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http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg Designed by Hypermilers for Hypermilers (cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=197509)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/SmartGauge_with_ECOGuide_in_practice.jpgWayne Gerdes – CleanMPG (cleanmpg.com) – Mar. 28, 2009

SmartGauge w/ EcoGuide’s Empower display with 6-minute bar history shown.

Ford’s 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid SmartGauge w/ EcoGuide - Easily the best display available in any vehicle anywhere.

Dearborn, MI. -- Praised by CleanMPG as "Spectacularly clean and concise", Ford’s SmartGaugeTM with EcoGuide digital instrument cluster placed Ford in the driver’s seat where hybrid electric vehicles are concerned. This innovative feature uses instantaneous power and fuel consumption data to coach drivers of both the all-new 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids to drive more fuel efficiently.

Ford researchers, designers and engineers collaborated with IDEO and Smart Design, two world leaders in helping consumers connect with technology, as well as automotive electronics technology supplier Johnson Controls to design and develop the unique instrument cluster.

SmartGauge’s high resolution, full-color liquid crystal display (LCD) screens can be configured by the driver to show different levels of information, including fuel and battery power levels, as well as average and instant miles-per-gallon.

“No other automaker is leveraging LCD technology in the cluster to the extent that we do,” said Paul Mascarenas, vice president, Engineering, Ford Global Product Development. “It is much more interactive and integral to the whole driving experience.”

In fact, the SmartGauge cluster became an unexpected competition for Ford’s test subjects, who tried to outperform each other and themselves in fuel efficiency.

Consumer input in design process

The Ford SmartGauge team, in close collaboration with design and innovation firm IDEO, observed dozens of consumers in their homes, cars, and communities to gain insight into how people measured efficiency in different areas of their lives. Some were hybrid car owners, but many were not. They spoke with people who live in “green” homes and even met with a calorie-counting tri-athlete, who described his ideal coach as one that offers positive encouragement.

Early on, SmartGauge prototypes included multiple levels of cluster information in order to accommodate the varying information needs of different kinds of customers, ranging from hybrid newcomers to “hypermilers.”

“The one thing I did like about the Milan was a gauge in the dash that showed when you were in EV versus the gas engine,” said Karen Gerdes, a non-hybrid owning consumer during her first drive of the Milan Hybrid. “I think I could really use the way it worked to really get a handle on good driving habits.”

In the final design, drivers can choose one of the following four data screens:
Inform: Fuel level and battery charge status
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Smart_Gauge_Inform_800_pixel_width.jpg


Enlighten: Adds electric vehicle mode indicator and tachometer
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Smart_Gauge_Enlighten_800_pixel_width.jpg


Engage: Adds engine output power and battery output power
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Smart_Gauge_Engage_800_pixel_width.jpg


Empower: Adds power to wheels, engine pull-up threshold and accessory power consumption
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Smart_Gauge_Empower_800_pixel_width.jpg
All levels are customizable to show instant fuel economy, fuel economy history, odometer, engine coolant temperature, what gear the car is in and trip data, including trip fuel economy, long-term fuel economy and miles to empty. And while most competitive vehicles have some of this information in the center stack, Ford has made it user friendly and right in front of the driver where they want it.

Thinking outside the box

To prepare a prototype gauge cluster for testing, the team used aviation cockpit engineering software, because it offers the best combination of design and simulation capability.

“Watching this technology come together was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever seen at Ford,” said Mascarenas. “Everyone really was feeding off each other to push the bar. We knew we had the ability to take the instrument cluster to where no other automaker has taken it before – and we already have strong ideas about where to take it in its next generation.”

The result? Nothing available from Asia, Europe or the two other domestic manufacturers even comes close.

Sweet! So, you lose rpm with the more complete displays? I only see it in enlighten.

So, we'd want empower mode with a scanguage for rpm and, what:

WOW that is so good. It is good to see an American compay on the leading edge again. Go Ford.

Hi Ksstathead:

___(2) SG-II's. #1 for for IGN, TPS, LOD and RPM. The other for an iFCD because the SmartGauge's iFCD is buffered, SoC, as a Trip A/B aFCD and Coolant temp.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hi Ksstathead:

___(2) SG-II's. #1 for for IGN, TPS, LOD and RPM. The other for an iFCD because the SmartGauge's iFCD is buffered, SoC, as a Trip A/B aFCD and Coolant temp.

