Ford’s new hybrids – A perfect Fusion of fuel economy and price?
2013 Ford Fusion hybrid
Or is it still about PR and halo products?
Great new looks? Check. Luxurious interior? Check. The latest and greatest technology? Check. Outstanding fuel economy? Check. Check. Cost-effective price? To be determined.
Without question, the new 2013 Ford Fusion is ready to take on the likes of the Toyota Camry and the Honda Accord, and adding a plug-in hybrid in addition to the hybrid option only makes the Fusion that much more compelling.
So, will Ford finally have a hot-selling hybrid on its hands?
Certainly, whether or not the hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of the new 2013 Ford Fusion are hot sellers or not is somewhat irrelevant to Ford. It’s conventional Fusion sales that matter most, at least for now. And, unfortunately, if Ford’s hybrid history is any indication, the new Ford Fusion hybrid and Fusion Energi plug-in hybrids are still more about PR than sales.
At an estimated 47 mpg city and 44 mpg highway, the Ford Fusion hybrid is again ready to top Toyota Camry hybrid fuel economy. And the 100 MPGe Enegi plug-in hybrid, well, Toyota doesn’t even offer any competition in this segment.
However, unless Ford is going to cut 2013 Fusion hybrid pricing significantly compared to the current version, Toyota’s Camry hybrid could still be significantly more cost-effective. Of course, with the addition of a hot new interior, coupled with an updated MyTouch and cool new features like Lane Keeping Assist, Active Park Assist, and a blind spot warning system, many hybrid buyers might feel like the higher Fusion hybrid price is worthy.
Regardless, even if Ford is more focused on bragging rights than hybrid sales in the interim to cheaper hybrid batteries, it’s new lithium-based hybrids are still impressive and noteworthy. It’s clear that Ford is preparing itself to be a strong hybrid player heading into the future.
Of course, if Ford could provide a somewhat shocking Camry hybrid-challenging price, Ford could really electrify its Fusion brand.
Cant imagine the big hype with this. Ford has not done a good hybrid till now and their cars are not dependable anyway. Add a second drive system to the engine and you will break down every 100 miles. Sorry mr ford, I will not be buying.
I think we all agree a gas tax would be better, but we all also agree that a gas tax has 0% chance of happening in this country.
Tax credits are all we got.
Loopholes or not, tax rebates are succesful at stimulating new industries.
If you argue to eliminate EV tax rebates so you can add a gas tax you will end up with no gas tax and no tax rebate. That will hurt the EV industry. I will not support an activity that hurts the EV industry.
It has taken us 30 years to finally make real EV’s and get them on the market. I think it would be a tragedy to eliminate any policy that wil help EV’s just as they are beginning to hit the market.
I think the main reason Republicans are now fighting to eliminate EV tax credits is because they WANT to hurt the EV industry in order to score political points. After all their top priority is making sure Obama is a one-term President, not making EV’s successful.
Rebates leave too much room for fine print exceptions, like insurance claims. When do people change insurance? After a rejected claim or for cheaper rates when theirs have been climbing. Simplified systems keep the transaction simple. By rebating different factors, there are lots of variables involved. A federal gas tax is relatively simple and draws funds from those that consume it most. Thus those that consume the most are more inclined to curb consumption. Simple and measured at the point of consumption. Rebates have too much fine print, involve proving lots of various conditions and allowing time to distort and change circumstances. Just like all of the time over which your insurance premiums are collected over the years and then the insurance company claims your first claim is too much and finds some loophole to reject you. Then again, maybe the deferred money of pension funds that goes missing is a better metaphor to run with when it comes to the government setting rebate funds aside.
KP,
I can see where you would be PO’ed.
But does that mean we should get rid of the EV tax credit, because you got burned?
What you don’t see on the tax credits is the bait-and-switch. My $3150 tax credit vaporized after-the-fact with AMT. A tax code rule change after the initial promise made the rebate disappear. I like my car, but Washington screwed me. It has to be at the dealer or no deal. That dissatisfaction isn’t going to be in the sales stats. Rebates are an IOU. Better to tax the sin than an IOU for the role models.
I too would prefer a gas tax option over a hybrid rebate option.
They server two different purposes though:
- a gas tax is a permanent tax that will actually influence behavior
- a tax rebate is a short term tax credit, designed to stimulate a new industry.
We never made any progress the gas tax, but we were able to get some tax rebates implemented.
I still like tax rebates for what they are designed….to stimulate new markets.
The Toyota Prius definitely benefited from the $3000 hybrid tax rebates. That tax rebate help to stimulate the growth of the hybrid industry. The Toyota Prius, Honda Insight, and other hybrids are now able to stand on their own after the maximum number of hybrids to qualify for $3000 tax rebate ran out. This is a good example of how a tax rebate can successfully stimulate a market. The hybrid market is now over 10 years old and is starting to flourish.
The same can happen with the plugin rebate IF WE LET IT RUN ITS COURSE. The tax rebate will stimulate interest in plugins the first few years, then when the maximum number of plugins to qualify is exceeded, those products will also survive on their own.
The difference with the plugin tax rebate is simple politics.
