I know someone had inquired about the Hymotion kit but hadn't heard back from them. Here is the email I got from them this week.....

I'm impressed with the life expectancy if the numbers are right. 6 years or 3500 cycles seems quite reasonable....though if a cycle is a charge->discharge I'd think it would be more like 10yrs (350 overnight charges per year)....unless charge->discharge equals 2 cycles? Of course, when the price is $12,000 I will suddenly be less enthused!

 

Yeah Tim.... I asked them about 1 year ago about public sales, and if 10 or 25 of us on GreenHybrid here got together to make one "bulk" purchase if that would count as a fleet. I got almost the exact same reply. Don't call us, we'll call you, if and when we are ready.....

 

My guess is that the number of FEH/MMH's is so small compared to Priuses that we are not a priority. That's OK though...I don't have $12k lying around right now anyway...

 

Interesting. When I talked to them at Hybridfest, they didn't seem to have any plans for doing individual conversions; only fleet sales.

I'm not sure I'd go for it even if I did have the money laying around.

 

I don't think that any additions to the new FEH which voids the long term warranty is worthy.Maybe down the line, those who can afford the risk and the tech has proven it's value it may be cool. I also thought to be "Greener", we don't promote more dirty energy being produced, to be sold, to be plugged into, to be used again?IMO

 

In states with "electric choice" many people are able to buy a portion (amount of their choosing) of energy from renewable/green generation companies. In PA, we can purchase 200kWh 'blocks' of wind generated power. In some states people have the option of using a company like Green Mountain Energy to produce "clean" power. If I were to draw more power due to a plug-in Hybrid I would try to offset most of that with "clean" power....in this case the Hymotion kit is a 12kWh battery...charged maybe 20x a month is about 200kWh. One more block of clean energy please!

Of course, unless someone offers me $12,000 and an extended warranty......its not really a problem anyway. If I were in the financial position to have $12,000 burning a hole in my pocket I would probably have the finances to pay out of pocket for any un-warranted repairs too.

 

Hi,

Does anyone think they could use the electric motor more than they do now with a larger battery? I find it difficult to go extended periods in electric mode because the motor is not powerfull enough. I drive in the city and unless I am alone on the road, or last in line at a light, or on a downslope, it is difficult to keep the ICE off. Unless they also beef up the motor, I think the balance is OK, at least for my driving needs.

Cheers,

rcomeau

 

I think thats true. The FEH was designed by a team of engineers that knew what they were doing, probably some of Ford's best and most experienced engineers, because it was new and untried for the company. Hundreds/thousands of manhours and computer simulations were likely done to pick the best size of motor, engine and battery to be most efficient for most people and the typical use pattern.

There has been talk that the motor should be bigger so the engine wouldn't come on so much (but if its bigger its also heavier and will also knock down mileage)....there is alot of interesting second guessing that goes on out there, but I guess thats what these boards are for eh?

To me and my style of driving the hymotion (however you spell it) kit wouldn't be of alot of use because I don't drive that slowly for very long and probably I have too much of a lead foot for it anyway (I still get 30MPG with a 4WD so I'm not that bad but bad enough that during acceleration the engine will kick on). I imagine for most users that is true... ie the cost does not outweigh the advantages or else the engineers might have taken the Escape more in that direction.

However some drivers are going to be exceptions where they might find a large enough advantage to warrant the conversion..... but at $12,000 and a battery that wears out in (did they say 6 years?) I'm certainly not one of them....

 

People should also factor in the extra weight of the battery pack. If you don't use it, you are hauling the weight anyway. The Prius and the Highlander seem to have a larger contribution to movement from the electric motor so maybe they would benefit more from the extra battery. Hopefully, the improved battery will make its way to Ford so they can incorporate it as a stock item, and beef up the electric motor in tandem. I'd like to be able to accelerate to 40MPH without the ICE and stay with the overall traffic flow. If the lights on a boulevard are timed for a certain speed, it is less efficient to accelerate slowly and miss every light than to accelerate once and have several green lights (not to mention faster for me as well).

Cheers,

Roch

 

It also might be healthier for you, if you can briskly accelerate once and get through several green lights. If you miss each light, the psychotic person behind you, who is already late for work, might express his unhappiness with you, in a rather bad way.