Ford's smart grid tease: where's the beef?

I have to chuckle over Ford's announcement yesterday that its plug-in hybrids  promise to allow vehicles to recharge during off-peak hours of cheap electricity.

The Ford vehicles that will do this won't be out until 2012. Ok, Ford, we'll wait. By the way, why would we buy a new gas-powered vehicle now or even your new Fusion hybrid? Why are you telling us about technology that we can't use for three years?

Whatever happened to "show me, don't tell me?"

Journalists are trained to look at pre-announcements with great skepticism and so should consumers. For now, smart grid Fords are nothing more than hype. The longer the time between the PR hoopla and the public  availability of the technology y in your hands, the more skeptical you should be.

Ford is billing the technology as unique vehicle-to-grid communication, but what was described yesterday is how any smart appliance would work. The appliance - in this case a Ford vehicle - can turn off charging during peak periods of electricity consumption when rates are highest. Conversely, it will start recharging during off-peak hours when rates and consumption are lowest.

The vehicle communicates with the grid via a wireless smart meter so, presto, the vehicle's owner can program the recharging particulars on a LCD in the dash. From a process standpoint, It will work little differently than a smart washing machine or any smart appliance for that matter.

It's good that Ford's vehicles will be smart and the company can be proud that it was the only one of three American automakers this year not to accept public funds to stay afloat. Maybe the company wanted to trumpet its research, partnerships with battery makers and utilities or the results of federal grants.

But ponder this: Toyota started conceptualizing the Prius in early 1992 when Ford was ramping up to sell gas- guzzling SUVs and pickups. Five years later, Toyota delivered the Prius in Japan and in 2000 brought them here to cement the perception that it (Honda, too) had the right vision for the future.

That's water under the bridge and Ford is appropriately on board with efficient cars now, but I wonder what the toll of wrong-headed American automakers has been on our economy over the years. Now, they are scrambling to show how they are the true MPG leaders and greenest of green.

They sound like quarrelsome siblings all screaming "No, I'm the greenest of all." I think not.

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This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com