I'm not a car buff. I haven't learned how they work, how to repair them, or why car enthusiasts prefer one over another. I haven't owned many cars, but the ones at have owned have each been a different brand, and all have required more maintenance and repair than I felt was reasonable. I was one of the earliest adopters of Ford's recent addition to their line-up, the C-Max Energi. And I have to say, I couldn't be prouder.
Living in an oil town, my car gets some strange looks. Many people have seen the commercials, but hybrids aren't very popular in Bakersfield, and plug-ins or pure electrics doubly so. I get a lot of questions about the viability of my C-Max in day to day living. If it's electric, how do I get out of town? Don't the batteries fail and burn the car to a crisp? Is it completely gutless? Can it climb the Grapevine? Is it comfortable?
Of course, when my responses to these questions all paint my car and it's cousins in a positive light, I'm still met with skepticism. Despite the rave reviews and decent market penetration of hybrids into the automotive industry, there are a lot of doubters who simply cannot be convinced that these cars are worth the investment.
Well, this weekend, I made some believers.
I'm currently writing this blog while camping outside of Pismo with a group of friends. This campground in particular happens to lack service hook-ups, and quiet hours are in effect at 8 pm. That means no gas generators, and for some people that can be a real problem.
One of my friends on this campout has a bad case of sleep apnea like you've never seen. He has a cpap machine to keep him alive at night, but it plugs into a conventional 110v outlet, and needs continuous power to run. After being informed last night about the above mentioned information, he wouldn't have joined us on this camping trip. But, he was already here, and options were slim. So last night, I took a gamble.
In addition to its USB ports, the Ford C-Max Energi has three 12v sockets which provide continuous power when the vehicle is off, and an inverter powering a 110v conventional outlet on the back of the center console facing the back seats which is powered only when the vehicle is on. These sockets are quite useful on road trips and such, but camping is where these things really matter. My only option to help my friend last night was to run an extension cord to the 110v plug. In a traditional vehicle this would be concerning, because it meant the vehicle needed to run overnight. Noxious emissions aside, the real concerns one has in doing this is the immense waste of fuel, the noise, and the need to leave the keys in an unoccupied car. But the C-Max Energi eliminates all of these concerns.
The solution last night was actually quite simple. I turned off the air and the headlights, dimmed the dome lights, and push button started my C-Max. I walked away, key in hand, and locked the doors. With only the warning double honk to notify me that my car was still actually "on", we settled in for the night. With my friend's cpap machine plugged in and running, my car happily kept him breathing all night, silently running almost the entire time off the 8.5kwh lithium ion battery. With the energy draw so minimal, about every 20-30 minutes my car purred to life using a sip of my remaining 375 miles range of gasoline to charge the hybrid battery to a satisfactory level, and back to sleep it went. When I woke with the sun this morning, I found overnight my car had only used approximately 13 miles of gasoline range, to keep my friend breathing through the night.
There are a lot of excellent reasons to buy a hybrid, plug-in electric hybrid, or all electric vehicle today. My personal preference was the compromise of having access to multiple sources of fuel and a high range. And today, that decision was validated. Over breakfast, this story has been shared with everyone in our camp, and met with surprise and disbelief. But the fact is, my C-Max did something important that not a single other vehicle in this campground could do. Today, Ford has a lot of new believers in their ability to deliver excellence in their vehicles, and potentially save lives. And that is a story worth sharing.
