Ford Cuts Its Own Path With Best Warranty, Roadside Assistance Package of Any Full-Line Auto Company

* Ford cuts its own path with bold designs, more standard safety features, straightforward pricing and now the best warranty and roadside assistance packages of any full-line manufacturer.
* No-deductible, fully transferable powertrain limited warranty on 2007 Ford and Mercury vehicles is now five years or 60,000 miles - 66 percent better than all Chrysler Group and most GM nameplates.
* Lincoln's 2007 powertrain limited warranty is now six years or 70,000 miles - up to 20,000 miles and two years longer than Cadillac's.
* Ford to offer complimentary roadside assistance, including towing, fuel and lock-out service for the entire warranty period - services not offered by Toyota and Honda.
* New for the 2007 model year, Ford has made side air curtains or its advanced Safety Canopy system with rollover sensor standard equipment on 13 vehicles.
* Five additional Ford, Lincoln and Mercury products available with all- wheel drive for 2007.
* Ford continues to roll out straightforward pricing - new 2007 Ford Expedition to be the only full-size SUV priced under $30,000 offering standard three-row side curtain air bags.

DEARBORN, Mich., July 13 -- Ford Motor Company will significantly increase the powertrain limited warranties and roadside assistance programs for 2007-model Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles as part of an accelerated product plan that includes more standard safety equipment, new technologically advanced engines and transmissions, wider availability of technologies like all-wheel drive and straightforward pricing that helps improve resale values.

"Ford's goal is to be America's car company -- the one that customers expect to set the standard for design, engineering and the ownership experience," said Cisco Codina, Ford group vice president, North America Marketing, Sales and Service.

"When we said Ford was going to look at the world through customers' eyes, we meant every word," he added. "That means bold design, more standard safety features, higher quality and, starting today, the best warranty and roadside assistance packages of any full-line manufacturer -- American, European or Asian."

America's Car Company

Effective July 14, the powertrain limited warranty for 2007 Ford and Mercury vehicles will be five years or 60,000 miles, whichever comes first. That's an additional two years or 24,000 miles of coverage for such components as the engine and transmission beyond each vehicle's three-year or 36,000-mile bumper-to-bumper limited warranty.

For Lincoln, the powertrain coverage is now extended to six years or 70,000 miles -- two years or 20,000 miles beyond the basic four-year or 50,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. For all three brands, there are no deductibles for repairs, and the warranties are fully transferable to future owners at no cost.

The new Ford warranty programs are retroactive to the beginning of the 2007 model year, so customers who already have purchased a 2007 Ford, Lincoln or Mercury will automatically receive the added protection.

Ford and Lincoln Mercury also will offer complimentary roadside assistance for the entire basic and powertrain warranty period, including towing, fuel- fill and lock-out services. The Toyota, Scion and Honda brands don't offer roadside assistance programs on new vehicle purchases, and the programs offered by the Chrysler Group, the Nissan brand and most General Motors brands expire after only three years or 36,000 miles.

Performance, Efficiency and Quality

Behind Ford's move to adopt longer powertrain warranty coverage is one of the industry's most comprehensive engine, transmission and all-wheel drive development programs.

* In 2001, Ford launched the new Duratec four-cylinder engine family, which now powers more than 4 million Ford and Mercury products including the Ford Escape Hybrid and the partial zero emissions (PZEV) Ford Focus, Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan.

* In 2004, Ford introduced its first six-speed automatic transmission to optimize power delivery and fuel economy. Six-speed automatics are now used in 12 different 2007 Ford, Mercury and Lincoln products, including the soon- to-be launched Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers.

* The Ford 4.6-liter, 3-valve MOD V-8, which was launched in 2004 and now powers the Ford Mustang, Explorer, Explorer Sport Trac and Mercury Mountaineer, has been named one of "Ward's 10 Best Engines" by Ward's AutoWorld magazine.

* This year, Ford will launch the all-new 3.5-liter Duratec V-6 in the 2007 Ford Edge, and the Lincoln MKZ and MKX. This engine delivers more than 260 horsepower with exceptional durability, refinement and fuel economy. It will power as many as one in five Ford, Lincoln and Mercury vehicles by 2010.

"Over the past five years, we've almost completely revamped our entire lineup of engines and transmissions, but it's just the beginning," said Barb Samardzich, vice president of Powertrain for Ford Motor Company. "We're extending our offerings of flex-fuel vehicles, building more hybrids, adding more six-speed transmissions and developing new technologies to give customers more power and efficiency."

Ford also is consolidating its position as the all-wheel drive leader, with all-wheel drive models of the Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ sedans launching this year, along with the all-new Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers.

Demand for the option will be fueled in part by owners leaving the SUV segment who don't want to sacrifice the security and traction of all-wheel drive. Ford research shows that 50 percent of luxury buyers and 73 percent of current SUV drivers want either all-wheel drive or four-wheel drive in their next vehicle.

Making Families Safer

As part of the company's overall drive to improve customer value and deliver safety innovation, Ford is moving aggressively to make side air bags and air curtains, which help protect drivers and passengers in side-impact collisions, standard equipment.

"Making families safer is the goal of our pledge to drive innovation in safety technology," said Codina. "That commitment and the customer focus at the heart of the Way Forward plan led us to accelerate our plans to make side air bags standard."

Driver and front-seat passenger side air bags are standard equipment on the Ford Explorer XLT, the Ford Explorer Sport Trac and the Lincoln Town Car. New for the 2007 model year, Ford has made side air curtains or its advanced Safety Canopy system with rollover sensor standard equipment on 13 vehicles:

  1.  Ford Fusion
  2.  Ford Five Hundred
  3.  Ford Freestyle
  4.  Ford Expedition (new)
  5.  Ford Expedition EL (all new)
  6.  Ford Edge (all new)
  7.  Ford Explorer (Eddie Bauer and Limited)
  8.  Mercury Milan
  9.  Mercury Montego
  10. Lincoln MKX (all new)
  11. Lincoln MKZ
  12. Lincoln Navigator (new)
  13. Lincoln Navigator L (all new)

The 2006 Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego with the Safety Canopy air curtain system earned the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's highest "Top Safety Pick-Gold" rating after achieving the highest ratings in rear, frontal offset and side impact crash protection.

Straightforward Pricing

Ford is delivering new features and the improved warranties while simultaneously fulfilling the Way Forward plan's promise to introduce retail pricing that is clear, simple and straightforward. Ford began to implement the strategy with the launches of the 2005 Ford Mustang and the 2006 Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Lincoln Zephyr.

"Our straightforward pricing strategy is designed to make Internet comparison shopping easier for consumers, sharply reduce the need for large sales incentives and improve resale values," said Codina. "We are seeing meaningful improvements in each of these areas -- that's the payoff when Ford cuts its own path."

For example, the resale value of the Ford Fusion, which launched last year with a strong 36-month lease-end residual value of 47 percent, is expected to improve by as much as 3 points for 2007 thanks in part to its strong performance in the marketplace and new standard side curtain air bags.

Ford is expecting much stronger resale values for other new products as well, including the redesigned 2007 Ford Expedition, which will be the only full-size SUV with standard three-row side curtain air bags and a starting price below $30,000 MSRP when it launches in September. Full pricing details for the Expedition will be released at a later date.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures and distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 300,000 employees and 108 plants worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. Its automotive-related services include Ford Motor Credit Company.