I was wrong, way wrong. I stated that a team of drivers, including hypermiller Wayne Gerdes and NASCAR driver Carl Edwards, could not drive a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid over 1,000 miles on a single tank of gas. But the team ticked over the 1,000 mark with a 1/3 tank of gas left and proceed to drive an extra 445.7 miles. In all, the drive was 47 hours of continuous driving done by an entire team of people.
The stunt concluded yesterday morning with Edwards hit the 1,000 mark himself. Thankfully, this car ride didn’t end like the Sprint Cup race at Talladega just last Sunday. Then again, the speeds were a bit slower on this drive.
I say no, but that’s just me. What do I know, I just spent 10 days driving 3,200 miles in a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. But I’m not hyper-miller Wayne Gerdes or NASCAR driver Carl Edwards who are about to attempt this feat by spending 43 continues hours driving the hybrid a 1,000 miles. Ford states that the car will need to average 57 mpg to achieve the goal, which I guess is possible even though I never saw that type of mileage.
Note: This is the auto that Ford gave to us to drive across country. In all we drove more than 3,200 miles from Dearborn, MI to San Francisco, CA. It was one heck of a test drive and we gave away some sweet road trip gear along the way. Missed those? Final contest here and here.
The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid is the latest to join a growing crop of hybrids that doesn’t look like a traditional hybrid. This Fusion hybrid looks almost identical to its non-hybrid counterparts, but easily gets great gas milage while sporting a look most will find acceptable. This hybrid might not get Prius-type mileage, but it’s also larger, more comfortable, equipped with equally impressive electronics, and doesn’t looks like a roller skate.
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We have given away a lot of stuff while driving across America in a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid, but this is the final giveaway. Best of all, you don’t need to photoshop, guess, or really work at all to win all this gear. All we are asking for is your thoughts on hybrid and electric vehicles. Just leave a comment with at least three sentence, which could be pro or con the gas saving autos, and we will pick one at random. Don’t you love us?
Giveaway items:
- Navigon 4300T GPS
- WowWee Rovio
- Jabra BT-530 headset
- Jabra Bluetooth SP700 speakerphone
- Harmon Kardon earbuds
- JBL onStage Micro iPod dock
- Black & Decker 100 Watt Power Inverter
- Black & Decker Smart Scan unit
Click through for contest details and simple rules. BTW, don’t miss this contest too.
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We just got back from our 3,200 mile road trip from Detroit, MI to San Francisco, CA and still have a bunch of gear to giveaway.
This contest is simple: simply guess how many bathroom breaks my wife and I took along the 3,200 road trip. You should know though that my wife, and co-pilot on the trip, is five months pregnant and I had something going on with my bladder for a few days. And yes, we did keep track so this isn’t just some random number.
Here is what you win:
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We’re nearing the end of our long road trip but we still have a bunch of stuff to giveaway. This edition of Guess the MPG involves us driving from Las Vegas, NV to Pomona, CA. We are headed to a Garage of Tomorrow event with the Fusion Hybrid and this route should involve a both high speed freeway travel and stop/start LA traffic. So far the Fusion Hybrid has recorded an average MPG of 34.1 MPG over the last 2000 miles, but most of that was highway travel at slightly higher speeds than the posted limit. This 250 mile route will be a bit different. Guess our mileage correctly and you’ll win a JBL On Stage Micro iPod dock and some killer Harmon Kardon earphones.
So far we have traveled 2000 miles in the Ford Fusion Hybrid and we’re pleased to say that it’s been comfy. The seats are supportive, but still soft. The leg and headroom is sufficient, and it rides nicely. We have traversed high mountains, rolling hills, and endless flatlands while enduring high winds, rain, snow, and even some hail over the last week. But this Fusion kept on truck’n while maintaining some sort of order inside. Watch the video after the break for a complete run-down on the Fusion’s interior.
My God. I have been driving forever in that damn 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid and are in desperate need to drown my road woes in a frothy brew with good company. The wife and I will be in some crap hole bar on the Vegas strip tonight; come and join us. I’ll tweet the actual location when we find the right place around 8:00 pm tonight. Just look for the slightly overweight nerd in a white shirt and a pregnant chick. You will not be able to miss us.
Ford speak for the Fusion’s new display cluster is SmartGauge Cluster with EcoGuide; I call it the coolest thing about the car. Two LCD displays flank either side of the speedometer and display vast amounts of info. Thankfully though, Ford leaves it up to the driver with four different settings on just how much info it displays. These two screens signal a departure from the standard dial-type clusters and I for one welcome the innovation. These dynamic screens can display a wider range of information than their static counterparts and can be customized for individual drivers. Just one question: when are we going to see this on more vehicles?
Oh, and those little leaves off on the right? They are clever reminders how much you are helping save the planet when driving this car; more leaves means your driving smart and achieving better fuel economy. The video after the break shows the cluster in action.
