]

38. The only way to make bio fuels is to use organic waste or algae.

Algae is the only plant that grows fast enough and with enough oil to not use an insane amount of land replacing fossil fuels.

Bio diesel is made with processing oil and alcohol in a 9:1 ratio. The oil would probably best come from the algae, the alcohol from cellulose derived ethanol. Cellulose can be found in the stalk of corn. Cellulose conversion is unproven on a commercial scale so far though, but it would mean we wouldn't have to ferment the actual corn kernal.

[colonel odis]

45. ford's been making hybrids for years.

have car, half bloody piece of shit.

[AlGore-08.com]

47. OMG, President Gore finally outlawed the internal combustion engine!!!

/sarcasm.