Ford starts hybrid production

[PontiacJ8]

CLAYCOMO, Mo. — Ford Motor Co. officially kicked off production Thursday of a hybrid version of the Escape SUV, the world’s first gas-electric hybrid sport utility vehicle and the first hybrid vehicle produced by an American automaker.

Bill Ford, Ford’s chairman and chief executive officer, drove the Escape into a roomful of workers at the company’s plant in suburban Kansas City, which will build 20,000 of the vehicles in the 2005 model year. Ford said providing a cleaner-burning, more fuel-efficient vehicle would keep the company competitive as more consumers consider gas prices and pollution when buying a car.

“They don’t want to give up their SUVs, and we don’t think they should have to,” Ford said. “It gets them where they want to go with greater fuel efficiency and much lower emissions.”

The Escape joins the Toyota Prius, Honda Insight and the hybrid version of the Honda Civic as the only gas-electric vehicles available in the United States.

Full Story HERE

[cemaxc]

I thought that GM released the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra last year with hybrids in the commercial work trucks. If so then Ford would not be the first American automaker with a hybrid. Can anyone clarify???

[mbukukanyau]

Originally posted by cemaxc@Aug 6 2004, 06:33 PM
I thought that GM released the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra last year with hybrids in the commercial work trucks. If so then Ford would not be the first American automaker with a hybrid. Can anyone clarify???

That is very true. You would think some of these editors would do their work before publishing stuff

Silvarado Hybrid

[T-Type]

You guys do have a good point and technically you are correct, but I think the difference is that the Ford will be available everywhere, while the Silverado has very limited availability.

[nsap]

That Ford plant is only about 2hrs away from here.. I have actually toured it before, so I might have go tour agian and check out the hybrids...

[xellow]

Originally posted by mbukukanyau+Aug 6 2004, 06:42 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (mbukukanyau @ Aug 6 2004, 06:42 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-cemaxc@Aug 6 2004, 06:33 PM
I thought that GM released the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra last year with hybrids in the commercial work trucks.* If so then Ford would not be the first American automaker with a hybrid.* Can anyone clarify???

That is very true. You would think some of these editors would do their work before publishing stuff

Silvarado Hybrid [/b][/quote]
Not really True.
GM's engine is a "partial hybrid", and does not really push any real impressive results especialy when compaired to the Escape's True Hybrid System. (Or Toyotas or Hondas) And GMs is a limmited Production.

[ibechip]

It'd sure be nice if GM jumped in this game. Seems like the perfect technology to be putting in a Saturn and maybe a Buick. They need something.

[cemaxc]

Originally posted by xellow+Aug 6 2004, 07:18 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (xellow @ Aug 6 2004, 07:18 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>

That is very true. You would think some of these editors would do their work before publishing stuff

Silvarado Hybrid

Not really True.
GM's engine is a "partial hybrid", and does not really push any real impressive results especialy when compaired to the Escape's True Hybrid System. (Or Toyotas or Hondas) And GMs is a limmited Production. [/b][/quote]
Actually GM's hybrids are close to Honda's in operation. The engine will shut off at a stoplight and restart upon acceleration. Neither system will opperate fully on electricity, execpt when at a stoplight or when coasting downhill, alone like the Toyota system.

Hybrid Information

The electric motors in both GM and Honda's hybrids are also positioned in the same way, right behind the engine and before the transmission. Fact is GM still had the first American hybrid.

[xellow]

Originally posted by cemaxc+Aug 6 2004, 08:07 AM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (cemaxc @ Aug 6 2004, 08:07 AM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'>

Not really True.
GM's engine is a "partial hybrid", and does not really push any real impressive results especialy when compaired to the Escape's True Hybrid System. (Or Toyotas or Hondas) And GMs is a limmited Production.

Actually GM's hybrids are close to Honda's in operation.&nbsp; The engine will shut off at a stoplight and restart upon acceleration.&nbsp; Neither system will opperate fully on electricity, execpt when at a stoplight or when coasting downhill, alone like the Toyota system.

