All-new Ford Escape ushers in era of the smarter utility vehicle

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Debuting at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the all-new Ford Escape offers versatility and value. The 2013 Escape brings clever features designed to make life easier, and – thanks to EcoBoost® engine technology – superior fuel economy. Escape arrives next year with a wealth of technology including a hands-free liftgate and upgraded MyFord Touch® that makes connecting with digital devices on the go even easier.

FORD AND HYDRO-QUÉBEC WORK TOGETHER TO DEVELOP ELECTRIC VEHICLES

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• First Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid (PHEV) delivered in Canada to Hydro-Québec, the largest electricity generator in Canada.
• Collaboration between Ford and utilities is key to advance commercialization of electric vehicles.
• Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid with lithium-ion battery achieves up to 120 mpg (2 L/100km).

Ford Motor Company and Hydro-Québec announced today that Hydro-Québec has joined a North America wide demonstration and research program on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).

Ford, in collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), is undertaking a three-year test program on the Ford Escape PHEV designed to develop and evaluate technical approaches for integrating PHEVs into the electric grid. EPRI has identified nine utilities across North America to test drive the vehicles and collect data on battery technology, vehicle systems, customer use and grid infrastructure. In total, Ford will provide 21 vehicles for the real-world trials. Hydro-Québec is the only Canadian company participating in the North American Ford PHEV Program.

Vehicle electrification is a sound environmental choice that may play an important role in the fight against climate change. Furthermore, it could be advantageous for consumers to refuel at plug rather than at the pump. Refueling costs for an average vehicle driven 18,000 km per year would be $244 as opposed to $1,383, which is 6 times less costly.

"We have to work towards replacing oil by electricity, at least for personal and urban transportation. The transport sector accounts for 42% of Québec's greenhouse gas emissions. The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions that could be achieved through the electrification of transport in Québec, where 98% of the electricity is produced from renewable sources, would be considerable. Hydro-Québec is committed to doing its part in this area,” noted Thierry Vandal, Hydro-Québec’s president and CEO.

The average consumption of one million all-electric vehicles, which represent 25% of Québec’s cars, is 3 TWh,(one billion kilowatts per hour) the equivalent of the annual generation of the Carillon hydroelectric facility.

The electrification of vehicles has sparked significant interest in the U.S.A and Canada. PHEVs are one element of Ford’s blueprint for sustainability that includes actions ranging from refinements in gasoline fueled engines and transmissions, to the development of battery electric vehicles.

“The delivery of this Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid vehicle today represents another step in our development and understanding of the technology and its place in the overall energy picture,” said Nancy Gioia, director, Sustainable Mobility Technologies and Hybrid Vehicle programs at Ford Motor Company. “We believe collaboration with utility companies to explore new business models, standards, infrastructure, and communication between vehicle and electric grids will be a key component to advancing the commercialization of electric vehicles in the coming years.”

The collaboration between Hydro-Quebec, Ford and EPRI represents a valuable contribution to the development of commercially viable plug-in hybrid electric vehicles,” said Arshad Mansoor, Vice-President of Power Delivery and Utilization at EPRI. “The expansion of field testing into Canada will enable us to gather the data required for the seamless integration into the grid while providing real world driving experience.”

The Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid, a research vehicle using high voltage, lithium-ion batteries, uses common household current (120 volts) for charging. Full charge of the battery takes six to eight hours.

When driven for the first 30 miles (48 km) following a full charge, the Ford Escape PHEV can achieve up to 120 mpg (2 L /100 km) when driven on surface streets. The vehicle is not range limited by the amount of charge available in the high-voltage lithium-ion battery, because once the charge in the battery has been depleted, the vehicle continues to operate as a fuel efficient, standard Ford Escape Hybrid. The transition is automatic and unnoticeable to the driver.

