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Ford underscores its love of electric cars, spends $135 million to make them happen
Ford really, really wants you to know that it's big on electric cars. Really. To that end, it's putting $135 million where its mouth is as part of the design and production for the electrified vehicles rolling out to dealer lots this year, such as the Focus Electric. A new research building in Dearborn is also being renamed as the Advanced Electrification Center to emphasize the uniform dedication to EVs and hybrids among the 1,000 researchers that call the Center their home away from home. We already know that the company plans to triple its manufacturing capacity to make 100,000 of the cars a year by 2013, but many of the supporting aspects are getting their own lift, Ford adds: it's hiring more engineers and doubling its battery testing capacity. The checklist of improvements you'll find after the break reflects some braggadocio on Ford's part, especially while it tries to stretch its jobs claims, but it's good news all the same. If the expansion keeps the likes of GM and Tesla on their toes, drivers hopefully win as a whole.
Dealers wanting to sell Ford's first all-electric car must Focus on the environment
You can't just sell the new 2012 Ford Focus Electric, you've got to embrace what it stands for, or at least that's what Dearborn is telling its dealers. Per the company HQ, outfits hoping to offer the electric hatchback on their lots later this year must send sales staff through a special electric vehicle training program. What's more, all dealerships carrying the electric Focus must install a minimum of two EV charging stations on their premises and enroll in Ford's Go Green program. Go Green, which has been optional up to this point, looks to improve the sustainability and efficiency of shops, regardless of age. So far, 76 dealerships in California, New Jersey and New York (the initial launch markets) have stepped up to the plate and will be selling the EV. Ford's hoping to capture the hearts and minds of those with electric personalities who haven't already settled for on the competition from Nissan.
Ford Focus Electric test drive and MyFord Mobile hands-on (video)
This is the production version of Ford's Focus Electric for the US market, and we got the chance to take it for a proper test drive last week. Don't fret, though -- Engadget hasn't suddenly turned into a car site. While we'll be happy to share our driving impressions, we're mostly interested in how Ford interfaces the vehicle with our favorite mobile devices and social networks -- tech that we've covered before, known as MyFord Mobile. Hit the break for the details, including our hands-on video.
First Ford Focus Electric rolls off the production line into Google's open arms
The future of transportation is here, folks. We've spent some time with the Ford Focus Electric and have seen all the bits that make it go, but we didn't know who'd be the first to receive one. Turns out Google got an early Christmas present, and received its Focus Electric, the first production unit, just before the holidays. That means that the gang at Big G is already enjoying the 84mph top speed and fast charging secret sauce that lets the Ford fully charge on a 240-volt outlet in just over three hours -- or roughly half the time it takes a Leaf to top off its batteries. Wonder whether the EV from Dearborn is destined to join Google's Street View fleet, its cadre of self-driving cars, or replace some of those multi-colored company bikes strewn about Mountain View?
Ford's Focus Electric hits the production line, could be yours in January
After waiting eleven months just to profess your intent, what's another two before taking delivery of your Focus Electric? That's right, electric hatchback lovers, your pre-ordered chariots just went into production and will be rolling out of Ford's Michigan plant come January. Despite the looming delivery, the automaker has yet to reveal its official range. AutoBlog Green muses that with its 23-kWh pack it'll probably be good for about 70 miles -- comparable to its slightly cheaper competition, the Nissan Leaf, which eked out 73 miles from its 24-kWh juice box in official testing. Will Ford spill the beans before CES 2012? Definitively maybe, but in the meantime hit the source to see a bevy of snaps from the production line -- go on, with some luck it might just be yours.
