After Katrina, when gas went over $3 per gallon for a while, sales of Hybrids surged slightly and everyone promissed new Hybrid models. Now Ford is offering incentive financing for the Escape Hybrid.
And of course there will be Hybrid versions of the Fusion/Milan coming, maybe not soon enough. But when I read today's New York Daily News story about a gas station in Brooklyn charging $4.50 for a gallon of Premim, my eyes nearly popped out of my head. And while Hybrids are a stop gap, this nation needs to embrace the world veiw of smaller more economical vehicles.
Small does not need to be dull, as this European Ford Fiesta ST proves. It's sporty and quick and gets great gas milage. But what's amazing is that the base Fiesta Petrol gets 40 mpg and a DuraTorq Diesel equipped Fiesta can get closer to 60 mpg.
And small doesn't mean just city cars, Ford has this B-segment mini SUV, the EcoSport just waiting in the wings. Tough enough for South American roads, or the lack of them, it should be tough enough to handle the boroughs of NYC and the hills and valleys of Los Angeles county.
And there's more, several interesting concepts are designed around the Fiesta/EcoSport platform, including this rugged re-invention of the Bronco.
How about this nearly forgotten Ford Faction concept? It's perfect for fighting Scion and Honda in the Urban hipster/youth market.
And of course for the ultimate in economy, there's the Reflex concept and it's Diesel/Electric Hybrid that will get 65mpg and is so cool, it looks fast standing still.Now I know that this one station charging $4.50 per gallon is not typical, but gas prices have topped $3 again, and it's only April, with fears about Iran, and Hugo Chavez down in Venezuela promissing to turn Latin America against the United States, you can bet that $4 will spread across the land, and sales of large trucks and SUVs will dry up.
I'm not blaming Ford, in fact I'm pointing out that Ford has the assets to meet customer needs in this possibly changing market.
3 comments:
$4.50 per gallon for premium, that means $4.30 for regular, wow, that expenive, up here in Massachusetts, its under $3.00 per gallon including premium the last time I checked. I know its not above $3.00 a gallon, that's outragis...
Maybe your next vehicle should be a pre-owned Ford Escape hybrid for around 20k, look around online and at dealerships, could be... its a 4cyl engine and either FWD or 4WD. Try getauto.com and autotrader.com ..
Good Luck.
See Yeah!
Brian, this is just one station in Brookly, but prices are hovering around $3 in suburban NY and are expected to reach $3.50 soon for premium. By early summer, there is a chance that we will see $4 per gallon.
I'm confident that the Mazda3, which will get 30 mpg will do fine for me.
My real point is that Ford, the Auto Industry and Consumers need to wake up and smell the coffee. Gas prices below $3 are a fond memory. It's time to start building and buying more efficient vehicles and working on the infrastructure for alternative fuels and technologies.
Gary, Brooklyn and Downtown Manhattan are always much higher than the rest of the Metro area. This one station is an extreme example. I can still buy regular unleaded for less than $3 a gallon in the suburbs, but wonder for how long.
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