Kansas City, August 24, 1999 - Ford Motor Company's Kansas City Assembly Plant today began production of the 2000 model F-Series LEV pickup, five years in advance of any government regulation.

"This is another example of Ford's commitment to being an environmental leader," said Gerry Minor, Kansas City Assembly Plant manager, "and I'm proud that the Kansas City Plant is part of that effort. By the end of the year 2000, Ford will have placed more than 800,000 LEV F-Series pickups on the road as a continuance of our 'Cleaner, Safer, Sooner' campaign."

In May, Ford President and CEO Jac Nasser announced that all pickup trucks sold in the U.S. and Canada would be Low Emission Vehicles (LEV), well ahead of proposed government regulation and with no additional cost to customers.

Beginning with the 2000 model year the F-Series pickup fleet will average smog-forming emission levels 43 percent cleaner than before it was classified as a LEV.

"At Ford, our goal is to become the world's most environmentally progressive automaker," said Gurminder Bedi, vice president - Truck Vehicle Center. "We believe it is possible for people to be environmentalists and truck enthusiasts. That's what customers and communities are demanding of us, and that's what Ford is demanding of itself."

Ford produces more than three quarters of a million F-series pickups annually and about 360,000 Ranger compact pickups. Rangers and the SVT Lightning are scheduled to be low emission vehicles by 2001.

Last year, Ford began production of low emission sport utility vehicles and Windstar minivans and remains unmatched by other automakers on that broad environmental commitment. The LEV sport utility vehicles are: Ford Explorer, Ford Expedition, Ford Excursion, Mercury Mountaineer and Lincoln Navigator.

SUV and Windstar production will equal about 1 million units and, when joined with pickups, Ford will be putting two million Low Emission Vehicle trucks on the road annually at full production.

Ford trucks and SUVs that meet LEV status will emit on average about 48 percent fewer smog-forming emissions than trucks and SUVs that do not meet LEV.

The combined effect of Ford's emissions actions on SUVs and full-size trucks is equivalent to eliminating smog forming emissions from 350,000 full-size trucks on the road today.

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