Ford Escape Hybrid Presentation to City of Chicago

CHICAGO - June 5, 2006: As announced at the Chicago Auto Show in February, Ford Motor Company will present an Escape Hybrid taxi to the City of Chicago for a one year evaluation. Media interviews will be available with Department of Consumer Services Commissioner Norma Reyes; Nancy Gioia, Ford director of Sustainable Mobility and Hybrid programs; Mark Kaufman, Ford Group SUV marketing manager; and Kermit the Frog, spokesfrog of the Escape Hybrid.

As part of Mayor Richard M. Daley's drive to make Chicago America's greenest city, Chicago recently approved hybrid vehicles for taxi use, with large taxi companies required to have hybrids in their fleets by June 2007.

The Escape Hybrid is ideally suited for taxi use, offering uncompromised cargo and passenger volume, plus an 80 percent improvement in city fuel economy and AT-PZEV emissions -- the cleanest emission standard achievable by a vehicle that burns fossil fuels. It has also proven very reliable and efficient, with cabs in San Francisco accumulating more than 125,000 miles of severe use with few mechanical problems, and taxi drivers are saving up to $30 per shift on fuel.

The presentation will take place at the Museum of Science and Industry: 57 St. and Lake Shore Dr., on Thursday, June 8th. That evening, Kermit will host a reception for Escape Hybrid owners, offering them a chance to meet with Ford engineers, and previewing the "Frogs: A Chorus of Colors" exhibit, which focuses on how amphibians are often some of the first species to be affected by changes in the environment.