Ford Promises To Build More Efficient Cars Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah

[hatrack]

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Ford Motor Co. Chairman and CEO Bill Ford Jr. — responding to criticism from environmentalists — told company shareholders Thursday that the automaker is committed to spending 50 percent of its research budget on technology designed to boost fuel economy and reduce harmful emissions.

Environmentalists demonstrated outside the company’s 49th annual meeting in Louisville, and again called on Ford to increase the average fuel economy of its vehicles to 50 miles a gallon by 2010. “We plan to build great products, a strong business and a better world,” Bill Ford said.

EDIT

Last year, Ford rescinded a pledge to increase the fuel economy of its SUVs by 25 percent by 2005, drawing criticism from environmental groups. Ford shareholders defeated proposals that called for the company to take greater responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions and elect a greater number of independent directors.

EDIT

The meeting, attended by 170 people, lasted just one hour and 45 minutes. It was the shortest session since the heady days of 2001 when Ford celebrated record earnings — $5.4 billion in 2000."

EDIT

http://forests.org/articles/reader.asp?linkid=31720

[MikeG]

1. Fords are more fuel efficient because they burn oil.

[daa]

2. Aren't they already behind KIA? nt

[amandabeech]

3. Ford expected to launch the Hybrid Escape in 2004,

but has postponed to 2005 due to continuing problems with the technology. Hybrid Escape may actually get 35-40 mpg city, depending on the number of stops per mile, I expect. Ford may have hoped and wished that it would sell so many H-Escapes that its overall SUV mileage would increase significantly.

As I have posted previously, I think that hybrid technology, including pluggable hybrids with larger batteries, is the next "big thing" automotively, to be rivaled only by small, clean diesels (perhaps as hybrids, too).

Ford may indeed sell many H-Escapes, including a 2-wheel drive, I hope, and develop other vehicles using the same platform, including light trucks and minivans, which is more than GM and Daimler/Chrysler are doing. I'd be interesting in find more about the high-mileage Focus--maybe it will go hybrid, too.

Ford may actually be seeing the light here, and is looking to make some money with vehicles that target a slightly different market now than its competitors except Toyota and maybe Honda, but will gain general popularity as gasoline continues its upward price climb.

I strongly favor greatly reducing the amount of petroleum consumed here in the U.S. by all means possible. However, for some time longer, people are going to be using petroleum products for transportation.

I'm not going to snivel at a product that improves mileage by 40% for a popular class of vehicles that actually makes sense for carrying 4-5-6 people (including minivans) or a smaller number of people and LOTS of cargo, and may be useful as delivery vehicles or for carrying tradesmen and their equipment from job to job, to name a few commercial uses.

One confession: I grew up in Michigan, and I like to see folks work in those auto plants and get decent pay and benefits (maybe better than decent these days) for making good products.

[hatrack]

4. I can understand your points, esp. as you grew up in Michigan

However, at this point, I've pretty much given up caring what American car companies say about their environmental committment and about how innovative their corporate leadership on fuel efficiency is. I'll consider being impressed when they actually do something - anything - that smacks of real committment. In particular hybrid cars coming off the line in substantial numbers might induce me to change my tune.

To give credit where it's due, Ford has worked with Bill McDonnough in rebuilding the Rouge to make it a seriously green factory, and the PZEV Focus is getting good reviews. I also give some credit to Ford for at least trying to bring a hybrid to market, as opposed to DC, which hasn't done squat, or GM, which, when it's not proudly pointing to its hydrogen car, coming soon in 2022 or thereabouts, boasts of its "hybrid" pickup trucks, now available only to fleet customers in limited numbers. These slightly hybridized pickups improve efficiency by a whopping 1.5 mpg.

But seven years - SEVEN YEARS - after Toyota rolled out the first production hybrid, there isn't one Detroit version that's available anywhere for the general public to buy. At the time of the 1997 Tokyo Auto Show, where the first Prius debuted for the Japanese market, the Big Three at first dismissed it, then hemmed and hawed and confidently assured us that they'd have something comparable "within two years", "within three years", etc. So, here we are, still waiting.