Ford begins taking reservations for the Focus Electric, pricing starts at $39,200
We caught our first glimpse of the Ford Focus Electric way back at CES and now, about 11 months later, it's finally hit the market. The manufacturer's long-awaited EV popped up for pre-order on its website yesterday, bearing a base price tag of $39,200. Add in an extra $795 in destination charges and subtract a hefty federal tax credit, and you're looking at a final sticker of about $32,495. As our friends over at Autoblog Green point out, that's about $3,945 higher than what the Nissan Leaf will cost you (pre-incentives), though your final bill could also hinge upon whether you opt for the Blue Candy or White Platinum paint jobs ($395 and $495, respectively), or those leather-trimmed seats, which would set you back an extra $995. According to Ford, a "limited number" of Focus Electrics will be made available in select California and New York markets, though the car should make its way to an extra 15 markets by next year, once production gets ramped up. You can reserve one for yourself at the source link below, or just purr past the break for the full PR treatment.
SolarCity gets in the EV charging game, we're still waiting for our Leaf
Tired of trekking down the 101, just to charge your damn Tesla? Must be rough, but at least SolarCity's looking out for ya, as it'll soon install ClipperCreek's EV chargers in your digs, right alongside the company's residential solar equipment. The $1,500 SAE-J1772 compatible juicers will work with almost any plug-in vehicle we can think of -- including the Volt, Leaf, Prius plug-in, Focus BEV, iMiev and aforementioned Roadster (provided you'll spring for an adapter) -- and being of the Level II ilk, top-up your automobile 5x faster than a 120V plug. Pair that with a solar panel lease, and you'll apparently cut charging costs in-half -- according to SolarCity, anyway. We can't vouch for that, but if it doesn't work you could always try to install something just a tad bigger.
The Engadget Interview: Ford's Alan Mulally talks the future of transportation
The New York International Auto Show has just wrapped up and, for part of our most recent Engadget Show, we were given the opportunity to sit down with one of the biggest players in the automotive industry: Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally. He got his start as a Boeing Engineer in 1969 and, among many other achievements, helped get that company into the 21st century with fully-digital cockpits. He moved over to Ford in 2006 and, since then, has completely turned the company around. His enthusiasm for everything he does is patently obvious, including his enthusiasm for what could be powering the next car that sits in your driveway. With Ford about to launch its first fully-electric car in about 100 years, the Focus Electric, the time seemed ripe to get the man's perspective on what's down the road for transportation -- and just when we might actually get our flying car.
Nissan to give Leaf faster charger in 2012: home charging goes from glacial to a snail's pace?
Though well on its way to joining the Dodo, one of the internal combustion engine's advantages over its plug-in competition is refuel time -- it only takes a few minutes to gas up, but you're talking hours for an EV to top off its batteries via a standard 220 / 240-volt socket. This fact is not lost on Nissan, as it just revealed plans to offer a higher-rate charger in its 2012 Leaf -- the current model's 3.3kW charger needs eight hours to power up -- in order to better compete with the Ford Focus Electric's three to four hour charge time courtesy of its 6.6kW unit. And all you early adopters won't be "orphaned," as 2011 model Leafs can be retrofitted with the new electrics -- no word if Daddy Warbucks will be footing the bill.
Virginia pilot program halves electricity bill for charging EVs overnight
Regardless of whether the internal combustion engine gets snuffed out this century, EV chargers aren't going to replace gas pumps at the rate they're presently rolling out, so it's quite likely new Leaf and Prius PHEV owners will need to charge at home. How might that affect one's electricity bill? It'll probably go up, but a Virginia utility says that a full tank of juice might not cost all that much. Dominion Virginia Power is volunteering to cut its rates by more than half for off-peak charging as part of a proposed pilot program, whereby 750 lucky EV owners will get enough electricity for a 40-mile commute for just 35 cents so long as they charge overnight. The utility's not talking kilowatt-hours here, but it says it typically gets $0.86 for the same amount. The deal requires the installation of a specially-approved charging station, but Virginia's looking at a second scheme too -- if those 750 agree to pay a flexible off-peak rate of between $0.33 and $0.41 per 40-mile dose, they can power the rest of their house using the budget volts as well. PR after the break.
Ford Focus Electric unlikely to support DC quick-charging, slower than the Leaf after all?
