A Different Kind Of Escape Hybrid

SEMA Getting Hit With Tsunami Of Custom Fords

The pictures are tiny, but Ford is apparently bringing quite a load of customs to the SEMA show in Vegas next week. There's a trio of Lincoln MKS's on the way, a couple of Foci and custom Escapes, a sinister looking Lincoln MKX, and our favorite, a tarted up Ford Transit Connect. Seriously, that thing can't hit the market soon enough; we'll take one with a set of those snazzy racing stripes too. Full details on all these customs in a healthy-sized press release below, and be sure to check out Jalopnik's on-the-ground SEMA coverage next week. More »

Canadian Cabinet Members Forced To Give Back Vehicles, Thanks To One Teenage Hoon

The cabinet ministers in Nova Scotia will no longer be allowed to cruise around in government-paid vehicles after one teenage son of a cabinet minister crashed a 2008 Ford Escape hybrid likely doing something very un-green-like. It turned into a bit of a messy he-said she-said as the cabinet member, Judy Streatch, said she was given verbal permission to allow her son to drive the vehicle, but not written permission, which was previously required by the cabinet. More »

IRS Gives Biggest Tax Credit To New Ford Hybrids

Now that the tax incentives to on the Toyota Prius have run out, the new king of the road for deductions are the hybrid offerings from Ford — the Hybrid Ford Escape and Hybrid Mercury Mariner two wheel drive. The taxman will be giving buyers of the twin hybrids up to $3,000 in deductions in an effort to offset the additional cost associated with purchase. Of course, if and when Ford ever manages to build 60,000 hybrids, those incentives will evaporate just as they have for the Prius. [IRS.gov]

Ford Testing 120mpg Plug-In Hybrid SUV

The Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid that is currently being evaluated in Southern California is capable of up to 120mpg. 20 vehicles have been delivered to Southern California Edison, who will run them as part of their fleet for two years. For the first 30 miles after a full charge, the Plug-In Escape delivers 4.5 times the mpg of the regular non-hybrid Escape. It takes six to eight hours to fully charge the Lithium Ion batteries from a standard 120-volt outlet; once that charge is depleted, the vehicle operates like a normal Escape Hybrid. Some of the vehicles will soon be handed over to selected residential SCE customers for further evaluation. If the results of this test are favorable, we hope gives Ford the ammo to push a similar vehicle into production. [Via Gizmag] More »

D.C. Auto Show: 2009 Mercury Mariner And Ford Escape Debut, With New Tire Spoilers And Everything

We'd forgive you if you didn't know that anything would be happening at the Washington, D.C. Auto Show this year. We'd also forgive you if you didn't know there was a new 2009 Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner on the way. Finally, we'd forgive you if after looking at these photos of the 2009 Ford Escape/Mariner you were unable to differentiate the two from the 2008 Ford Escape/Mariner. Besides a slight adjustment to the front fascia and rear tire spoilers, the big change is under the hood where Ford's mini utes are getting a new, 2.5-liter four banger mated to a 6-speed transmission. The result is an 11% in power to 170 horsepower and a slight increase in fuel economy (1 mpg). The optional 3.0-liter V6 gets a power bump to 230 horsepower and a 1 mpg increase in fuel economy as well (we're seeing a pattern). The mildly refreshed SUVs also get the fully loaded SYNC package as an option. Press release below the jump. More »

Al Navarro Does Detroit: Ford to Tears

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Ford Wins "Clean Vehicle Award" For Hybrids

While we may have had a little poke at yesterday for their environmental leadership, the experts at the International Energy Agency Implementing Agreement on Hybrid & Electric Vehicles have given Ford their propers for achieving sales of more than 50,000 hybrid models worldwide. They also received awards for best practices in promotions and a "personal Award" for their dedication to increased efficiency in Hybrid powertrains. So there. Press release below the jump: More »

Ford Delivers Plug-In Hybrid to SoCal Electric Company

Ford has gone through on its promise to lead on technology that other automakers have already developed, delivering the first of 20 Plug-In Escapes to Southern California Edison. The Plug-In Escape achieves 120 mpg when the lithium-ion batteries are full charged (for the first 30 miles at least). The little hybrid gets the Ford advanced technology livery, which sort of flies in the face of the "I didn't feel the need to talk about hybrids" theme in their commercials. All things considered, this is a step forward, if only a small one. Press release below the jump: More »

Ford Tweaks The Marketing Of Hybrids In New Commercial, Explains "Hybrid Gap"

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Buy A Ford To "Escape" Boredom And Prevent A Cat From Clawing Your Crotch

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Ad Watch: Jill Wagner Can Make A Mercury Mariner With Her Hot, Bare Hands

Yes, not as much Jill Wagner as we'd like, but hell, we'll take as much of her as FoMoCo will give us. In this episode of Blade commercialism from the not-Ford brand, our fair heroine is explaining how she can single-handedly re-badge a Ford product as a Mercury by placing the badge in the middle of thin air, and then watching as a Ford Escape Mercury Mariner is born. We kid FoMoCo, actually the ad's all about...well, hell, the press release is right after the jump. – Ray Wert More »

Jalopnik Does Math Good: A Corny State Of The Union Address?

