Report on new ride

[O'Dell]

I'm going wildly off topic here in a gun forum, but I know there are some car guys here, and I thought I'd share my experiences with the latest automobile hi-tech. In July I bought a 2013 Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid. I know, I know, it's a Ford and I'm just as surprised as you are, but one drive convinced me it was far superior to the Priuses I'd been driving for ten years. It handles better, is far more powerful, is much quieter, rides better, and is a more "solid" car. The interior is head and shoulders above the low rent Prius. Plus, with 29K on the clock, I got it for a bit over half the original sticker price. It's no "looker" and is in fact a pretty generic looking car, but it does avoid the weirdness of the Prius.

As you can see from the Lifetime summary, I'm getting great mileage with about 75% being electric driving or EV. I think you'd have to go to a pure electric to do better and since I have an engine, there's no range limitation. I resat the computer before I left the dealer so the lifetime is only my driving, about 1400 miles. I get 33-35 miles on the battery before it's exhausted, and then the car becomes a conventional hybrid. In hybrid mode I get about 60 MPG, or the same as the priuses. BTW, it will run 85 MPH on battery only, so Interstates are no problem. It's rated at 108 HWY and 92 City by the EPA, but I'm doing much better.

So far, I'm quite satisfied with the the Energi, or NRG. I'm even getting use to talking to the car and having it respond. If you don't choose to do so there are buttons and knobs on the console and steering wheel, or on one of the three MFD's to control the entertainment system, climate control, or nav. An amusing thing happened two weeks ago when I took the car in for a software update. I left the car at the service dept. and was wandering around, when I got an E-Mail message on my phone. It was from the car, telling me that the battery was low and please charge it. I told the service manager and he was nice enough to plug it in while they worked.

If you're wondering about the cost of charging the car, Georgia Power has a special plan for plug-in owners. I charge it four or five times a week and the cost is less than 20c per charge. Obviously, I don't even notice the extra cost on my electric bill.

[Bawanna]

The city here has one of those for a building inspector to run around in. I never paid much attention to what it was. It looks nice inside and much much nicer on the outside than the Prius.
Wish there was room for the chair, I'd drive one. Gas in my full size derelict van is killing me and I only drive about 16 miles round trip each day.......

[deadeye]

Most people as they mature become Republicans and switch to Ford.;)

[getsome]

Thanks for sharing O'Dell, now you can keep your man card....Glad you're into an America made vehicle even if it's a Furd.....Anyway at least people wont look at you driving the prius and think:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP-tyvBGla4

[Chowser]

I really hope they start making these hybrids for other cars and not charge so much more for them. I think Lincoln doesn't charge extra for their hybrid models.

round trip for me to work and home is 29 miles so I wouldn't even need to charge it until I got home.
That'd be awesome

[O'Dell]

Most people as they mature become Republicans and switch to Ford.;)

Oh my gosh, you mean I maturing!!! I hate that it's come to this.

[muggsy]

Ford has a better idea. Some of us mature earlier than others and have owned Fords and voted republican since their early 20s. :) Spending time in the military helps.

[O'Dell]

Thanks for sharing O'Dell, now you can keep your man card....Glad you're into an America made vehicle even if it's a Furd.....Anyway at least people wont look at you driving the prius and think:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP-tyvBGla4

All my cars are American made - the Corvette in Kentucky and the SSR and Energi in Michigan. :amflag:

[jocko]

Nice car Odell. If there ever was a most obring ass car on the road, it IMOhad to be the Prius. I felt like I was in a coffin inside the car, such drab sh!t in it. That Ford compare dtothe Prickus has total class IMO. U did well.

Nuttin against americn cars, but I would not trade my Porsche for any vette and I love the vettes to.

[O'Dell]

I can understand why you like your Cayman, but I did trade my Boxster for a Corvette C6 four years ago. Thanks Jocko.