At its unveiling at CES, Ford missed no opportunity to talk up the ability of its Focus Electric to charge in half the time of the Nissan Leaf when connected to a Level 2 (220 - 240V) charger, of the sort that Best Buy will gladly install for you for just $1,499. Three to four hours is all it should take, indeed impressive compared to the eight hours the Leaf needs at the same voltage. However, the story doesn't end there, as the Leaf has another trick up its sleeve: DC fast-charging via the CHAdeMO standard. That gives 80 miles of range in just 30 minutes and, while not a global standard yet, it's certainly trying to be. The SAE is working on its own DC quick-charger standard, and that's the pony Ford is looking to back, saying: Fast charge will not be included on the Focus Electric until an industry standard has been set by SAE. Once an approved/accepted standard is in place, we will work on getting the car ready for [it]. That leaves us with two questions. First, will the SAE get its standard finalized before Ford gets the Focus Electric finalized? Second, will the SAE standard be compatible with the Japanese CHAdeMO standard? Sadly, our magic eight ball is not giving us much hope on either account.
Ford takes us on the world's shortest test drive in the Focus Electric (video)
When offered a chance to take a Ford Focus Electric for a spin we jumped at it, though were admittedly a bit perplexed when told it would be on the show floor. As it turns out the company set up a loop upon which a Transit Van and Focus Electric were driving, one after the next, up a steep incline and over the heads of fellow journalists, stopping at a little dyno to see just what this thing was putting down, and then back around to where it all started. No shocking information was gleaned, and we still can't get anyone to confirm or deny the ability for a 480v quick-charge, but it sure beat walking.
Best of CES 2011
Maybe, just maybe, you've noticed that Engadget relocated this past week to the City of Sin for CES 2011. Oh yes, we set up camp in a double-wide trailer, liveblogged our hearts out, combed the show floor, and worked our rear ends off to bring you more gadget news than you ever thought possible. It's true, we've written over 720 posts (40 or so about tablets alone!), shot more than 180 videos, and brought you over 350 photo galleries in the last seven days. That's a ton of technology news and products, but naturally, only certain ones have been able to rise above the rest and stick out in our scary collective hive-mind. With that said, we've complied our annual best of list for you, so hit the break and feast your eyes on what are bound to be some of the best products of the new year.
Ford Focus Electric motor extracted, split asunder, coppery guts exposed
Yesterday we saw the junk in the trunk, now here's what's powering it. It's the motor that makes the Ford Focus Electric go, and while we still don't know many details (we couldn't get anyone to quote us a weight) it is a reasonably compact little thing. We did, however, get confirmation that it will not be run through either a standard transmission, like the dry-clutch automatic that the regular Focus comes with, nor something like the two-speed transmission that Tesla uses in its Roadster. It'll be "like a CVT" we're told, keeping the motor at its most efficient RPM, and while we're not sure what that looks like on the inside we're sure that there'll be no shifting involved, neither manual nor automatic. %Gallery-113850%
Ford Focus Electric pops a hatch and shows all that battery junk in its trunk
The five-door Ford Focus is an eminently practical vehicle, and the Electric version will be as well. However, we're now learning that it won't be quite as practical as we'd hoped. We didn't get the chance to pop the rear hatch on the thing when we were exploring it at CES. Here in Detroit we did and you can see what we found above. That's definitely a big 'ol box, putting a hurting on cargo space, but ultimately a small price to pay for rolling totally fuel- and emissions-free. %Gallery-113708%
Ford partners with Leviton and Best Buy for $1,499 Focus Electric charging station
Lusting over the new Focus Electric? It's still a few years off yet, but if you're already thinking about practicalities you're wondering how you're going to charge the thing. Got 120V power in your garage? No problem, you can charge off of that easily -- if you don't mind waiting 20 hours. A Level 2 charger will drop that down to between three and four hours, but it requires some hardware installed in your home. If you want to do that for the Leaf or the Volt you're looking at $2,000 installed, and that installation is permanent. Ford is making things much easier, and much cheaper, with a $1,499 charger made by Leviton that's not only cheaper than the competition but completely modular. It hangs on the wall and simply plugs into a 240V outlet, handling the necessary electrical wizardry to quick-charge your Focus without burning down your house or singeing your cat. Ford is partnering with Best Buy for installation, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your propensity for Geeks in Squads. %Gallery-113306%