Meanwhile, in the 2000 campaign, Bush and former MI governor John Engler got up on a stage in front of a room full of autoworkers and gave a loud long sneer to Gore's idea of extended and increased tax incentives for hybrid and hydrogen cars. "Have any of you seen one lately?", Bush asked to raucous applause. I don't know which was worse - a candidate for the presidency slamming the idea of innovation and efficiency, or a big room full of autoworkers cheering him for doing so. Perhaps some in that room have changed their tune, as SUVs and big pickup trucks pile up on dealers' lots, but I don't know.

I wish there were American factories making these, but there aren't. I wish American workers were assembling them, but they're not. I'm trying hard to imagine any mainstream Detroit car with a 8-month to one-year waiting list, and I can't. And until I see a hybrid Escape on a showroom floor or driving down the road, I will not hold my breath. I've turned blue too many times in the past.

[amandabeech]

5. Believe me, Hatrack, I understand your frustration

with the U.S. automakers. Sometimes a brief ray of hope breaks through the clouds and then disappears. I thought that the Saturn experiment would turn out very well--high quality, fuel-efficient cars made here (even though in a non-union shop). The early Saturns were quite reliable, but things have deteriorated since then.

The same goes for the various EV's, like Leonardo's and the Norwegian variants. Out the door with them! Let's get on the hydrogen bandwagon without regard to how we will obtain that hydrogen, among other problems.

Nonetheless, I remain cautiously optimistic about Ford and hybrids. One thing about Ford that may help them is that the family retains control to a very significant degree. If the Ford family decides to eschew short-term profits for a long-term strategy, they are not going to be subject to a takeover, although they might pay a bit more for their short-term paper.

I'm hoping that Ford is committed at the top to sticking with the hybrids, and I think continuing strong sales of Prius and other hybrids will stiffen that resolve.

But why doesn't Toyota bring a hybrid plant to the U.S.? If gasoline prices continue their upward trend, and I think that they will with some ups and downs, those cars are going to look better and better. Who cares if the car must be financed for 7 years if one believes that gasoline prices will go up by 50% every year! Just kidding--sort of.

Well, we can only dream!

[Vogon_Glory]

6. Ford Will Continue To Drag Its Feet

Ford and Mr. Dropwrench will doubtlessly continue to drag their heels about producing fuel-efficient automobiles. Why in Gehenna are they only getting around to producing a hybrid now--instead of getting started a couple of years ago? Did they believe Dubya's and Cheney's make-believe about cheap petroleum continuing forever, or were they continuing Detroit's aversion to technological change?

I admit I'm an energy hypocrite. I bought an SUV--but I bought mine to do four-wheeling and to pull trailers. If I buy a car for highway driving, I'd want either a sedan or station wagon--preferably with the acceleration of an eight-cylinder i/c engine. Those are the sorts of hybrids the Detroit fools ought to be working on.

[amandabeech]

7. Actually, they've been working on it for a few years.

It was originally expected in 2003, then 2004 and now 2005. Nissan, I believe, is licensing its technology from Toyota, which is ahead of the pack the way Smarty Jones was at the Preakness. Ford has decided to devise the engine alone in order to fully understand it.

The H-Escape is allegedly designed to have the same pickup as the regular Escape using the electric motor to boost the 4 cylinder gasoline engine on acceleration.

The H-Escape may be only the first vehicle Ford does in a line of hybrids. If it works out, perhaps you will get your wish for a bigger more powerful model SUV or truck and a mid-size sedan. I'd like to see a smaller, city-friendly car myself. Time will tell.

[IrateCitizen]

8. Blah blah blah, indeed

After reading through this thread, I must say I share your frustrations, hatrack. As it stands right now, I will probably NEVER buy a GM automobile ever again, considering not only their failure to do ANYTHING with hybrid technology, but their continued marketing of the obnoxious oversized SUV's like the Denali, Suburban and Hummer H2.

Ford has also himmed and hawed about this for the past what, 5 years going now? Each year Bill Ford talks about how they're going to come out with a hybrid SUV, and each year they instead roll out another monstrosity like the Excursion. Christ, the vehicles they promote remind me of the old "Canyonero" commericial on an episode of The Simpsons.