Ok, so here's what we know. Earlier today FoMoCo issues a press release tauting six states receiving a test fleet of new E85-fueled hybrid Escape SUV's (gallery below). On top of that news, but wholly unrelated, there appears to be some kind of a run in stocks of companies involved in E85 production today. We've also heard unconfirmed reports the ethanol lobby plans to open up a bigger office in Washington, DC. How can these seemingly unrelated things all be happening today? To explain, let's put it together into a handy math equation below the jump. More »

LA Auto Show Preview: Ford Reveals 2008 Escape, Hybrid

Ford's rejiggered the stylings of its smallest of SUVs, the Escape, giving it a cleaner look, a higher beltline, a new face, and seating surfaces made of 100-percent post-industrial materials — that's the bizness community's version of recycling. It also gets a range of interior tweaks from ice-blue dash lighting to more storage bins in weird places to a console that can fit a laptop computer. Ford says engineers have spent all manner of brain to reduce noise, vibration and harshness, which is an SUV's version of drunken rantings from a distant cousin at Thanksgiving. (Press release on the jump page.) It's debuting today at the LA Auto Show's press days, where Los Jalopniks will likely pass it by on the way to the Giugiaro Mustang, or the concession stand, depending. – Mike Spinelli More »

Edmunds: Hybrids Pay, Eventually

All the talk about hybrid cars coming out on the losing end of a cost-benefit analysis may not be true exactly, says Edmunds. According to a study by the car-info maniacs, some hybrids cars will cover their price premium within a few years, considering the current level of gas pricing and tax credits from the Feds. While hybrids cost between $1,200 and $7,000 more than comparable gas-only models, Edmunds says, the most efficient gas-electrics will pay off within a reasonable time period. Two examples cited are the Toyota Prius and Ford Escape, which assuming 15,000 miles per year and an average fuel cost of $3 per gallon, would break even in three years. Less-efficient models like the Saturn Vue, Toyota Camry and Civic Hybrid would zero out the premium in six years. Of course, we'd love to see such data graphed against that of high-efficiency gas-powered models sans both premium and tax incentives. But we're silly like that. More »

Crazy Hybrid Taxi!

You've got to love Gizmodo. No, really, you do. Today, amidst their usual plethora of japanese gadgets and other techie goodness, is some news on the Ford Escape Hybrid. Ford threw a few Escapes into the New York and Los Angeles taxi fleets, and they not only survived, they saved $31 per 300-mile tank of gas. But the real question still remains — does it have a beaded seat cover? More »

Spy Photos: 2008 Ford Escape

Our ink and paper friends at the Detroit News caught the new 2008 Ford Escape sans fascia obscura. Whereas we were initially of two minds on whether the front was the "real front," the gleamin' grille on that SUV leaves little doubt. That totally screams proto-"Dave" and at least one of us thinks it's tres pimp. According to the News, the '08 is: More »

You Get Zero Percent Financing, And You Get Zero Percent Financing!

Ford, pulling a page from the Oprah playbook, decided the small-scale test of zero percent financing for hybrid Escape and hybrid Mariner SUVs in Cali and DC was good enough for all to enjoy. So, feel free to run out to one of your local Ford dealers right now to take advantage of some interest-ing finance deals. But hurry, cause ya only have until July 5th. More »

Spy Photos: 2008 Ford Escape

The Car Connection procured shots of what looks to be the next Ford Escape (OK, so it says "Escape" right on it.) It'll replace the current CD2-platform model in the 2008 model year, following a shortened 2007-year production run. Most noticable is its brand new face and new, slab-sided comportment — as if it's spent formative years hanging out with its English cousins. Word is, the new Escape will see daylight at New York Auto Show in mid-April. We're not that optimistic. More »

Badge Un-engineering: Mazda Tribute Production Suspended

Word today is Mazda is suspending production of its version of the Ford Escape / Mercury Mariner SUVs, the Tribute. According to reports the company opted out of producing the Trib (at Ford's Claycomo truck plant) during the relatively short production span of the 2007 model year — May through December — because a new Escape-Mariner for 2008 will hit the line next January. The decision coincides with an 11% drop in Tribute sales between 2004 and 2005, and a near 100% drop in anyone really giving a shit. More »

Ford Taps Muppet for Escape Hybrid Super Bowl Spot

That 40-year media juggernaut and lamenter of one's greenness, Kermit the Frog, will star in a new, 30-second TV spot for the Ford Escape Hybrid to run during the Super Bowl. More of a perceptional ad than a sales pitch — considering the hybrids are selling faster than Ford can build them — Ford hopes the spot will help paint its entire brand, non-hybrids included, as a choice for environmentally conscious buyers. Money appears not to be an issue in this regard, considering the ad will reportedly cost $2.5 million (including ad time). No word yet on a rumored ad for the Ford Expedition EL starring Miss Piggy, but sources say an obvious, cheap joke about it is already in the works. More »

Escape to Brazil: Next Ford Small SUV to Be Variant of EcoSport

A report in The Car Connection indicates the next Ford small SUV could be a variant of the Brazilian EcoSport (pictured), a front/four-wheel-drive ute built on the Fiesta (Fusion in Brazil) platform. Ford is reportedly outsourcing engineering tasks on a new version to be built in Mexico for the US market, possibly as a replacement for the Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner and Mazda Tribute. By tapping its Brazilian division, Ford can save around one-third on engineers' salaries and close to 9/10s on the cost of swimsuits. More »

Let the Corn Growers Have Some: Ford's Ethanol Hybrid

The Washington DC auto show hosted a coming-out party for Ford's two-in-one fuel-saving technology lab — the Ford Escape Hybrid E85 — a combination flexfuel and electric hybrid-drive SUV. The Escape in question produces 25% less C02 than the traditional, gas-fueled Escape Hybrid. Ford also plans to build 250,000 E85 vehicles in 2006, including the Ford F-150 and Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car in addition to 250,000 hybrid vehicles per year globally by decade's end. More »