| President George W. Bush toured Ford Motor | | | | Mulally added, "We are also developing a range of |
| Company's Kansas assembly plant last Wednesday. | | | | advanced technologies that improve fuel efficiency, |
| The plant builds the first American E85 F-150 trucks | | | | such as clean diesel, plug-in hybrids, hydrogen internal |
| and SUV hybrid electric vehicles. The President toured | | | | combustion engines, hydrogen fuel cells and advanced |
| the hybrid assembly line and addressed more than 300 | | | | gasoline engines. These advanced technologies will |
| employees about the role American technology and | | | | help reduce green house gas emissions and lessen our |
| innovation will play in delivering energy security to the | | | | dependence on foreign petroleum." |
| country. | | | | "It is an extraordinary honor for us to welcome the |
| Bush thanked employees for being part of the solution | | | | President into our plant," said Ken Ward, the plant |
| to the country's energy issues by building hybrid and | | | | manager of Kansas City Assembly. "Our employees |
| E85 vehicles. "Technology changes the way we have | | | | had the opportunity to explain the hybrid production |
| lived our lives and technology is going to change the | | | | process and demonstrate their commitment to building |
| way we drive our cars," added Bush. "You're making a | | | | the best hybrid and E85 vehicles in the world." |
| new kind of automobile that is literally a part of | | | | The automaker earlier invested $100 million in its |
| changing America for the better." | | | | Kansas City plant to produce the new the conventional |
| Alan Mulally, the president and CEO of Ford, | | | | and hybrid Ford Escape for the 2008 model year. The |
| welcomed President Bush to the Kansas plant and | | | | Ford Escape is the world's first hybrid SUV. Aside |
| thanked him for coming to see first-hand how the | | | | from the Ford Escape and the Mercury Mariner hybrid |
| automaker is delivering advanced technology vehicles | | | | vehicles, the plant will also manufacture the first |
| to address climate change and energy security. "Ford | | | | E85-capable F-150 pickup. The company also showed |
| stands ready to work with the Administration and | | | | the president the Ford Edge which is built using the |
| Congress to reduce our nation's dependence on | | | | HySeries Drive. The latter is the world's first drivable |
| foreign oil," Mulally said. "At Kansas City Assembly, we | | | | fuel cell hybrid electric vehicle offered with plug-in |
| are doing some exciting things. In addition to producing | | | | capability. The vehicle also features quality auto parts |
| the nation's first hybrid electric SUV, we are also | | | | like sophisticated engines and other refined auto |
| building the best-selling pickup truck in the world - the | | | | accessories and systems that could be likened to the |
| Ford F-150 - capable of running on E85 ethanol, | | | | EBC Active Brakes Direct performance and |
| gasoline or any combination of the two fuels." | | | | aftermarket flexibility. |