Ford Fusion Hybrid Gets 1000+ Miles On Single Tank Of Gas
A team of Ford engineers, fuel efficiency experts, and NASCAR driver Carl Edwards set out on Saturday morning in an effort to prove that a standard production 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid could go 1,000 miles on a single 17.5-gallon tank of gas. The effort would require an average MPG of 57 and the driving team (the car would be run with no stops except to switch out drivers) would need to use all sorts of so-called “hyper-miling” techniques. Well, as of this morning, they did it.
While the fact that the team was able to push a production hybrid for 1,000 miles on a single tank is definitely impressive, here’s the truly astounding part: they still had about a third of a tank left when they hit the 1,000 mark. The team average 80 mpg for a straight 47 hours. The drive was initially planned to go from Mount Vernon, VA to Washinton D.C., which in a straight drive are only about 20 miles apart, but the team planned a circuitous route. The event was planned as a promotional and awareness building event, with charitable proceeds going to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
The team plans to keep running the car until the tank is completely empty, which, if they maintain the 80 mpg average, should be around the 1,400 miles mark. Considering that hyper-miling techniques generally include rather slow driving, the additional 400 miles will take a while to achieve, and the team will be posting full details of the trip sometime tomorrow, once the journey is completed and the numbers run.
