For more information contact:
Jim Bright (313) 446-7730
Sara Tatchio (313) 322-7998
FORD ANNOUNCES FLEXIBLE FUEL OFFENSIVE;
WILL LAUNCH SERIES OF HIGH-VOLUME FFVs
DEARBORN, Mich., June 3, 1997 -- Ford Motor Company, the industry leader in flexible fuel
vehicle (FFV) technology, today announced plans to build and sell approximately 250,000
vehicles that can run on gasoline, 85% ethanol or any combination of the two.
Ford executives outlined a planned four-year program that will bring more FFVs to market each
year as the number of flexible fuel ethanol service stations increases.
Starting in Fall 1998, Ford will equip 3.0-liter Ford Rangers with flexible fuel systems. The
compact pickup will join the FFV versions of the popular Taurus sedan. The company will offer
other high-volume FFV car and truck lines, including Windstar, in subsequent years.
"We have kept alive the technical development and manufacture of alternative fuel vehicles for
more than a decade," said Ross Roberts, Ford Motor Company vice president and general
manager, Ford Division. "Now we're bringing them into the mainstream market because they
make sense for America."
Ethanol -- derived primarily from corn and other grains in the U.S. -- is a high-octane blending
compound used by most major oil companies to increase the octane in gasoline (10% ethanol)
available at tens of thousands of service stations nationwide. The American Coalition for
Ethanol notes that U.S. consumers used more than 10.5 billion gallons of high-performance,
environmentally friendly ethanol-blended gasoline last year. However, the number of service
stations selling E85 ethanol (85% ethanol/15% gasoline) is less than 60 throughout the United
States.
"We're announcing this four-year program to encourage the development and expansion of the
ethanol infrastructure," Roberts said. "It does not make sense to put a large number of FFVs
on the market now when there are so few ethanol stations. We believe announcing our product
strategy early -- and phasing in our FFV introductions -- will help encourage the expansion of
the infrastructure."
Roberts said Ford has put together "the industry's most determined, most scientific effort" to
understand FFV technology. Ford has more alternative fuel cars and trucks on American roads
than all other manufacturers combined.
Our FFV technology is invisible to customers who choose to use only gasoline," Roberts said,
"but we believe most customers will be pleased to have a vehicle with upgraded equipment that
also can run on ethanol."
Parts with material upgrades in FFVs include the fuel pump, fuel rails, fuel injectors, fuel lines
and filler pipe. In addition, the package includes a unique electronic engine control module to
calibrate engine response to different fuel mixtures of gasoline and ethanol.
The Ford Taurus FFV was introduced in 1992 and targeted at fleet customers. Last year, Ford
sold 5,272 FFV Tauruses (combined methanol/ethanol) and already has sold nearly as many in
1997. Since enactment of the Clean Air Act of 1990, Ford has sold 12,117 FFVs -- more than
half of the total (23,232) sold by the entire industry.
Ford Brand Public Affairs
Telephone: (313) 446-7730; Fax: (313) 446-7011
Internet: http://media.ford.com