Video: Jay Leno checks out a Ford Escape plug-in hybrid prototype
 

From Jay Leno's Garage...

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/...tml?vid=191255

Not a bad video. If you already know the basics behind plug-in hybrids, you might still pick up a couple of tidbits from this. (I did.)

It's interesting to see Leno genuinely asking the what are probably pretty "typical" questions about the vehicle & technology.

He's more of a petrol head than a gear head, if you know what I mean. (When he's getting ready to open the Escape's hood, he says, "now we're gonna see a couple of Webers under here...")

He takes it out for a test drive and pulls off 47 or 48 mpg (US). The Ford guy riding with him says the previous driver clocked somewhere around 120 (likely trying pretty hard).

That's pretty good mileage for the way he was jocking around with it. Good stuff. Thanks for the link.

FE topics aside, he's got a lot of really good videos on that site! I probably watched half a dozen more after the Escape one..

- the Tank Car
- the aero Deusy
- the ShoGun Festiva with the Taurus V6 in the back
- the Lambo Muira
- the Baker electric

Must be nice!

What I don't understand is he made a big deal about it taking 6 hours to charge. I've heard this from other people. When you go to bed plug it in and when you wake up unplug it. You could even charge while at work if the boss was ok with it. What am I missing?

most people don't wanna wait that long, especially if it's drained and they're in a hurry. Some people will forget to plug-er in and they will have to wait 6 hours to go anywhere. Most people would want more of a 1-2 hours one, but probably accept 3. It's just one of those emergency things and 6 hours out of your day is a long time to wait if you accidentally forget after those long hours at work.

DPV: that's not the way a plug in hybrid works. If you forget to plug it in, you CAN still drive it using the regular hybrid system that's powered by gasoline.

So if you forget to plug it in, you burn gasoline and get 35 mpg. Remember to plug it in, you have the option of using only electrons for the next 20 or 30 miles and burning next to no gas.

So I agree with Laz: the objection to a 6 hour recharge is moot ... unless you also forget to put gas in it!

Nice find metro. I jay leno site is fairly good for waisting time. He test drove a smart fortwo. See it here:

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/...tml?vid=190270

As for the plug in hybrid, the plug in system looks good. Unfortunately it is a stupid suv. I would much rather see a small plug-in hybrid (something Honda insight-ish).

I know that, but the dummy's here in The US are even too lazy to get gas for it, they'll just think that they can just plug it in later when the gauge is at E and filler-up later. So they get home with no gas and guess what? Forgot to plug it in cause it's the weekend. So there goes the whole Saturday. Remember, we're talking about IGNORANT people here :D