Rich Rambles:

          I’ll admit it, I’ve been a fan of Ford.  It’s mostly due to Nurture, my family worked for Ford, I fall under the A plan discount, and my parents for all the time I was growing up owned Ford vehicles.  One was lemonish, but close to thirty years of good Ford product and a discount will sort of bias you in their favor.  I even went to Fordfests as a kid, the employee family picnics back in the day.  I’m a huge fan of the Ford Escape Hybrid, which is why I wrote a FAQ for the vehicle at Green Hybrid, because it’s such a well designed hybrid that came along at the right time. However, it’s partly because I wanted to see them do well that I’ve become so frustrated with them. At this point, they could’ve been a strong contender with Toyota in the fuel efficient and hybrid market, instead it’s GM who’s taking their spot.

While any company could do anything, let’s look at the facts and the timeline:

In October of 2005, gas prices were about $1.80. I attended an event called the “Ford Escape Hybrid Experience” in Dearborn Michigan, on the Ford grounds, an event hosted by the engineers who designed the Ford Escape Hybrid. I had a great time, had an engineer assigned to me for the day, and any question I had about the Escape Hybrid was answered by the engineer who designed the system. It was a lot of fun to get the inside scoop. We got to learn more about the hybrid technology, had myths debunked, and got an “inside scoop” into Fords plans to carry out their hybrid program. The Mercury Mariner Hybrid, twin of the Escape would come later that year, 2006 would get the Fusion and Milan Hybrids as well as the release of the third sibling of the Mariner and Escape, The Mazda Tribute Hybrid, 2007 would see the Edge and another larger vehicle hybridized. At the Experience, we got a first hand look at the Ford Fusion, which wasn’t released yet, and a first drive of the Mercury Mariner Hybrid. It was a great event, I had a lot of fun, and was rather optimistic of the future.

Oh silly, naive me.

Not long after that, there was a nearly palpable shift in Ford Motor Company. Mary Ann Wright, head of the Hybrid programs left Ford for undisclosed reasons. Ford suddenly backed out of their national commercial promise of 250,000 Hybrids on the road by 2010, making a claim of having the same number of E85 capable vehicles on the road by the same date. The Fusion and Milan Hybrids vanished from Fordvehicles.com’s website under the upcoming models. Rumors started circulating, that all hybrid projects had been shut down at Ford.

2006 came and went. Gas prices rose to $2.70. The Mercury Mariner Hybrid saw it’s release, but the Mazda Tribute Hybrid vanished much like the Fusion and Milan Hybrids, seeming to linger in the same development hell that was rumored to have happened.

2007, gas prices rose again to $2.80. The Mazda Tribute Hybrid saw an extremely limited release in California only. When asked about it, Mazda had said that there was a stranglehold on getting hybrid batteries and transmissions, that the Escape and Mariner were getting top priority and the Mazda Tribute Hybrid would be released where “It could do the most good.” Still, there was a moratorium on all other hybrid projects. In the later months of the year, spy shots picked up a parking lot of 50 Fusion Hybrids in a parking lot near Ford World Headquarters in Dearborn, MI. The next week they were gone, and Ford still had no comment about them. Ford won car of the year in Europe with the S-MAX, an updated version of the Focus, which it deemed too expensive to retool the Focus plants to release in North America. Demand for the Escape and Mariner Hybrids outstripped supply and waiting lists started to pop up, as well as stories from buyers about crossing state lines to get their new hybrid.  But what about those batteries?  You decide to have a bidding process to choose a new battery manufacturer.  Several compete, including JCI, who offers a program with Li-Ion batteries, an upgrade platform, and a variety of batteries to suit your needs.  Who do you chose?  Delphi.  A company that was owned by GM, is in bankruptcy, and doesn’t make batteries!

