Movie Stars Arrive At Oscar’s® Red Carpet

Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid Bring “Eco-Style” to Hollywood

* ECOLIMO, an environmentally friendly limousine service, employs Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid for Sunday’s gala motion picture awards
* Producer of Best Picture Nominated "Crash" to arrive at Oscars in Mariner Hybrid
* Ford shows its support of awards with an ad in The Hollywood Reporter paying tribute to cars in the movies
* Ford Motor Company will increase its global hybrid production ten-fold to approximately 250,000 units annually by 2010.

LOS ANGELES, March 3, 2006 – Ford Motor Company’s hybrid vehicles – the Ford Escape Hybrid and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid – will bring stars to the red carpet Sunday evening for the 78th Annual Academy Awards® at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood.

The environmentally friendly vehicles are joining the fleet of ECOLIMO, the first hybrid gas/electric, premium, luxury chauffeured ground transportation company in Los Angeles. ECOLIMO provides executive transportation service to its clients in environmentally friendly vehicles.

“I’m looking forward to having the Escape and Mariner hybrids join our fleet,” said Y. Fray, CEO of ECOLIMO, and herself a chauffeur with 20 years experience behind the wheel. Being hybrids and SUVs makes the Escape and Mariner perfectly suited for use as limousines, and I especially like that they’re built in the U.S.A.”

Cathy Schulman, executive producer of “Crash,” – which featured the Lincoln Navigator in a pivotal sequence – will be going green Sunday in a Mariner Hybrid. Her film is nominated for six awards – including Best Picture.

"Stars and cars are not just limited to the glitterati on screen, but can extend to the whole family involved in movie productions like Cathy" said Myles Romero, Global Brand Entertainment Director, Ford Motor Company. “We placed the Lincoln Navigator in Crash and we were happy to offer Cathy the opportunity to try another vehicle from the Lincoln Mercury line up with the Mariner Hybrid.”

Jake Gyllenhaal, nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role in “ Brokeback Mountain,” will be transported to the Kodak Theater in a bio-diesel powered Ford Excursion.

In addition to providing transportation to stars, Ford is saluting this year’s nominees and participants with a two-page advertisement in Friday’s special edition of The Hollywood Reporter.

“Ford Motor Company has had a long love affair with Hollywood and we salute all of the nominees this year,” said Romero. “Ford’s relationship with the movie industry dates back to silent films, and today our Beverly Hills office has the widest portfolio of automotive brands available for movies, TV, and other entertainment opportunities.”

The first hybrid introduced by Ford Motor Company, the Ford Escape Hybrid, debuted as a 2005 model year vehicle and was named the North American Truck of the Year for 2005. The Mercury Mariner Hybrid is the second of five hybrids to be built by Ford, and was named the “2006 Green Car of the Year” by Green Car Journal.

By 2008, Ford will have five hybrids on the road, including the Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner, Ford Fusion, Mercury Milan and Mazda Tribute Hybrids. By 2010, Ford plans to increase its global hybrid production to approximately 250,000 hybrid units annually.

The Ford Escape Hybrid and the Mercury Mariner Hybrid are compact SUVs that blend the best features of a gasoline engine and an electric motor to achieve nearly 50 percent higher city driving efficiency and lower emissions with no loss of functionality or performance. The hybrids meet the cleanest emission achievable by a fossil-fuel vehicle: California ’s Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions (AT-PZEV) Standard. In addition, the vehicles feature extended range well over 400 miles per tank and V-6-like acceleration performance. Ford Motor Company has more than 150 patents from technological innovations developed for its hybrid program.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures and distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 300,000 employees and 108 plants worldwide, the company’s core and affiliated automotive brands include Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mazda, Mercury and Volvo. Its automotive-related services include Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford’s products, visit www.fordvehicles.com.

About ECOLIMO

ECOLIMO is the first hybrid gas/electric, premium, luxury chauffeured ground transportation company in Los Angeles, and is committed to providing the cleanest, most fuel efficient car service available. ECOLIMO provides reliable, traditional executive transportation services to corporate and individual clients in low emissions, environmentally friendly vehicles.

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Product Launch and Auto Shows

Ford Motor Company

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