Ford F-150 full-size pickup is recognized in
annual environmental vehicle rankings
DEARBORN, Mich.,
February 15, 2000 – Ford Motor Company’s F-150 pickup truck has been
selected as a top environmental choice by the American Council for
an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), in its annual listing of the
most environmentally friendly vehicles.
The F-150 pickup is the only full-size truck to make the ACEEE’s
“Greener Choices” list. Specifically, the 4.2L, 2-wheel-drive model
of the truck was selected as a “Greener Choice.” The list is part
of ACEEE’s Green Book: The Environmental Guide to Cars and Trucks –
Model Year 2000. The Green Book was released today in Washington,
DC.
“We’re very pleased and proud that the environmental performance of
the F-150 pickup truck has been recognized,” said Helen Petrauskas,
vice president for Environmental and Safety Engineering. “Not only
does our F-Series line have great performance, but it is the
best-selling vehicle in the United States, so the positive
environmental benefit is significant.”
The ACEEE is a non-profit organization that promotes energy
efficiency as a means of furthering economic prosperity and
environmental protection. The organization works closely with the
U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
and other federal agencies. Its Green Book ranking takes a holistic
view of environmental performance, including emissions generated
during the lifecycle of the vehicle. Emissions generated during
fuel and vehicle production are estimated and combined with actual
emissions from a car or truck. The resultant value allows a
comparison of vehicles.
The “Greener Choices” F-150 model, as well as all F-Series pickups,
sport utility vehicles and Windstar minivan, meet Low Emission
Vehicle (LEV) standards. These vehicles emit anywhere from about 40
percent to more than 50 percent fewer smog-forming emissions than
similar vehicles that do not meet LEV standards.
Ford Motor Company announced last week that it had produced its two
millionth LEV truck since making an industry-leading commitment to
LEV vehicles less than one and a half years ago. No one else in the
industry comes close to Ford’s LEV truck volumes.
The company has committed to take environmental actions in advance
of government regulatory timetables whenever possible. Ford has
made this pledge and is putting these much cleaner vehicles on the
roads far in advance of any government requirement to do so. The
large majority of SUVs and pickups is not mandated to be low
emission prior to the 2004 model year.
“Making all of our pickups and SUVs low emission vehicles is just
the right thing to do,” said Gurminder Bedi, vice president, North
America Truck. “We offer this at no additional cost to the customer
as part of our strategy Of ‘Cleaner, Safer, Sooner.’ Our commitment
is to genuine leadership, not mere compliance.”
The combined effect from Ford’s early-adoption actions so far is
equivalent to eliminating the harmful smog-forming emissions from
350,000 full-size pickups on the road today. On an ongoing basis,
Ford’s action will result in 4,250 tons less of smog-forming
pollutants being released annually into the atmosphere. It would
take more than 600,000 hybrid electric vehicles placed in service to
equal the air quality benefit that Ford’s action will have in
calendar year 2000.
The F-150 pickup is built at Ford assembly plants in Kansas City,
Mo.; Norfolk, Va; and Oakville, Ontario, Canada.
F-Series is the top-selling vehicle – car or truck – for 18 years
running and the best-selling pickup in the U.S. for 23 years
running in the U.S. With sales of 869,001 units in 1999, F-Series
broke its own 21-year-old sales record and outsold its nearest
competitor by 233,000 units. The industry-leading lineup recently
was expanded with the introduction of the 2001 Ford F-150 SuperCrew.
In addition to the F-150 pickup, Ford’s electric Ranger compact
pickup made the ACEEE’s list of “The 12 Greenest Vehicles of 2000.”
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