Ford with great excitement announced an expanded alliance with Progress Energy of North Carolina to test its plug-in hybrid electric vehicle, the Escape.
But buried in the press release issued Tuesday were several more interesting facts. First, Ford in partnership with almost a dozen utilities in North America has now logged more than 160,000 miles on a fleet of 21 Escape prototypes since mid 2007.
The Escape plug-in hybrid is testing Ford smart grid recharging software system
Second, during the testing, the prototypes using electric power and a gasoline engine achieved up to 120 MPG.
In one sense, it is surprising the vehicles haven’t covered many more miles. But considering the program probably started slowly and gained momentum in recent months, the company is obviously collecting some useful data.
What is unfortunate is that Ford did not offer more information on mileage. For instance, it didn’t explain what conditions led to the 120-MPG achievement. Nor did it offer an average MPG.
But it is interesting to note that substantial improvements in endurance are possible, even as carmakers complain about federal demands for an improvement in their fleets’ efficiency.
The Ford Escape hybrid is scheduled to go on sale in 2012, and the company claims it can travel up to 35 miles with little or no gas. Its batteries take up to eight hours to recharge with household current.
With respect to Progress Energy, the company has been testing one plug-in Escape in Raleigh since February 2009. It will now test a second car, a 2010 Escape with what Ford calls “the industry’s first vehicle-to-electric ‘smart’ grid communications and control system.”
The goal of the system is to allow drivers to take advantage of less expensive electric rates by deciding when and for how long to recharge their vehicles.