Of course, by the time they finally get the damned Escape on the market, it will STILL be so full of bugs that it will take them a few years to straighten them out. By that time, Toyota will be well on its way toward its stated goal of getting a hybrid model of EVERY CAR in its production line. Honda will undoubtedly be kicking their ass as well.

And as gas prices continue to rise and people buy more and more hybrids, GM and Ford will go crawling to the Fed looking for bailout funds so they don't go under. We will all pay the price for their shortsighted selfishness, in the end.

[phantom power]

9. product talks, bullshit walks...

Ford can issue all the "responses" it wants. Instead of blowing a lot of hot air, Toyota and Honda just quietly invested in the technology, and came out with a good product.

[amazona]

10. I think bill ford is sincere

I think he does want to act but feels he can't take money out of the pockets of the shareholders by moving too aggressively. The stock is still pretty far down from its peak, and it has been a tough few years. The public has to shoulder some blame for this, if people would stop buying SUVs, Ford could have kept his original plan to phase them out. This proved impossible years ago. Me, I am a Ford shareholder who drives a Toyota who would be willing to see significant investment in this area -- but alas I fear I am the minority. Sometimes we have indeed met the enemy and he is us.

[phantom power]

18. contrast that with how Toyota managed it:

They gave up some profits, and even sold early hybrids at a loss (are they still doing this?), as an *investment* in developing capability for the future.

America, the land of instant gratification.

[IrateCitizen]

19. There's a big difference between business STRUCTURE in US and Japan

Some years ago, while the wave of corporate takeovers was taking place in the US, some American businessmen got the idea of trying to take over a Japanese company using the same tactics as in the States. Their effort failed miserably.

What they found was that, in Japan, corporations are not owned separately from one another. It's an elaborate network in which corporations own parts of each other already, along with being owned in part by the government. It is essentially impossible to stage a corporate takeover in Japan.

Of course, this structure has resulted in the WSJ editorial board and prominent conservatives lamenting behind closed doors that Japan (and Korea) are actually examples that socialism/communism, on some level, can actually work.

This example is taken from the book The Soul of Capitalism: Opening Paths to a Moral Economy by William Greider. I just wish I had written down the page number or more details than I can think of off the top of my head.

[Bdog]

11. Ford Ethanol Vehicles

http://www.ford.com/en/vehicles/specialtyVehicles/environmental/ethanol.htm
Vehicles fueled by ethanol actually use E85, a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Ford's interest in using ethanol as an alternative fuel goes back to the days of Henry Ford. Ford planned to use ethanol as the primary fuel for his Model T, however, the less expensive gasoline emerged as the dominant fuel. Vehicles designed to operate on E85 are called Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) and can function on either conventional gasoline, ethanol, or a combination of the two within the same tank.

View Our Ethanol Vehicle Models

Taurus FFV

Explorer 4-Door FFV

Explorer Sport Trac FFV

Mountaineer FFV

Sable FFV

For more information on ethanol vehicles, check out the following sites.

Ford Motor Company North America Fleet (U.S.)

Ford Motor Company North American Fleet (Canada)

Governor's Ethanol Coalition

American Coalition for Ethanol

[Bdog]

12. The big news on the ethanol front

http://www.beconnected.org/feature3.html#bottom
The big news on the ethanol front is that the cellulosic or fiber-based refining process could change the shape of the entire industry. This process is complementary to regular corn-based ethanol, because it uses agricultural residues, such as, corn stover(stalks) or straw as its source. Even certain municipal wastes or fiber-rich grasses like switch grass can be used. Iogen Corporation, based in Ottawa, Canada, is currently in the lead with the largest testing facility. They expect to build the first commercially viable cellulosic ethanol plants in the next three to four years. Their long-term plan is to build new facilities in areas where transport of agricultural residues is most convenient. States in the American Midwest are likely to be choice candidates.

[amandabeech]

13. Critics of ethanol are convinced that it takes as much or more

energy, particularly diesel and natural gas/propane, from corn and many other agricultural products, as you will ever get burning ethanol in your fuel tank as something other than an additive.

Farms use a lot of diesel to plant and harvest corn and other products. All inputs but sunshine must be transported to the farm by trucks and trains running on petroleum products. Inputs include each years' seed, fertilizer and fuel.

