Chrysler 300, Ford Escape Hybrid Named Year's Best Vehicles
Date: 10-Jan-05
Country: USA
It was the second consecutive year that a mass-produced hybrid -- vehicles that switch between a gasoline or diesel engine and an electric motor to boost fuel efficiency -- won the award, which is announced each year at the start of the North American International Auto Show.
Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius claimed the top car honor last year and Ford Motor Co.'s F-150 pickup won in the truck category.
The car and truck awards have been given out annually since 1994 by a group of about 50 automotive journalists from the United States and Canada.
Ford's Escape hybrid, which the company put on sale last fall, is the world's first full-hybrid SUV. In accepting the award for Ford, Mary Ann Wright, an executive on the team that developed the vehicle, called it the "truck of the century."
The 300, which went on sale in April, has been a big and much-needed hit in the vehicle lineup of DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler division.
Featuring a low-sloping roof and giant egg-crate grille, the 300 won more than a dozen prestigious car awards for Chrysler last year and has been credited with reinventing the full-sized, American-style sedan.
"I get goose bumps when I drive the car," Ralph Gilles, the 300's chief designer, told Reuters.
"I've driven one now for 11 months and I'm still in love with the thing," he said. "That's the key."
FORD MOVES UP LAUNCH OF HYBRID VEHICLES
Ford Motor Co. is advancing its plans to launch more hybrids in the United States to capitalize on the rising popularity of the gas-sipping vehicles.
Ford, which is criticized often by environmental groups for its poor fuel economy record, will launch a gas-electric version of the Mercury Mariner sport utility vehicle later this year, one year ahead of schedule, the automaker said ahead of the Detroit auto show on Sunday.
Ford said it will also produce a test fleet of Mazda Tribute SUV hybrids this year with full-scale production expected to begin in the next two years.
Hybrid versions of Mercury's new entry-level Milan sedan and the new mid-size Fusion sedan will follow in the next three years, Ford said.
Ford entered the hybrid market last fall with the introduction of the hybrid version of its Escape SUV. It has since sold 3,000 hybrid Escapes and expects to build another 20,000 this year.
Like the Escape, the Mariner, Tribute, Milan and Fusion gas-electric vehicles will be full hybrids, capable of operating in electric-only mode.
Ford is lagging behind Japan's Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp in the race to introduce hybrid cars, pickups and SUVs, but the second-largest US automaker is ahead of domestic rivals.
General Motors Corp. will show two concept hybrid vehicles at the Detroit auto show on Sunday, which feature hybrid systems that the automaker plans to have in future hybrid cars, SUVs and pickup trucks.
Honda began selling its third hybrid in the US last year and Toyota has said it will eventually offer hybrids across its entire vehicle lineup.
Toyota's Prius car, first launched in Japan in 1997, is the most popular hybrid in the United States with sales of 53,991 in 2004. Customers often have to wait six months to get one, despite a price premium of about $3,000 over similarly-sized vehicles.
Hybrids burn less fuel by adding one or more electric motors to a conventional gasoline or diesel engine. The batteries help power the vehicle and recharge automatically by capturing energy during braking.
Ford also said it will sell eight hydrogen-powered buses to the state of Florida next year.
