Ford Fusion Hybrid Most Patented Car Ever
The new Ford Fusion Hybrid got a lot of attention a month or so back when it traveled over 1,400 miles on a single 17.5 gallon tank of regular unleaded gas, for an overage of about 81 mpg. It wasn’t just the media and green car enthusiasts that were paying attention to the Fusion, however. Technology geeks and patent clerks have been keeping a close eye on it as well.
The Ford Fusion Hybrid holds a combined 119 patents or pending patents, making it the most patented car in history. Perhaps the most significant of these patents in regards to attaining peak fuel efficiency is the SmartGauge system with EcoGuide. This system carefully monitors fuel and electricity consumption and translates it into a dynamic display of plants. The more carefully and fuel conscious your driving, the more the plant flourishes. If you accelerate quickly off the stop line and spend a lot of time at higher speeds, then the leaves will fall and the plant will wither. This system helps drivers exceed the factory specifications for fuel economy by teach them to drive in a more fuel efficient manner which can be applied to any vehicle, not just a hybrid.
The amount of patents on the Ford Fusion hybrid represents the company’s strategy for future market expansion. The Patent Board has said that Ford’s approach to creating new technologies is the most comprehensive of all automakers, which will help the company cement its place in the market for years to come.
July 28th, 2009 at 6:44 am
Watch for all of theses features , faithfully copied, in the new cheaper cars from GM(China) China a commie regiem does not recognize American patent law, or enforce it - Chinese use copies of Microsoft software with impunity now, and many Chinese knock-offs we buy here jump right past the patent red tape as it is!