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Hey Wayne

The Nav Sys IFCD on my '09 FEH is running an average of 4% high and both my SG11's are running 13.2% and 13.5% high with 8% and 6% settings on Fuel-cut and I'm still getting too high of a reading on MPG. The only reliable source of MPG is the gas added and the miles traveled. I no longer get 9,999 instant MPG with open loop with fuel-cut with those settings and I'm having to set unrealistic percentages added to my SGII's to still get an incorrect IFCD reading. I'm going to have to change my SGII to possibly 15% plus and I don't even know that will help. May be CarlD could make some suggestions regarding the SGII MPG readings, but I have recorded on GH the problem with the Nav Sys FCG.

GaryG

This thing is beautiful, and I really think I am starting to change my "Found On Road Dead" mentality about them.

I still can't forget this Bronco II I had once... biggest piece of junk!

Other than not being digital, how can the coolant temp display be less accurate than the scanguage result? Wouldn't they be pulling the same digital temp from the bus? This really applies to all cars, not just Focus or Ford.

This is a gorgeous and useful display. It is sad that an extra SG or two are still necessary to get the data we need.

So, Wayne, you run with daisy chained SGs in about everything?

Thats a real nice display. Hopefully similar displays will be used right across their range. (And maybe other manufacturers will take note and do the same!)

ollie

Other than not being digital, how can the coolant temp display be less accurate than the scanguage result? Wouldn't they be pulling the same digital temp from the bus?

Now that I have a SG, I have noticed that my speedometer isn't linear (and sometimes doesn't move at all with a slight change in speed). Tachometer is the same way.

They may be working with the same original data, but how they process it may cause time delays.

Other than not being digital, how can the coolant temp display be less accurate than the scanguage result? Wouldn't they be pulling the same digital temp from the bus? This really applies to all cars, not just Focus or Ford.

Coolant temperature gauges in many vehicles use a bit of a buffer zone to make the owners feel like their vehicles are operating normally. They usually reach the operating temperature location before the coolant temperature is actually there, and they will stay parked in the middle for a few degrees beyond the usual operating temperature. Some owners would worry if they saw their coolant temperature increase every time they go up a hill and decrease every time they go down a hill. I've seen my coolant temperature fluctuate between 80 and 93 degrees without having my needle move from the 90 degree position. The information is pulled from the same sensor, but it's displayed differently.

In addition, vehicles have different warmup phases dependent on coolant temperature, and hybrids will not auto-stop if the coolant is not warm enough. The ScanGauge temp gauge helps to understand the vehicle operation, and helps a driver to know when to expect certain behavior.

Coolant temperature gauges in many vehicles use a bit of a buffer zone to make the owners feel like their vehicles are operating normally. They usually reach the operating temperature location before the coolant temperature is actually there, and they will stay parked in the middle for a few degrees beyond the usual operating temperature. Some owners would worry if they saw their coolant temperature increase every time they go up a hill and decrease every time they go down a hill. I've seen my coolant temperature fluctuate between 80 and 93 degrees without having my needle move from the 90 degree position. The information is pulled from the same sensor, but it's displayed differently.

In addition, vehicles have different warmup phases dependent on coolant temperature, and hybrids will not auto-stop if the coolant is not warm enough. The ScanGauge temp gauge helps to understand the vehicle operation, and helps a driver to know when to expect certain behavior.

Ford cut down on wiring and sensors to save cost and assembly. The coolant temperature is inferred by the PCM from the Head Temperature sensor. The PCM reads many of the sensors like this and the new broadband Lambda heated O2 sensors makes the FEH and FFH much more efficient as air/fuel is adjusted much better now.

GaryG

Coolant temperature gauges in many vehicles use a bit of a buffer zone to make the owners feel like their vehicles are operating normally. ... Some owners would worry if they saw their coolant temperature increase every time they go up a hill and decrease every time they go down a hill. I've seen my coolant temperature fluctuate between 80 and 93 degrees without having my needle move from the 90 degree position. ...

Ahh, that is why my Subaru temperature needle is absolutely rock stable, while SG shows otherwise. Give the customer what he thinks he wants, not what he needs.