[NOS2Go4Me]

cornflakes,May 1 2009, 11:57 PM Wrote:yeah i still can't believe you can get 2300km on one tank.  Apparently the actual model that will be on sale gives you only 36/50 mpg.  That's too bad.
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It WAS a stock, production 2010 Fusion Hybrid. They just used some fairly extreme hypermiling techniques to get to that number. Even the Ford Exec in the article commented on how they were really pushing the car.

It CAN be done but definitely not by everyone, and not all of the time either.

It does stand that if you want a more than decent domestic hybrid - you're looking at it. The rest of the domestic hybrids are almost all "partial hybrids", where the gas engine runs 24/7 and the electric motors assist as required. That way the manufacturer can install a smaller, less-adequate engine for the size of the vehicle and still get acceptable performance from it. Normally this yields better fuel economy as well.

The Fusion is actually in line with the Prius and the new Insight as being the closest thing to the Volt as you can get right now. The Fusion will run on batteries as long as you're easy on it and you have enough charge. The engine will also charge the batteries and so will regenerative braking.

The Volt (if it makes it) will be the first plug-in hybrid, which means you could fill the tank and not need to refill for quite some time if your driving range fits within the range of the batteries - just plug it back in and you're good to go again, sans gas.