H Ford ξεκίνησε τη παραγωγή του C-MAX Energi στο εργοστάσιο της στο Michigan το οποίο διαθέτει μια ευέλικτη γραμμή παραγωγής ώστε να κατασκευάζει ταυτόχρονα και τα C-Max Hybrid, Focus Electric, Focus ST και Focus SFE (Super Fuel Economy).
To C-MAX Energi, όπως και το Fusion Hybrid διαθέτει το νέο σύστημα Hybrid EV+ το οποίο μαθαίνει τις συνήθειες του οδηγού ώστε να βελτιώσει την απόδοση. Το σύστημα χρησιμοποιεί το GPS και το SYNC και μαθαίνει τις καθημερινές συνήθειες του οδηγού όπως αν σταματά στο ίδιο σημείο κάθε ημέρα κτλ. Μέσω ενός αλγορίθμου καταλαβαίνει αν το αυτοκίνητο βρίσκεται εντός 200 μέτρων από το σημείο που σταματά συνήθως και έτσι χρησιμοποιεί μόνο τον ηλεκτροκινητήρα του, ώστε να μειώσει τόσο την κατανάλωση όσο και τις εκπομπές CO2.
Αν φοβάσαι να εμπιστευτεί την τεχνολογία, θα σου πω ότι σύστημα μπορεί να απενεργοποιηθεί πλήρως και να διαγράψεις όλα τα δεδομενα που έχει αποθηκεύσει. Περισσότερες λεπτομέρειες μπορείς να βρεις στο δελτίο τύπου που ακολουθεί
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Qz4zFJ6FHkY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tsVBFQTQOQ&feature=player_embedded
[Πηγή: Ford]
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Ford C-MAX Energi: Most Range, More Efficiency and Affordability Than Any Plug-in Hybrid
- All-new 2013 Ford C-MAX Energi delivers EPA-certified 108 MPGe city, 92 MPGe highway rating and 100 MPGe combined; estimated to save $7,000 in fuel costs over five years
- C-MAX Energi also delivers up to 620 miles of range on a single tank of gas and a fully charged battery – 80 miles more than what is delivered by Toyota Prius plug-in
- America’s most affordable plug-in hybrid, versatile Ford C-MAX Energi offers best-in-class passenger volume and 15 class-exclusive features such as the available hands-free liftgate
- C-MAX Energi is part of Ford’s power of choice strategy to deliver leading fuel economy across its lineup while tripling electrified vehicle production capacity by 2013
- Focus Electric: Production began late 2011; America’s most fuel-efficient compact with 110 MPGe city; charge time of four hours with the available 240-volt charging station, which is nearly half the time as Nissan Leaf
- All-new Fusion Hybrid: Available now; 47 mpg city/highway/combined beats 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid by 5 mpg highway
- Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid: Will begin production by the end of 2012; aiming to be the most fuel-efficient midsize car in the world
Ford’s Flexible Michigan Assembly Plant Makes History by Launching C-MAX Energi Plug-in Hybrid, Beating Toyota in Fuel Economy Across Lineup
- C-MAX Energi is fifth major advanced technology, fuel-efficient vehicle to be produced at the transformed Michigan Assembly Plant (MAP) – the world’s only plant to build gasoline-powered, electric, hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles all on the same production line and the only one to produce four vehicles delivering 40 mpg or more
- After launching the new Escape, Fusion and C-MAX hybrids, Ford now beats Toyota in fuel economy in every segment where both compete
- The C-Max Energi is America’s most fuel-efficient and affordable plug-in hybrid vehicle, delivering 108 MPGe city and “real car” horsepower of 195, eclipsing the Prius plug-in by more than 60 horsepower
- MAP’s five fuel economy leaders, coupled with the all-new Fusion Hybrid and Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid and the nearly half a million EcoBoost-powered vehicles sold globally, cements Ford’s fuel economy leadership position in 2013
- C-MAX Energi – America’s most fuel-efficient and affordable plug-in hybrid vehicle – is on its way to Ford EV-certified dealers in half the states across the country. As Ford’s first production plug-in hybrid, C-MAX Energi provides customers with an all-new electrified vehicle offering that delivers a class-leading 108 MPGe city EPA rating, “real car” horsepower of 195 (versus Prius plug-in’s 134 horsepower) and a leading EV-only speed of 85 mph, 20 mph above the Prius plug-in.
