01/12/2000 – 2001 Ford Escape: Small SUV for Big-City Lifestyles
Source: Ford Motor Company |
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2001 Ford Escape: Small SUV for Big-City Lifestyles
Introduced today at the 2000 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Ford’s newest sport utility vehicle marks the company’s expansion into the growing small SUV segment. Sales in that segment have more than doubled in the United States in the last four years, from 1995 sales of 250,000 vehicles to well over 500,000 through the end of 1999. “Ford pioneered the modern SUV market with the Explorer in 1991. Since then, SUV sales in the U.S. have climbed an average of 17 percent per year,” explains Jim O’Connor, Ford Division president and vice president of Ford Motor Company. “The 2001 Escape provides a logical extension of the Ford SUV family and will help us maintain our proven leadership by providing customers with a bold new choice in the small SUV market.” The new Ford Escape, smaller than the best-selling Ford Explorer, is designed to appeal to younger buyers as well as the “young at heart” – drivers who want fun, agile, sporty, durable yet affordable transportation for their active lifestyles. The 2001 Ford Escape offers customers:
On sale this summer, the new Escape joins Ford’s “Outfitters” showroom and the company’s “No Boundaries” promise for tough and versatile SUVs. Together with the Explorer, Explorer Sport, Explorer Sport Trac, Expedition and Excursion, the new Escape gives Ford the most comprehensive SUV lineup in the industry. 2001 Ford Escape
Based on an all-new platform developed in partnership with Mazda, the new Ford Escape provides customers with a small, versatile and tough SUV with maximum convenience and comfort – together with a unibody design for refined ride and handling, and one of the safest body structures in the class. With average fuel economy of 28 miles per gallon, the new Escape with the I-4 engine and 4×2 configuration will be comparable to many family sedans. Escape is equipped with the 3.0-liter V-6 engine and 4×4 configuration to achieve an average of more than 24 miles per gallon. It also will be certified to low emission vehicle standards and its emissions will be among the cleanest in its class. The 2001 Ford Escape will be built at Ford’s Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, Mo., and goes on sale in North America this summer. The new small SUV will be sold worldwide in more than 150 countries.
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