The M Files

2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid.

I'd like to start off by thanking the folks at LB Smith Ford Lincoln Mercury for being good sports and supporting my Earth Day challenge. Giving up a brand new vehicle, especially Motor Trend's 2010 Car of the Year, to the likes of me was a leap of faith.

In all I drove the car 296 miles and burned slightly more than 7.5 gallons of gas. That equals a little better than 39 MPG. Given my relatively high proportion of highway driving, the Fusion's fuel efficiency was better than expected.* We can probably thank the car's "empower?" mode of operation, which displayed significant real -time operational data, for helping me to exceed performance predictions.

The car handled well and was a pleasure to drive. The technological amenities Blue Tooth phone synchronization, voice recognition system, on board navigation, Sirius radio make it ideal for a commuter like me. I was sorry to part ways with it on Monday.

All that said, you won't see me buying one anytime soon.

Why?

As an energy engineer who daily works with performance goals, the fuel efficiency, even with all the amenities, isn't worth the $30,000+ price tag to me. Stripping away all the special gadgetry, the Fusion Hybrid's base MSRP is listed at $19,695. Compare that to Ford's 2011 Fiesta, a standard engine car that has a base MSRP of $13,320. The Fiesta's fuel efficiency is rated at 40 MPG highway, 30 MPG city a virtual environmental wash with the Fusion Hybrid.

Let's do the math. The base Fusion costs $6,375 more than the base Fiesta (not including tax) for almost identical highway fuel efficiency. At $3.00 per gallon of fuel, I could buy the Fiesta and drive 85,000 highway miles for the same amount of money it cost to drive the Fusion off the lot in the first place. Now that's efficiency, and it' the direction I'll go when our beloved Explorer finally bites the dust.**

I can appreciate people who purchase a vehicle primarily on an emotional or philosophical basis I've been there myself (three letters: B M W). But you can't help but wonder what percentage of hybrid owners even considered these practicalities before they purchased theirs, especially those who drive them with reckless abandon.

Here's a brief article on simple payback analyses for seven popular hybrid vehicles.

Thanks for tagging along with my Earth Day challenge. I look forward to more energy experiments and trust you'll keep the comments coming.

*The car is listed at 41 MPG city/36 MPG highway.

**As an aside, the Fiesta also has a hatchback, which is much better than the Fusion's trunk for transporting my bicycles.

This wasn't a serious political rally. Yes, they really handed out Ed Rendell bobble heads.

On Saturday night, I drove the Ford Fusion Hybrid to Philadelphia, where I was the guest of a client at a PennFuture event celebrating Gov. Ed Rendell’s environmental victories. Though I am a Republican, the event was more an energy celebration than a political rally. The evening with friends was delightful, and I was honored to be invited.

Among the guest speakers were former President Clinton (via satellite), Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, former Pennsylvania DEP Secretary Katie McGinty, as well as a few of the state’s current cabinet secretaries. The speeches were fairly light, more resembling a roast than political sound bites. Mayor Nutter quipped that the governor initially thought Marcellus Shale was a power-hitting baseball player who ought to wear a Phillies uniform. Mr. Clinton told of highly unskilled basketball match-ups between himself and then prosecutor Ed Rendell.

Gov. Rendell spoke from the heart. What he lacks in basketball skills is more than compensated by his ability to communicate. He spoke in some detail about the role his marriage has played in his success as chief executive.

PennFuture dubbed Mr. Rendell as “our Green governor.” The event program listed some of the administration’s actions:

• Passage of the Growing Greener bond that preserved more than 30,000 acres of farmland, 42,000 acres of wildlife habitat, funded 400 watershed protection projects, repaired dams, and revitalized communities.
• Passage of the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act.
• Adoption of a regulation requiring coal-fired power plants to reduce emissions of mercury pollution by 90 percent.
• Adoption of tail-pipe pollution standards for new cars sold in the Keystone State.
• Passage of Act 129, which requires utilities to reduce demand for electricity.
• Passage of the Renewable Fuels Mandate which will require a growing percentage of diesel transportation fuel to be made from renewable resources.
• Passage of the $650 million Alternative Energy Investment Act that provided financial incentives for the development of renewable energy projects, including the Pennsylvania Sunshine Program.

There’s no doubt that these actions will make an enduring environmental impact on the Commonwealth. And there is definitely some economic stimulus. Several of our McClure customers have implemented energy projects with us as a result of receiving the grants and low-cost loans. These projects would otherwise have been moth-balled, as the capital costs heavily outweighed the economic benefit.

My takeaway? On the renewable side, what I don’t see are these tax/rate payer provider funds truly making renewable energy projects more affordable over the long haul. Unless we see dramatic improvements in solar and wind technologies, they will continue to need an artificial boost through government mandates and incentives.