- C-MAX Hybrid – The country’s most fuel-efficient and affordable hybrid utility vehicle is now the best-selling hybrid utility vehicle after outselling Toyota Prius v, 3,182 units to 2,769 units, in just its first full month of sales in October. C-MAX Hybrid delivers EPA-certified 47 mpg city, 47 mpg highway ratings – 7 mpg better than the Toyota Prius v on the highway – for a 47 mpg combined rating – plus more performance and technology.
- Focus Electric – Officially America’s most fuel-efficient five-passenger car, with a certified 110 miles per gallon equivalent (MPGe) city rating and 99 MPGe on the highway. Focus Electric, a zero-emission battery electric vehicle, also has been certified by the EPA to offer 105 MPGe combined, beating Nissan Leaf by 6 MPGe while offering more motor power and more standard features.
- The Focus ST – Its new 2.0-liter EcoBoost® four-cylinder engine is certified at 32 mpg highway – better than its manual-equipped competition in the Volkswagen GTI and MazdaSpeed3.
- Focus with the SFE (Super Fuel Economy) package – This sleek small car delivers an EPA-certified 40 mpg on the highway and 28 mpg city through its advanced six-speed automatic transmission.
- In chassis, workers at one station have plastic fuel tanks on one side of the line and electric chargers on the other. Depending on the build sequence, they install either a charger in a Focus BEV, or a fuel tank in a C-MAX or gasoline-powered Focus.
- Several stops further down the chassis line, other workers attach either battery packs or exhaust systems, depending on the vehicle.
- In the trim area, multiple stations have been reconfigured so that a team of workers has a longer time window to do the complicated functions of installing a high-voltage wire and battery into C-MAX or Focus BEV, while being given quicker tasks to perform when gasoline-powered Focus cars come down the line.
- C-MAX Hybrid at 47 mpg combined beats Prius v by 7 mpg in the compact hybrid utility segment
- C-MAX Energi at 100 MPGe combined beats Prius Plug-in by 5 MPGe in the plug-in hybrid market
- Fiesta SFE at 40 mpg highway beats Toyota Yaris by 3 mpg in the subcompact segment
- Focus SFE at 40 mpg highway beats Corolla by 6 mpg in the compact segment
- Focus Electric at 110 MPGe city does not have a Toyota competitor
- Fusion 1.6-liter EcoBoost at 37 mpg highway beats Camry by 2 mpg in the midsize sedan segment
- Fusion Hybrid at 47 mpg highway beats Camry Hybrid by 9 mpg in the midsize hybrid sedan segment
- Taurus 2.0-liter EcoBoost at 32 mpg highway beats Avalon by 4 mpg in the full-size sedan segment
- Escape 1.6-liter EcoBoost at 33 mpg highway beats RAV-4 by 5 mpg in the small crossover segment
- Explorer 2.0-liter EcoBoost at 28 mpg highway beats Highlander by 3 mpg in the midsize crossover segment (Note: Flex 3.5-liter EcoBoost ties Highlander)
- Expedition at 20 mpg highway beats Sequoia by 2 mpg in the full-size SUV segment
- Edge 2.0-liter EcoBoost at 30 highway beats Venza by 4 mpg in the midsize crossover segment
- F-150 3.5-liter EcoBoost at 22 mpg highway beats Tundra by 2 mpg in the full-size pickup segment
Ford Hybrid’s EV+ Feature Learns and Automatically Adjusts Powertrain to Deliver More Electric-Only Driving
- Patent-pending EV+ allows vehicles to learn frequent destinations and as a result, changes the way power is used in vehicles such as C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid and Fusion Hybrid
- Leveraging GPS data from Ford SYNC®, Ford engineers developed a proprietary, predictive software algorithm that automatically adjusts powertrain controls based on location to deliver more electric-only driving
- New Ford innovations have led to a 50-fold increase in hybrid patents to nearly 500, which have helped the automaker’s lineup of electrified vehicles set benchmarks in areas such as fuel economy, performance and range
DEARBORN, Mich., Nov. 8, 2012 – Ford is taking the smarts and performance of its electrified vehicle lineup to a whole new level with EV+, a patent-pending feature that actually helps vehicles learn frequent destinations, and delivers to hybrid drivers what they love – more driving time in electric-only mode.
