2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid

All the leaves are green, and the sky is blue. I've been for a drive, on a winter's day. I'd be scared and cold, if I wasn't in L.A. California drea-- ... drat! I just lost a leaf.

The so-called "Efficiency Leaves" display on the dash of the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid is a real charmer, one of those brilliant interactive creations that, like the touchscreen of the Apple iPhone, proves as user-friendly as it is delightful. Drive the Fusion Hybrid frugally, and watch as the display's leaves and vines grow (when the virtual branches become truly lush you're doing especially well). On the other hand, make jackrabbit starts, drive too fast, brake late and hard (producing little regen), and you'll start dropping leaves like a Vermont sugar maple in October. Sounds silly, perhaps, but from behind the wheel it's a remarkably effective motivator. After all, who wants to be the earth-thug who hears from the back seat, "Daddy! You've lost all the leaves!"

"We didn't simply want a display of numbers to indicate fuel efficiency," says Sonya Nematollahi, Ford driver information supervisor on the Fusion Hybrid project. "We wanted to create an emotional connection between the car and its occupants, an instant 'reward' for driving efficiently. At first, we tried an entire forest, but that was too much. Customers liked just a few vines of leaves much better."

Ford developed the Efficiency Leaves, plus the Fusion Hybrid's unique SmartGauge with EcoGuide high-res LCD displays, in concert with human-factors consultancies IDEO and Smart Design. The automaker also conducted extensive research using its Dearborn-based Virtual Test Track Experiment (VIRTTEX) simulator, which, much like a professional flight sim, combines an actual vehicle cockpit with highly realistic "views" and multi-axis motions. Ford invited potential customers and current hybrid owners inside VIRTTEX to sample and comment upon various dashboard setups -- thereby eliminating designs that might be distracting or confusing. "No other automaker in the world has anything like VIRTTEX," says Nematollahi with obvious pride.