You know how the cool kid in school always had the newest gadgets first? This is your chance to leap to the top of the cool chart, as Ford dealers are starting to place orders for America’s most affordable and fuel-efficient hybrid utility vehicle – the 2013 Ford C-MAX Hybrid!

The C-MAX is the first Ford dedicated line of hybrids. The 2013 C-MAX Hybrid will be available in the fall of 2012 with a base price of $25,995 – approximately $500 lower than the Toyota Prius v base price.

The C-MAX Hybrid blends fuel economy with performance, with projected best-in-class horsepower and torque along with the Ford third-generation powersplit technology that allows for higher speed while in electric mode than Toyota Prius v.

C-MAX Hybrid benefits from 20 years of research and innovation behind the software and hardware technology driving it, with many of the almost 500 Ford hybrid vehicle-related patents contained within.

That means that along with SYNC^® with MyFord Touch^®, drivers can get class-exclusive available features like hands-free liftgate (offering hands-free cargo access with a simple kicking motion), SmartGauge^® with EcoGuide, regenerative braking and an advanced lithium-ion (li-ion) battery pack that is being used for the first time in a Ford hybrid.

The C-MAX Energi plug-in hybrid will follow later this year with better electric-mode fuel economy and overall driving range than the Prius plug-in hybrid.