EV+ is part of SmartGauge® and is a standard feature on the Ford plug-in hybrids, C-MAX Energi and Fusion Energi, along with the hybrid versions of Fusion and C-MAX.
“We know from our research that hybrid drivers want to drive as often as they can in electric-only mode, especially near their home or frequently visited locations,” said Kevin Layden, Ford director of Electrification Programs and Engineering. “EV+ not only delivers that capability, but also demonstrates how Ford puts customer needs and wants above everything else.”
EV+ combines the built-in GPS of Ford SYNC® with proprietary software algorithms developed by Ford engineers to learn frequent destinations.
Once frequent destinations have been learned – such as your home parking location – EV+ adjusts how the electric power stored in the vehicle’s high-voltage battery is used to power the vehicle. If EV+ determines the vehicle is nearing a frequent destination, it has the capability to remain in electric-only mode.
“We already have a GPS unit in every Ford with SYNC, so really it was just a matter of tapping into that the right way,” said Layden. “This is one of the first examples of how we’re looking to make the car smarter, by leveraging on board data to provide features and services that add value to the driving experience.”
EV+ joins a growing list of roughly 500 hybrid-specific patents Ford has accumulated in the last 20 years. Patents include everything from the leaves on the cluster screen of SmartGauge and the hands-free liftgate of the C-MAX Hybrid and C-MAX Energi to an available EV-only mode button that allows customers to access electric power on-demand.
Enhancing performance
EV+ was developed by two Ford employees: Ken Frederick, HEV powertrain calibration engineer, and Matt Smith, product design engineer. They are the authors of the patent application that was recently published by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
When engaged, EV+ uses onboard GPS equipment and predictive software algorithms written by Frederick and Smith to learn the latitude and longitude of a vehicle and identify locations that are visited on a frequent basis, such as home and work. The feature can be disabled and the data erased at the push of a button.
When the feature identifies frequent destinations, the way electric power is used changes. Specifically, when within a radius of 1/8 mile, or 200 meters, of a frequent stop, the vehicle has increased capability to stay in electric-only mode, the internal combustion engine stays off, and an “EV+” light appears on the dashboard.
“One of Ford’s biggest strengths is the quality of our controls and calibration. We do all of that work in-house and it shows when we deliver a feature like EV+,” said Rob Iorio, Ford Electrified Propulsion Systems Manager. “No other automaker seamlessly integrates global positioning and propulsion system control as we have with EV+.”
Big data, big challenge
Originally, the plan was to develop a way for vehicles to collect and digest vast amounts of information to predict and adjust to different driving demands.
“We wanted a vehicle to perform in a certain way when it hit a certain spot,” said Smith.
The team quickly discovered that collecting and analyzing the vast amounts of data needed to make such predictions would require an immense hardware and software system – one that would demand too many resources, both in terms of initial development and inside each vehicle.
A breakthrough came, say Smith and Frederick, when they developed a way to reach their goal without the need to collect and store droves of information. Instead, their answer was to engineer a way to analyze incoming GPS information and control distribution of a vehicle’s power based on those data.
“We realized that harnessing data already available was the way we could achieve our goal of improving the entire hybrid vehicle driving experience,” said Frederick. “Once we had access to the data, we applied machine learning principles to predict frequently visited locations that would determine what powertrain controls should be applied to achieve our goal.”
Every new Ford with SYNC has GPS equipment built into the SYNCmodule.
Ford’s award-winning SYNC communications and entertainment system enables voice-activated communication through a driver’s mobile phone and interaction with the car’s audio system. Among its many features and options, SYNC provides location-based services, such as turn-by-turn directions, and now shares GPS coordinates with EV+.
Additionally, SYNC uses GPS to relay information about vehicle location to emergency personnel in the event of an accident through 911 Assist® when the feature is properly activated.
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