FORD CANADA INCREASES MARKET SHARE FOR FIFTH CONSECUTIVE MONTH

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Sales success fueled by award-winning Ford Fusion

March Highlights:

• Ford Fusion sales rose 25%
• Ford Explorer sales increased 4%
• Ford crossover sales rose 13%
• F-Series is the best-selling nameplate in Canada
• Ford Escape is the best-selling small SUV in Canada
• Ford has the best selling compact pickup with Ford Ranger

OAKVILLE, Ontario, April 1, 2009 – Market share increased for the fifth consecutive month at Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited led by sales of the Ford Fusion. Fusion, which recently achieved “Top Safety Pick” ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), saw its sales increase 25.3 per cent compared to last March.

"Ford of Canada is really building strong momentum in a tough market. We have seven new products coming in the next six months, including the 2010 Ford Fusion which is already arriving in dealerships," said David Mondragon, president and CEO, Ford of Canada. "In fact, the very first 2010 Ford Fusion sold in Canada was recently delivered to a customer at Dixie Ford Sales of Mississauga, Ontario."

And with fuel economy for the Fusion Hybrid at 4.6 L/ 100 km in the city and 5.4 L/ 100 km on the highway, Ford is now the producer of the most fuel-efficient mid-size sedans, gas or hybrid, on the planet.

"Industry-wide, auto sales in Canada have now dropped for five consecutive months. That's why we're urging the federal government to offer a consumer stimulus program that will help to stem this rapid decline," said Mondragon. "For example, offering consumers $3,500 to turn in a 10 year or older vehicle, helps Canadians who need it most, benefits the environment as older, higher polluting vehicles are taken off the roads, and spurs sales in an industry that is critical to the Canadian economy."

Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited
March 2009 Vehicle Sales

	2009	2008	% Change
Total Vehicles
March	17,055	20,083	-15.1
January - March	39,857	46,870	-15.0
Total Cars
March	3,980	4,303	-7.5
January - March	8,425	10,406	-19.0
Total Trucks
March	13,075	15,780	-17.1
January - March	31,432	36,464	-13.8

FORD BUILDS ON ELECTRIC POWER STEERING TECHNOLOGY TO ENHANCE DRIVE QUALITY, ENABLE MORE FEATURES

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Ford Motor Company is taking full advantage of the fuel economy, performance and reliability benefits associated with Electric Power Steering (EPS) on a variety of Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products, but the company isn’t stopping there.

Customers already behind the wheel of the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner, one of Ford’s first products to sport EPS, also are enjoying other clever – yet subtle – steering characteristics that enhance drive quality.

One such EPS-enabled feature, pull-drift compensation, is a software-based technology that helps drivers offset vehicle pulling or drifting that can occur in steady crosswinds or on uneven roads.

“Pull and drift are major customer annoyances that have been difficult to completely eliminate because of multiple factors that contribute to this phenomenon,” said Ali Jammoul, Ford’s chief engineer for Chassis Engineering and Steering Systems. “Ford’s innovative pull-drift technology compensates to provide driving comfort straight down the road, even in steady crosswinds and on banked and uneven roads.”

Customer complaints about a “constant pull or drift to one side” or “steering that requires extra uneven effort” historically have been a source of customer dissatisfaction in steering, ride and handling in quality studies. Ford’s EPS with drift-pull compensation is projected to improve customer satisfaction in these areas by up to 50 percent.

The 2008 Escape, one of the first vehicles to showcase EPS with pull-drift technology in North America, substantiated this projected improvement, cutting the number of customer complaints associated with steering in half.

How It Works
EPS is a sophisticated system that uses sensors to constantly measure the wheel torque applied by the driver to maintain the vehicle’s path; continually resetting to adapt to changing road conditions or the vehicle turning a corner.

Ford’s pull-drift software technology gives the EPS system the added ability to compensate for slight steering torque changes caused by environmental factors such as road crowning or steady crosswinds.

“If you’re on the expressway and the road is crowned to the left or right for better water drainage, for example, you may need to make a slight steering compensation for that crowning,” said Brian Kosztowny, a Ford product development engineer in Vehicle Dynamics. “With pull-drift compensation, the EPS system gradually will dial in torque for easier steering in these conditions without the driver feeling it in his or her fingers or needing to make an extra effort. The electric motor does more, so you don’t have to.”

