With the success of the Escape Hybrid under its
belt, Ford is slowly moving its hybrid program along. Ford released
their second hybrid, the Mercury Mariner SUV Hybrid, in July 2005.
The Mariner, a stylized version of the Ford Escape,
made news for two reasons. The vehicle will be sold almost exclusively
online, and the introduction of the Mariner was applauded by the
Sierra Club. The San Francisco-based organization, which has been
critical of Ford’s dismal overall record on fuel efficiency,
said it will tell its members about the vehicle and offer test
drives at its annual summit. Other environmental organizations
remain critical of Ford, and point to the fact that only 2,000
Mariner Hybrids will be produced this year.
Toyota expects to sell 145,000 hybrids in North
America in 2005. Ford is planning to sell only 21,000 units combined
for the Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid.
Over the years, environmentalists have accused
Ford of "greenwashing" or throwing a lot of marketing
dollars at its relatively lackluster hybrid program. It's anybody's
guess why the Sierra Club would use the introduction of the Mariner
Hybrid as the opportunity change their position.
Ford does deserve some credit for being the only
American auto company with a hybrid on the market. Ford chief
Bill Ford said, “We have our own patented hybrid technology
and proprietary drive system and electronic controls, and by the
time many of our competitors offer a hybrid, we’ll be on
to the next generation.”
Escape to Mariner: The Path of Least Resistance
Mary Ann Wright, director of sustainable mobility technology and
hybrid programs for Ford, has stated the goal of developing a
modular system that could be easily placed in other vehicles.
It’s only logical for Ford to begin employing this “plug-and-play”
approach by adding their hybrid system to a vehicle similar to
the Escape. The gas-engine Mariner is an all-new 2005 vehicle
intended to serve as an entry point for the Lincoln Mercury SUV
showroom (already occupied by the equally macho-sounding Mountaineer,
Aviator, Navigator, and Marauder).
Prose for the Mariner’s design is flowing from Ford's marketing
department. The descriptions rival that of the best wine taster:
“tailored and organized theme,” “integrated
clutter-free design,” “instruments in the cluster
have bright bezels and dark gray faces,” and a real zinger,
“tail lamps are shrouded with horizontal satin-aluminum
accent grilles.”
While Ford marketers are working doubletime to sell the Mariner
Hybrid, and the idea that the company is gung-ho on hybrids, their
low production numbers cannot successfully be explained away.
Ford's Wright tried when she offered, "We are going to increase
volumes, but we're going to do it a pace where we can maintain
really good quality." Industry observers say that Ford has
not been able to establish an adequate supplier base for hybrid
components, especially batteries.
For hybrid shoppers, the introduction of the Mariner Hybrid offers
a choice somewhere between the utilitarian Escape, and the luxurious
and more expensive Lexus RX400h.
Consumers should expect functionality and fuel efficiency identical
to the Escape Hybrid.
