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Ford Welcomes Honda to Natural Gas Vehicle Market

8 April 1998

Ford Motor Company Welcomes Honda to Natural Gas Vehicle Market

    DEARBORN, Mich., April 8 -- Ford Motor Company , the
first automaker to mass produce a passenger car that runs exclusively on
natural gas, is pleased to welcome Honda into the natural gas vehicle (NGV)
market in North America.
    Honda is entering the market today with the Civic GX.
    Ford has been working with natural gas-powered vehicles since 1984 and
began producing the natural gas Ford Crown Victoria sedan at its St. Thomas
plant in Ontario, Canada in 1995.  That vehicle was the first ever to be
certified to California's stringent Ultra Low Emission Vehicle criteria, and
also became the first factory-produced natural gas passenger car for any
automaker.
    "We're very proud to have led the way in developing the challenging
natural gas vehicle market," said John Wallace, director of Ford's Alternative
Fuel Vehicles program.  "We know from long experience that it takes commitment
to make these programs successful.  Environmental stewardship is an issue for
our entire industry and we are happy that Honda will now join us in helping
further establish a natural gas vehicle sector."
    In the 1997 model year, Ford was the only automaker to offer natural gas
vehicles for sale in the United States.  Today Ford sells a wide range of
natural gas vehicles, from the mid-sized Contour to larger F-Series pickup
trucks and Econoline vans.
    The F-Series and Econoline trucks were the first in the world to be
certified to California's Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (SULEV) standards
and put out about 85 percent less smog-forming hydrocarbon emissions than
other trucks in their class.   The scientists and engineers who developed the
catalyst system for the SULEV trucks were honored last week in Washington,
D.C. as a national Inventors of the Year runner-up by the Intellectual
Property Owners association.
    "Making our popular light trucks so much cleaner is indicative of Ford's
broad commitment to clean vehicles," said Wallace.  "This goes hand in hand
with our announcement earlier this year that cleaner (Low Emission) versions
of all our gasoline sport utility vehicles and Windstar minivans will be sold
nationally beginning this fall - a total of about 860,000 vehicles.
    "In addition to cleaner gasoline vehicles and natural gas vehicles, Ford's
environmental lineup also includes cars and trucks powered by propane,
ethanol, methanol and electricity.

    Ford's Alternative Fuel Vehicle Lineup

    *  Dedicated natural gas Crown Victoria (runs only on alternative fuel)
    *  Dedicated natural gas F-250
    *  Dedicated natural gas Econoline van (regular or extended length)
    *  Bi-fuel natural gas Contour (two tanks, gasoline and natural gas)
    *  Bi-fuel natural gas F-150
    *  Bi-fuel natural gas F-250
    *  Bi-fuel natural gas Econoline van (regular or extended length)Flexible
       fuel ethanol Taurus (gasoline or E-85 in one tank)
    *  Flexible fuel methanol Taurus
    *  Bi-fuel propane F-150
    *  Bi-fuel propane F-250
    *  Bi-fuel Econoline van (regular or extended length)
    *  Ranger Electric Vehicle

SOURCE  Ford Motor Company