VIDEO: The Southwest Tour, from the Back Seat of a Ford Fusion Hybrid
Monday, June 7, 2010 at 9:43AM If you ever want to come join us on the road, here's your chance -- virtually, that is. Click "play" on the video to see our travels from the past month, distilled into just under 3 minutes.
The goal of the Southwest Tour is to continue telling the story of the sustainable food movement, but getting there is half the fun. All told, the month-long voyage covered about 5,500 miles of highways and country roads, and for most of the way I positioned my camera on a tripod in the backseat of the car, set to take a photo every 4 or 5 minutes.
One of the things I miss the most from the tour is the Ford Fusion Hybrid we test drove for the trip. After driving that for four weeks it's tough to get behind the wheel of anything else. Fuel efficiency is the first reason; throughout the trip I averaged 39.2 miles per gallon (better than the 36 mpg highway the car is supposed to get). That means our fuel use was only about half of what it might have been in a normal sedan.
To the right of the speedometer is a small LCD screen (pictured below, at left) showing your current fuel economy, represented in a leafy plant. As your fuel economy improves the plant grows leaves, and if it declines the plant drops its leaves. I miss that car.
Thanks to Ford for making the Southwest Tour possible!
-Mark
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Reader Comments (8)
Pure GOLD! You guys are dreamy. Keep going!
How neat! The changing landscape was so cool.
look out for a car commercial emulating this very soon! great idea and execution!
Dorothée -- No driving on your part?
I was busy tweeting and eating delicious organic snacks! :)
-Dorothée
YAY
Love the sombrero/facial hair/windshield wash! Excellently done!
époustouflant :D