Ford Focus Electric Car En Route To Dealers. Good Luck

by Bertel Schmitt

May 19th, 2012 11:57 AM

ford focus electric car en route to dealers good luck

This weekend, Ford will put its first Focus EVs on car carriers and ship them to dealers, Reuters heard. Some 67 dealers in California, New Jersey and New York will receive 350 Electrics. Each dealer will get about six cars, one of which will be a demonstration model, the other for sale, Reuters’ sources said.

Ford did not want to comment on these enormous news. Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood only offered the sibylline statement that Ford is “still on track to begin shipping the Focus Electric this spring.”

The Focus EV will have a hard time. EVs are not necessarily flying off dealer’s lots. Nissan sold 2,103 of its all electric Leaf in the first four months of the year. In the same period, GM sold 5,377 of its not quite all-electric Volt.

Of course, some cars are not meant for rapid sales. They are more meant to fill a quota.

#BertelSchmitt #FocusElectric #Ford

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11 of 64 comments

Coronaadvances.com on May 19, 2012

Electric Car is the future

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Les on May 20, 2012

Just taking the topic side-ways for a moment.. Anyone else think styling wise the above car, at least from the front... kinda.. sorta.. vaguely resembles Aston Martin design language?

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- 28-Cars-Later on May 20, 2012
  
  Grille and overall nose seem very Aston Martin, not sure about the rest.
  
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- Tonymos on May 20, 2012
  
  @28-Cars-Later Whether this front makes it look more Aston Martin(i) or not, it definitely makes it look a lot better to my eyes than the standard three black triangles - so the question would be: does anyone know whether it's possible to retrofit a standard Focus with this front mask? Does this thing let some air flow through? And a sufficient amount of it to cool a gasoline engine? Another plus: it makes it look more in line with the 2013 Fusion which shall be the new corporate face anyway...
  
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- Les on May 20, 2012
  
  @28-Cars-Later So it's not just me then? I really wish they wouldn't... making Fords look like Astons doesn't make me covet Fords, it makes me NOT covet Astons.
  
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- Redav on May 20, 2012
  
  @28-Cars-Later tonymos: no, you can't retrofit the gas focus with this. EVs don't need anywhere near as much cooling, so this grille is purely cosmetic & non-functioning (as far as I can tell). I haven't seen enough close-ups to know for sure, but an EV doesn't have the need for a radiator like an ICE does. But since aero is even more important for EVs, closing off as much of the grille would be advantageous. I do think there's a small radiator in the opening below the Aston grille for AC and cooling the battery pack.
  
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- Tonymos on May 20, 2012
  
  @28-Cars-Later Thanks for the info, redav. I was fearing that this is the answer to my question. Which is a pity, b/c this is miles better than the standard gapping triangles...
  
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FJ60LandCruiser on May 20, 2012

Electric cars aren't created by a market economy, they are not purchased because there is a demand, they are produced at enormous cost and sold at a loss but at a still high price that is partially offset by a government tax credit (which would probably kill sales if it wasn't there)... If you had 40 grand, what would you buy? Two new cars that get 35-40mpg, or a single electric car without a reliable charging infrastructure unless you live in one of a half dozen urban areas. Oh, wait, most average American families can't even afford to buy a NEW car, despite high gas prices, let alone an electric car! The only "real" market I see for these vehicles are the people who want to be ostensibly seen as eco-crusaders. Forget the Prius, I have an electric car!

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- Redav on May 20, 2012
  
  Given federal rebates and reasonable estimates for fuel & electric costs, the eFocus' breakeven point would be around 100k mi. compared to a comparable gas Focus. Since I keep vehicles longer than that, I would expect the eFocus to pay for itself over the (very) long haul. There's also the issue of maintenance. It is projected that EVs will cost much less to maintain since there are so many things they don't need. But until we actually get some data on that, I'm not counting on it. I am not an enviro-crusader, but I would buy an EV if I could get one a bit cheaper. If I could get this eFocus for the cost of a Ti Focus (mid to high 20s) after rebate, I would buy it. I don't live one of those special urban areas, but that's not necessary. My commute is 13 mi round trip, and a lot of places I go are too close for a gas engine to fully get up to temperature. Also, half my drive home is spent stuck at a single (poorly designed) light. I waste a lot of gas in that spot, but an EV would be ideal. I would have no need for any other charging location than my garage, and I wouldn't even bother buying a rapid charge station. We have mild winters and the only hills are overpasses. As to people not able to afford new cars - the industry sells ~12 million new cars a year, so that's obviously whom they market all their cars to. (You don't exactly see billboards in prison.) Of course, $40k is a lot of money, and it's too much even considering the fed rebates.
  
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- Herm on May 20, 2012
  
  @redav "I don’t live one of those special urban areas, but that’s not necessary. My commute is 13 mi round trip, and a lot of places I go are too close for a gas engine to fully get up to temperature." It sounds like an iMiev with its EPA certified range of 62 miles is a good choice for you.. for about $21k you get an automatic transmission, AC and seats four. Looks are a bit odd but I'm sure you are not vain about cars :)
  
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Solracer on May 20, 2012

I do live in an area (Seattle) with an excellent EV infrastructure and a large population of EVs and if I was in the market for a new commuter car I'd definitely consider the Focus E. However my 2011 Fiesta gets 36 mpg so it's a little hard to justify replacing a new vehicle that gets good mpg. If the price of gas keeps climbing (it's $4.25 a gallon and heading up at the moment, the opposite of the national trend) the Focus is going to look more and more attractive to me.

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