Hybrid Information

The electric motors in both GM and Honda's hybrids are also positioned in the same way, right behind the engine and before the transmission.&nbsp; Fact is GM still had the first American hybrid. [/b][/quote]
Partially. As in First American PARTIAL Hybrid which is a damned shame. <_<

There are two basic types of hybrid on the road today. Honda's Insight and Civic Hybrids are so-called "mild" hybrids. Recaptured energy is stored in a small battery pack. When a boost of power is needed, it's used to power that motor/generator, which acts like a sort of electric supercharger. To further save fuel, a mild hybrid will quietly shut down its internal-combustion - gasoline - engine when idling, say, at a stop light. Tap the accelerator and the engine instantly starts back up.

Full hybrids, such as the Prius and Escape, also can operate in fully-electric mode. In heavy traffic, where you might only move a few feet at a time, a full hybrid will keep its IC engine shut off and rely solely on battery power.

[PontiacDriver123]

Does any one know if a hybrid version of the Mazda Tribute will be built?

[MN12Fan]

This is like when V8 engines were new. GM technically had the first V8 engine on the market, but Ford was the first company to make a V8 from a single-cast block whereas the original GM V8s were complex and expensive, consisting of two or even three block sections bolted or welded together. Sure, GM could claim to be the first maker of V8s but Ford was the one that found a way to make it economical and efficient to do so. It is the same scenario with hybrids. GM may be the first domestic automaker to feature some kind of production hybrid techonlogy, no matter how complete or low-volume it is, but Ford'll be the first domestic company to produce it en masse and make it available everywhere. If nothing else, the Escape will be the first hybrid SUV to go on sale in the U.S. since the Silverado is a truck.

[MN12Fan]

Originally posted by PontiacDriver123@Aug 6 2004, 02:21 PM
Does any one know if a hybrid version of the Mazda Tribute will be built?

Don't count on it. I've read that Ford currently has no intentions in sharing the Escape's hybrid technology with Mazda for the Tribute, although that doesn't necessarily rule out the possibility of Mazda developing its own hybrid technology for it down the road. However, the upcoming Mercury version of the regular Escape, the 2005 Mariner, I've read will get a hybrid version for the 2007 model year.

[KingElvis]

The silverado hybrid only comes as a stretch cab 4x4 1500. It is supposed to be for contractors so they can plug their tools into its massive battery. Also the engine will automatically start to recharge when the battery is depleted - pretty neat.

Hybrid technology is a good thing, but it must be suplemented by other measures such as weight savings to get good mileage results. The highest mileage models tend to have the electric part of the drivetrain do more heavy lifting.

Also, while I applaud the Silverado hybrid, one major reason that the technology is so expensive is that it is being produced in such limited numbers. If they included hybrid tech on, say, all 5.3L engines, the cost would per vehicle would go down substantially because of economies of scale.

It's a start but just a baby step, and this isn't just a fad.

[stewacide]

Originally posted by MN12Fan+Aug 6 2004, 10:02 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (MN12Fan @ Aug 6 2004, 10:02 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-PontiacDriver123@Aug 6 2004, 02:21 PM
Does any one know if a hybrid version of the Mazda Tribute will be built?

Don't count on it. I've read that Ford currently has no intentions in sharing the Escape's hybrid technology with Mazda for the Tribute, although that doesn't necessarily rule out the possibility of Mazda developing its own hybrid technology for it down the road. However, the upcoming Mercury version of the regular Escape, the 2005 Mariner, I've read will get a hybrid version for the 2007 model year. [/b][/quote]
Mazda may not get a hybrid because it could be costly for their dealers to buy the equipment to service them. It's certainly not an issue of Ford keeping the tech' from Mazda: Mazda probably developed it in the first place (the Escape is their design after all).

[MN12Fan]

No one ever said that Mazda didn't have access to the hybrid technology Ford's using, it's just that there are no current plans to use in the Tribute specifically, that doesn't mean that Mazda won't use hybrid tech elsewhere in other vehicles at some point. Also, Mazda didn't design the Escape/Tribute exclusively, it was a shared project between Ford and Mazda; both companies were responsible for developing key elements of the vehicle.