Wednesday, June 15, 2005

Car culture

Hybrid drivers go back to school to boost fuel economy

By Ann Job / Special to The Detroit News

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Most auto executives shun the idea of teaching car buyers how to drive.

But Mary Ann Wright isn't a typical car company official.

A smart, gutsy engineer who directs Ford Motor Co.'s sustainable mobility technologies and hybrid vehicle programs, she has heard complaints from some Ford Escape Hybrid buyers that they're not getting the fuel economy they expected.

America's first gasoline-electric hybrid sport utility vehicle, the Escape, has the top fuel economy rating of any 2005 SUV: 36 miles a gallon in city driving and 31 mpg on the highway for a two-wheel-drive model, according to government figures.

But trying to get optimal mileage in the real world can be frustrating, as it requires some efficient driving habits, not just a hybrid powerplant.

Rather than ignore the Escape Hybrid buyers or kiss them off with some appreciative words and tell them Ford "will check into it," Wright wants to do something.

So, Wright is keeping a close watch on a pet program, in the early stages of a pilot now at Ford, that would teach Escape Hybrid buyers how to drive to maximize fuel economy.

Skeptics may claim that Wright is just trying to assuage disgruntled owners and avert what could be an ugly PR problem if buyers think Ford sold them a bill of goods.

After all, Ford has more hybrids coming, including the 2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid later this year that's based on the Escape Hybrid.

Wright is already hopeful that the "fuel economy training" could be expanded for Mariner Hybrid buyers, too.

It's high time someone zeroes in on this issue, which, by the way, has surfaced among buyers of Honda's and Toyota's hybrids, too.

But neither Honda nor Toyota is looking to teach buyers how to drive.

I like Wright's idea. She envisions drivers coming with their Escape Hybrids to a predetermined place, where vehicles receive a cursory check and where owners drive a prescribed route in their normal style.

They receive feedback, including the kind of mileage they accrued and how they might drive more efficiently.

After the debriefing, they drive the route again, using Ford's helpful driving techniques.

Upon their return to the checkpoint, they see how much they improved that mileage number.

I know. We all like to think we know how to drive.

But consumers have to admit this kind of training isn't even offered at driver education programs.

State driving tests don't require this knowledge, either.

Yet, given American consumers' aroused interest today in improved fuel economy, perhaps it's time for someone to step up and help drivers learn and understand fuel-saving tactics.

Ann Job is a California-based freelance writer and can be reached at annjo84@ hotmail.com.