Tuning Truck

Sustainable reporting is what it is all about right now. To continue our nod to the celebration of Earth Day earlier this week, we bring you a story about the next step Ford is planning to take in their green car initiative—the all-electric Ford Focus.

Earlier this month during the 2009 Denver Auto Show, I reported on Ford’s sustainability plan and the announcement that Ford will be introducing an all-electric version of the Transit Connect in the summer of 2010. This was closely followed with another update in the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid 41 MPG Challenge report where I discussed the lack of large vehicle hybrids or clean diesels in Ford’s sustainability plan (Currently the clean diesel engine is only offered on the F250 and larger trucks and not in the E-series vehicles at all). That aside, Ford did announce during the 2009 Detroit Auto Show this January that they will bring a fully electric Focus to market in 2011.

Ford Focus EV - instrument panel

Excitingly enough, our partners at GreenCarReports.com were able to test-drive Ford’s Focus EV development mule. In the report John Voelcker recounts how well finished the development mule was compared to normal mules and went on to say, “the car felt showroom-ready in low-speed testing around the roads and parking lots of DisneyWorld.” Apparently, the car is supposed to achieve about 100 miles on a full charge and will recharge overnight in six hours if you plug-in to 220 volts. However, if you are stuck with the normal 110 volts, the car will still charge in a fairly reasonable 12 hours—that is as long as you don’t have to pop out to the store once you get home on your depleted battery.

Even though I am very interested to see where all the EV technology is going, there is a part of me that wonders if we are going to loose something very important, something that fuelled an entire revolution of American culture (not to mention German and Italian cultures). What is that important thing? Driving Passion. It is hard for me right now to envision taking my new EV into the mountains for some pulse-raising driving excitement. I know I may be the last of a dying breed, but I still like to shift my cars and as a club racer in the Sports Car Club of America I also like to drive my cars. It makes me wonder—Is a mountain road still as much fun if there is no heal-toe downshifting or rpms to match? And what about the exhaust note of a finely tuned road machine?

Be sure to get the full report on the Ford Focus development mule test-drive over at GreenCarReports.com. Also be sure to check out our other blogs, new and used car information and photo gallery right here at AllSmallCars.com. One last thing, if you like what you read or have comments feel free to leave them via our commenting tool and don’t forget to bookmark us so you can check back for the latest in All Small Car news.