My dashboard
tells me I am doing an admirable job of engaging Ford’s EcoMode.
And, I am
sure, there are many more things it has to tell me that I have not discovered
yet. Without an owner’s manual, I am at
the mercy of trial and error.
I have
navigated several times through the front display, where I can learn things
like the odometer reading, the EcoMode use, the outside temperature, the
current mpg (I’m averaging 31-33 mpg in town!), and even how many miles are
left to drive based on what’s in the gas tank.
Those I understand. But how to
manage Trip 1 and Trip 2 is still beyond my arrow commands. As is how to get back to the dashboard
displays I want to see. I’ve spent a
fair amount of time sitting in my driveway or garage pushing buttons.
At the
center point of the dash between driver and rider are the temperature
controls. Those were pretty easy to
figure out. But it is all the buttons
that have to do with the audio system that stump me. So far I have successfully used the CD player
and have scanned radio stations. I
believe there is a way to save the stations I want and possibly more options
for audio use, but I haven’t gotten around to those yet.
It took a
dead battery and a demonstration from the Ford dealer to learn about the light
settings. The one marked “automatic” is
the safest way not to leave the wrong things on. I’m hoping that it also gives me the proper
headlights for night driving. So far
I’ve been able to see.
I have
adjusted the telescoping steering wheel and the mirrors, lowered and raised the
windows, found the door lock button, and used the turn signal and windshield
wipers. I have put gas in the car, run
over a curb, and found that the paved alley behind the
Dollar General on the west side of town was much narrower than I thought.
I have parallel-parked, angle-parked, and successfully navigated in and out of my garage numerous times. And
I have not been stopped by the police once, despite the “arrest-me red” color
of my car. Believe me, I am extra
careful about following all the rules of the road.
But there is
still one thing I wish my dashboard would reveal to me: the trunk-release button.
