Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Ford Focus EV to be Introduced Soon; County Board Buys a $43,000 Hybrid for 'Evaluation'

Hello,

If you visited the Arlington County Fair you may have seen the $43,000 Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid Arlington County purchased (for the list price) for testing and evaluation.

But County Staff who are in charge of testing and evaluating the Volt were clueless about the imminent introduction of the all-electric Ford Focus EV, which will list for approximately $32,000 with an approximate $7,000 tax rebate. That will make the all-electric Focus affordable for millions of drivers. The Focus EV has a 100 mile range, which makes it ideal for trips inside the Beltway.

Ford also just announced an optional rooftop photovoltaic charging package for the Focus EV which will list for $10,000.

But how will the basic Focus EV (or a similar all-electric vehicle, or even a plug-in hybrid) be charged if you don't own a single family home with a garage? Or if you own a Focus EV with a photovoltaic panel roof and park in an underground garage?

The County's citizen energy task force was long on sustainable development and short on renewable energy.

The Ford Focus EV will be introduced in months, not years. What's the County Board and the County's bloated transportation bureaucracy (not to mention apartment building owners and condo communities) going to do about it? Ford has not been shy about disclosing the Focus EV's marketing plans.

Susan

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Focus EV will be introduced in weeks, not months.

Anonymous said...

The $43,000 Chevy Volt was supposedly purchased so the County Board could drive it to 'Green' events.

Anonymous said...

More proof that Jay Fisette's so-called citizen energy task force was "greenwashing" promoted by the fossil fuel utilities and a chamber of commerce dedicated to preserving the status quo.

Anonymous said...

This is why we need Audrey Clement on the County Board.

TY said...

Jay Fisette was asked at the County Fair why there is so little on-site renewable energy production in the County. He refused to answer.

Anonymous said...

The sad fact is Arlington is becoming reactionary, not progressive. The County Board wants to invest in old technology like streetcars and re-segregate all the neighborhoods via gentrification. Minorities are routinely threatened with arrest if they participate in events in their own neighborhoods, like Zimmerman's Pike Walk last Sunday. Developers control everything, via the chamber of commerce and big contributions to the County Board. There is essentially no control over the way the County Board spends tax dollars.

Anonymous said...

Ford disclosed it's marketing plans for the Focus EV two years ago.

Anonymous said...

I will bet you a donut that Fisette will claim: "The Dillion Rule won't let us install charging stations for all-electric vehicles".

Anonymous said...

They also want everyone to ride a bicycle...although only about 5% to 10% of the County's population is able to or wants to ride a bicycle.

Anonymous said...

Appears there are no plans to charge the County's Volt, or any other County-owned plug-in hybrid, via photovoltaic panels.

Ted said...

Fisette has been giving the coalition that wants to drastically reduce single-use plastic bags, and styrofoam plates, cups, and containers the run-around for the past year.

2100 said...

Fisette has spent countless hours in his County Board office facilitating the fossil fuel polluters.

Anonymous said...

How about Fisette's domestic partner's corporate clients?

I agree, Jay Fisette and the County Board don't want on-site renewable energy to happen any time soon.

Anonymous said...

I was in New York last week. There are electric vehicle charging stations being installed all over the state.

Anonymous said...

Supposed to be 1 million electric vehicles in use across the USA by 2015

Anonymous said...

The plug-in charging stations typically provide 100 miles of driving for $5.

Anonymous said...

Google "electric vehicle charging station"

Anonymous said...

Fisette + Sun Gazette = Dominion + Arlington Chamber of Commerce