Hybrid car parade singles out Ford - GreenHybrid

Jason · #1 (**permalink**) 02-09-2004, 11:51 AM

Nearly 50 students and community members gathered at the Oval on Saturday to take part in a hybrid-car parade. The signs on display included messages such as, “I’m ruining the environment” and “Ford refuses to protect the planet by refusing to implement today’s cleanest technologies.”

The events were sponsored by Bluewater Network, an environmental activism and lobbying group, which seeks to increase public awareness of global warming and to introduce members of the surrounding community to conventional automobile alternatives, namely hybrid electrical vehicles.

More at:
http://daily.stanford.edu/tempo?page=conte...ry=0001_article

Boy, I'd hate to be Ford right now!

Jumperless · #2 (**permalink**) 02-09-2004, 04:37 PM

Don’t get me wrong, I’m no supporter of gas guzzlers. But, in 2000, Ford updated all their SUVs to LEV emissions voluntarily. However, most new GM SUVs and trucks are still running the archaic Tier 1 emissions standard. It’s a little strange that GM is not being singled out by environmentalists. Ford has been having rocky sales and plenty of other problems lately.

Stevo12886 · #3 (**permalink**) 02-09-2004, 05:20 PM

whatabout that new hybrid ford....hydrogen/electric?

Jason · #4 (**permalink**) 02-09-2004, 05:32 PM

Haha. If it's Hydrogen, it might as well be Einsteinium. They have the Escape Hybrid coming out soon, though.

Jumperless · #5 (**permalink**) 02-09-2004, 07:27 PM

GM has given up on hybrids all together. Last I read, they were looking into fuel cells in the future…probably the very far future for them.

Jason · #6 (**permalink**) 02-09-2004, 07:31 PM

If that's true, they're in for a downhill slide. I'll bet in 3 years the world "hybrid" will be household, mainstream, and "luxurious."

Stevo12886 · #7 (**permalink**) 02-09-2004, 08:29 PM

yah. there stupid "skateboard" platform has been in the news for like 5 years....could they do something with it already?!?!?!

Jumperless · #8 (**permalink**) 02-10-2004, 07:07 AM

To me, GM has given up on efficient vehicles. The new Aveo is a rebadged Daewoo and the new smaller trucks and SUVs are Isuzus. They have a few concept hybrids and vehicles running on alternative fuels they drag to shows like trophies, but nothing mainstream anytime soon.

kudzu100 · #9 (**permalink**) 02-16-2004, 04:56 PM

A friend of mine passed on this bit of wisdom about GM.

When something new appears in the automobile market, GM behaves as follows:

1) They ignore it and hope it goes away.
2) If that fails, they begin to bad-mouth the new design while researching it behind the scenes.
3) Come out with their own, "better" version of the new design.

Jason · #10 (**permalink**) 02-17-2004, 02:11 PM

Kudzu,

I sure hope it's true! It would be nice to have the true "War of the Hybrids"