I have given up my search for MMH/FEH. btw, Tasca Ford has one. They absolutely insulted me with an EXTREMELY low trade-in (@$8000 less than value of SUV).
I am thinking about a Camry hybrid.
Any Camry hybrid owners?

 

Sounds like Ford has a BIG problem with making enough FEH's. I tried unsuccessfully for almost 3 months to find one to test drive. I would recommned the TCH. I have a 2007 TCH and am very happy with it. Give up on the FEH..........Ford needs to get a clue on how to produce what the market is asking for!!

 

Chris -

If your driving needs can be met by the TCH, why were you in the market for an FEH? (they are placed in different vehicle categories because they are designed for different purposes) And the TCH gets 15% better FE, sounds like Ford did you a favor and inadvertantly led you to a better vehicle for your needs.

 

I agree. Ford did do me a big favor. I have driven SUV's for years. I like the seating position in an SUV.

 

Sorry for your bad experience, but it was way worse when Toyota had this problem. Ford is doing a pretty good job compared to how Toyota handled it.

9 months ago there were a half dozen (or more) FEH at every big city Ford dealer. You could get them for below invoice. Demand for the vehicle had been pretty steady for about two years. In May and June when production slowed due to parts shortages, demand suddenly spiked to unprecedented levels. It remains high today, despite a $1200 price increase since then. No one saw this coming.

How soon we forget. In 2004 the same thing happened with the Prius.

I ordered a 2004 Prius in September '03 and got it in November. At that time the now-infamous huge Prius wait lists hadn't happened yet. Compared to the message board horror stories from Prius buyers in '04 and '05, this is nothing.

At least with Ford you can get your status. With Toyota it was information blackout. Production was done at their discretion no input from buyers. They got "preferences" from the regional offices and built what they wanted. When the cars showed up, you took what you could get or you kept waiting. Discounts? Employee or Partner Price Plan? No way.

It's not a Ford thing, it's a market thing. It happened with the Beetle, the Mini, the Prius and others. And it will certainly happen again.

 

The Camry is a nice car, but if you happen to live in one of the states that has them I would give the Nissan Altima Hybrid a test drive. Ours has been fantastic.

 

You should be able to get one if you are willing to buy one out of state and ship it home. Right now the Escape Hybrid is heavily advertised and in stock in California. I bought a 4WD FEH last week for $2700 under MSRP, including a $1000 Ford rebate. I didn't have to haggle to get that price. (I saved another $1000 by finding a car built in September 07, before the latest price hike). Southern California dealers stock only FWD cars; Northern California stores have about 50% 4WD cars. Mariners are in stock too.

It is very doable to buy a car out of the area, in fact I've done it twice. A few years ago, the waiting lists here in San Francisco Bay Area for the latest European sports car were a 100 deep and dealers were asking $10k over MSRP, I contacted a dealer somewhere in Ohio and got one for MSRP and had it delivered to California for $1000. That entire transaction was handled by fax, phone, and mail. My local dealer was quite happy to service it and handle warranty repairs. I paid no taxes in the states I bought cars from, but of course I paid CA license and registration fees when the car arrived. Last month I got a quote of well under $1000 to ship a car from CA to IL.

I saw the hybrid Mazda Tribute, Mercury Mariner, and Escape together at the San Jose Auto Show today. They are identical except for front grill, bumper, and other styling details. Interiors trim colors are different but the buttons are all in the same place. I thought the Tribute exterior is dated.

What does it drive like? It is like the love child of my wife's Prius and my old Expedition. It has the rugged looks of its father and the heart and lungs of its mother. It is very quiet and has a comfortable, if not sporty ride. At low speeds, running on electric only, it's like driving a big golf cart. The continuously variable transmission (CVT) coupled with the gas engine gives a distinctly different experience when accelerating. If you've never driven a CVT-equipped car, it's weird because the engine quickly revs up, then the car gathers speed even as the engine maintains RPMs. With a conventional transmission, the car and the engine build speed in unison, except for gear shifts. With the electric motor assisting, the Escape has reasonable, if not thrilling, acceleration.

The real test comes this weekend when we haul skiers up to the Sierras.

As a Prius owner, I inevitably compare it to the Escape. Of course, Prius gets way better fuel economy (48mpg) but it doesn't haul skiers. My Escape, (no Nav) has better ergonomics than Prius' clunky, distracting touch-screen, although the Ford's 27!! buttons and ***** for the sound system are way overkill. I like the Ford's interior layout and colors, but the hard plastic door panels are too cheap. Ford is hyping the Sync voice activated systems on other cars, but Escape lacks even Bluetooth phone and there is contradictory info at the dealer about whether it can be installed aftermarket.

 

This is great information, Thanks!

Makes me wonder if they are shipping large #s of vehicles to CA to satisy CARB and/or makers have all convinced themselves that CA is the only "real" market for hybrids. It's BS but it's the same thing other makers did. Prius, Altima hybrid, Vue hybrid and so on have all went largely to CA at first. Heck the MTH is only available there. Try finding a Malibu hybrid outside of a CARB or CARB-like regulated area. Same deal.

If you buy from a CA dealer, the vehicle must be physically turned over to the buyer outside of CA to avoid tax. It's inconsistent with rules in most other states, but the Franchise Tax Board has always done this and there's nothing we can do about it. Have it delivered or pay someone to drive it to the border if you have easy access to a border state.

If I could not find one nearby, I would seriously consider this. Take your pick and work the deal by phone. The lower cost may cover shipping.

When I worked in the car business it cost about $450 (dealer price which is usually lower than a consumer pays) to ship a car from Denver to Portland, OR. It stands to reason that $1000 should cover shipping almost anywhere. Enclosed transport would be higher of course.

Most shippers drop cars at the local auto auction, so you would probably have to pick it up there.

Why wait until next May? Call some CA dealers!!

 

Someone I know shipped a FEH from Denver to New York for $700.
I think you are right that under $1000 will get your car anywhere in the lower 48.

 

That is fairly easy to accomplish. I work for a car dealer with multiple locations all down the East coast & we ship vehicles around the country all the time.

We generally try to keep the distance down for cost reasons, but I shipped a special order Bentley Convertible from LA to Upstate NY a while back for just under $1000.

~John