Late June Ford left many disheartened by backing out from its plan to produce 250,000 hybrids a year by 2010. Right from the beginning there were many who believed that Ford would not be able to meet the target. First of all, it does not have a rear-wheel-drive hybrid transmission that it can use in truck-based SUVs of which it sold as much as 62 percent of total sales.



Bill Ford, in the letter he wrote to his employees reasons his retraction that the company will not wed itself to a single technology but manage a more flexible approach. Such flexible approaches he is adopting to lower emission and boost fuel economy as stated by him in the letter are:



Clean diesels: Probably means a European diesel V-8 of 4.4 liters for the F-150 pickup and the Explorer, Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs to compete with General Motors hybrid trucks and SUVs.



Advanced gasoline engines and transmissions: Work underway for a gasoline direct injection, turbochargers and other technologies to boost efficiency and cut emissions.



E85 ethanol: Though expensive it is popular as it has the potential to reduce foreign oil dependence.



Advanced batteries: An efficient lithium-ion batteries for hybrids by 2010 to provide plug-in hybrids and to increase the hybrids battery power range.



If these promises are not met by Ford, then it will have a disastrous effect on its image. The carmaker is already targeted by environment groups and ranks second lowest on the 2006 EPA fuel efficiency ratings.



Read more