When Ford invited us to be among the first
to drive an electric Ford Focus, how could we resist? Especially when it was so
hot on the heels of our adventures with a gas-powered Focus. We arrived a
little late, having experienced spectacle problems – the famous cat’s eye specs
were cobbled together with a safety pin.
These ride ‘n’ drives are always a lovely
way to spend an afternoon, even if there were no dogs allowed – even La Contessa. As
expected, the conference room at the Allstream Centre was full of green
products and cues, like the soy foam and recyclables used in making hybrid and
electric vehicles. Lunch was saladicious and healthy, with some decadent
brownies to keep us from feeling too smug.
But it was the guests at the event that
demonstrated how the auto world is changing. Instead of just a gang of auto writers
talking about gear ratios, chain drives and paddle shifters, there were mommy
bloggers, social media mavens, and digital dynamos. There was more discussion
about tweeting than there was about torque. And - there were even a couple of
incredibly well-behaved babies bundled into knapsacks!
Following a power point presentation about
Ford’s green philosophy, we were escorted down to the cars. Each car came with
a driving instructor, to explain the controls and functions. And good heavens,
there was lots of ‘splaining necessary!
My charming instructor was named Jeff, and
we took along two passengers. To begin with, the electric Focus was darn quiet. When
you press the ignition, you can’t even tell it’s on – the ignition light signals that the car is indeed powered up and ready to go. Great for spying
on people and sneaking up on them, and maybe even reducing some noise pollution.
Bicyclists, however, may not
appreciate this.
It was hard to believe the seats were made
of recycled water bottles – while we have sat on water bottles before, it was
mostly by accident and quite uncomfortable. But this time, our tush was quite
happy. Jeff showed us where a butterfly would appear on the dash if we drove economically – that is, no sudden acceleration or braking. Try as we might, no
butterfly appeared. Oh, well. Still, we like this trend with green cars – why not
incorporate it into gas-powered vehicles? Getting drivers to operate more fuel-efficiently
shouldn’t be limited to electric vehicles.
And at the end of our drive, we were tickled to be interviewed by CHCH TV. And they didn’t seem to care that our glasses
were being held together with a safety pin.
