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+Katie Fehrenbacher of +GigaOM samples the +Ford Motor Company Focus Electric and…

+Katie Fehrenbacher of +GigaOM samples the +Ford Motor Company Focus Electric and demonstrates the benefits of regenerative braking and and light foot on the Go-pedal.

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Green Overdrive : Test driving the electric Ford Focus
Ford is finally showing off its biggest push to date into the electric car market: an electric version of its Ford Focus. For GigaOM TV's Green Overdrive show, we bring you a test drive!

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+Myriam Joire of +Engadget went for a spin in one of the new Ford Focus Electrics…

+Myriam Joire of +Engadget went for a spin in one of the new Ford Focus Electrics in San Francisco the other day and shot a video with +Ford Motor Company engineer Bill Frykman to get a rundown on the MyFord Mobile app.

The Focus Electric along with the upcoming C-Max Energi and Fusion Energi plug-in hybrids are the first Fords with embedded cellular data connections that let you communicate with the car remotely via a smartphone app. Drivers will be able to check charge state, manage when charging actually happens, locate public charging stations and earn game-style achievements.

The Focus Electric has come a long way since I drove one of the first development mules just over three years ago. http://green.autoblog.com/2009/01/14/abg-quick-drive-ford-focus-ev-mule-w-video/

#ford #myfordmobile #focus #focuselectric

Reshared post from +Myriam Joire

Wherein I take the Ford Focus Electric for a spin: http://engt.co/IVvq08

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Ford Focus Electric test drive and MyFord Mobile hands-on (video)
This is the production version of Ford's Focus Electric for the US market, and we got the chance to take it for a

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Ford is taking a very different approach to vehicle electrification from competitors… 5

Ford is taking a very different approach to vehicle electrification from competitors like GM and Nissan. In many respects, the approach is more akin to what Toyota has done but even more so. Several years ago Toyota declared that by 2020 virtually all of its vehicles would be available with hybrid powertrains.

Ford has decided that going forward at least its high-volume platforms would be engineered to accommodate a range of powertrains including conventional internal combustion, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and full battery electric. In addition to the vehicle platforms, the manufacturing facilities have built-in flexibility to accommodate all of these powerplants as consumer demand shifts.

We've already seen this implemented with the new global compact platform used for the Focus, Escape/Kuga and the C-Max. The Focus is available with gas (and diesel in Europe) and battery electric, hybrid and PHEV in the C-Max and EcoBoost in the Escape and potentially any combination in any of these.

Similarly the new 2013 Fusion will be available with gas, hybrid and PHEV http://fordfusionstory.com/mpg/. Ford is committing to developing all of these options in a way that will let them shift as the market does.

Given the slow sales of late for Nissan Leaf (about 1,700 so far this year) and to a lesser extent for the Volt (it had it's best month yet in March but it is still short of the targets) it will be interesting to see how this all plays out in the next 5-10 years.
#electricvehicles #ford

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Sometimes first-mover advantage isn't quite so advantageous.

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Ford's Tortoise Strategy Seems Right for Electric-Vehicle Race – Forbes
Under CEO Alan Mulally, Ford mostly has been a corporate hare. Over the last few years, it has leapt into the industry lead in hybridization among the Detroit Three, in automotive connectivity via Syn…

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If you are in Ypsilanti, MI and in the mood for some carnivore feed, I highly recommend…

If you are in Ypsilanti, MI and in the mood for some carnivore feed, I highly recommend the Red Rock Downtown BBQ. Lots of great stuff on the menu and plenty of choices if you like microbrews as well. I had the pulled pork sandwich with cowboy beans and it was yummy. Also sampled the mac and cheese, pulled chicken and corn bread the kids were eating.

Eat BBQ, be happy!
#ypsilanti #bbq

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Red Rock Downtown Barbecue – Red Rock Ypsilanti – Red Rock Barbecue – Downtown Ypsilanti Barbecue Restaurant
207 W Michigan Ave Ypsilanti, MI 48197 734.340.2381. Home · Menu · Events · Upcoming Events · Want to Perform? About Red Rock · News · Hours & Location · Hours · Location · Parking in Ypsilanti · …

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Over the past several decades, much of Detroit has become a real life example of… 1

Over the past several decades, much of Detroit has become a real life example of one of those "what happens when the humans leave" Discovery shows. Large swaths of abandoned neighborhoods have been consumed again by nature.

Michigan State University which has a large agriculture program wants to start an urban farming institute and Detroit would be the ideal location. Hopefully this project comes to fruition. If the city can finally find a way to consolidate the far-flung but shrinking population into a more manageable and concentrated part of the city, many thousands of acres could potentially be reverted to farm land.

#urbanfarming #msu #detroit

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Michigan State proposes 100-acre, $100-million urban-farming research center in Detroit

The goal, said Rick Foster, director of MSU’s Greening Michigan Institute, is to make Detroit the center of a worldwide research effort devoted to growing food inside cities as a way to get fresh fo…

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Car and Driver is reporting that +Porsche may add a second diesel-powered variant… 2

Car and Driver is reporting that +Porsche may add a second diesel-powered variant of the Cayenne to it's European lineup. If so, it will probably be an updated variant of the 4.2-liter V8 TDI that has been used in several Audi and Volkswagen models over the years. I had the opportunity to spend a week with an Audi Q7 TDI 4.2 several years ago http://green.autoblog.com/2008/04/07/in-the-autobloggreen-garage-audi-q7-4-2-tdi/

Putting that engine in the significantly lighter second-generation Cayenne would make a seriously fast and fuel efficient SUV!

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Porsche to Offer V8-Powered Cayenne S Diesel in Europe, But Not U.S.Porsche to Offer V8-Powered Cayenne S Diesel in Europe, But Not U.S.
With the reveal of the U.S.-market Cayenne diesel in the rearview mirror, we’ve learned that Europeans will get a higher-performance diesel Cayenne in the near future. The Cayenne S diesel will pack a…

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Apparently, the organizers of the Olympics are as clueless as ever 3

#olympics #keithmoon

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Keith Moon, The Who drummer who died in 1978, was invited to play at the Olympics
Ever since Beijing put on one of the most spectacular coordinated displays in human history at the 2008 Olympic opening ceremony, observers have wondered how London could possibly improve on it. This …

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