TTAC Called It: Ford Calls PHEV Volt GM's "Hail Mary"
Credit Justin Berkowitz. On a recent podcast, Justin chastised Ford President Mark Fields for begging for bucks for hybrid batteries. "Stupid schmuck," Justin said [paraphrasing]. "Ford should concentrate on getting small cars like the Focus and the Fiesta to market as soon as possible." And now Bloomberg reports that FoMoCo is committing itself to NOT developing a plug-in electric hybrid (PHEV). Ted Miller, Ford's senior manager of energy storage, said Ford would not take an "overly aggressive approach" [as opposed to a conservatively aggressive approach] to introducing plug-ins. That would be "akin to a Hail Mary." And that's bad. "A Hail Mary means that we're probably going to have to neglect a lot of other things." In other words, Ford can't afford to chase rainbows. Despite the common sense, Bloomie Scribe Greg Bensinger feels compelled to warn his readers that Ford's non-tack might leave the automaker high and dry when GM or Toyota introduce a massively popular PHEV. See? Now that's funny! Meanwhile, Blue Oval Boy Said Deep revealed there'll be a hybrid Mercury Milan and Ford Fusion in Ford showrooms by year's end, for a total of four gas – electric models. A new-ish Mercury! More Jill Wagner ads! Rejoice!
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The legendary face made for radio.
Plug in Volt, Plug in Prius... Existing, running, driving, could be first to market, plug in Escapes.. http://blog.wired.com/cars/2007/12/ford-delivers-f.html Is Ford just dumb?