| Th!nk Again As the nation tanked up its SUVs for a long Labor Day weekend before pondering the meaning of the first anniversary of 9/11, Ford Motor Company announced it is killing off its Th!nk Mobility electric vehicle division. Despite waiting lists at numerous California dealerships for the Ford Th!nk City, an all electric two-seater, and government grants and tax credits totalling $13,000 awaiting each purchaser of an electric vehicle in California, Ford nonetheless said it was pulling the plug on its electric vehicle division due to “poor customer demand and lack of government support.” The workers at the factory in Norway have organized to try to save the “green” car and are meeting with Ford and the Norwegian government. Th!nk City drivers in California are organizing a demonstration of current leasees of EVs and the wait-listed to show the demand and ask Ford to reconsider the decision. The Th!nk City, a highway legal commuter car with an approximately 50 mile range, is made in the Aurskog, Norway factory of a company Ford purchased 3 years ago. It was introduced at five California Ford dealerships (San Francisco and four southern California locations) over the last year in a “pilot program.” Without advertising, Ford leased every Th!nk City it brought into the state. With interest exceeding supply in the markets Ford tested in, an American auto maker finally seemed poised to offer a non-gasoline, non-polluting vehicle to the American market. The redesigned 2003 Th!nk City was previewed at the Los Angeles Auto Show, and Ford announced its intention to sell the car starting in Fall, 2002. Production began in Norway, and dealerships in California made investments and hired staff. It all fit perfectly within the new “green” company being trumpeted by the young heir and CEO William Ford. Over the past decade California has tried to propel the development and marketing of clean cars with its Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) Mandate. While corporate and government fleets and individual consumers leased every battery electric car released to meet the mandate, the auto industry has spent millions to weaken or kill it. Ford’s development of the Th!nk brand while others fought the mandate suggested Detroit was not now marching in lock step. Ford was going to offer an alternative to the internal combustion engine, with its toxic exhaust and insatiable demand for imported oil. Before Ford’s Th!nk City, only GM’s EV1 and Honda’s EV Plus were offered to consumers (and only for lease) in the late nineties. Each was discontinued despite waiting lists. Extremely satisfied with their electric cars, the drivers of these EVs have had to fight to extend their leases, unwilling to return to gasoline cars. Honda relented, allowing EV Plus drivers to continue leasing on a monthly basis until something finally goes wrong with the cars. GM, however, is still committed to getting EV1s to the crusher asap. It returned over $22,000 that EV1 drivers paid in an attempt to extend their leases. Toyota, however, continues to sell its RAV4 EV in California. This is one image-defying SUV. With its 115 mile all-electric range, it uses no gasoline or oil. It is no only cleaner, but also safer than its internal combusion counterpart, as the batteries give it a low center of gravity making it less prone to rollover. Although the battery electric car with the range and speed of “refueling” of a gas car has not materialized, the drivers of EVs find they prefer the clean, silent ride and “full tank” awaiting them each morning when they unplug. California’s mandates have only proven that auto makers have never made enough EVs to meet the demand. Ford is a high profile company with big PR problems - bad tires, SUV rollover deaths, mass firings. Bill Ford should reverse the Th!nk decision and get back on the “green” road. Surely Ford can find a way to take advantage of being the only American car company selling a vehicle that doesn’t fund terrorism and repression with each fill-up, and doesn’t foul the neighborhood with each trip to the market. ©2002 Marc Geller |
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