cuehara

The nav system has a CD database from Gracenote (it is/was called CDDB). It figures out the album identity from the the track lengths and order on the CD. Since the database doesn't somehow automatically update, new CDs are obviously unidentifiable. However, you can apparently get Gracenote updates via an update CD. I'll quote Oman from an older post: and again The man's a fount of information.

I've had a good experience with the service department at Tim Stewart. Not so much from sales though. I stopped by to inquire about an FFH back in April, and they were quite abrupt. No backing down from MSRP, and I was firmly told that I'd be lucky if they sold me one at that. Even after I told them I was aware of the open allocation, that I had the invoice breakdown, and that I was ready to sign as soon as I found an amenable dealer. Anyway my sales guy was acting a little weird, and the place was eerily empty so I left. On a more positive note, when I was having some service work done there, I dropped in to look at some I4 Fusion SELs, and a salesman got me a test drive in under five.

They had an editorial over at TTAC about DRLs recently. http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/the-truth...running-lights/ The short of it: DRLs are an easy-to-implement safety measure that goes awry due to inconsistent implementation amongst brands and models tacked onto the tradeoffs made between effective bulb output and bulb lifetime. Don't know why the FFH options list blows off DRLs or HIDs. Combined they'd make for a nice revenue stream through lamp replacement. Maybe the +100W burned by DRLs, if installed, would affect mpg, or maybe the shorter bulb lifetimes would run counter to owner expectations. I'd rather it be an available option though (along with cooled seats and key-less ignition if I could add to the wishlist). Ah well.

Cars with immobilizers do get towed and stripped. I know someone who had that done to them; the thieves were fast and selective and left the car sans wheels/dash/hood a couple of blocks away. But you're right, LoJack doesn't really prevent that. A good alarm is a better preventative measure.

40.1 mpg w/90% highway and single occupant (mixed a/c usage) with approx 2000 miles. Drive is mildly hilly.

Just to add to that, the TPMS system can make arbitrary rim replacement a little more complicated, since the pressure monitoring sensor is in the wheel. If that gets overlooked, you'll probably get a low tire pressure warning on your dash, which is annoying.

Since the effectiveness of LoJack really varies between police departments, it's benefits are will vary. If you live in an area where the local PD is equipped with LoJack tracking computers, it might provide peace of mind. So yeah, the most certain impact an install will have is on your insurance rate, and that will vary a good bit between policies and companies. LoJack does offer an additional device and service that uses a GPS, and you can use it to monitor your car's location, but it isn't meant for vehicle recovery. The standard LoJack uses a radio transceiver, and the local PD needs to both activate it and have the hardware and interest in tracking your car down for the whole system to work.

You can buy small key rings, and the key has a place that you can attach a small key ring to. Just use the small ring as a jump ring and attach that instead of the key directly to your normal ring.

The chrome plated plastic is fairly durable, but you shouldn't polish it. That's why waxing it is doubly important; it maintains the grill's appearance while making it easier to clean. Keep it waxed and nice from the get go, and you can avoid problems down the line. Meguiar's NXT, Turtle Wax ICE, Zymol, Zaino...the list of waxes and their fans is pretty long. NXT and ICE are pretty easy to get, easy to use, and seem to give good results. I'd give them a go before trying something a little more involved like Zaino. You should probably stick with the polymer "waxes" since these days they perform well and require less effort than a conventional wax. Optimum No-Rinse (ONR) is a really good product, especially for a weekly wash. Put a cap full in two gallons of water, and that's more than enough for a wash (you can store the remainder in the bucket and use it later if you keep it clean). It's not soapy, but it removes grime like a champ. Soak a microfiber towel in ONR+water and clean a section of your car. Then instead of rinsing, you just wipe it dry with another microfiber towel. Cleans streak- and residue-free. You can buy ONR and a stack of microfiber towels (Zwipes are $18 for 36) off of Amazon. It's great to have a stack of microfiber towels since you can keep grabbing a clean and dry one when you're working on the car; they are great for cleaning windows and the dash, waxing, etc. Plus, just toss them in the washing machine and they're almost as good as new. Anyway, ONR is great stuff on its own merits, but it's especially awesome if you live in an apartment or somewhere where washing your car in the winter is a no-go.

1) Keyless ignition and entry with just the fob or at least, 2) a switchblade-style key. Even the Fiesta is getting keyless ignition when the 2011 model debuts.

Bill's right. When first starting out, Engage seems the most natural because the mode shows you how much the electric motor and ICE are contributing to your car's speed and acceleration. It gives you feedback somewhat like an RPM gauge, so it feels familiar. But once you start working on your fuel economy, Empower's more useful. The green bracket gives you instant feedback, telling you how much you can push the pedal before popping out of electric mode. So while Engage is focused on how you're driving now, Empower is focused more on how you could be driving (your driving options). For example, can I push my acceleration a bit and stay in electric mode or should I opt to mash the pedal and get up to speed before easing off. Depending on conditions, the FFH can accelerate well enough to keep up with traffic from a stop or a roll. In others, trying to stay in electric instead of using the pedal to engage the ICE will just jam up the cars behind you, and you'll probably end up using the ICE anyway as you start falling behind traffic. Empower can tell you how to get good fuel economy without infuriating everyone driving behind you.

lol nice. It's also nice how the nav notifies you if there's an accident along your route (if you have a destination set). Of course, sometimes the accident is clearing/cleared and others the accident doesn't cause any traffic.

I ordered mine April 23rd and it arrived on May 26th. Not too shabby. It was two weeks from order to production and two weeks more for a train ride and delivery to the dealership. Guess the stars were aligned just right.

I've noticed the same thing on the highway wrt rubberbanding. It's most noticeable to me when I'm smoothly accelerating up a slight incline; I just chalked it up to the generator kicking in. The system appears to be pretty complicated and tries its best to do what your right foot's telling it to while balancing a bunch of other things at the same time. I have noticed the system behaving a tad rough every so often, but the manual states that the battery occasionally re-conditions itself and that you may notice when it's doing that (or more specifically, "you may notice slight changes in drivability during the process"). Could be you're seeing that? I would imagine that most wouldn't notice, but I've been conditioned from my previous car to react to odd engine performance. In fact, how the FFH is meant to behave occasionally freaks me out because it does a lot of things that my old car did before it died, like shut off at stop lights and shudder at odd moments :P

I have to agree. I have the medium light stone interior, which is actually quite nice. But the dash is a radiant heater for at least 15 minutes after you get in. The a/c might get the air cool, but you can feel the heat coming off the enormous dash. If you have to park in the sun, a windshield sun screen is a must. BTW, although you asked about the dark interior, the light leather seats have yet to get hot.