Ford's fuel-cell car to sell in
2004
Execs commit to plan, defend new
Excursion
May 14, 1999
BY CHARLOTTE W. CRAIG
DETROIT FREE PRESS AUTOMOTIVE WRITER
Ford Motor Co. plans to have zero-emission,
fuel-cell vehicles for sale to consumers in 2004,
company chairman Bill Ford Jr. told about 600
shareholders gathered at the Detroit Opera
House on Thursday for Ford's annual
stockholder meeting.
With others watching on the Internet and on the
big-screen television in New York City's Times
Square, Ford and Chief Executive Officer Jac
Nasser outlined their plans and answered
questions, many having to do with Bill Ford's
particular interest -- environmental issues.
In fact, the duo arrived on stage in a tiny electric
car called the TH!NK, made by a Norwegian
company in which Ford recently bought a
majority interest.
Ford earlier announced it will work with
DaimlerChrysler AG and several oil and
research companies to put a test fleet of fuel-cell
vehicles on California roads in 2001. The
consortium said then it hoped to make the cars
available by 2004, but Bill Ford's statement
Wednesday was the first definitive commitment.
The company has taken several environmental
initiatives lately, including a plan to buy auto
junkyards throughout the nation and dismantle
thousands of scrapped autos, selling undamaged
parts to mechanics over the Internet and the rest
to foundries to be recast into new parts.
In response to questions, Bill Ford defended the
automaker's new, nine-passenger Excursion
sport-utility vehicle which, when it goes on sale
this fall, will be the largest sport-utility available.
Environmental groups have criticized the vehicle
because it's expected to get relatively poor gas
mileage, in the mid-teen range.
"We could make all 80-mile-per-gallon small
cars. But if they are all sitting unsold on dealer
lots they aren't doing the environment any good,
and Ford wouldn't be in business very long," Bill
Ford said.
"We have an obligation to make whatever we
make as clean as we can.
"The new Excursion is a low-emission vehicle....
It's a very recyclable vehicle; its paint shop is the
cleanest in the industry. It fills a market niche,
but it does it in a responsible way."
Shareholders seemed in a good mood, giving
Ford and Nasser occasional rounds of applause
and offering few criticisms.
Little wonder. Ford stock has increased in value
more than 30 percent, not counting dividends,
since last year's annual meeting. Ford has
returned an average 14 percent annually to its
stockholders since the company went public 42
years ago (versus 12 percent for the Standard &
Poor's 500 and 11 percent for the Dow Jones
Industrial Average).
Ford is the largest company to broadcast its
annual meeting on the World Wide Web. In
addition, the first half-hour of the meeting was
broadcast on the Times Square TV screen.
Ford is thought to be the first to do so. |
