Electric cars to be scraped

August 24, 2004

Ford Crushes 'Clean Cars' While Green washing Gas Guzzlers

From Rainforest Action Network

Monday, August 23, 2004

Ford Crushes 'Clean Cars' While Green washing Gas Guzzlers

- Activists stage flag-draped funeral at San Francisco Ford dealer as EV drivers

are forced to turn over their cars to be crushed.

- Global grassroots coalition demands that Ford 'TH!NK twice' before destroying

the most fuel efficient car in its oil addicted fleet.

- Ford ignores Norwegian offer to purchase TH!NK EVs.

San Francisco - Today in San Francisco and tomorrow in Oslo, Global Exchange,

Greenpeace, Rainforest Action Network and an international grassroots coalition

will protest Ford Motor Company's plans to destroy of all of its TH!NK zero

emission electric vehicles (EV) in the United States, the most fuel efficient

cars in its oil addicted fleet. The transatlantic actions are the latest from

Jumpstart Ford, the global grassroots movement to end Ford's five year oil binge

and compel America's worst-ranked automaker to produce a fleet of

environmentally ethical, zero emissions vehicles.

Who: EV drivers, environmental and human rights activists, veterans,

representatives from local government and impacted communities

What: Flag-draped funeral for Ford TH!NK EVs as drivers reluctantly turn over

their cars to be crushed

When: TODAY at 12:00 noon (Monday, August 23, 2004)

Where: S & C Ford, 2001 Market Street @ Dolores, San Francisco

In a sombre noontime ceremony at S & C Ford in San Francisco, mourners in black

veils will pay last respects to flag-draped Ford TH!NK EVs honouring the clean

car technology for its 34-month long service in the global movement to save

Earth's climate from deadly greenhouse gas emissions. Veterans for Peace will

facilitate a Military Funeral Honours ceremony to include the playing of " Taps "

and the folding and presenting of a burial flags to grieving TH!NK EV owners.

Inspiring eulogies will be delivered by George Johnson of Veterans for Peace,

Jennifer Krill of Rainforest Action Network, Jason Mark of Global Exchange,

Randall Hayes of the Oakland Department of the Environment, Leila Salazar of

Amazon Watch, Dr. Henry Clark of the West County Toxics Coalition and Kristin

Casper of Greenpeace.

The Ford TH!NK funeral is in response to the American automaker's refusal to

accept repeated offers from Elbil Norge, a Norwegian EV car manufacturer, to

purchase the zero emission vehicles to meet growing consumer demand in Norway, a

nation powered almost entirely by renewable electricity. Ford's August 2002

decision to shut down its EV program and destroy the U.S. TH!NK fleet followed

the auto industry's gutting of California's zero emission mandate in June 2002.

" Ford is pulling the plug on the only cars in its gas guzzling fleet that don't

produce deadly greenhouse gas emissions, " said Jennifer Krill, director of the

Zero Emissions Campaign at Rainforest Action Network. " By crushing these beloved

cars and ending its EV program, Ford is shattering the new American dream for an

energy independent future. EVs are the perfect solution for progressive places

like Norway and Northern California where reliable sources of renewable energy

are on the rise. In light of mounting evidence that tailpipe emissions are a

leading contributor to catastrophic climate change, Ford's addiction to oil is

an environmental crime. Ford should manufacture and market environmentally

ethical EVs as aggressively as it has pushed its oil addicted SUVs. Ford's

decision to crush perfectly reliable zero emission vehicles proves once again

that it is more interested in greenwashing gas-guzzlers than innovating an

emission free future. The TH!NK EV is a casualty of Ford's oil addiction. "

" The TH!NK EVs were produced in Norway, and Norwegians want them back, " said

Truls Gulowsen of Greenpeace in Norway. " It is wrong for Ford to crush these

cars. A Norwegian company has even offered Ford a million dollars to purchase

the TH!NKs but has so far received nothing but arrogant silence. This shows that

Ford has other motives than environmental protection and sound business

principles. "

" Ford needs to think straight and realize that pure electric vehicles can play

an important role in breaking the company's oil addiction, " said Jason Mark,

clean car campaigner at the human rights group Global Exchange. " It seems that

Ford isn't thinking at all. Why would the company wantonly destroy these

vehicles when drivers here in the US and in Europe are begging to keep them? "

" I leased a Ford TH!NK in November, 2001 at S & C Ford in San Francisco, " said

TH!NK driver Marc Geller. " In repeated discussions between June and November

2001 leading up to my decision to lease the 2001 TH!NK, Frank Ginotti, S & C

Ford Fleet Sales, told me the 2003 model would be available for purchase. I

followed Ford's progress, including photos of the new model on the assembly line

in Norway, its introduction at the 2002 Los Angeles and New York Auto Shows and

its appearance in the 2003 Ford Fleet Guide. Ford broke its promise to me and

hundreds of others who leased the TH!NK. "

" If automakers don't reduce smog-forming emissions, greenhouse gases and the

need for petroleum, I believe we won't be in business, " said Fujio Cho,

president of Toyota in The New York Times.

Ford Motor Company is America's oil addict. According the U.S. Environmental

Protection Agency, the average fuel efficiency of Ford cars and trucks today is

18.8 mpg, dead last among the top six automakers for the fifth consecutive year.

From subcompacts to SUVs, Ford's current fleet of cars and trucks gets fewer

miles per gallon on average than its Model-T did 80 years ago. Ford's widely

touted 'eco-friendly' Rouge River plant features a water-preserving green roof,

yet manufactures 280,000 gas-guzzling F-150s a year, generating up to 100 tons

of atmospheric carbon a piece over each truck's lifetime. Marketed as " the first

American hybrid, " Ford's so-called 'no compromise' Escape represents less than

one half of one percent of its fleet and will have virtually no impact on its

last place fuel efficiency ranking. In 2000, Ford promised to improve the fuel

efficiency of its fleet of SUVs 25 percent by 2005. In 2003, the company

announced its intention to break that promise. Despite waiting lists for zero

emissions cars, Ford has ended all programs, and blamed consumers for its lack

of innovation.

The TH!NK EVs are the first mass produced car in Norwegian history and have

become a national symbol of pride and progress for the role they play in

reducing air pollution and ending oil addiction.

Global Exchange (www.globalexchange.org), Greenpeace (www.greenpeace.no) and

Rainforest Action Network (www.ran.org) are members of an international

grassroots movement calling on Ford to commit to achieve a fleet-wide average of

50 MPG by 2010 and eliminate tailpipe emissions by 2020. For more information,

please visit www.JumpStartFord.com.

# # #

For more information, contact:

Paul West

Communications Director

Rainforest Action Network

media

Web site:

www.ran.org

August 24, 2004

Craig - why were they forced to hand them over?

Jo

, " Craig Dearth " <cd39@e...> wrote:

>

> Ford Crushes 'Clean Cars' While Green washing Gas Guzzlers

>

August 24, 2004

they leased em

since they no longer make em, the lease is up.... heartwerk Aug 24, 2004 8:13 AM Re: Electric cars to be scraped Craig - why were they forced to hand them over?Jo , "Craig Dearth" <cd39@e...> wrote:> > Ford Crushes 'Clean Cars' While Green washing Gas Guzzlers> > To send an email to -