2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid-Road Rally Challenge- Results

The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid Is…. Lean, Tough and Smart.

How do you produce the most fuel efficient car in America, that can log up to 700 miles on a tank of gas, while still delivering great styling, driveability and comfort? You do what Derrick Kuzak did at Ford. You put together a team of talented engineers that work lean, tough and smart.

With the all out support of CEO Alan Mulally and vision of the Ford Product Development team, led by Derrick Kuzak , the engineers took on the challenge of producing a vehicle that would be at the top of its class in fuel efficiency… and they succeeded.

Kuzak Was Out to Prove a Point

The most fuel efficient car in the mid size range is the Ford Fusion Hybrid. What I mean by fuel efficient is a fuel rating in the city of a jaw-dropping 41 miles per gallon and 36 miles per gallon on the highway. Compared to the Toyota Camry, rated at 33 miles per gallon in the city (20% less than the Ford Fusion) and 34 mpg on the highway (8% less than Ford Fusion) this adds up to hundreds of gallons of gas expense savings a year.

Next Kuzak and his team of spot-on engineers where out to prove a point by taking on Honda. Now hold on to your hat, at 41 mpg the Ford Fusion beats out the much smaller Honda Civic for fuel efficiency in the city.

Ford Has Come a Long Way in 5 Short Years

This may not sound significant to you, but could you have even thought this was possible 5 short years ago? Here is my point. Ford has come a long way in a short amount of time. Ok…How did Ford do this? Remember when I said lean, tough and smart?

First the Lean, Tough and Smart “Guys and Gals” of Team Ford

They figured out that during city driving the average top speed of a typical driver is 45 miles per hour. So the first test was to conquer the 45 mph hour threshold of being (and staying) in a pure electric mode before the computers tell the engine “now we need to pump gasoline” to keep the car going.

What the Heck do mean….47 Miles Per Hour?

The longer a vehicle is in electric mode the less fuel it consumes. So let’s go back to the 45mph. Ford makes a real smart move here. They say, “let’s set the window of opportunity at 47mph before we tell the Fusion’s computers to turn on the gas….. At 47 mph they figure this will cover 80% to 85% of all driving thereby only consuming fuel when it is absolutely necessary. A good analogy would be it acts like a thermostat in your house to turn on at a specific temperature you set. Isn’t that brilliant? Simple, yet brilliant.

All Electric in Your Neighborhood

For all the short trips you make from your home where you don’t even leave the neighborhood (4 mile radius), the Ford Fusion remains in a total electric mode, or the “consume no gasoline mode”. The first thing I’m going to test when I get my Fusion is to see if I can get 1,000 miles to a tank of gas. I know that may sound silly to you, but it really isn’t. Let me explain,

The Ford Fusion Challenge

I will call it the Ford Fusion Road Rally Challenge. The rules are simple. Run a test and see how far you can stretch the current 700 miles per tank. In order to get the thousand miles per tank you have to take on the mindset of the Ford engineers. You have to think lean, tough and smart.

Remember the Mustang Club Road Rally’s?

I can remember some friends of mine put together a similar challenge in their Mustang Club. It was called the Mustang Road Rally. They would pick a destination to drive to, from Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The winner was graded on three criteria,

#1.) Fuel consumption,
#2.) Total miles driven (low miles wins)
and #3.) Total time from Point A, which was Bartlesville to Point B.

The real cool thing about this was that Point B. was always a different location, usually in the southwest or on thewest coast. One of the more challenging Mustang Rally’s was from Bartlesville to San Simeon, California… home of the Hearst Castle.

Two Good Reasons to Organize The Ford Fusion Hybrid Road Rally Challenge.

Reason #1.) The Ford engineers have designed into the Fusion a technology called Smart Gauge with EcoGuide. Smart Guage is a full color liquid crystal display (makes me think Star Wars!) These crystal displays are on either side of the Fusion’s speedometer. These gauges display to the driver exactly how they on doing on fuel utilization and consumption.

Reason #2.) This would be an Environmentally Friendly Road Rally because of the on board technology Ford has designed to keep you in the race. For instance, one of the real cool settings for the instrument cluster is the tutorial mode. In this mode and if you are driving the Fusion in a fuel efficient manner, you will start to see leaves and vines appear.

The only Rally that “Grows as You Go”

I need recommendations on how to put together a Ford Fusion Road Rally. I think this would be a lot of fun and a neat way for us to make a mark on Improving the Green Movement. Also as you know when a group of masterminds get together great things percolate to the masses. Please respond with your ideas, pro or con, ya or na, and help me get this Fusion Road Rally off the think pad and going! Thanks.

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