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Ford C-Max, Fusion hybrids subject of MPG lawsuit in California

A California lawsuit over the fuel economy claims for the 2013 Ford C-Max was first reported back in December. Based on the numerous reports we've heard of disgruntled owners failing to get their car's EPA fuel economy ratings on the C-Max and 2013 Fusion Hybrid, we suspected there would be more to this story. The Detroit News is reporting that two California law firms are combining their lawsuits against Ford on this matter for "false and misleading" claims.
The article states that there are hundreds of C-Max and Fusion Hybrid owners who have joined the lawsuit, but the issue isn't limited to customers. In December, Consumer Reports extensively tested both the Fusion Hybrid and C-Max and found that both hybrids performed significantly worse than their EPA claims. This all comes just a few months after Hyundai and Kia took the unprecedented step of lowering the fuel economy ratings for all of their 2012 and 2013 model-year vehicles.

Project Ugly Horse: Part VIII

Now With More EcoBoost
There's an EcoBoost 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder in there somewhere, and it's headed straight for Ugly Horse.
For the second time in my life, I'm staring at an engine in the back of a truck with no concept of how to get it safely into the garage by my lonesome. The first time this happened, I dragged home a $300 International 345 V8 in the back of my Scout Terra only to discover that the bounds of my manliness terminated well before my ability to muscle that 800-pound cast iron block out of the pickup bed.

Ford announces first non-pursuit-rated police car ever

Ford announced its first non-pursuit-rated Police Interceptor ever, based on the Taurus, which employs the smaller 2.0-liter EcoBoost four-cylinder engine in place of similar pursuit-rated Police Interceptors powered by naturally aspirated 3.5-liter and 3.7-liter V6s and the top-spec 3.5-liter EcoBoost V6. Officially called the Special Service Police sedan, the car was commissioned at the request of law-enforcement agencies that desire a more fuel-efficient vehicle for detectives, administrators and campus police, who don't necessarily need pursuit-rated vehicles.
The 2.0-liter EcoBoost engine produces 240 horsepower and 270 pound-feet of torque, but more importantly, it allows the SSP sedan to achieve somewhere in the neighborhood of 22 miles per gallon city and 32 mpg highway, which are the civilian 2.0-liter Taurus' official EPA ratings. Ford estimates that the SSP sedan will get 20 mpg city, 30 mpg highway and 23 mpg combined, with the help of Active Grille Shutters that open to allow more cooling air through to the radiator, or close to optimize aerodynamics and fuel economy. Those numbers compare favorably to the discontinued Crown Victoria-based Interceptor's 14 mpg city and 21 mpg highway and the newer Taurus-based cars equipped with V6s, the most fuel efficient of which gets 18 mpg city and 26 mpg highway.
If it was driven 90,000 miles over the course of three years, a 2.0-liter SSP sedan would save law enforcement agencies $5,042.92 versus the Crown Vic, Ford estimates. The EPA is expected to post official fuel-economy numbers for the SSP sedan in December. Until then, read the press release below for more information.