Ford's Scheele to Keynote at SAE 2004 World Congress Banquet

TROY, Mich., Nov. 26, 2003 -- Nick Scheele, president and chief operating officer of Ford Motor Company, will deliver the keynote speech at the SAE 2004 World Congress banquet at 7:00 p.m. on March 11, 2004. The SAE World Congress banquet annually closes the four day event, and this year's banquet will be held in the Renaissance Ballroom at the Marriott Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit, Michigan.

Since assuming his current position on October 30, 2001, Mr. Scheele has been responsible for Ford's global automotive business. Prior to his current position, he was group vice president, Ford North America, a job he assumed in August 2001. Scheele also served as chairman, Ford Europe, from January 2000 through July 2001, and he was chairman and CEO of Jaguar Cars Ltd., from 1992 to 1999. Under his leadership, Jaguar's sales doubled and Jaguar regained its place as one of the world's top marques in brand image, product quality and customer satisfaction.

Nick Scheele's career at Ford began in Europe in 1966 where he held several successive senior purchasing appointments in Ford's British and European Operations before moving to the U.S. in 1978. In 1988, Scheele became president of Ford of Mexico where he directed Ford's manufacturing and marketing operations.

In June 2001, the British Queen awarded Scheele a knighthood. He was awarded the Order of St. Michael and St. George for services to British exports. He serves on the Advisory Board for the British American Chamber of Commerce and is on the Executive Committee of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.

Ford Motor Company is the host company for the SAE 2004 World Congress, an event that is expected to attract 40,000 engineers, managers and technical professionals from March 8 - 11. Since 1947, the SAE World Congress has been the world's largest meeting and exposition devoted to automotive engineering and product technology. Each year the world of automotive engineering, design, and technology descends on Cobo Center for the SAE World Congress. It remains the primary forum for the best and brightest technical talent to meet and exchange ideas with their peers.

For the latest information about the SAE 2004 World Congress, see the web page http://www.sae.org/congress

SAE is a non-profit engineering and scientific organization dedicated to the advancement of mobility technology to better serve humanity. Nearly 84,000 engineers and scientists who are SAE members develop technical information on all forms of self-propelled vehicles, including automobiles, aircraft, aerospace craft, trucks, buses, marine, rail and transit machinery. This information is disseminated through SAE meetings, books, electronic products and databases, technical papers, standards, reports, and professional development programs.