RedLdr1

There are a couple other factors, First, around here most cars thefts are joy rides, but the serious chop shop will have your car disassembled in much less than a day. And car thefts are not always worked very quickly by the authorities around Atlanta. Plus "joy rides" usually get returned anyway... Second, my LoJack was in a convertible Mustang Cobra, a high theft risk. I do not see my FFH or C-Max as being much of a target for joy riders. Plus I already pay for insurance and the discount for LoJack doesn't cover the costs.... When I had LoJack the smartphone app wasn't available. But even with it are you going to run out and confront a car thief?

The ACC only slows the car down when the Cruise Control is ON. There are five distance settings you can choose between for how close the system allows you to get before cutting power. The only time the collision alarm seems to sound on my FFH, and on my old SHO, is when someone slows to turn in front of me and leaves my lane partially blocked. I tend to keep a good distance behind other vehicles so it doesn't get to much usage.

I have had Lojack in a previous car and will not buy it again. Before you buy it look at their coverage area on their website (See Here). I live in north metro Atlanta and their coverage stops one county north of me...that is a fifteen minute drive. It just isn't worth the cost to me...

I'd note the problem on the Delivery Inspection paperwork and schedule an appointment to have it fixed. Just because a panel is misaligned doesn't mean it needs replaced, just aligned.... That is normally a fairly simple job for the dealership's body shop.

As far as the body check for any paint issues, paint chips, dents, dings, and overall body alignment. Check all the glass and lighting for any chips or damage. On the interior check for any stains, scuffs, rips, or streching of the seats or other panels. If you have any options that include "loose" parts, like the trunk organizer, make sure you have them. Once you drive off the lot it can become a "He said" versus "They said" as far as any damages that you could have possibly caused yourself...

I hate to tell you but that sounds about right... "Trade In" value is usually detemined using the Mannheim Report by most dealers, it is a report on the "wholesale auction" value of the vehicle and is significantly less than Blue Book / Black Book / Edmunds and all the other useless value guides you can access on the web. When a vehicle is realitively new there isn't a lot of data in the Mannheim Report and the pricing can be low... Add in they include a lot of used rental units and repos and it can get really low... We tried out a 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and it just didn't work out for us. It's MSRP was $34,000....I got $25,000 Trade In. That is a $9,000 hit over three months based on the cars supposed value. The Sales Manager at my Ford dealership showed me the Mannheim Report printouts and that is what they were selling for... The good news is my son works for Hyundai and I only paid his employee pricing of $25,500 for the car...so I paid $500 to use the car for three months. I was very lucky on that one...

I had a 2012 SHO that the FFH replaced. The best highway mileage I ever saw was 26.4MPG and I was taking it very easy. Its complete full fuel history is listed on Fuelly Here. We also had a 2011 Flex Limited, 3.5L non-EcoBoost, FWD not AWD, and my old spreadsheet, covering about 30,000 miles shows: Average Commuting MPG of 18.3MPG, Average Highway MPG of 21.2MPG, Best Highway MPG of 24.9MPG. The worst mileage recorded was 16.1MPG commuting in Atlanta metro traffic. We replaced the Flex with a C-Max SEL...it does every thing we need as well as the Flex. Our monthly gasoline costs went from $400 to $250 a month by trading in the Flex for the C-Max. With the FFH now replacing the SHO I expect the fuel bill to go down about another $100 or so.... :)

Ford is supposed to be releasing MFT Version 3.5.1, and Version A4 maps for cars with Navigation, by the end of this quarter to address the MFT issues. Non-hybrids are already using 3.5.1 but it need "tweaked" for our cars... At least the version of MFT in my FFH is less buggy than the one in my C-Max but they both need some serious work. As far as Microsfot writing code...well that is why this reply is being typed on an iMac.... ;) :)