Ford’s application of this technology only corrects for road and environmental conditions within reason, adding slight torque up to a proprietary set limit so inherent steering issues are not masked. In addition, Ford has fine-tuned the software-based technology so it can be adapted to fit driving characteristics of individual products, whether it’s a luxury sedan or a sporty compact SUV.

EPS Delivers More
Ford’s early adoption of the pull-drift software technology demonstrates how EPS combined with invisible software algorithms can deliver tangible results in terms of improving drive quality and the ownership experience for customers.

Ford continues to dig deep, taking full advantage of the big-ticket – as well as the more understated – benefits of EPS, offering them on entry-level as well as high-end products.

Ford’s Active Park Assist – which debuts on several 2010 Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles – is, in fact, enabled by EPS. This sophisticated technology uses EPS and an ultrasonic-based sensing system to position a vehicle for parallel parking, calculating the optimal vehicle angle and carefully steering the vehicle into a parking spot.

EPS also can be programmed to communicate with a vehicle’s camera, opening the door for Ford to introduce lane-assist and accident avoidance systems such as lane departure warning systems.

“EPS gives us more warning options for these advanced systems,” adds Darrel Recker, Ford’s EPS supervisor. “With EPS, we can consider more tactile versus visual warning mechanisms, such as a vibration in the steering wheel, and we don’t have to add a lot of components or additional hardware to make it happen.”

EPS has the potential to add steering features for comfort and personalization. Ford currently is examining how to calibrate the system so that customers can select their desired steering effort. Drivers that prefer a sportier ride, for instance, would choose a higher steering effort than someone who prefers a more luxury-car feel.

Steering the Way
EPS continues to gain momentum in North America, with Ford acting as a major player in adapting this efficient technology across nearly 90 percent of its lineup by 2012. For 2010, the all-new Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan, Ford Taurus SHO and Lincoln MKT include EPS.

Ford’s aggressive migration of EPS represents up to a 5-percent gain in fuel economy for each product application and CO2 emissions savings of approximately 3.5 percent because the system operates on demand. EPS also equates to less maintenance for customers since it is completely free of the complicated mix of hydraulic pumps, hoses, power steering fluids and drive belts that can require regular service and repair.

“As we use advanced technology such as electric power steering to improve fuel efficiency across our vehicle lineup, we have the opportunity to introduce new innovations such as pull-drift compensation and Active Park Assist,” said Ford’s Jammoul. “We are applying these technologies not for the sake of technology, but because they meet the needs and wants of our customers.”

FORD OUTPERFORMS CANADIAN INDUSTRY FOR FOURTH CONSECUTIVE MONTH

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February Highlights:

• Ford F-150 sales were up 21%
• Ford Escape sales increased 3%
• Ford crossover sales rose 6%
• F-Series is the best-selling nameplate in Canada
• Ford Escape is the best-selling small SUV in Canada
• Ford has the best selling brand of crossover utility vehicles in Canada
• Ford of Canada market share realized four consecutive months of growth

OAKVILLE, Ontario, March 3, 2009 – Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited outpaced the industry in February marking the company's fourth consecutive month of market share increases. Results were led by sales of the Canadian Utility Vehicle of the Year - Ford Flex, North American Truck of the Year – Ford F-150 and Ford Escape - Canada's best-selling small SUV.

"Our vehicles are resonating with Canadian consumers," said David Mondragon, president and CEO, Ford of Canada. "Our products' quality, fuel economy and safety features are among the best in the business and that's helping us outperform the industry month-after-month."

Just in time for spring, Ford is introducing the re-designed 2010 Ford Fusion and Fusion Hybrid. With this new arrival, Ford will be the producer of the most fuel-efficient mid-size sedans on the planet. The Fusion Hybrid will deliver 4.6 L/ 100 km fuel economy in the city and 5.4 L/ 100 km on the highway.

While Canadian industry sales last month were down 27.8 per cent, Ford of Canada sales declined 15.5 per cent.

Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited
February 2009 Vehicle Sales

2009 2008 % Change
Total Vehicles
February 11,869 14,054 -15.5
January - February 22,802 26,787 -14.9

Total Cars
February 2,181 3,241 -32.7
January - February 4,445 6,103 -27.2

Total Trucks
February 9,688 10,813 -10.4
January - February 18,357 20,684 -11.3

FORD HYBRIDS RECOGNIZED BY INTELLICHOICE.COM AS BEST CROSSOVER/SUV VALUE UNDER $28,000

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• 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid were named Best Crossover/SUV Value Under $28,000 by IntelliChoice.com.
• Best Overall Value of the Year (BOVY) Awards recognize vehicles whose cost of ownership are significantly lower than expected compared to competitive models in the same class.

Chicago, Feb. 12, 2009 – The 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid were named Best Crossover/SUV Value Under $28,000 today at the Chicago Auto Show by IntelliChoice.com, a leading source for automotive ownership cost and value analysis.

The Best Overall Value of the Year (BOVY) Awards recognize vehicles whose cost of ownership are significantly lower than expected compared to competitive models in the same class. According to James Bell, editor of IntelliChoice.com, the awards provide consumers with a quick reference to finding vehicles that promise the best return on investment.

“The BOVY Awards are an essential guide at a time when most consumers are carefully watching their wallets,” said Bell. “A vehicle’s cost of ownership has gone from ‘nice to know’ to ‘need to know’ when comparing possible purchases. The BOVY’s guide buyers on which car, truck or Crossover/SUV will deliver the most value for their money, especially when that vehicle ages and starts to lose that seductive new car smell. ”
IntelliChoice.com selects BOVY winners based on the most important factors that determine the long-term costs of a vehicle, says Bell. They include depreciation/retained value, maintenance and repair costs, fuel costs, insurance and state fees. When you look at all of those areas, he says, the Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner came out on top.

“Sometimes the more expensive a vehicle is, the better the value, but in this particular case it’s like the perfect storm,” he explained. “The Ford Escape Hybrid and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid offer 95 percent of the space and quality of other hybrid SUVs but at a lower price point with a great, readily available dealer network and strong brand value.”

Ford Lincoln Mercury Hybrid Marketing Manager David Finnegan agrees.

“The Escape and Mariner Hybrids offer a no-compromise solution for SUV customers – great SUV features and capability all wrapped up in the most fuel-efficient SUVs on the planet,” said Finnegan. “The BOVY Award is recognition of that value.”

Though the BOVY Awards are strictly data driven and not influenced by editorial opinions, Bell had the opportunity to drive both vehicles and was impressed by the refinements made over the prior models.

“Not only are they smart buys, but the Ford Escape Hybrid and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid are also very rewarding vehicles to drive,” he said. “Ford is not taking hybrids lightly, and I think that’s excellent.”

FORD OF CANADA KICKS OFF NEW YEAR WITH INCREASED MARKET SHARE

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January sales mark third consecutive month of market share growth

January Highlights:

• Ford Flex achieved its best month of sales ever
• Ford of Canada market share realized three consecutive months of growth
• Ford Escape sales increased 7%
• Ford Escape is the best selling small SUV in Canada
• Grand Marquis sales rose 22%
• Lincoln Town Car sales increased 300%

OAKVILLE, Ontario, February 3, 2009 – Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited continues to build momentum with its third consecutive month of market share increases led by sales of the Ford Escape and the award-winning Ford F-150. The last time Ford of Canada recognized three consecutive months of market share growth was in 2006.

"There's no doubt that 2009 will be a challenging year, but at Ford of Canada, we continue to outperform the industry," said David Mondragon, president and CEO, Ford of Canada.

Canadian-built Ford Flex also achieved its best month of sales since its launch in June last year, marking its fifth consecutive month of sales increases. Ford Flex, which was awarded the coveted "Best New CUV ($35,000 - $60,000)" title by the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada (AJAC).

"Ford has the right plan, the right products and the right team to lead through these tough economic times and to be well-positioned for profitable growth in the future," Mondragon said.
"We're bringing seven new vehicles to market over the next six months – that's more new vehicle introductions than any other automaker."