Saturday
This morning we had to divide and conquer. As our 14 year old and my wife ran a local 5K, I took our 12 year old to his early morning baseball game. Kyle liked the electronics in the Ford Fusion Hybrid. He regretted not bringing his iPod, which can be plugged in and broadcast in the car. (I didn’t mind that he forgot ). Kyle had a nice game as his team earned a well-played win. Here he is in his second at bat.

Saturday is usually my biggest training day. When we returned home, I set up my triathlon bike for a long ride. My bike is a lot like the Ford Fusion Hybrid in one respect: It’s built for maximum power efficiency. And just like the car, if I don’t ride it the way it was intended to be ridden I just spent a lot of money for minimal gain. Behavior in the saddle/driver’s seat is as essential to peak performance as the technology itself.

Truly a power/energy junkie, I regulate my cycling effort with the use of this SRM power meter.

The Ford Fusion Hybrid and Cannondale Hi Mod Slice. Both built for maximum efficient use of power.

Late in my ride, I came upon an Amish farmer working the fields with a team of six horses. Just as I pulled over to take a photo, he wheeled around to cross the road. The horses came snorting right at me, and I had to squeeze a hasty photo before jumping out of the way. No harm, no foul. The good-natured Dutchman and I both had a good laugh.

Though you can't tell, this is a team of six horses. That equals about six horsepower, I figure. Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear!

If engineering convention is correct, that team of horses generates about 4,500 watts of power on average. In contrast, my cycling peak output today was 543 watts, and my normalized power was 215 watts. That power output carried me 59 miles in slightly over three hours.

Friday
I swapped my ride for the weekend, honoring Earth Day by test-driving a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. So far I have to give the car high marks. We set the car up on”Empower” mode at LB Smith Ford Lincoln Mercury, which gives me the most dashboard data on how the car is operating. That feedback loop allowed me to see how changes in driving behavior affect fuel efficiency, and I can also see how braking actually regenerates the battery.

When I drove the car off the lot, it had a full tank of gas. The dashboard estimated that I had 498 miles to go before refueling. Since then, I drove from Lemoyne, PA to the McClure Company offices in Harrisburg and then home to Lancaster during rush hour about 50 miles in all. The gas gauge still reads completely full, and the dash says I have about 471 miles until the tank is empty. Even with more than 20 miles of highway driving the car just sipped fuel. I have to say this was a pleasant surprise.

I really like the bluetooth set up, the voice recognition media, and on-board navigation system. The car also has rear cameras so I can see what I’m backing into. While the technology is very useful, I would worry about repair bills if something went wrong with the electronics. I’m wondering if any Fusion hybrid owners or Ford dealers can give feedback on that concern?

From a performance standpoint, the hybrid felt similar to the McClure Company standard engine Fusion. I only felt like I was driving a golf cart at exceptionally low speeds.

Brett Corcoran, general manager of LB Smith Ford Lincoln Mercury (@LBSmithFord) , preparing to hand over the keys to McClure Company's Dan Kerr (@RunOnEnergy) and Lynn Desantis (@LynnDesantis).

Since I’m driving a new car home this afternoon, a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid from LB Smith Ford Lincoln Mercury, I had to find an alternative way to get to work this morning. Luckily it’s a beautiful day in central Pennsylvania. I headed out on my 45-mile bicycle commute at about 6:00 am.

I get a lot of questions about what I eat to support an endurance exercise addiction. Here’s what I filled my fuel tank with at 5:00 am:

You don't get to see stuff like this schoolhouse when speeding up I- 283 in the morning. This is one of dozens of great scenes along the way.

• 8 ounces orange juice
• 3,000 mg flaxseed oil
• Two pieces of whole wheat toast
• Two tablespoons of all natural peanut butter
• Banana
• Two tablespoons of honey
• Strong cup of coffee

Along the journey I drank 40 ounces of water. So there you have it; high octane to my engine.

What an incredible morning. Lancaster County farmland is beautiful on a cool, sunny spring morning. I pulled over to take a couple of photos.

Bicycle commuting takes a fair amount of planning.

• I had to stage my Friday clothing and food
• I left my laptop computer at work last night
• And now I have to get my bike back home again

I had to take a photo of this central utility plant at Masonic Villages. McClure Company won an innovation award for it in 2004. A study in how massive carbon reductions can make economic sense.

All slightly inconvenient but manageable. I’m fortunate to have a locker room at work. It’s virtually impossible to do long-distance cycling without a workplace locker room.

Along the way I noticed the Elizabethtown Amtrak station has a new bike rack that’s actually protected from the weather. Wow, I wish that was a typical train station sight. I’m going to have to make use of that.