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http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/../photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpgThe Fusion Hybrid already gets 50% better fuel economy than it's conventional counterpart. (blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2009/05/ford-fusion-hybrid-hypermiling-1445-miles-on-a-tank.html)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2010_Ford_Fusion_Hybrid_Challenge_Vehicle_in_front_of_the_Capital_on_Tuesday_Morning.jpgJon Linkov - Consumer Reports (consumerreports.org) - May 11, 2009

A fair and accurate report. -- Ed.

In late April Ford set out to prove that the new Fusion Hybrid could travel 1,000 miles on a single tank of gas. The driving team of engineers, a hypermiling advocate, and NASCAR driver Carl Edwards (http://www.carledwards.com/) actually broke that mark and kept going – all the way to 1,445 miles before electric power and fuel were fully depleted, for an overall average of 81.5 mpg according to Ford.

The 69-straight hours of driving took place over a loop of public roads in Northern Virginia, using the George Washington Parkway as their proving ground. This loop included open roads, as well as stop-and-go traffic through downtown Alexandria, Virginia.

Having lived in that area, I know how both the traffic speed and density vary greatly along that route. So I spoke with Jay Ward from Ford with a few questions about the trip. He told me that they specifically chose a weekend, with its lighter traffic, to run the trail, but that they went much further than they thought they would and, consequently, ended up driving during weekday rush-hour traffic....http://blogs.consumerreports.org/cars/2009/05/ford-fusion-hybrid-hypermiling-1445-miles-on-a-tank.html

Wait, is this the same Consumer Reports blog (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10652) that was railing against hypermilers before?

Hi Chuck:

___Nice find and I added my own comments although they are in the approval stage at this point in time.


Hi Jon:

___Did we meet at the Smart Fortwo launch or possibly the Honda Insight-II launch last year?

___Being one of the drivers, individual who trained the other drivers and person responsible for creating the route, I thought it may be an appropriate time to add my own commentary. My name is Wayne Gerdes by the way.

___Since you lived in the area and have driven through Alexandria with its “gauntlet” of maybe 30, non-timeable stop lights over 3 to 4 miles, what was your average speed through the area? 15 mph? 10 mph? 5 mph? If you lived there, than you know exactly what it is like driving through those lights yet failed to mention this fact in your report. We had driver turnover time including log keeping, multiple photo and video shoots during many of the turnovers, parking the “Challenge” Ford Fusion Hybrid for almost 4-hours between one stint to bring the camera crews onboard as we were ready to surpass 1,000-miles with Carl Edwards behind the wheel and even had a one-hour layover because one of the engineers had an important test occurring in real time back in Dearborn as he was about to drive off which caused another driver to have to head back to the launch point and take his place on the fly.

___You should have been there as it was a “Blast” :-D

“They were actually stopped by the police – for going too slowly!”

___That was not the “Challenge” vehicle but one of the other transport Mule vehicles. The mule vehicle with one of the drivers was trying to figure out the Northern Route turnaround point when his turn for driving came about later on. The drivers had only driven that portion of the route on late Friday night and were out again on Saturday night before their own stints.

“Still, they received their share of honks from other drivers who wanted to go faster.”

___Since Consumer Reports has had an anti-hypermiling bent for some time now, the hint of or promotion of over the speed limit driving has got to stop. Speeding is directly responsible for approximately 20,000 fatalities on our roadways here in the US let alone the untold billions of gallons of fuel wasted in the process. During the “Challenge”, we were driving between and up to the speed limit and perfectly legal unlike some of our fellow citizens that love to travel the Parkway at 10 + over. Fortunately or not, the Parkway Police were pulling over those that chose to speed as fast as we could count.

___I chose the Parkway for its 4-lanes, 25 to 45 mph speed limits, construction areas with 35 mph limits on the Northern section and ability for anyone to pass at will. We used multiple techniques to avoid causing traffic congestion which is beyond this blog entry but works for all traffic and roadway conditions. I suggest you learn more about RR, RP and Quick hit alternates for the safety of your family and your fellow citizenry before putting your foot to the floor and driving oblivious.

___Did we cause a small amount of traffic congestion? At some points we did. AND in many cases it was due to people pulling alongside and giving us the thumbs up while we were driving a beautifully rendered 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid on our way to 1,445 miles on a single tank of fuel :-)

___Regarding CR’s tips... Those same tips have caused us as a nation to average just 20 mpg for decades and caused havoc for us and the planet. This includes 9/11, destruction throughout the Middle East and god only knows what we are doing in Africa for its oil right now. “Tips” are what you give to your fellow horse racing fan at the track. Hypermiling is simply beating the EPA and using “Techniques” that have proven themselves to achieve upwards of three times the EPA rating of a given vehicle and proven over millions of real world miles. The 81.5 mpg over 1,445.7 miles achieved in the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid is proof of this excellent vehicles capability and the Hypermiling techniques we used to achieve it.

___Is it time to stop the madness or continue on with our collective heads in the sand? Hypermiling is a bridge to hopefully all-electrics when we will not have to use a drop of petroleum to move from point A to point B other than to lubricate the wheel bearings. And I pray they will arrive in force long before gasoline ever reaches $10.00 + per gallon as some in Europe experienced last year while we were lucky only to see just $4.11 per gallon as a nationwide average price early last July.

___Regarding the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, I think you are discovering the same thing I did. It is a wonderful and very comfortable Mid-sized sedan that just so happens to offer 50 + mpgUS on the highway and 70 + mpgUS around town when driven responsibly. During the same weekend, I was extremely fortunate to train men and woman from all walks of life who had never set foot in the Ford Fusion Hybrid previously. They averaged as a group over 71 mpg’s throughout the weekends driving clinics. One achieved over 80 mpg while the least efficient driver recorded a 66 mpg driving loop. Hypermiling the Ford Fusion Hybrid is really this easy and I hope to train others to do the same in their own Ford Fusion Hybrid in the future.

___Finally, here is a testament to the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid and its capabilities. I personally tried to purchase one of the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid mule vehicles after we had completed the drive but discovered that it is Ford's internal policy to let their used fleet vehicles go to auction so as to remove any hint of favoritism or malfeasance to my detriment.

___With all of the above, you know how to contact me if you are in need of more details.

___Good Luck

___Wayne Gerdes
___Andrew, same guy, different day ;)

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Wait, is this the same Consumer Reports blog (http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10652) that was railing against hypermilers before?

Edit: same blog, one of the other authors.Correct

I give the blogster credit for giving a fair report in the comments section, but challenge the ranters to find a hypermiling accident....they don't care about texting accidents, etc. :rolleyes:

Hi Chuck:

___I am going to have to put up some different pics of the Challenge vehicle in its element. Even though that one is totally cool (must have something to do with the driver or something ;)), it is getting a tad stale...

___This pic was pure luck. As we were readying to launch, there was a group of actors getting ready to do reenactments at Mt. Vernon. One of the Ford guys asked of they would pose with the car and they said sure! Talk about a total fluke and one of the best pics of the entire 5-days :)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/500/2010_Ford_Fusion_Challenge_Vehicles_with_Guards_at_Mt_Vernon.jpg

___Good Luck

___Wayne

Last night I was caught putting a CleanMPG car on a new Prius and talked over five minutes about how easy it was to do better than 45mpg on it....common sense things like not charging to the light, lane weaving, etc. Hope she joins.

This is Wired's story (http://www.wired.com/autopia/2009/05/how-to-get-815-mpg/)