Get ready to start your engines and celebrate the legacy of Ford at the beautiful Flamboro Speedway in Millgrove, Ontario. The gates will be open from 8:30 am to 11:00 am. Awards will be presented no later than 1:30 pm, but you must be present to receive a trophy.
The event will feature food on site, a DJ, a 50/50 draw, prize giveaways, awards in multiple categories, special guests and cars, vendors, and more. The event is rain or shine.
This all-Ford show is brought to you by Ford of Canada and Mohawk Ford. In support of local charities.
After 13,300 km the onboard oil life monitor suggested it was time to schedule an oil change. It said I had 18% oil life left when I changed it at ~16,300km.
Everything looked pretty much the same as the last time I was under there. No oil leaks from the filter or drain plug – CV half shafts were not leaking. Just a simple oil change on ramps and using a creeper to get the hairy cardboard belly pan off and then back on the road for another 13,000 kms.
I decided to drain the factory fill early around 3,000 kms to help clear out any manufacturing contaminates and put in a high quality Signature Series ASM 0W-20 oil. I was also excited to have a look under the vehicle and see how difficult it will be to service in the future.
It was time to upgrade vehicles and I had been shopping around. The Ford Maverick with the hybrid engine checks most of the boxes for my use of a vehicle. I was very interested in the fuel economy numbers without going to a fully electric vehicle just yet. They are popular in Canada but I’m not ready to have to think about charging my vehicle – I can barely remember to plug in my phone at night.
Using the waste energy from braking and putting that into a battery system seems like a normal evolution for vehicle power plants. Why waste energy as heat if you can capture some of it to be used again – getting that last bit of energy out of the fuel. I much prefer a naturally aspirated engine over a turbo for my use – the electric generators act like the turbo when you stomp on the accelerator. I also love the mechanical simplification of everything being electric – water pump, AC compressor, fan, etc. No serpentine belts to change on this engine. The downside being a lot more computers and wires to run everything.
There are indeed disadvantages for towing, convenience/luxury – I miss my proximity unlock feature, unibody construction, FWD and the fact that this new-ish platform seems to have a few wrinkles to be worked out. I believe it is based on the Escape Hybrid platform – and isn’t completely new. I also appreciate that the transmission is very similar to the Toyota planetary gear CVT – not belt driven.
So far, so good. I personally prefer the more truck like appearance of the Maverick over the Hyundai Santa Cruz. It’s amazing to be able to reach over the side of the bed of a truck again to access contents. I think it was worth the wait for my order to be built.