In early 2008, gas prices rose further to $3 for a gallon. At NAIAS, the North American International Auto Show, Ford listed the Fusion and Milan Hybrids in their presentation on screen, but had no information in the press packets, no dialogue about them in the presentation, no models on display, and in individual interviewing with Ford people, they could only state that it was supposed to come out this year. However, they were anything but shy, and quite shameless in promoting their new F-150, showing off now less then 8 different models/trims to it, and touting it’s unparalleled ability to tow. The Plug-In Escape Hybrid, the drool inspring vehicle to nearly every current hybrid owner was there, for show only, of course. A few months later, gas prices would surge over $3 as specs for the 2009 Ford Escape Hybrid came out. It would have a more economic engine, with their Eco-tec engines. So, better fuel economy, right?  WRONG!  Instead, they chose to beef up the vehicles horsepower at the cost of fuel economy, to keep an “even tradeoff”, the EPA numbers would remain unchanged.  You’ve got the worlds most fuel efficient SUV, with GM poising to take that title away from you with the upcoming Saturn Vue with Dualmode Hybrid technology, and instead of boosting your vehicles MPG as gas prices surge without restraint, you decide that more horsepower is the way to go? 

               Oh, but it gets better, doesn’t it?  Just a week later, as gas prices surge to $3.50 a gallon, articles emerge where you candidly talk about how Ford Motor Company is deliberately limiting the number of Hybrids they’re producing.  It’s not because, as it was in the past, a limit on batteries or transmissions, going so far as to state, “We can get all the batteries we want.”,  and that you only want 25,000 batteries, because in order to increase hybrid production (Building more then 25,000) you’d have to limit production of vehicles that offer larger profit margins.  But wait, there’s more!  When gas prices hit $4 a gallon, Toyota starts complaining that it’s running out of Hybrid batteries.  What do you do?  You join in, whining about how production is limited and you’re constrained to 25,000, and can’t build anymore due to the shortage! 

                   Ah, but then we get to the big event.  Last week, you announce that you’re going to delay your new F-150’s, that you’re closing plants, and you’re in dire woes because you can’t seem to give away those large vehicles.  You comment about how you’d like to build more fuel efficient smaller cars and hybrids, though the later is capped now.  You worry about your financial future.  Well, what did you think was going to happen?!?  Did you really and honestly believe that gas prices were going to fall like a comet back to .99 cents per gallon?  Did you think that people weren’t going to start choosing less thirsty behemoths when week after week they dump $200 at the pump?  Did you think that upside-down loans weren’t going to burn you as well?  (Upside-down loans are when the vehicle has more on the loan then it’s value is; ex.  An F-150 was purchased with a loan, and the owner still owes $35,000 on it.  The F-150’s current appraised value is $10,000 is an upside-down loan.) 

            Let’s face it, your woes are nothing but your own fault.  You believed that people would ignorantly continue buying large trucks and muscle cars regardless of what happened to gas prices or the economy.  You believed that building 11 different F-150’s was a wiser idea then building 2 different hybrid models, or even bringing over the S-MAX.  You develop and show off the Reflex (A Diesel/Electric Hybrid concept vehicle), but kill it.  You backed out of your hybrid promise, and now that gas is more then double what is is when you did that, did you really expect nothing to happen to the economy or would effect how people live and buy cars? 

           Honestly, your attitude is pretty well defined by your actions this year.  You’ve backed out of Hybridfest, the largest gathering of fuel efficient minded people, despite a strong showing last year.  You’ve refused to show any interest in having a Ford Escape Hybrid race around the world in The Great Race 2009.  From what was posted at a Ford fan website, the Fusion Hybrid will get released, next year, as a limited model! 

           Why do I have this sick feeling that your plans to turn Ford Motor Company around involve lowering the price and offering more models of F-150’s then, you know, building competitive vehicles and regaining lost market share? 

           Why is it that Toyota and GM can both put out 4 new hybrids in the last 3 years, but you can’t?   Why is it that even with $4 gas, there’s still no talk of bringing successful overseas vehicles to America, like the S-MAX, or even better yet, why not hybridize the S-MAX and release it as a Prius killing domestic vehicle?  My mother, who has owned a Maverick, several Escorts, and a Focus, bought a new car this year.  At my urging, it was a Toyota Prius.  She loves it, and she loves the mileage.  Expect to hear that kind of story in the future.

             A lot.