Ford produces 100,000th Hybrid

11th March 2009

Amid all the doom and gloom in Detroit, and all of the hoopla surrounding Toyota’s hybrid program (you would think that “Toyota” is Japanese for “hybrid”), Ford quietly announced that it has produced its 100,000th hybrid SUV. Ford launched the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner hybrids five years ago and the vehicles remain the most fuel-efficient SUVs on the market. Today, the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV and Mercury Mariner Hybrid SUV deliver 34 mpg city driving, 31 mpg highway. This makes them the most fuel-efficient hybrid SUVs available, beating the Toyota Highlander (27 city / 25 highway) by several miles per gallon on the EPA list.

In 2004, Ford introduced the world to the first hybrid SUV – the Ford Escape Hybrid – by taking a record-breaking trek through the congested streets of Manhattan, where the vehicle exceeded all expectations, driving 37 straight hours and 576 miles on a single tank of gas. In 2005, it became the first hybrid vehicle to be used as a taxi in the U.S. The Escape Hybrid taxis were first introduced in San Francisco, and soon after, in New York City. There are now 250 Escape Hybrids providing taxi service in San Francisco and 1,400 in New York City.

This month, a San Francisco Escape Hybrid cab fleet accumulated 300,000 miles with no major mechanical problems. It is a true demonstration of the durability and reliability of the vehicles. Compared with conventional cabs, those 300,000 miles translate into a savings of approximately 5,000 gallons of gas or 100,000 pounds of carbon emissions.