[jocko]

I do think the new vewtts are awesome, they have done a nice job with the interior of the vettes which was for a l;ong time way over looked and cheap to say te least. Not so today, Nice car, I would never say I would not own one but at my age not sure I need even anutter sports car. I will say this I have had 4 Mercedes, One audi, One volvo, One Porsche and if one is noticing, u don't see the massive recalls on any of these brands like we seem to have had with the entire American line of vehicles and some *** cars also. My only recll on allthise vehicles listed wasmy audi for bad coils which they replaced all of them NC. Odell more than likely u have never been through the vette museum, It is really neat, thousands of bricks around the place with vette owners names etc. I heard they are maybe thinkin of not filing in the sink hole but keeping it for nostalgia purposes.

Maybe when corvette moves to a rear engine version..

[ltxi]

use otta pubsh a enw alt dictonery jcko

[yqtszhj]

I drove a prius company car before i changed positions at work any that ford looks much nicer.

[TheLastDaze]

Bawanna I'm sure you can find some kind of program where you can get perks converting your van to CNG that would be the way to go.....

I bought a Chevy diesel 4x4 crew cab in efforts to save on fuel, diesel had always been cheaper than the cheapest gas, but with my luck shortly after I bought it diesel climbed to heights never seen before, almost reaching $5 out here and well over that in cali... I at one time had been looking at waste vegetable oil conversion but so many people started doing it you're not allowed to remove the oil from restaurants without a license now.... just another way the government wants their money.. Maybe I'll look into it again but this was years ago and figured I could run for less then a dollar a gallon, had all the contacts for parts and all my findings on my old computer that fried the hard drive...... took a long time to gather info let me just say........

Bush tried hard to push hydrogen hard and that never transpired, it can be done we have the technology right here, right now but they don't want any part of it..... pocket books is what it boils down to

[ced_56]

Some people buy cars like this and here I am lifting my Chevy truck and happy that after a tune I am able to get 20mpg on the highway again.....then there is my Chevelle....a blast to drive and like to burn rubber and I have never calculated the mileage in it because it is waaaaaaay low. But it does look like a nice car.....for a Ford lol. Much better choice than a Prius

[TheLastDaze]

I will say this I have had 4 Mercedes, One audi, One volvo, One Porsche and if one is noticing, u don't see the massive recalls on any of these brands like we seem to have had with the entire American line of vehicles and some *** cars also. My only recll on allthise vehicles listed wasmy audi for bad coils which they replaced all of them NC.
Maybe when corvette moves to a rear engine version..

how old were these cars you had?? older cars across the board you wouldn't see all this recall nonsense as they didn't have to conform to epa etc.. but you're wrong here there are just as many foreign cars being recalled than American cars, and most the recalls are mickey mouse items like my old truck they wanted to replace the tail gate cables that holds it up, wifes new buick enclave has a seat belt safety screw or something...but foreign recalls seem to be more substantial like live or death acceleration issue problems, etc..

look at diesels now, every year it seems they have to change the motor design not from a flaw but because the government epa is on their backs constantly to reduce numbers.... and this is big engineering as you've taken a motor pre '07 that was use to 500ppm sulfer and demanded to redesign to make it acceptably run on 50ppm ULSD..... all kinds of bad happening to these motor to conform to ULS, 2 cycle motor oil is a way around it to add much needed lubricity but that's another story...

we're talking cars not Kahrs, and if we were I'm sure we can add a lot to this discussion as well :D

[TheLastDaze]

Some people buy cars like this and here I am lifting my Chevy truck and happy that after a tune I am able to get 20mpg on the highway again.....then there is my Chevelle....a blast to drive and like to burn rubber and I have never calculated the mileage in it because it is waaaaaaay low. But it does look like a nice car.....for a Ford lol. Much better choice than a Prius
My '65 Malibu SS is one of my biggest regrets, regarding vehicles I've sold.... good times in that car

yes the car odell bought is nice but I personally will never be caught in one,couple years ago I was hit head on by a concrete truck at 70mph, before impact we were able to slow to maybe 35 but he was sliding/rolling and still gaining momentum, I wont share all the never ending saga details as we are still trying to live through injuries, trauma etc.. we were driving a GMC Acadia and the car was beyond totalled and responders called in fatalities before even getting out of the vehicles.. I firmly believe had I been in anything else we would all be dead, no doubt.....

people try to boast these cars as 'safe' in their dummy tests, against a wall at 35mph.... reality is its that weight against itself hitting a wall, you put my 7600 pound truck into the mix that's higher profile and get hit head on at 35 and you're in a world of hurt if you're lucky....and not decapitated....

my life is worth much more than saving a few bucks on gas..... now if its a little grocery getter around town then I'd probably drive one, I'd do a motorcycle but situational awareness is heightened as with driving a small car let alone my truck..

