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Ford Supports Tighter EPA Emissions Proposal

9 June 1999

    PHILADELPHIA -- Ford Motor Company, which has voluntarily committed the majority 
of its domestic truck fleet to Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) standards, said today 
the company generally supports the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 
Tier II proposals for tighter vehicle emissions levels.

    "We agree with the EPA's proposal and have already made a substantial down
payment through an industry-leading emissions action with our low emission
trucks," said Kelly Brown, Ford director for Vehicle Environmental
Engineering.  "We are, however, asking EPA to recognize some timetable and
fuel quality issues that would hamper the industry's ability to meet the new
standards."

    Brown, who testified at the first in a series of regional EPA hearings on
Tier II, said that Ford supports the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
proposal, which meets or exceeds all of EPA's goals while addressing the
timing and fuels issues.  Ford is a member of the Alliance.

    In May, Ford announced that it would make all of its F-Series pick-up
lines LEV starting in the 2000 model year.  Many of these vehicles, at LEV,
will already meet the initial standards being proposed by EPA for the 2004
calendar year.  All of Ford's Sport Utility Vehicles and its Windstar minivans
have been LEV as of the 1999 model year.

    This means that Ford will be producing about two million LEV trucks
annually by next year, far in advance of any government requirement to do so.
No other automaker comes close to Ford's commitments in the area of vehicle
emissions.  Brown noted that Ford plans to continue to commercialize clean
vehicles technologies as they become feasible, regardless of government
requirements or timetables.

    Concerning the EPA proposal, Ford's specific concerns are:
    *  Initial phase-in plans would require enormous resources for minimal air
       quality benefits.  Some of the timing in the proposal could be modified
       slightly to avoid that problem.
    *  While EPA's proposal lowering sulfur in gasoline is encouraging, it
       doesn't go far enough to reach the clean air objectives in Tier II.
       Sulfur-free fuel will be key to meeting the stringent clean air targets
       EPA has proposed.
    *  EPA should ensure that the rule continues to foster development of
       advanced technologies that have tremendous promise for fuel efficiency
       while reducing environmental emissions.

    "We really are all interested in the same things, and we're all on the
same side," Brown said.  "What we have here is a forum for good discussion to
help fashion the most effective and efficient proposal possible for cleaner
air."