On Oct 9, 2012 5:11 PM, "Gerry Archer" <arche...@embarqmail.com> wrote: >
> A dealer salesman said the hybrid electronics are from an older model Prius and leased from Toyota. Dealer salesman is a liar, Ford developed its hybrid drive independently for the Escape in 2004. It has some features that are nicer than the Prius, and some that are not. It is similar in many ways to the gen1 and gen2 Priuses, so they cross-licensed patents, and at the time Toyota somewhat disingenuously issued press releases that Ford had licensed its technology - written in a way that led to a lot of folks concluding, incorrectly, that Ford was using the Toyota technology. Having driven both a Ford and Toyota hybrid I prefer driving the Prius, but Ford impressed me with how well they thought out failsafes. For example, if the traction pack drains, you can push a button to recharge (enough for the starter anyway) from the accessory battery. And the Escape could tow, had a high wheel base, could carry a whole lot, was offered with four wheel drive, and did not look like a broken shoe. It also got half the mileage of the Prius, I hope the Focus is better in that regard. :) By the way, I never found a Ford dealer who could work on the Escape; even the "certified hybrid techs" couldn't diagnose problems, and there was clearly no communication of common issues between sites. Hopefully the experience now is better, or there are good Indys about. Anyway, learn from my mistake and hunt for someone before stuff goes wrong. Glad your friend is still happy with his Volt. Best, Tim _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new and used parts go to www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
