Have you been driven by Ford lately?
 

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By Phil Howell

Many of you already know of the sweeping changes being made by William Ford Jr., the
42-year-old Chairman of Ford Motor Company. For those of you haven't heard, Ford has gone green.
Not green the way any thinking person would want, such as lower emissions from vehicles and
factories, less waste, etc. I'm talking GREEN, with support for environmental groups and a lot
of environmental rhetoric that supports the green movement.
According to an article in the 19 May issue of the New York Times, while at Princeton,
Ford read books by radical environmentalists and stayed up late discussing how to save the
earth. After college, he joined Ford Motor Company and continued his radical bent by working
from within. He became so frustrated at one point that he wanted to quit to start his own
environmental group. Friends and his wife convinced him that he could make a greater impact if
he stayed at Ford. This has proven true.
Ford no longer supports United 4-Wheel Drive or any other four-wheeling organization.
They don't even answer calls if you let them know you're connected with backcountry
four-wheeling in any way. The support that William Ford gives to radical environmental groups,
whether it be monetary or moral, helps those groups continue their anti-human policies, with
some of them, such as the tree spikers in the Pacific Northwest, actually murdering people.
Ford spokespeople will be the first to decry any support for lawless anti-human behavior. Unfortunately, their support for
environmental groups gives the extreme green fringe the support they need to continue their heinous acts. What's ironic is
Ford's
introducing the Excursion, the world's biggest sport ute based on the Super Duty pickup chassis. This behemoth takes more
resources
to build and operate than any other light-duty 4x4 sold on the planet. Of course, as always, the granola heads can have and
operate
vehicles like the Excursion as they're more "enlightened" and have been given a special operating permit from the Mother
Earth
Goddess.
Most intelligent people applaud efforts of industry to clean up their act and I've personally seen what cleaner burning cars
do for the environment. A recent report from the southern California AQMD stated that the air around the L.A. metropolitan
area is
at least one-third cleaner than it was 30 years ago. The difference is noticeable. Support for environmental groups who's
aims are
to destroy the sport and vehicles we enjoy are not applauded. Ford's gone further by pulling its support of groups such as
United
which teach responsible backcountry use.
I had recently purchased a new Super Duty F350 with the Power Stroke diesel and was going to do a series of features here
and in Four Wheeler magazine. After many unresolved warranty problems with only 7,000 miles on the odometer, I was
unhappy with the
truck. 9-13 mpg was not what I had been led to believe the Power Stroke trucks got, either. When I found out about William
Ford Jr.
and Ford Motor Company's lack of support for four-wheeling, I was able to get rid of the truck and purchase a Chevy
Silverado. The
6.0 liter gas V8 in the Chevy blows the Power Stroke into the weeds, too. I refuse to support Ford any longer and, I know
some of
my friends in the industry are currently selling their Fords to buy a Dodge or Chevy to display their products. One of those
companies isn't interested in four-wheeling, but, when shown the articles about Ford, stated they didn't need to use a vehicle
to
display their wares that made their customers upset.
Ford's bringing out their Excursion, the giant SUV resource-destroyer they hope will make a dent in Suburban sales. If the
performance of the Excursion matches my Super Duty pickup, Ford better go back to building Escorts and Philco radios and
leave the
4x4 building to GM and DaimlerChrysler. You'll probably read glowing reports on the Excursion, just as I did on the Super
Duty
pickup. Remember, Ford spends lots of advertising money with the publishing company who prints the magazine you're
reading the road
test in. That money colors editorial content tremendously. So read the features with a jaundiced eye.
William Ford Jr. and Ford Motor Company can support radical environmentalism. It's their right to do so. It's my right not
to purchase another Ford product while they support environmental groups and don?t support four-wheeling. I believe I?ll
exercise
that right and visit my Chevrolet or Dodge dealer the next time I need a truck.

Re: Have you been driven by Ford lately?
 

Last time I saw a Ford ad on TV it didn't look like their drivers were "treading lightly", either. And unfortunately, it's just this kind of advertising that leaves the general public thinking 4wheeling is done at 30+mph while tearing up the landscape.

Re: Have you been driven by Ford lately?
 

Last night I attended the Region 3 meeting of Pacific Northwest 4 Wheel Drive Association. There
was quite a discussion about this very thing. Their plan is to send Ford Motor Company a letter that will
hopefully force them to take a stand and specifically state on Ford stationary what their stance is. If it turns
out it is just as we believe, (as Phil Howell states), then we will take actions such as boycotts of Ford
products, sending copies of the letter to all off-highway organizations including snowmobilers, skiiers,
equestrian people, etc. Remember, our purchasing dollar drives Ford Motor Company and if the board of
Directors of Ford feel Jr. is not working in the best interests they can remove him. I will post more info
as I have it. Nickmil.