Tag: bluewater network

Greens Gang Up on Ford Motor

Environmental groups are turning to national ad campaigns to push automakers to make more fuel-efficient vehicles, and they’re singling out Ford Motor Company for the most criticism. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bill Poorman reports:

Transcript

Environmental groups are turning to national ad campaigns to get automakers to
make more fuel-efficient vehicles. And they’re singling out Ford Motor Company
for the most criticism. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bill Poorman
reports:


The Sierra Club ran a series of ads criticizing Ford last year. Earlier this
year, the group Bluewater Network ran a series of ads portraying Ford chief Bill
Ford as Pinocchio, for backtracking on environmental commitments he made four
years ago. The latest campaign came this summer from Global Exchange and the
Rainforest Action Network. Those ads called on Ford to develop a fleet of zero
emissions vehicles. Jennifer Krill with the Rainforest Action Network.


“Right now, Ford is the worst in the US auto industry. Ford’s average fuel
economy of its car and truck fleet is the last among the top six automakers for
the fifth straight year.”


In the U-S Environmental Protection Agency’s latest reports, Ford’s vehicles got
an average of 18-point-8 miles per gallon. For its part, Ford says some of the
environmental groups’ demands are unaffordable. The company also comes out with
gas-electric sport utility vehicle this summer.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Bill Poorman.

Ford Fights Pinocchio Caricature

The Ford Motor Company has warned a California environmental group to stop running advertisements criticizing the company’s efforts to improve the fuel economy of its vehicles. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jerome Vaughn has more:

Transcript

The Ford Motor Company has warned a California environmental group to stop
running advertisements criticizing the company’s efforts to improve the fuel
economy of its vehicles. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Jerome Vaughn has more:


The San Francisco-based Bluewater Network began running ads in national
publications this spring…accusing Ford Motor Company of failing to keep
promises to reduce the gas consumption of its product offerings. An ad which
ran in the New York Times portrayed Ford CEO Bill Ford, Junior as
Pinocchio.


The country’s second largest automaker responded to the ad by sending a
letter demanding the environmental group stop its campaign, calling the ads
gratuitous and offensive.


Ford’s Manager of Environmental and Safety Communications is Carolyn Brown.


“Running a full page advertisement and attacking someone who’s very well
known and turning him into a cartoon figure is really not a constructive way to
advance the interest of either party.”


Brown says the automaker often meets with groups like the Bluewater Network
or the Sierra Club to discuss environmental goals…and methods of reaching
them.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Jerome Vaughn in Detroit.

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Epa Reviewing Car Fuel Economy Tests

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is looking at whether the gas mileage estimates that appear on the window stickers of new cars are over-inflated. The agency responded to a petition from a California environmental group. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bill Poorman reports:

Transcript

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is looking at whether the gas
mileage estimates that appear on the window stickers of new cars are
over-inflated. The agency responded to a petition from a California
environmental group. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Bill Poorman
reports:


The Bluewater Network says that cars and trucks actually get as much as
twenty percent fewer miles per gallon than EPA window stickers suggest.
Spokesperson Elisa Lynch says that’s because driving patterns have changed
since the current testing system was set up in the mid ’80s.


“There’s been increased urbanization, there are higher speed limits, and more
traffic congestion, and all of these are factors that affect your fuel
economy when you’re out there driving in the real world.”


The EPA is seeking public comment on its testing procedure. EPA
spokesperson John Millet says that part of the process will wrap up in late
July.


“After that period, EPA will go through what we anticipate will be
quite a lot of information, and that’s going to take some time.”


Millet says the EPA might decide its current testing system is just fine.
But if that’s not the case, it could still be up to three years before
another system is in place.


For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Bill Poorman.

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