Fertilizer is usually a mix of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. The nitrogen part of fertilizer, usually ammonia or a related compound, is made in an energy intensive process using natural gas as both process fuel and a feedstock for the hydrogen in ammonia. The potassium and phosphorous are derived from rock that requires processing using energy, often from fossil fuel sources.

Irrigation systems usually run on a petroleum-based fuel, like diesel or propane. The corn may be dried by propane.

The corn must then be shipped to the processing plant by truck or train and processed using heat and electricity generated by some fossil fuel.

Etc., Etc., but you get the picture.

Many other plants have been advocated for ethanol production, including some that have fewer inputs than corn, but all of which require transportation and fertilizer.

Recently, some have advocated using agricultural waste products, such as manure and plant parts that are not processed, like cornstalks or "stover." However, the soil does a lot better if organic material is incorporated into it, and more organic matter also serves as fertilizer. Manures contain quite a bit of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium compounds. As natural gas gets more expensive and fertilizer thus gets more expensive, farmers are more likely to use manure and agricultural waste of all kinds as fertilizer and soil improvers, so these commodities may not be available to make fuel.

And as the world's population grows, it may actually be more profitable for American farmers to sell their corn and other grains into the world food market rather than to the ethanol plant.

My own view is that ethanol is going to be a very small part of the picture and that Ford should focus on hybrids and maybe electrics before ethanol.

For more on critiques of ethanol, google "david pimental" and take it from there.

[Bdog]

14. Gas prices drive ethanol up

http://desmoinesregister.com/business/stories/c4789013/23945889.html
Record high prices for gasoline are pushing ethanol prices skyward, too, and that is turning yellow corn into gold for Iowa's plants that produce ethanol from the grain.

Ethanol prices are high enough these days to offset the higher prices for corn, the primary grain used in making ethanol, and for natural gas, one of the principal fuels used in the ethanol-making process.

The result is that Iowa's plants are making money these days - and that is good news for the rural areas where the plants buy corn, provide jobs and pay taxes.

"The price of ethanol is significantly better than it was a year ago," said Mike Jerke, general manager of Quad County Corn Processors in Galva.

Last year at this time, ethanol prices were falling, but the increasing demand for the fuel additive has out-paced the increase in ethanol supplies as new markets for the fuel have emerged in California, New York and Connecticut.

The economic viability of ethanol is critical to Iowa's rural economy.

[amandabeech]

15. It will be interesting to see if this situation continues.

If it does, then perhaps the critics will have to revise their thinking. Nonetheless, price is not the same thing as embodied energy, net energy or Energy Returned on Energy Invested.

[Bdog]

16. Switchgrass...net energy gain of 334 percent

Most reaserchers have shown that corn is slightly energy posative. Their are other feed stocks that are even better than corn. Switchgrass is one of them.


http://www.westbioenergy.org/july98/0798_01.htm
Oklahoma Researchers Test Switchgrass for Biofuel Production
A sea of switchgrass once grew in the central and eastern portions of the United States from the Gulf Coast to Canada. Today, switchgrass survives mainly on land not used for other purposes, land that is poorer in quality or land in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Conservation Reserve Program.

However, if research at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater proves fruitful, this innocuous native grass may once again wave across vast areas grown as a feedstock to make biofuel.

Biofuel is fuel derived from plants. One biofuel, ethanol, is primarily made from corn and grain sorghum and blended with gasoline, but ethanol also can be made from other plant matter, waste dairy products and grasses such as switchgrass. Research has shown that, with the right infrastructure, ethanol could be produced from switchgrass more efficiently than from corn.

[northzax]

17. Ford will make cars that people wanted to buy 5 years ago

that is their history for the past 50. the only front looking car they have developed in the past 30 years is the Explorer. While Ford and GM play games with fuel efficiency, Toyota and Honda can't make their hybrids quickly enough to meet the market. One dealership in the DC area reports a 50+ person waiting list for a Prius. and growing. If Ford had started to work on this ten years ago, like Honda and Toyota did, they'd be in the Market NOW, when people want them, not losing customers to competitors. Ford and GM still act like they have a pseudo-monopoly on the market, and they are both losing big.