We’re almost halfway through our cross country drive in the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. So far, the car is impressive. It’s roomy, somewhat comfy, and gets great gas mileage. We’ve managed to get 35.4 mpg over the 1600 miles we’ve traveled so far. The vast majority of that was highway or two-lane road cruising at 75 MPH. When we toured around the South Dakota Black Hills, that number shot up to 43 mpg thanks to the slow speeds and frequent down hill driving. Then there is the innovative speedometer cluster which is by far, the most forward thinking part of the car. Two LCD screens flank both sides of the speedo and gives numerous readouts of the cars functions. The screens are customizable and are a welcome alternative to static analog gauges.
The best part of the trip so far has been seeing America. We cruised south of Chicago and hit the rolling hills of Iowa. Then we made our way up to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where our GPS took us on a back road tour for a few hours. Eventually though, we hit Rapid City and the Black Hills of South Dakota. We did the Mount Rushmore and Crazy Horse thing and then drove through Custer State Park via The Needles Highway. Do not miss that drive. It is spectacular.
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WowWee understands road trips often involve leaving your domicile unattended for a while and the Rovio can help stand guard. Not that the little bot can inflect R2D2-type shocks or anything, but at least you’ll be able to peek in on things with the webcam. Anyway, we are hitting the next leg of our cross-country journey and it’s time to play another round of Guess the MPG with the $349 WowWee Rovio as the prize.
Today we are trying to make it from Rapid City, SD to Denver, CO. Generally, this 7 hour drive is about as boring as it gets, but the weatherman says a blizzard is immanent, which might throw off the millage a bit. So far though, the Fusion Hybrid is running around 35 mpg @ 75 MPH on the highway, but we got an impressive 43 mpg while cruising around the Black Hills yesterday. Hit the Read More link for the contest rules and to leave your guess in the comments.
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We have drove this 2010 Fusion Hybrid about 1200 miles and gave away three prizes so far. Brent Schomer will soon have a brand new Navigon GPS after correctly guessing our 35.4 mpg we achieved between Detroit and Chicago. And Adam Brock quickly identified Wall Drug during this weekend’s Twitter contest to win a Jabra Bluetooth headset and speakerphone. We are only in South Dakota though and still have a lot of road trip essential gear to giveaway as we make our way to San Francisco via Denver and Las Vegas over the coming week. Stay tuned for more contests here and on Twitter.
We are almost out of Michigan and I thought it was high time we stop for a break and a photo op. So far the Fusion isn’t disappointing. The LCD screens flanking the speedo is the coolest part of car so far. They can display so much info but can also be scaled back to almost nothing; definitely an innovative feature of the car. Anyway, we got some nice pics of the car we’re driving to San Francisco. Don’t forget about the current contest; guess the Fusion’s MPG and you might win a GPS. Photo gallery after the break.
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We’re off! We’ve just left Ford HQ in Dearborn, MI and are on our way through Chicago heading towards Rapid City, SD. All you need to do is guess the average MPG this 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid gets during this short leg of our 3,000 mile trip to win the Navigon 4300T GPS unit.
Google says that it’s 245 miles to the I-90 interchange East of Chicago and this car has an EPA estimated mileage of 41 mpg in the city and 36 on the highway. But I’m driving this hot rod and my pregnant wife who has to use the facilities every couple of hours is riding shotgun. Still, all you need to do leave your guess in the comments below of the average miles per gallon you think I will achieve to win the new GPS unit. No worries if you don’t win this one, we have tons more to give away. More details after the break.
We have a winner
This is going to be one heck of a trip: 10 days, over 3,000 miles, two people all in one 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. We have a lot planned for readers on this trip too. A bunch of companies have provided some gear in the spirit of the road trip. Navigon gave us a bunch of GPSs, Jabra is throwing in BT350 headsets and Bluetooth speakerphones. We have Black and Decker power inverters, a couple of WowWee Rovios, and even a Nokia N96 to give away during the trip. Some contest will be on CrunchGear’s main site, and others will be given away to my Twitter followers. (@MJBurnsy)(twitter is your best chance)
Best of all though, we get to spend a bunch of time with what might be one of the hottest hybrids on the road. The EPA claims this thing gets 41 MPG in the city and 32 MPG on the highway. Plus, it has that sweet LCD dashboard cluster. It’s going to great. Stay tuned for the contests, giveaways and info about the hybrid. A contest will go up shortly when we hit the first leg of our trip within an hours. (Hint: It involves you guessing the MPG used between Dearborn, MI and Chicago, IL for a brand new, unreleased GPS unit.)
Our own Matt Burns will be driving from Dearborn, Michigan to San Francisco in a new Ford Fusion Hybrid, a Ford we can all truly be excited about. He’ll be running contests and reporting live from the road so if there’s anyplace you think he should visit, speak now or forever hold your peace. Matt’s trip was even written up in the local Flint news where he describes his job to incredulous reporters. To wit:
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