Technobabble

2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid: LCDs save MPGs

Posted by on Jul 6, 2009 | 5 Comments

Are you ready for an LCD dashboard display in your car? Last month, I had the opportunity to spend an extra-long weekend with a 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid. This space-age, yet low-key sedan offers a host of compelling features – including the best gas mileage ratings in its class (along with Microsoft Sync). But the one thing that really sets the Fusion Hybrid apart is the way its innovative LCD SmartGauge dashboard display empowers and encourages drivers to achieve higher fuel efficiency.

As I began shooting the video for my 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid review, I decided to break the piece into two segments. The second segment details how the SmartGauge can be used to get the most MPG from the Fusion Hybrid. This little beauty isn’t confined to canned animations of spinning wheels and power flows… it actually shows the driver how much pressure can be applied to the accelerator pedal while running under pure electric power.

SmartGauge can be configured with four basic layouts, along with additional tweaks.

It cannot, however, be skinned… :)

  • Rick Knight

    Gee-whiz technology? This is too little, too late. Sadly, Ford has lost me as a customer forever. Over-priced, troublesome vehicles, and unresponsive customer service (sometimes downright rude) have me driving a Mini Cooper.

    My father is a retired Ford employee, which means I get a pretty good deal. It’s just not enough. The U.S. auto industry has been floundering since the seventies, repeatedly making the same mistakes, screwing their stockholders and customers.

    High-tech, high-quality? Throw as much into a car as you can, but when something goes wrong, you had better be there for your customer. Otherwise, none of it matters.

  • http://profiles.google.com/tesla.art Arttu Mikkola

    I guess you forgot that Windows 7 does it all out of the box? System Images (optionally you can directly copy all te files through the backup, rather than cloning the drive to a virtual disk image, what System Image does.) Backup can be done separately, or by schedule. The integration to libaries is brilliant, and the restoration of System Images is super easy, support for bitlocker, support for network HDD:s and the Action Center also notifies of your backup being made. With Windows 7, i really can’t think of any other reason to use a third party software for backing up your files, than the need to copy them to the cloud.

    • http://twitter.com/FrugalGeek The Frugal Geek

      Not everyone runs Windows 7. The mention of the OS was a side note due to being one of the posted features of the software.

  • http://profiles.google.com/tesla.art Arttu Mikkola

    I guess you forgot that Windows 7 does it all out of the box? System Images (optionally you can directly copy all te files through the backup, rather than cloning the drive to a virtual disk image, what System Image does.) Backup can be done separately, or by schedule. The integration to libaries is brilliant, and the restoration of System Images is super easy, support for bitlocker, support for network HDD:s and the Action Center also notifies of your backup being made. With Windows 7, i really can’t think of any other reason to use a third party software for backing up your files, than the need to copy them to the cloud.

    • http://twitter.com/FrugalGeek The Frugal Geek

      Not everyone runs Windows 7. The mention of the OS was a side note due to being one of the posted features of the software.