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January 12, 2005
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This Week:

• Lexus Unveils 500-Plus Horsepower, 200 MPH Sports Car Concept at the 2005 North American International Auto Show

• Jaguar Advanced Lightweight Coupe Makes World Debut in Detroit

• New 2006 Dodge Charger - Out of the Past and Into the Future

• Kia Unveils Concept SUV at North American International Auto Show

• Toyota Unveils FT-SX Concept Vehicle at 2005 North American International Auto Show

• Opel Astra Diesel Hybrid Concept Demonstrates Easy Scalability of Innovative Two-Mode Full Hybrid System

• Ford's Environmental Leadership Grows With Plans For 5 Hybrids And New Hydrogen Vehicles

• Subaru Announces World Debut of the 2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca Progressive SUV

• All New 2006 Kia Rio Makes World Debut at North American International Auto Show in Detroit

• BMW Group Sales Increase Yet Again In 2004

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Ford's Environmental Leadership Grows With Plans For 5 Hybrids And New Hydrogen Vehicles

Ford Escape Hybrid Named 2005 North American Truck Of The Year

Photo: Ford

Ford Motor Company Vice President of Product Creation Phil Martens (L), Ford Motor Company's Director of Hybrid Programs and Sustainable Mobility Technologies Mary Ann Wright (C) and Ford Motor Company Vice President Steve Lyons (R) display the North American Truck of the Year award at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan Sunday 09 January

• Ford Motor Company's hybrid commitment expands to five models on the road in three years. Four new hybrids join the hot-selling Ford Escape Hybrid, the world's first hybrid SUV.

• Mercury Mariner Hybrid production is pulled ahead, with vehicles on sale later this year.

• Ford announces orders with the State of Florida and negotiations with the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to put hydrogen-powered E-450 buses on the road next year.

• Ford is the only automaker with serious development on four fuel technologies - gasoline-electric hybrids, clean diesels, hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines and fuel cells.

"My great-grandfather's vision was to provide affordable transportation for the world. I want to expand that vision for the 21st century and provide transportation that is affordable in every sense of the word - socially and environmentally, as well as economically," says Ford Motor Company Chairman and CEO Bill Ford. "That means vehicles that are safe, clean and energy efficient."

The expanded hybrid lineup includes:

Mercury Mariner Hybrid, with production pulled ahead for sale later this year;

Ford Fusion Hybrid, which will be on the road in the 2008 calendar year;

Mercury Milan Hybrid, which will be on the road in the 2008 calendar year, and

Test fleet of Mazda Tribute Hybrids this year and full-scale production in two years.

All five will be full hybrids, which means at low speeds and when stopped - such as in city traffic or at a light - the gasoline engine automatically shuts off and the vehicle operates in electric-only mode. The result is significant fuel savings and higher city fuel economy.

Ford Motor Company's first hybrid vehicle, the Ford Escape Hybrid, has received overwhelming reaction. Thousands of customers have put their names on dealer waiting lists. The world's first hybrid sport-utility vehicle, the 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid is the cleanest SUV on the road and has earned the highest fuel economy numbers for an SUV as certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - 36 mpg city and 31 mpg highway in front-wheel-drive.

The company also announced that the State of Florida is the first customer for eight hydrogen-powered Ford E-450 buses that will debut in 2006. In addition, the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport is working with Ford on plans for fleet use of the V-10, hydrogen-powered buses next year.

The buses build on Ford Motor Company's leadership in the development of hydrogen vehicles with internal combustion engines. The buses seat 12 passengers and their luggage, including the driver. The vehicles are equipped with a 26-gallon equivalent, 5,000-pounds-per-square-inch hydrogen fuel tank with an expected range of 150 miles.

Ford is demonstrating the buses and hydrogen technology to journalists attending this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Prototypes of the E-450 buses - as well as Ford Escape Hybrid SUVs and Focus Fuel Cell Vehicles - are being used to shuttle media around the city.

The Focus Fuel Cell Vehicles are part of the 30 vehicles being produced by Ford to put on the road for evaluation throughout the U.S. and Canada. The vehicles will be delivered beginning in February to fleets in Orlando, Fla.; Sacramento, Calif.; Taylor, Mich.; Berlin, Germany; and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Created with support of the U.S. Department of Energy's "Controlled Hydrogen Fleet and Infrastructure Demonstration and Validation Project," the vehicles are designed to help promote development of hydrogen-based technologies.

(Jan. 9, 2005)