[jocko]

o argument meant burt 21 million recalled cars from GM is sure not good advertising. IMO I don't buy the similarity of the amount of recalls that the German carts have compared to the US cars, but again not aruging, just stating of the German cars I have had which date back over 10 years. I have had one recasll and that was on my audi. Just sayin

[berettabone]

I haven't had an American vehicle since 1995........................can't trust em................................................ ........would love to buy American..................that's a lot nicer looking vehicle than a Prius.

[Bawanna]

We moved into an age of junk when they started using cables to hold up pickup tailgates. Stupid idea.
I love these new girly man fold out grab poles and steps for pickups too. A 3 year old could break em off without trying.

I've always been a pickup guy myself, just don't work for me now. Still have my old 97 Chevy in the driveway. Set up so I can drive it but I rarely do. Damn good truck. Still has cables for the tail gate, how girlyman.....

[cohoskip]

Looks like a winner to me. I like Fords...:Amflag2: American made, too...

[jeepster09]

Jocko's new ride....

[jocko]

I have to agree but IMO they are getting better, and I think at of that isw due to the foreign car concept, that they were losing business. Kinda funny when u think that GM AND FORD their biggest sellers are trucks. I also find it odd that the german makers have not entered the US. truck race either. No doubt if EPA kept their noses out of the auto business, we would have less small ass issues with kahrs, but when u see the chinese people walking around with masks on, thatoutta tell u sumpin aintright either. Guarantee u when electric cars ever get going the EPA will again step in and fokk things up. Someone recently told me at a gun store that the last lead swmelting company in MO, is soon to be goingout of business...

colonel my 1961 dodge pick up had chain tail gate cables. can't recall ever sewein one break either, course the bed rusted out but the tail gate was solid. Just sayin. How many can reme3mber back years ago when u bought ur new merican made car the dealer wanted to undercoat the bottom and inside the fenders and doors even. HUMM why was that??? Yes we have come a long way. The new 2015 Ford 150 being all aluminum body and 750 pounds lighter to me is a positive step in the right direction.

I just bought a new 2015 Mercedes GLK and was gonna get the diesel engine but when I found out that the bluetek fluid was gonna be in a 10 gallon tank where the spare tire should have been, I said fokk that sh!t. I always wonder how many people who buy that GLK were told that by te salesman even. A spare is like a condom, u should never leave home without one. Just sayin

[jocko]

jeepster, I guess u have sumpin again "sheep". Don't knock it until u try it. Just sayin

[TheLastDaze]

I haven't had an American vehicle since 1995........................can't trust em................................................ ........would love to buy American..................that's a lot nicer looking vehicle than a Prius.

can you expound a little ??? why is it you can't trust them?? if you would really love to buy american you'd think you would....

I have a Chevy Diesel crewcab 4x4 with 180K with ZERO problems,I also have a '97 Jeep XJ with 145k that will out run any of your foreign crap, never had a problem either other than the head liner coming down.... my uncles tundra (with lot less miles) along with my aunts camery have been to the dealer repeatedly, he has since dumped the tundra and moved on..

In '98 I bought a brand new Toyota Tacoma, had initial problems leaking under floorboards, then engine started cutting out but they never could find the problem, how convenient... dumped it at 50k to buy another American GMC with again ZERO problems moved so I sold it at 150k... Bought a new Nissan Quest, one issue after another, dumped that again bought my wife American....with no issues other than a little call back... Had a 2001 Nissan Frontier and at 100K miles it blew the timing chain, ended up donating it to salvation army... Bought a '08 Nissan Sentra cvt trans started acting up but I had enough sense at this point to dump it while I could at 5K miles !!!!! What a joke, I could go on and on believe me.....................

