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As a Ford employee and an environmentalist (I hope this is
not an oxymoron), I do everything I can to influence the interests
of higher fuel economy within the scope of both my job and my personal
life. And I get very frustrated about this. And NO, I have no
influence on decisions to build this or that. However, the grim reality is
that Ford is in business, first to survive, and also hopefully to make some
profit again some day. You may have read about the struggling to
meet the first objective, and of the many thousands and thousands of jobs lost
to valued employees. The other reality is the Toyota's Prius sold only
about 15,000 units in the entire United States last year, and I believe
this was with substantial tax incentives to help Toyota sell these cars.
Given that there was essentially no competition, this is not a resounding
marketplace endorsement. I have read about the hoopla of the Prius
II, and IF the numbers are true, then Toyota is to be congratulated on their
technical achievement. However, I have yet to find anything but
technical pap regarding the means used to achieve the numbers.
It is much to early to see if the American marketplace
will make this a financial success as well. Success in the Tokyo market
doesn't really mean much.
I wonder if anyone has had the chance to do the entire
environmental assessment from cradle to grave? I truly have not seen
one. This not only includes energy consumption from cradle to grave
including manufacturing and disposal, but also the reality
that batteries and electronics are not exactly environmentally clean on the
manufacturing and disposal ends of the process. Another issue is repair
and environmental costs involving battery pack replacement. Without a
strong battery pack, the Prius concept doesn't work. I believe an average
car today lasts substantially longer than any existing battery
technology. Battery replacement, you know, is a little bit more
than a couple of EverReadies. Will old Priuses go to the
junkyard early? At what total environmental cost? I haven't seen
these assessments; but I also expect that it won't come out too pretty from an
environmental perspective.
The bottom line is that Ford as a manufacturer will go
where they perceive and find profitability. Profitability comes from
consumer demand. You may have noticed that Toyota is getting into the big
car, big SUV, big truck market more and more. Why? Where
is your criticism of that move?
I would suggest that instead of beating up on only Ford,
that you beat up on Toyota for moving to larger vehicles, and you beat up on GM
for making Hummers, and you beat up on Daimler Chrysler for making 1000 HP
cars. And most of all, you should beat up on the American consumer for
his/her preference for these behemoths. How about an educational campaign
to bring about a substantial consumer demand for a fuel efficient but well
built car? Genuine demand that will support pricing so that any
company can actually afford to make them without taxpayer subsidy?
Ford is not without blame, but it is not nearly as
lopsided as you present. Yeah, I know. We're in league with the oil
companies surpressing the 60mpg carburetor.
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