Ford Focus Electric and MyFord Mobile hands-on (video)
Ford just made some tire marks on the stage at CES unveiling its Focus Electric, the first new major vehicle announced at the show. We of course knew it was coming, and we have all the details right here of both the car itself and the MyTouch Mobile app, but we were given an opportunity to get up and close with them both. Click on through for some impressions -- both in visual and textual formats. %Gallery-113186%
Ford unveils Focus Electric with MyFord Mobile smartphone integration
Ford just made industry history by being the first major auto manufacturer to unveil a new model at CES, the Focus Electric. But we already knew it would. What we didn't know were the details of the thing, but now we have them. And a lot of pretty pictures. Ford is saying the car will manage a range of 100 miles and that it will offer an MPGe rating (a conceptual equivalency of miles per gallon for an electric or otherwise non-traditionally powered car) higher than the Volt and comparable to the Leaf, but crucially it's saying that it can be recharged on a 240 volt outlet in four hours or less. The Leaf can take up to seven hours with the same amount of current -- though of course CHAdeMO support there handily trumps that. More details below, along with details of some pretty blue butterflies. %Gallery-113179%
Ford introduces MyFord Mobile app for smartphones
Sadly Ford isn't confirming the Focus Electric that it saw fit to tease earlier this week, but we can now tell you all about the new smartphone app that will let you monitor the charging of... certain Ford vehicles. The app is called MyFord Mobile and it offers similar features to the apps we've already seen for the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt, notably car's charging status from afar and deliver some climate settings to ensure that the car is properly hot or cold before you leave on your cold or hot commute. The car will also let you find the car by GPS and, once you do, unlock the doors with your phone. When the car and the app launches there will be versions for Android, BlackBerry, and iOS, though interestingly there will be a an HTML-5 browser interface that'll even work on featurephones. Yes, featurephones. Interestingly, the app can automatically charge... whatever mystery vehicle you connect it to at the optimal time of the night to ensure you get the lowest cost for your juice, automatically pulling down rates from your utility so that you don't have to worry about it. That is what we like to call smart. And thrifty. Again the app will be available with a certain car that has a plug whenever that certain car is available, and if you want to know when that is going to happen you're going to have to wait. Update: Yes, that's a WP7 phone up there, a Samsung Focus to be exact. No, the app is not announced for Windows Phone 7. Conclusion? Cloudy. We'll have a little more clarification for you later today and you're just going to have to wait. Plenty of time to sharpen up those conspiracy theories.
Looking back at Ford's EV past, forward to the 2012 Focus Electric and a 2013 plug-in hybrid
Did you know that Ford's first electric car, the Comuta, was released way back in 1967? It was a perfectly goofy looking thing, with a top speed of 37mph and a range of 40 miles -- if you didn't go near that top speed. More of a concept than anything, only a handful were made available for sale, and at this point it certainly looks like the company's immediate plans for EVs are similarly conservative. DailyTech pulled together an analysis of Ford's future offerings in the electric and plug-in hybrid space and it's obvious the Blue Oval is taking its time making sure the EV water is warm before jumping in. First up is the Transit Connect, a 100 mile range electric van intended for fleet use and, with a price well north of $30,000, not expected to sell in droves. Next will be the Focus Electric, due next year and, while this one will be substantially cheaper and more consumer-friendly, Ford execs expect it too will have low demand. The primary reason for this is that Ford still believes that pure EVs are not ready for mainstream adoption, with battery technology unable to provide reliable power at the range of temperatures people actually want to go somewhere. The Focus Electric mitigates this with both liquid heating and cooling, but for now the company thinks the best mix is a traditional, power-split hybrid, where the gas engine can drive the wheels if the batteries can't cope. That's unlike the Chevy Volt, which is only driven by batteries. To this end Ford has a new, mystery plug-in hybrid vehicle coming in 2012. What kind of car? All we know is it's "not a Focus." That can mean only one thing: F-350 Super Duty PHEV edition. [Photo credit: Ford Motor Company]