Its people like you that keep the American auto industry down...I'd like to see you go and tell someone that in Michigan

[jeepster09]

jeepster, I guess u have sumpin again "sheep". Don't knock it until u try it. Just sayin

Very relaxing I hear....

[jocko]

lots of foreign vehicles made right here in the US (thelast Daze) as also just as many American vehicles made overseas to and sold their. So because one buys a toyota or what ever, are u calling him UnAmerican???WEhave a hugh Toyota plant in evansville, iND, AND they employee American workers, pay great wages and industry has followed this plant to evansville and it is the fastst growing city in Indiana. I believe Mercedes is about to built a plant inTennessee, so do we run them ou tof thge cuntry??

pRACTICALLY EVERY SURVEY MADE THE PAST 5 YEARS AT LEAST SHOWS THE lEXUS AS #1 IN consumer confidence, not to many American names in the top 10 even, but Buick seems to sneak in the top 5 about every year this census is taken. from ur post u owned alot of foreighn crap, why would u do that time and time again??? Just sayin. Wedo make good cars today but I still tend to lean towards the German cars, why? because I can.

Lots of unamerican glock and sig and HK owners here to. Just sayin

[berettabone]

can you expound a little ??? why is it you can't trust them?? if you would really love to buy american you'd think you would....

I have a Chevy Diesel crewcab 4x4 with 180K with ZERO problems,I also have a '97 Jeep XJ with 145k that will out run any of your foreign crap, never had a problem either other than the head liner coming down.... my uncles tundra (with lot less miles) along with my aunts camery have been to the dealer repeatedly, he has since dumped the tundra and moved on..

In '98 I bought a brand new Toyota Tacoma, had initial problems leaking under floorboards, then engine started cutting out but they never could find the problem, how convenient... dumped it at 50k to buy another American GMC with again ZERO problems moved so I sold it at 150k... Bought a new Nissan Quest, one issue after another, dumped that again bought my wife American....with no issues other than a little call back... Had a 2001 Nissan Frontier and at 100K miles it blew the timing chain, ended up donating it to salvation army... Bought a '08 Nissan Sentra cvt trans started acting up but I had enough sense at this point to dump it while I could at 5K miles !!!!! What a joke, I could go on and on believe me.....................

Its people like you that keep the American auto industry down...I'd like to see you go and tell someone that in Michigan
I used to drive Buick's and Pontiac's in my younger days...................couldn't keep brake calipers in them........moisture gets in, and they rust................not a cheap fix every 25,000 miles. Poor engineering. Ford's are well known for water pump issues, for ever. A friend of mine bought a Ford F250 brand new, in 2005....................tranny went out at 35,000 miles. My neighbor bought a Buick Lacrosse 2010, used, with 12,000 miles on it. Burns oil like a furnace. Come to find out that the 3.8 motors they are putting in these Buick's have issues with the valves and valve springs being junk. Factory specs say, that you can use up to a quart and a half of oil between every change, and this is normal. Since the last American car I had, which was in 95, I have owned two Honda's and one Subaru, and have not had any issues with any of them. Automobiles are expensive enough these days, and American auto co.'s are always looking for a cut here, a money saver there, and it's hurt their car market. When you can buy a foreign car, that has all the bells and whistles, that handles better, has more horsepower, for the same price as a stripped down American model, I'll choose the foreign model every time. I just purchased a Subaru in April, that replaced a Honda that I bought new in 2001. That car gave me nothing short of love the whole time I owned it. I saw what the American market has to offer in the way of new autos, and wasn't impressed. If that makes me a commie in your eyes.......well.................I really don't care. By the way, that's why they suggest changing the timing chain at 60,000 miles.:p

