It wasn’t that long ago that electric cars were thought of as clunky and unworkable, with a short range, sluggish performance and poor drivability. Those days are just about over, though, and the people who once thought of electric cars as a novelty are singing a different tune.
Planet Ford in Spring has your electric car needs handled with a variety of makes and models.
With the Ford Fusion hybrid reaching 41 mpg on the highway (with full amenities and good performance), dismissing electrics and hybrids is less of a tenable position than it was before. There was also a time when people pointed out the edge that import makes had in electric vehicle technology, but again – that gap is rapidly closing.
And Ford has a whole variety of choices in all-electric or hybrid vehicles, from sedans to vans to trucks and SUVs. Along with the Focus (check one out at your Houston Ford dealer), the Transit Connect small commercial van is now available in a fully-electric version. By 2012, five more electric vehicles will be in the Ford lineup for North America. Ford is making strides in the technology for electrics and hybrids, including key drivetrain components like the battery packs and transaxles. And even with a fairly limited range, a Houston electric car makes perfect sense for commuters who drive 20-30 miles each way for work.
By partnering with Microsoft, Ford lets consumers take advantage of off-peak hours and reduced utility rates for “value charging,” reducing the cost of ownership for electrics. One of the latest innovations is a program that will allow you to control things like charging times or starting/stopping the charge through your smart phone.
And sometimes it’s the little things that get overlooked in the race to innovate. Not so at Ford…they do sweat the small stuff. For instance, most manufacturers’ charging stations are a hardwired, one-piece box that’s physically mounted on the wall. The Ford electric charging station is mounted on a bracket and can easily be unplugged for servicing or moving. With Best Buy’s Geek Squad contracted to do the actual mounting and setup of the charging station, Ford estimates $700 in savings to drivers; the next goal is a “to-go” charging station that can be put in the car and set up for charging when you reach your destination.
In coming years, look to Ford to roll out fully-electric Lincolns and pickups, as well as making all kinds of other advances in electric and hybrid technology. Not too many people think of electrics as a sort of joke car anymore, and Ford is one big reason why that’s so. Check out your local South Texas Ford dealer, Planet Ford in Spring and see what’s the latest!
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