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Hello All - I went to the Michigan Electric Vehicle Rally & Show in Livonia on Saturday, put on by the Michigan chapter of the Electric Auto Association. They mostly had home-made EV conversions there, using large packs of multiple 12V lead-acid batteries. But they also had a few new things there, including a Volt, a Think!, and a wheego (whatever that is).

The most interesting display for me was the Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid prototype. Engineers from Ford were on-hand to answer questions and distribute literature. This vehicle is only available through utility companies, I think there's only 10 or so prototypes running around.

One of the chief differences is that this uses Li-Ion batteries (10 kWh pack) rather than the NiMH used in the regular FEH. The specs page in the handout flyer claims:

Charge time: 6-8 hrs @ 120V
Fuel Economy up to 120 mpg
Max speed 102 mph

I snapped some pics to share here. Hope you enjoy.

Regards,
-Raj

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/medium/P1020966.JPG
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/medium/P1020965.JPG
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/medium/P1020964.JPG

There are 22 known Escape PHEV running around in the real world. I believe Ford's first one was "created" September 2007 but not released to the Southern California electrical company unitl December 2007.

Looking at one is fine... but how would you like to drive one?

Ford just confirmed they will have a Ford PHEV for public test drives at Green Drive Expo in Madison, WI in a couple of weeks.

See this CleanMpg (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=272414#post272414) thread for more details about the event.


They will also have the Ford BEV to check out on the display floor as well.

thanks, too bad i'm nowhere near Wisconsin or the Bay Area ...

The ford escape hybrid was one of the cars/suv I've had my eye on. My eyes lit up when I read this post. I dont like the small feel and lack of space of a prius, but I dont need a truck or large SUV. This would be just right. I will try to follow news on this SUV closely.