Jude is about to start work in Michigan. That means that she's going to need a car. But not just any car. It needs enough room for visitors and their suitcases. Enough space for the dog (lest she head there for the odd weekend). It needs to be low emission as Jude works in Sustainability. And it needs to be American as she's going to be less than 40 miles from Detroit.
Which doesn't leave much. What it does leave is the 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid. The seats are recycled. The caqr does 34mpg to the US gallon (that's 40 mpg to a UK gallon) around town and it won't get trashed by disgruntled Ford workers when she's in the city.
Plus as a Hybrid it has the advantage of a $3000 tax break from the government - as well as a generous $2000 off from Ford. That brings it down to around $21000 (10k GBP) making it a real bargain.
The problem is - you can't get one. The 2007 Hybrid was a sluggish seller - but the 2008 (available since Jan 2007 - I know!) has been sold out almost since day one. Getting one is going to take about 8 weeks, minimum. Weird I know. A Ford with a wait list.
Which just goes to show - get it right and Ford could be okay. It's not about badge it's about the right product, sold in the right way to the right people.
The temptation is to give in and get a Honda Fit (Jazz) but that feels wrong in Michigan. So onto the waitlist we go. Insane.
3 comments:
Thing is... To lots of people, ford is the badge they need to make buying a hybrid okay.
Or at least that's my naive hunch
I think the reverse is true too - some people need the hybrid badge to make buying a Ford okay.
Putting the hybrid in a truck / SUV first was a stroke of genius I think
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