As you might recall, I’ve talked about the 2010 Ford Fusion before. Now, the team over at Ford plans on driving the 2010 Ford Fusion one thousand miles on a single tank of gas. Apparently they’re out to prove a point. Or 1000 miles.
The Ford Fusion Hybrid team will attempt to drive more than 1,000 miles for more than 43 continuous hours – on a single tank of gas, raising money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in the process. The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid is the most fuel-efficient, mid-sized sedan in America. To reach their goal of driving 1000 miles on a single tank of gas, they will have to average at least 57 miles per gallon.
By using Eco-Driving techniques, they have already achieved at least 70 mpg during testing of the Ford Fusion Hybrid in preparation for this challenge. So, it really shouldn’t be that tough to accomplish. Of course, you can follow along with them and learn their “eco-driving techniques”, so you can drive your own vehicle on a single tank of gas.
The 1,000-Mile Challenge starts at around 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, April 25, from Mount Vernon, Va., and ends the morning of Monday, April 27, in Washington, D.C. The team will drive for more than 43 hours continuously to reach the 1,000-mile goal. The drivers will do stints of between two and three hours each and will have regular breaks to ensure safe driving is maintained. Already rated as the most fuel-efficient, mid-sized sedan in America, the Fusion Hybrid will need to average at least 57 mpg to achieve its goal. During preliminary testing in preparation for this challenge, Ford engineers have reached as much as 70 mpg in the Fusion Hybrid by using Eco-Driving techniques.
The team will run clinics for media and customers over the weekend in the Fusion Hybrid, conducting interviews and vehicle demonstrations on how simple techniques can make a significant difference to real world fuel economy numbers.
The Fusion Hybrid being used in the challenge will be a factory produced model with no modifications or alterations and will run on regular 87 octane gas.