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.