[TheLastDaze]

no you're referring to a timing "belt" not chain, the chain is suppose to be good for the life of the motor Per Nissan... guess the motor was only good for 100K, cars were good for 100K in the '70's this was a 2K...... I'm surprised to hear that about the 3.8ltr buick as it was imo the best motor buick had to offer, in fact my wifes granpas had over 330K no valve problems you refer to, had an uncle over 200k before trade in, my dad had one I think a '95 iirc with well over 200k before trading it for yet another buick, him and my uncle both...... I'm not calling you a commie you're an American which I value your opinion, if you say you don't 'trust' American made cars, which for the most part a lot of foreigns are made here as well nowadays.. I'm just saying there are people hurting from that mentality and American Automobiles have come a long way, its your hard earned cash if you don't want to give American ingenuity a chance that's up to you I'm just expressing my personal experience as you are, here in Oklahoma, Texas and the surrounding states most you see on the road are American made, in fact a lot of old cars still on the road... When I moved from so cal to here I appreciated the fact that people here didn't necessarily buy a new car every 2 yrs like where I moved from... My Grandpa worked for goodyear, my dad and 2 of my uncles worked for GM so maybe I take it a little personally, sometimes I can't express myself very well on a keyboard and if I offended you I'm sorry... and I agree automobiles are far to costly anymore to make hasty decisions, where do they get 50K out of my truck I don't know but its a good truck and I'm happy with it, not happy with the EPA cranking up and tampering with diesel fuel but I digress... BTW we replaced my wife's GMC Acadia with a Buick Enclave fully loaded two sunroofs the whole 9, buick my friend has come a long way and has marketed toward the younger generation.... If you're biased against US autos that's up to you but they have come a very long way....

[TheTman]

I've had pretty good luck with all my American cars, Mercurys, Fords, a chevy, I guess I've owned more Mercurys than anything, and they've been great cars. Funny how if you like one brand, all the others are a POS. I used to like NACAR, back when they had to have a street model to build the race cars from, since then, I've lost most interest. Used to be fun to root for "your" brand, Now I think it's all the same frame and most of the body, with a few body panels that can be customized to represent the brand, and a crate engine, not necessarily from the brand it's supposed to represent. I guess this makes it more competitive, but it used to be fun when your brand ruled the track. I think the last year I was really interested was when Bill Elliots T-Bird was winning a lot of races and they kept making him add stuff to slow it down.

[O'Dell]

I have owned literally dozens of car in my lifetime, about 1/3 being of foreign manufacture. I can say without qualification that I have had fewer problems with American cars. I'm not saying that I've had a lot of problems with either, but the serious ones came with foreign makes. The worst I can remember was a BMW 5 series that would stall for no reason, at least no reason that BMW could find. Most of the time it was at idle or slow speeds but twice it happened on an expressway, and could have had disastrous results. BMW eventually bought that one back at 14,000 miles for the price I paid plus an inconvenience payment. The most serious failure I remember on an American car was a failed AC compressor on a '96 Blazer, but that was at 135,000 miles.

BTW, regarding recalls, I think my last Prius had four recalls in the six years I owned it, a record for any car I've ever owned. Of course, I've never owned any other car for more than three years.

Also, a few months ago, I saw a report [Powers I think, but I'm not sure] listing the five most trouble free auto companies in the world. These were the parent companies and not individual makes. Chrysler/Fiat, GM, and Ford all made the top five along with Honda and Hyundai.

[berettabone]

At my age, I have owned plenty of American made vehicles................I prefer the looks, handling, and power of a foreign made vehicle. I do believe, that after all of these years, the American's have finally caught up with them in these regards. This is no put down on anyone, but when an auto co. in cahoots with gov't regs, wants you to save the worlds air supply and get you better mileage, you would think that the auto would be cheaper. I see the sticker was $37.000, for a vehicle that can only go 35 miles before a recharge. Really???????? I'll keep my Subaru for $24.000 with all the bells and whistles, all wheel drive, and an average of 27 mpg. I don't drive all over the country, so the money I would save on fuel is pocket change. When someone chastises me about driving a foreign car, they're usually in a truck, with a camo steering wheel cover, a Porky Pig shift knob, a blanket on the seat, and Yosemite Sam mud flaps.................yeah, I know, some of you are looking in the mirror....................hard to take them seriously:rolleyes:

[berettabone]

no you're referring to a timing "belt" not chain, the chain is suppose to be good for the life of the motor Per Nissan... guess the motor was only good for 100K, cars were good for 100K in the '70's this was a 2K...... I'm surprised to hear that about the 3.8ltr buick as it was imo the best motor buick had to offer, in fact my wifes granpas had over 330K no valve problems you refer to, had an uncle over 200k before trade in, my dad had one I think a '95 iirc with well over 200k before trading it for yet another buick, him and my uncle both...... I'm not calling you a commie you're an American which I value your opinion, if you say you don't 'trust' American made cars, which for the most part a lot of foreigns are made here as well nowadays.. I'm just saying there are people hurting from that mentality and American Automobiles have come a long way, its your hard earned cash if you don't want to give American ingenuity a chance that's up to you I'm just expressing my personal experience as you are, here in Oklahoma, Texas and the surrounding states most you see on the road are American made, in fact a lot of old cars still on the road... When I moved from so cal to here I appreciated the fact that people here didn't necessarily buy a new car every 2 yrs like where I moved from... My Grandpa worked for goodyear, my dad and 2 of my uncles worked for GM so maybe I take it a little personally, sometimes I can't express myself very well on a keyboard and if I offended you I'm sorry... and I agree automobiles are far to costly anymore to make hasty decisions, where do they get 50K out of my truck I don't know but its a good truck and I'm happy with it, not happy with the EPA cranking up and tampering with diesel fuel but I digress... BTW we replaced my wife's GMC Acadia with a Buick Enclave fully loaded two sunroofs the whole 9, buick my friend has come a long way and has marketed toward the younger generation.... If you're biased against US autos that's up to you but they have come a very long way....

I had a 3.8 in my 95 Bonneville............it was a great motor...............since 2009, they turned to @^%&*.............GM tried to save money and changed the head and valve assembly/engineering. Now they are junk. Feel for the people that are buying them. From what I have seen and heard, it's probably 1 out 3 or 4 that are going to be trouble. My wife loves Buicks, and up until 2008, we owned a 1998 Regal, which was a wonderful car until the tranny started clunking at 60,000 miles. Got rid of it.........for what we paid, just didn't want to take a chance.............those trannies are very expensive. I think that the new Buick's have some of the most beautiful interiors on the market. If I could afford it, I'd be driving a Volvo XC70:)

[O'Dell]

. I see the sticker was $37.000, for a vehicle that can only go 35 miles before a recharge. Really???????? I'll keep my Subaru for $24.000 with all the bells and whistles, all wheel drive, and an average of 27 mpg.

The Prius Plug-in is the same price and only goes 11-15 miles on a full charge. The Volt is two or three thousand more and goes forty miles. Plus, the Volt is a lot smaller. Also remember, I only paid $19K, not $37,000 because of a 15 year work relation with the dealer. I would not, repeat not, have written a $37,000 check.

The price tag is not just for a few extra MPG, but due to fact that this car has practically every option known to man, some like automatic parking I would not have chosen. The price for a new base Energi SEL is less than $32,000 and it still has the latest plug-in hybrid technology and most of the equipment. You might as well get use to this technology because with the coming increases in the CAFE standards in the next 10-12 years, it, or some other advanced mileage technology, will be a requirement. Subaru and Mazda along with a few others have not yet taken the step but they will have to do so. Right now both companies are short of money for research because they lost their American sugardaddy.

[berettabone]

I am so tired of this nanny gov't intruding in our lives, forcing us to purchase overly expensive cars, with tons of features, no choices, that go a whole downtown and back without a recharge( hoopty F) and they drive themselves. Now, all the friggen drunks, texter's, and cell phone babbler's can just sit back and drive like usual, with their head down, not paying attention. Expensive, lots of frills, high deductible, doesn't go far...........sound familiar.