Ford's New Electric Car Addresses Range Anxiety Head-On
Ford chose to introduce its new electric car, a plugged-in Focus, here at the Consumer Electronics Show instead of next week at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, and for a good reason -- it's all about the apps. In introducing the car, Ford CEO Alan Mulally and his cohorts spent more time talking about MapQuest on-screen displays, Microsoft-enhanced software and Best Buy partnerships than they did about the car, which was making its world debut.
The car is definitely cool enough, with some tweaks (including a dedicated grille) to distinguish it from other Foci. But there was other news to report: Ford said that although hybrids are only one percent of its global portfolio now, the company sees a lot of growth ahead: By 2015, it predicted, two to five percent of its business would be hybrid or electric, and by 2020, 10 to 25 percent (with hybrids still dominating the battery EVs).
The Focus has a 23 kilowatt-hour battery pack, an 84 mpg top speed, and a range that 
the speakers studiously avoided mentioning â€"- probably because it's 100 miles or a little less. To compensate, Mulally mentioned several times that battery EVs aren't for everyone, and then he turned it over to his minions to talk about all those apps. There are so many ways to keep track of your green driving behavior and your state of charge that it risks entering distracted driving territory.
Right brain, left brain apps
According to manager of EV electronics Amy Garby, the Focus' dash display will include two LCD readouts, both of which can be customized by individual drivers (and coded so that individual keys bring up each driver's preferences). The right side is for the more emotive means of tracking your ride, including distance to the next charge point. Instead of the green leaves that display on the Ford hybrids to reward good performance, the electric uses blue butterflies (which accumulate to show your "range surplus" beyond the next charger).
"My kids, ages 10 and eight, instantly connected with it," Garby said. "It's an interface that feels natural to young people."
Zippy to Zen: Tracking driver behavior
Product development manager Ed Pleet also told us that the car will rate your driving behavior on a scale from "Zippy to Zen." It likes zen better, because that means more range and better regenerative braking performance. But the car will adjust individual drivers' range based on what it knows about their driving style. Pleet is pretty zippy, so his wife has more range.
Using your cell phone, you can start or stop your charge, or pre-heat or cool the vehicle. Nissan has this too on the Leaf, but through Ford's partnership with Microsoft the driver can also dial in a value-based system that will automatically adjust charging to when the rates go down, keeping up with fluctuations in utility pricing plans.
And, of course, with MapQuest you can find charging stations in your area, and even find your car if you've lost it (a route is plotted from where it finds you via GPS).
Also in Las Vegas, Mulally announced a partnership with Best Buy's Geek Squad, which will install and service Ford's purpose-built chargers (themselves a partnership with Leviton). Best Buy is by far the most connected big box these days, so the alliance with Ford makes sense.
Ford seems determined to overcome the EV's inherent range issues with wired technology. It's an interesting approach, but 100 miles is still 100 miles.
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Photos: Jim Motavalli