There is now political drive to eliminate the plugin tax rcredit early, before the maximum number of vehicles is used up. Republicans, in their desire to defeat Obama do not want to stimulate the plugin market FOR FEAR THAT IT MIGHT SUCCEED.
I say let the tax credit run its course. In 10 years we will see a more healthy EV market because of it, just like today’s hybrid market.
As far as it being a tax rebate only for the one percenters? That’s a crock….
The plugin tax rebate will stimulate the plugin industry no matter who qualifies for it…
Plus…. We are starting to get some lower priced plugins to qualify.(Nissan Leaf, Mitsubishi iMiev, etc…). I would hate to see the tax break eliminated just before these hit the market.
One thing is for certain…… We WILL NOT see a gas tax increase any time soon. The tax rebate is all we got. I hate to see it go away too just because of politics…..
Spot on with the effect of a more appropriate gas tax to induce some common sense on fuel efficiency! That’s why I don’t like the hybrid/electric rebate angle, it just further masks the problem. But just like “too big too fail” should have resulted in huge banks and financial institutions being busted up, the powers in Washington continue to dig a deeper whole toting along the ignorant public with clever ads.
KP,
I was angered by that Dodge commercial as well.
They were making fun of using a hatchback to haul something saying it was the wrong tool for the job.
As Larry said… Is hauling thousands of pounds of extra metal around to drive a single passenger the right tool for the job?
If you haul something 5% of the time and drive a single passenger 95% of the time, which is the right tool?
It’s like buying a chain saw to trim a single tree branch, because you might want to cut down the whole tree someday.
Larry is also right about Canada and Europe being much more frugal about gas use. I’ve spent time in Europe and Canada. In Europe the average family car is a hatchback, not a truck or SUV. The average American uses 7 times more gasoline than the average European, with very little difference in lifestyle. Funny what a gas tax can do….
the bottom line is that fuel is “cheap enough” to use it and “abuse” it…. eh?
you want to see my frugal use of fuel?
go to Canada.. or even better Europe!
Good thread. I was incensed by the new Dodge Caravan ad that wants to justify a huge minivan for the one time every two months this guy has to throw a couple of bikes in his van. Not only can he not use a cheap and simple bike rack, but he now lives in a place where there are no sidewalks and its not safe for his kids to ride. I just wanted to yell “Is THIS really what we’ve become?!” Does anyone borrow their neighbor’s old truck anymore? Does that trip to the restaurant with two cars for your party a couple of times each year really make you feel like you need the minivan? How about a hybrid ad that conveys the “I’ve made it and really, this is all I need” angle?
another way of looking at this – perhaps is to come up with a rating for vehicles that rates them according to what percentage of weight a solo driver has with respect to total vehicle weight and to make the correlation between hauling thousands of pounds of metal around …. and spending thousands of dollars for precious fuels to essentially haul metal from one place to another without it ever being “unloaded”.
Cake eaters. Yup that is a good description.
Larry is right…..
Americans want a vehicle that can haul furniture, tow 5000 lbs, carry 7 passengers, costs about $25K or less and gets 30-50 mpg.
Why won’t automakers build such a vehicle????
It must be some conspiracy by the oil companies.
I would like to have that vehicle too. I would also like to work less, make more money and have to pay less taxes…..
Dach – weight is a big issue. To a certain extent, we are still building car chassis like we did 20-30 years ago just with fancier skins…and electronic goodies.
and I agree with you about the “cake”
Larry,
In essence I agree with much of your point, but I think that Americans want to be cake-eaters. They want a vehicle that fits every occasion, even though hindsight would suggest that they overbuy based on actual use. Even worse, many over-buy because of the impression — the ego extension — a vehicle achieves.
In my opinion, american auto consumers have been brainwashed by decades of slick marketing, and that works well for automakers because they can focus on offerings that “consumers want” and that return the highest profits — and that’s really the grease that drives the US auto market, especially over the past few decades.
But, if things were judged rationally, I think its obvious that there is massive waste in the auto industry. We could do much better without giving up safety or practicality. The only thing that would be lost is some profit margin, and the reduction of some egos.
I don’t think Americans purposely want gas guzzling SUVs. I think they want gas-sipping SUVs. They would be delighted if the full-sized SUVs got 30-50 mpg.
But families want versatile vehicles with good load carrying capabilities and they want no compromises on safety.
It seems sometimes that everything we do now days ends up trying to separate people with blame games and I feel that’s not the way we should go forward.
People want fuel efficient vehicles but they won’t give everything else up just for fuel efficiency.
Aren’t SUV’s and crossovers hatchbacks?
I guess hatchbacks have to be super-sized and get lousy gas mileage before Americans like them…..
The wife and I were just talking about this yesterday. Both of us like hatchbacks.
Agreed.
I fail to understand why Americans dislike hatchbacks so much.
Yeah, I love hatchbacks as well. They’re just so functional in my opinion.
Nice specs and styling but the Hybrid should steal the 5-door design like the Focus line has done. People seeking the efficiency of hybrids often like the flexibility of the hatchback for occasional large objects. Small trunk openings on sedans are impractical considering even less space back there due to battery space. I think that’s a main reason hybrid sedans don’t come anywhere close to Prius popularity.