To Ford, Philly is out of Focus

Have you driven a Ford lately? Me neither. Nor will I be doing so any time soon, apparently, since Ford's electric division just gave Philly a big flat tire by excluding us from the list of 19 major cities where the company will be unveililng the new Focus Electric in 2011.

I mean, come on. Take a look at this list and try to make sense of why Philadelphia is not included. Maybe the original list had 20 spots and we were at #20 - right after Atlanta, Austin and Houston, Texas; Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego, New York, Orlando, Fla., Phoenix and Tucson, Ariz.; Portland, Ore.; Raleigh Durham, N.C.; Richmond, Va., Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

Seriously, what exactly was the criterion here? Certainly not size and/or national/historical prominence. I realize this isn't California or anything, but we do have a 'green' car culture here too - heck, we even have an electric car-charging station already. What gives, Ford? I went through a phone labyrinth in an attempt to find an answer but none was forthcoming by my deadline. (I will update with whatever answer is forthcoming.)

Meanwhile, Chevy's Volt hybrid has been forthcoming with news, books, personalized alerts and distribution points all over our region. Not 100% electric, but why wait till 2012-14 or whenever Ford decides to show up?

I never cared a bit for that Chevy-Ford rivalry that always seemed to be so important to owners of pickup trucks... but I'm on my way out now to pick up one of those Calvin stickers. You know which one.