Ford's Got Electric Vehicle Plans, But Not Without Gas Engines

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You’ve got to hand it to Ford–they’ve been working on the whole electric vehicle thing for some time now. See that pic below? That’s a Ford Comuta (yes, it really does sound like Commuter), and that sucker was built back in 1967. 37 miles per hour top speed, 40 miles range…if you kept it well away from that top speed. But Ford’s still working, and wants you to know they’re not giving up, even if pure electric is mostly out of reach for now.

Ford’s plans for the future include the Transit Connect, a $30,000 all-electric van meant mostly as a fleet vehicle (local deliveries and the like, a smart move but hardly one most people will care about), and the Focus Electric, which is geared more toward regular consumers, but still not expected to do well.

See, Ford’s thinking that electric cars just don’t have the battery tech to provide long distance capability with any kind of reliability, and they’re probably right. So they’re sticking with hybrids, including a plug-in hybrid set to emerge in 2012. The only thing Ford’s saying about that one is that it’s “not a Focus”, which suggests maybe a truck or even an SUV. Plug-in Escape? Sign me up.

But anyway, Ford’s definitely got a thing for electric vehicles–they’ve only been at it for the last 43 years–and even if they may not be pure electric yet, they’re moving toward it.