Ford's Environmental Record

 

Ford has a mixed record on environmental issues, consisting of both positive and negative reports. In 2003, Ford discarded its goal of improving mileage on sport-utility vehicles by 25 percent by 2005, saying that it would boost mileage of all vehicles instead. However, this plan had neither specific target nor goal.

 

For the 2007 model year, Ford had 13 U.S. models that achieve 30 miles per gallon or better (based on the highway fuel economy estimates of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)) and several of Ford's vehicles were recognized in the EPA and Department of Energy Fuel Economy Guide for best-in-class fuel economy. Ford claimed to have eliminated nearly 3 million pounds of smog-forming emissions from our U.S. cars and light trucks over the 2004 to 2006 model years.

 

The Lincoln-Mercury brand has dropped on the American Customer Satisfaction Index list, from 83 from 86 in 2007. Ford announced in late 2008 July that it will bring six of its more fuel-efficient European models to the U.S.

 

Alternative propulsion

 

In 2000, under the leadership of the current Ford chairman, William Clay (Bill) Ford, the Company announced a planned 25 percent improvement in the average mileage of its light truck fleet - including its popular SUVs - to be completed by the 2005 calendar year. This promise, however, remains unfulfilled.

 

On the other hand, Ford ended the Think City experiment and ordered all the cars repossessed and destroyed, even as many of the people leasing them begged to be able to buy the cars from Ford. After outcry from the lessees and activists in the US and Norway, Ford returned the cars to Norway for sale.

 

In 2003, Ford announced that competitive market conditions and technological and cost challenges would prevent the company from achieving this goal. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its 2005 fuel economy report ranking Ford cars, trucks and SUVs as having the lowest gas milleage of any automaker in America.

 

Ford discontinued a line of electric Ranger pickup trucks and ordered them destroyed, though it reversed in January 2005, after environmentalist protest.

 

Ford did improve fuel efficiency during 2005, with the introduction of the Hybrid-Electric Escape. The Escape's platform mate Mercury Mariner was also available with the hybrid-electric system in the 2006 model year-a full year ahead of schedule. The similar Mazda Tribute will also receive a hybrid-electric powertrain option, along with many other vehicles in the Ford vehicle line. In 2005, Ford announced its goal to make 250,000 hybrids a year by 2010, but by mid-2006 announced that it would not meet that goal. Other hybrids to come out will be the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan Hybrid version in 2008. There are also plans for hybrid versions of the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX.

 

Ford also continues to study Fuel Cell-powered electric powertrains, and has demonstrated hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine technologies, as well as developing the next-generation hybrid-electric systems. Compared with conventional vehicles, hybrid vehicles and/or fuel cell vehicles decrease air pollution emissions as well as sound levels, with favorable impacts upon respiratory health and decrease of noise health effects.

 

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts have, however, listed Ford as the seventh-worst corporate producer of air pollution, primarily because of the manganese compounds, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, and glycol ethers released from its casting, truck, and assembly plants. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has linked Ford to 54 Superfund toxic waste sites, 12 of which have been cleaned up and deleted from the list.

 

2006 Ford Escape Hybrid

 

Bill Ford was one of the first top industry executives to make regular use of an battery electric vehicle, a Ford Ranger EV, while the company contracted with the United States Postal Service to deliver electric postal vans based on the Ranger EV platform.

 

The alternative fuel vehicles, such as some versions of the Crown Victoria especially in fleet and taxi service, operate on compressed natural gas-or CNG. Some CNG vehicles have dual fuel tanks - one for gasoline, the other for CNG - the same engine can operate on either fuel via a selector switch. Flexible fuel vehicles are designed to operate smoothly using a wide range of available fuel mixtures-from pure gasoline, to bioethanol-gasoline blends such as E85 (85% ethanol, 15% gasoline). Part of the challenge of successful marketing alternative and flexible fuel vehicles, is the general lack of establishment of sufficient fueling stations, which would be essential for these vehicles to be attractive to a wide range of consumers. Significant efforts to ramp up production and distribution of E85 fuels are underway and expanding.

 

Current Ford Flexible Fuel Vehicles:

 

  •     Ford F-150
  •     Ford Crown Victoria
  •     Ford Focus / Focus C-MAX / Ford Focus FFV (Flexible-fuel vehicle).
  •     Ford Taurus
  •     Ford Ranger
  •     Ford Explorer
  •     Mercury Grand Marquis
  •     Lincoln Town Car

 

Ford was third to the automotive market with a hybrid electric vehicle: the Ford Escape Hybrid, the first hybrid electric SUV to market. This was also the first hybrid electric vehicle with a Flexible Fuel capability to run on E85. The company had made plans to manufacture up to 250,000 hybrids a year by 2010, but has since had to back down on that commitment, due to excessively high costs and the lack of sufficient supplies of the hybrid-electric batteries and drivetrain system components. Instead, Ford has committed to accelerating development of next-generation hybrid-electric power plants in Britain, in collaboration with Volvo, Jaguar, and Land Rover. This engineering study is expected to yield more than 100 new hybrid-electric vehicle models and derivatives.

 

Ford is also planning to produce 250,000 E85-capable vehicles a year in the US, adding to some 1.6 million already sold in the last 10 years.

 

Ford has launched the production of hydrogen-powered shuttle buses, using hydrogen instead of gasoline in a standard internal combustion engine, for use at airports and convention centers. At the 2006 Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, Ford showcased a hydrogen fuel cell version of its Explorer SUV. The Fuel cell Explorer has a combined output of 174 hp (130 kW). It has a large hydrogen storage tank which is situated in the center of the car taking the original place of the conventional model's automatic transmission. The centered position of the tank assists the vehicle reach a notable range of 350 miles (563 km), the farthest for a fuel cell vehicle so far. The fuel cell Explorer the first in a series of prototypes partly