New Ford Focus design looks good to me.
Will Ford's Electric Car Strategy Succeed?
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New Ford Focus design looks good to me.
Will Ford's Electric Car Strategy Succeed?
Last edited by TEG; 06-14-2010 at 08:20 PM.
Ford Focus Electric to Have 100-mile Range, Active Liquid Cooling for Battery Pack
The active liquid cooling system will also be used to "precondition" the battery pack when charging. The system will automatically bring the batteries to the proper temperature before the charging process begins. If the batteries are already at their optimum temperature, the charging process starts right away.
Taking a leaf out of Tesla's book?
The vehicle shown in the video has a tailpipe. Is that the Focus EV?Originally Posted by dpeilow
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-32254_1-20027666-283.html
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-32254_1-20027017-283.html
...We can safely assume that the rest of the Focus BEV line will largely resemble the 2012 gasoline-powered Focus......Ford CEO Alan Mulally will have big news on Friday, Jan 7, at 11 a.m. PT. Our expectations are that Ford will be updating the previous Focus BEV concept to use the new third-generation Focus chassis...
http://green.autoblog.com/2011/01/07...-ces-unveiled/
Visually, the Focus Electric has an improved aerodynamics package to improve drag, incorporating a new front fascia that looks like something right out of the Aston Martin school of design. (Too bad this isn't the Cygnet, huh?) The only other major design changes are the addition of a charging port with an LED ring to the left of the driver's door and a new set of 15-spoke 17-inch alloy wheels wrapped in low-rolling resistance tires. And speaking of LEDs, while the gasoline-powered Focus' LED eyebrow above the headlamp is only available in Europe, Ford tells us that the North American-spec Focus Electric will wear this bit of accent lighting when it hits production.
From the Ford press release:
Coming fresh from the Model S videos, I think this shows either a short-sightedness in the ways an EV can be made *better* than gasoline-powered counterparts, or an intentional PR stance to try to slowly bring the masses into the fold of EVs (i.e. by not scaring them off, see the Volt's "more car than electric" tag)."More than any other electric vehicle on the market, Focus Electric loses none of the dynamics and quality of driving a traditional car," said Sherif Marakby, director of Ford's electrification programs and engineering. "It shares many of the same premium components and features as its gasoline-powered counterpart, while delivering distinct efficiencies and a uniquely exciting driving experience."
The other reality is lowering cost- and time-to-market for traditional automakers by not building their first EVs ground-up from scratch. Chevy kind of does this with the Volt and Cruze relationship, though at least they market the two completely separately. And arguably, Tesla did something similar with the Roadster (drawing from Lotus chassis design and components).
But hey, at least they're jumping into the fray. The more the merrier IMO...
Did they announce a price?
It seems it has 6.6kW J1772 charging (2x the current 3.3kW leaf), but no provision for level 3 quick charge.
(I expect Leaf will get 6.6kW also when they update the models that come from their new USA factory.)
Last edited by TEG; 01-07-2011 at 02:53 PM.
It's the Tesla Motors Bluestar dressed as a Ford Focus.
Last edited by tdelta1000; 05-28-2012 at 04:50 PM.
I would expect Tesla would want a bit more range, performance, and style out of even their entry level model.
No knock on Ford, but I would be a tad disappointed if Tesla offered something just like that.
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