I have not a had a spare tire in several cars over the last few years. To me it is not a big issue at all...but I've been riding a motorcycle for a long time and I'm used to not having a spare and fixing tires. The Tire Mobility Kit (TMK) in your trunk is designed to temporarily fix most punctures and get you going again so you can have the tire repaired correctly and permanently. The big disadvantages of the TMK are is it will "kill" the TPMS sensor if you use the sealant "goo" and it will not fix a tire with a larger hole or sidewall cut. Only a spare tire will address larger puncture problems... To hedge my bets on not having a spare tire in my FFH, or in my C-Max for that matter, I carry a motorcycle style "sticky rope" repair kit with the TMK. See Here for an example, you can get these at any Auto parts store. This kit will allow me to plug a small hole without using the "goo" in the TMK and ruin a TPMS sensor. Plus when you have the repair done permanently the tech does not have to get all the "goo" out of the tire... Most time the "sticky rope" qualifies to be the permanent repair but I have them checked at a tire shop and re-patched and plugged the tire from the inside for safety. The last time I had a flat it was on a vehicle with a full size spare... But the idiot that rotated the tires torqued the lug nuts down so tight I couldn't break them loose even with the X wrench I carried! So I ended up calling Road Side Assistance anyway... Carrying the TMK, sticky rope repair kit and a charged cell phone is good enough for me based on where I drive. Now, if I lived in the middle of nowhere North Dakota I'd probably get a full sized spare...

My FFH is beating my C-Max by around 4MPG when looking at the same break-in mileage range. In overall MPG they are pretty close as shown by Fuelly.... I'm quite happy with them both...and I know the MPG on both of them will go up if it ever warms up around here!

Same here, the lens has a fairly wide angle.....

I doubt there is any correlation... Not all Ford Hybrids even have MFT, you have to buy the option, and some still get better gas mileage than others. Of course cussing and pounding on the dash while trying to get MFT to actually work would probably cause lower MPG as it would influence your driving techniques... ;)

I do not believe there is significantly more enviromental impact in manufacturing a hybrid than any other car. I've seen / heard the "statements on the Internet and talk radio that hybrids have a net negative effect on the environment." as well but have never seen any hard data produced to back up the claims. The plants that manufacture the traction batteries are generally newer and "cleaner" than the old lead acid or gel battery plants. As far as "end of life" recycled traction batteries sell at a brisk pace on the secondary market and are much more likely to be recycled at a higher percentage than the 12VDC lead acid batteries almost all cars use. How many old 12VDC lead acid batteries have you seen lying around improperly stored or just tossed in to the trash? I've now owned four hybrids, including the FFH and C-Max, and the primary "driving" ;) force for me is saving money...by using less gasoline. The C-Max has doubled the gas mileage of the Flex Limited it replaced and the FFH has doubled the gas mileage of the Taurus SHO it replaced. Both the C-Max and FFH are smaller versions of what I was driving, but they are just as suitable for our needs. By "downsizing" our vehicles I'm saving money on gas costs and reducing our enviromental footprint, by about 50%, as a secondary benefit....not a bad deal at all.... :hi5:

Riggo, I managed to scratch the rear window tint on a pickup a few years ago and having it retinted did not damage the rear defroster wires. As for how much hassle removing all the tint is I have no idea as I've never had that done....

I had a bad Instrument Panel that was causing the 12V battery to drain down when parked overnight That problem also killed the first 12V battery which was replaced as well.... You can read all the details on the C-Max forum Here. The tint on my FFH and C-Max is FormulaOne Pinnacle Series in 35%, I don't need the hassles of illegal tint either... ;) I use Pinnacle because it is a ceramic tint, not metallic, and will not interfere with any on board electronics like some metallic tints. It has a UV rejection factor of 99.5% plus it has a lifetime warranty... :) Here are a couple pictures of my C-Max showing the same tint and the color matched bodyside molding that I have on order for the FFH....

Well actually we bought the Fusion because my wife really likes the car... :) And we both really like the gas mileage our C-Max is getting! Our new SE is White Platinum Metallic with a Dune Leather interior. It is a fairly well "loaded" one with the 505A Luxury Equipment Group, Drivers Assistance Package, Navigation, Hybrid Technology Package, Adaptive Cruise Control, Active Park Assist, Reverse Sensing System, Sunroof, and 18"Luxury Wheels. The SE has more high tech electronic "toys" than the Taurus SHO :peelout: it replaced...but just half the horsepower though... Hmm, half the horsepower and twice the MPG...there just may be a correlation in there somewhere... :) Our C-Max was one of the ones with the infamous 12V battery problem but that has been sucessfully repaired and we have had no other issues in the last 5,000 miles... :) I hope the SE works out as well as the C-Max has so far as it is a very nice car that we both enjoy driving.... Here is a photo of our SE sitting in the driveway letting the window tinting dry out. As you can see I have a nice steep driveway connecting to a steep downhill road... At least it gives me a good "roll out" in the mornings and I can usually EV back up it coming home...:D 2013 Fusion SE