Ford Launches Flexible-Fuel Vehicle Program

Ford Motor Co. has unveiled plans to make 250,000 Ranger compact pickup trucks, Windstar minivans and Taurus sedans with flexible-fuel engines that allow them to run on both ethanol and gasoline. The new flexible-fuel vehicle program will be phased in over three to four years, starting in the fall of 1998 with between 50,000 and 60,000 Ranger pickups. Ford will later expand the program to include volume production of the Taurus and Windstar with the same V-6 engine. Ford’s cost to convert engines to FFV technology would be about $300 a vehicle, or $75 million for all 250,000 Rangers. However, the total cost may be less as volume increases and other cost savings are realized, the company said. Consumers will not bear the cost of the conversion, it said.Ford shares closed up 87.5 cents at $38 on the New York Stock Exchange.