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SPECIAL

Ford Territory

SPECIAL

Ford Territory

News Watch Issue 6, Friday 24th August 2001

Staff, Friday August 24, 2001.

Page 1 of 1

DEDICATED LIGHT TRUCK CENTRE OPENS
Ford's Sydney Retail Joint Venture has opened a dedicated Light Truck Centre in the city's west aimed at better serving the needs of commercial vehicle buyers. The new centre, on the Jubilee Ford site at 155 Parramatta Road, Five Dock, will be staffed by specialists trained in selling vehicles with commercial applications. The centre will capitalise on a surge in light truck sales for Ford in 2001 with its light truck sales up by more than 20 percent on the same period last year. With the introduction of the legendary F-Series truck range, figures are expected to climb further. Sydney RJV Chief Executive Officer Martin Ward believes the centre recognizes the fact that light truck buyers have very different needs to passenger vehicle buyers. "In the Ford range alone, there are more than 50 model variants in the five light trucks and vans we sell. If you add to that the wide range of aftermarket bodies available, the range of choices for a light truck buyer can become a bit daunting," he said. "The centre is designed to offer tailored solutions to a customer's needs; our staff are trained to be able to find the vehicle that best fits a specific application, from an Econovan for courier work, to the new heavy duty F-Series range of trucks for 4WD operations."

FORD PRESIDENT SERVES IT UP TO EMPLOYEES
Ford Australia President Geoff Polites served soup to Ford employees from a St Vincent de Paul soup van as part of the Ford Employee Charitable Contribution Scheme (FECCS) promotional week. Mr Polites was demonstrating to employees how their donations are put to good use in the community. Donations from Ford employees through the FECCS scheme have increased the operation of St Vincent's Collingwood soup van from three to five nights per week. The Ford contribution scheme also provides funds to four other charities – Smith Family, Greening Australia, Variety Club and Salvation Army - with donations from the company and its employees through payroll deduction. As part of this week's FECCS promotion, each of the five charities took a turn to show employees where their donations are spent in the community. Ford employees in Geelong have had a similar partnership with United Way for over 30 years. In 2000, Ford and its employees donated a combined total of over $200,000 to United Way and the FECCS charities.

INAUGURAL REPORT ON COMMUNITY WORK
Ford Australia released its first Corporate Citizenship Report this week to recognize employees for their charitable work and to demonstrate the company's commitment to community service. The company and employees make a substantial monetary contribution to charities through a comprehensive employee deduction scheme (see story above). As well employees, with the support of the company, give of their time through countless activities such as the Leukaemia Foundation's head shave fundraiser, Anti Cancer Council's Biggest Morning Tea, Clean Up Australia Day and the Diabetes Walk for a Cure. Ford is also a major corporate sponsor of the latter two events. Ford Australia President Geoff Polites says: "Many of the partnerships we have formed within the community have provided great opportunities for the development and support of our employees and their families. They have also provided scope for the organisation involved to grow. These partnerships send out the right message to our key stakeholders that we care about our people and our community and that together we can build stronger communities."

VIRTTEX BRINGS SCIENCE TO THE DEBATE OVER FOCUS
Ford Motor Company has unveiled a new high-tech $10 million simulator in Detroit designed to gather information to address one of the most talked about issues today – the use of mobile phones and other electronic devices in cars and trucks. Most current telematics were developed without benefit of driver data related to distraction and performance. The new simulator, called VIRTTEX, will change that, delivering data that can be used to make safer and sounder choices with new emerging communications technologies in Ford vehicles. Developed over six months, VIRTTEX is designed to register a driver's eye, hand and foot reactions as they juggle tasks while driving. It consists of a 24-foot diameter dome constructed of lightweight carbon fiber that tilts 20 degrees in any direction to give drivers a real road feel and researchers unique ability to study issues surrounding driver focus. First data from the simulator is expected to be available towards the end of the year and will be published publicly as part of Ford's commitment to safety industry-wide.

ALL-NEW FIESTA UNVEILED IN EUROPE
Ford revealed the first details of the all-new Fiesta in Cologne, Germany this week. The new car makes its debut at next month's Frankfurt Motor Show. Martin Leach, Ford of Europe's Vice President of Product Development, says the new model is packaged for enjoyment and concentrates on what matters most to small-car customers – space, style, safety, value and quality. With a dynamic sportier look, the model is slightly longer and taller with a larger cabin and boot area. There is a new third window on the side, giving rear passengers a light and roomy environment. Features include Ford's Intelligent Protection System with dual-stage front air bags as standard with technology that can sense the severity of a frontal impact. There are three new powertrains targeted at delivering fuel economy improvements of up to 10 percent across the range. The new Fiesta goes on sale in early 2002 and is the first of a new generation of small cars being introduced by Ford over the next 18 months.

FORD TESTS LOW EMISSION HYDROGEN ICE TECHNOLOGY WITH NEW RESEARCH VEHICLE
Ford's newest research vehicle, the P2000 with hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine (H2ICE), could help form a bridge from today's petrol engines to the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles of the future. The H2ICE concept offers immediate advantages over competing low or zero-emission designs. Its similarity to today's petrol engine makes manufacture, installation and operation almost seamless. In addition to immediately reducing airborn emissions, hydrogen ICEs can be used to encourage the growth of a hydrogen-fueling infrastructure while the technology for long-term transportation solutions, such as hydrogen fuel cells, continues to mature. The hydrogen P2000 ICE uses a modified version of the Zetec 2.0 litre petrol engine found in the Ford Focus. Ford engineers are installing an upgraded fuel storage system designed to increase range to 150 miles or more, while still offering useable boot space. Using clean-burning hydrogen as a fuel, H2ICE emissions are a fraction of those from conventional petrol engines. In fact, it would take more than 300 H2ICE vehicles to emit the same amount of CO2 as one petrol-fueled vehicle.

For further information contact:
Ford Australia Communications
Phone: (03) 9359 8491

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