Nice announcement below. Too bad it happened in 2004, not 1994. The domestic U.S. auto companies have had their heads in the sand on hybrid technology, mileage standards, and other modernizing technologies for the last decade or more.
Michigan Fleet Adds Ford's Escape Hybrid
Turning Environmental Challenges into Economic Opportunities
We applaud Ford Motor Company for being first to the market with a hybrid SUV and congratulate Governor Jennifer Granholm's administration for bringing the Escape Hybrid into the state's fleet. Ford's success with this vehicle and Michigan's vote of confidence will drive an even larger more ambitious investment in building the clean fuel-efficient vehicles essential for environmental protection and Michigan's economic security.
The introduction of Ford's Escape Hybrid is in Michigan's best tradition. Innovation in the auto industry has driven our state's economic growth since Henry Ford introduced the assembly line nearly a hundred years ago. The Industry's production brought the people of this state a standard of living rivaled by few others. Michigan is still the world center for automobile engineering. Much of the national auto press is centered here. The United Auto Workers (UAW), headquartered in Detroit, represents almost a half million active and retired autoworkers and international companies have partnered with our Big Three to expand our manufacturing base. But we live in a dynamic world where old accomplishments give way to new challenges.
The Michigan Environmental Council recognizes that our state's economy depends on our number one industry reinventing itself to produce attractive vehicles that are competitive in a global market and responsive to global warming and other environmental threats. Success in this transition is evident today with the Hybrid Escape. We look forward to joining in a successful partnership with progressive industry leaders, organized labor, a responsible government and other environmental advocates to support the transition to an entire fleet of cleaner more fuel-efficient vehicles.
October 12, 2004