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Ford Motor Company and EAA Announce Major Partnership

30 July 1999

Ford Motor Company and EAA Announce Major Partnership

    OSHKOSH, Wis., July 28 -- Ford Motor Company and
the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) have announced a four-year
sponsorship agreement (1999-2003) naming Ford Motor Company products as the
worldwide official vehicles for EAA, EAA AirVenture Oshkosh and the EAA
Foundation.
    The announcement was made on the eve of the opening of AirVenture Oshkosh
'99, the world's largest air show and fly-in convention and the EAA's annual
gathering of hundreds of thousands of aviation enthusiasts.  More than 30 Ford
Motor Company vehicles representing the seven world-class vehicle brands are
on display in a 10,200 square-foot tent.  In addition, Ford Motor Company and
Hertz have provided more than 200 courtesy vehicles the EAA will use
throughout the convention.
    "Since 1903 -- when Henry Ford started Ford Motor Company and his friends
the Wright brothers took their first flight -- automobiles and aviation have
been intricately linked as part of the fabric of America and the world's
transportation history," said Jim Schroer, Ford Motor Company vice president
of Global Marketing.  "This link continues today and into the future.  The new
partnership between Ford Motor Company and the EAA is a natural outgrowth and
another example of how Ford Motor Company is reaching out directly to
consumers."
    Ford also will use AirVenture Oshkosh '99 to introduce several innovative
automotive technologies, including a first showing of Ford Motor Company's
satellite-based, commercial-free digital CD Radio system.  In addition, a new-
for-2000 seat-mounted climate control system was announced for the Lincoln
Navigator.
    "AirVenture is a perfect place to introduce high-tech systems to a
technically oriented audience," said Neil W. Ressler, vice president and chief
technical officer of Ford Motor Company.  "It's a chance for us to look beyond
the traditional auto show mindset, to reach a tech-savvy audience that thinks
of transportation in a very different way."
    Although there will be no US Air Force Thunderbird F-16s at the show, Ford
will display the Thunderbird concept, the car that has been an auto show-
stopper from Detroit to Geneva.  The "Scarlett" two-seat roadster takes its
key styling cues from the classic Ford Thunderbirds of 1955-57, reflecting the
value Ford places on its distinguished heritage.
    A Ford Tri-Motor plane, developed in 1926, also is on display through
August 3.  As part of the sponsorship, Ford Motor Company will also support
the EAA's Young Eagles program, which is geared toward development of young
people.