Sierra Club
 SC Action Daily Vol. II #38
 March 2, 1999

 "This thing is going to weigh 6,000 or 7,000 pounds. It's going to have
the
 aerodynamics of a--your average ranch house or something along those
lines.
 So you're going to get pretty lousy gas mileage "

                -- Dan Schroeder, Car and Driver Magazine, on the Ford
                Excursion (CNBC "Upfront Tonight, 2/26/99)


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 TAKE ACTION: SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE FORD "VALDEZ"
 GLOBAL WARMING I:  FORD "VALDEZ" MEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA
 GLOBAL WARMING II:  EARLY SIGNS OF WARMING?
 -------------------------------------------------

 **********************************************************************
 TAKE ACTION!       TAKE ACTION!    TAKE ACTION!    TAKE ACTION!
 **********************************************************************

 HELP SPREAD THE WORD! FORD'S NEW GAS-GUZZLING SUV A "ROLLING MONUMENT TO
 ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION"

 Today, Ford gave automotive reporters a sneak preview of their newest
Sport
 Utility Vehicle, the Excursion, better known in environmental circles as
the
 "Ford Valdez." (have you driven a tanker lately?!) Although reporters
 attending the preview are embargoed from talking about it until Sunday,
 Ford's new monster polluter has gotten some press already, and it hasn't
all
 been friendly.  For Example...

 From the Associated Press (2/25), "Ford Launches Biggest SUV Ever"
 "The Excursion is conspicuously absent from this year's auto show circuit.
 Ford executives generally have declined to talk about it publicly.  On
 Friday, Ford plans a low-key unveiling of the truck to journalists at its
 Dearborn headquarters. "

 The criticism from major environmental groups has been stinging.

 "It's basically a garbage truck that dumps into the sky," Dan Becker, who
 directs the Sierra Club's global warming program, said Wednesday. "For
Ford
 to build a massive, gas-guzzling, polluting vehicle like this shows how
big a
 job Bill Ford has to make Ford into a green company."

 Ford has been trying hard to be understated about the Excursion.  But we
want
 to make sure that it gets all the attention it deserves.  We'd like you to
 help us add fuel to the fire by writing a letter to the editor of your
local
 paper.  Help us spread the word that this behemoth is an insult to our
planet
 and all of us that breathe.


 Sample Letter to the Editor:

 This weekend, Ford unveiled it's newest Sport Utility Vehicle, the
Excursion,
 to automotive reporters.  Stretching over 19 feet in length and slurping
one
 gallon of gasoline for every 12 miles it travels, the nine passenger
 Excursion is a four-ton "supertanker" that will guzzle enough gas to make
 Saddam Hussein smile.

 At a time of mounting concern over global warming, air pollution, and oil
 exploration in fragile wilderness areas, this gas-guzzling SUV is a
rolling
 monument to environmental destruction. Each Excursion will emit an
estimated
 130 tons of carbon dioxide, the primary global warming pollutant, over its
 lifetime.

 This monster polluter was conspicuously absent from Ford's display at the
 Detroit Auto Show in January.  Apparently, the people at Ford are a little
 embarrassed -- they should be.  At a time when Ford Motor Company is
 proclaiming a newfound commitment to the environment, this massive
 gas-guzzler projects the wrong image.  It will however, rake in the
profits,
 an estimated $12,000-$20,000 per vehicle.

 If Ford really cared about our environment, the company would put its
money
 where it's mouth is by investing in and producing clean, efficient
vehicles,
 not irresponsible, polluting giants like the Excursion.  At the moment,
it's
 obvious that the only green Ford is interested is the kind that doesn't
grow
 on trees.

 Thank You!
 -----------------

 GLOBAL WARMING I:  FORD "VALDEZ" MEDIA EXTRAVAGANZA

 Ford Get's More Than They Bargained For With Monster SUV

 If everything had gone as planned, Ford Motor Company would be enjoying a
 quiet week.

 Their new "mega" sport utility vehicle, the Excursion (a.k.a -- the
Valdez),
 would have quietly slipped away from the dock over the weekend at a
 super-secret press event for friendly automotive reporters.  News coverage
 would have been sparse, with glowing reviews in a few auto industry
 magazines.  The American public's first warning about the 19 foot long,
three
 and a half ton road hog would have come when they saw it belching out
 pollution as it cruised America's highways.

 But things most certainly did not go as planned.  Thanks to some savvy
news
 reporters, and clever Sierra Club volunteers, the "Excursion" has landed
with
 a thud that's being heard around the world!

 Regular SC Action readers will remember that last year the Sierra Club ran
a
 humorous contest on the global warming web site (www.toowarm.org) which
asked
 activists to submit the most "appropriate" names and slogans for Ford's
 upcoming mega-SUV.  Activists responded with enthusiasm, submitting dozens
of
 hilarious entries.  The winner, the "Ford Valdez:  Have you driven a
 tanker... lately?", was submitted to Ford last year with fantastic media
 coverage.

 Well as rumors that Ford would soon send the "Excursion" (their name for
the
 monster truck) out to sea, a few savvy automotive reporters remembered the
 contest and dusted off their Sierra Club press releases.  In the span of
just
 a few short hours last week Ford's plans for a "stealth" release went up
in
 flames, and the "Ford Valdez" grabbed headlines across the country.

 The Good News

 Time Magazine, Good Morning America, ABC, NBC, and CBS evening news, USA
 Today, the New York Times, and even the ultra-conservative Washington
Times
 all ran stories detailing the environmental menace posed by Ford's
 irresponsible truck.  Over 100 newspaper, radio, and television stories
have
 run at last count -- and more keep coming in!

 For Ford, the news has not been good:

 "This thing is a rolling advertisement for tightening fuel and emission
 standards," said Dan Becker of the Sierra Club in the District, which is
 conducting an anti-SUV campaign. Its slogan for the Excursion: "The Ford
 Valdez. Have you driven a tanker lately?" (The Washington Times, 2/26/99)

 "The new SUV could jeopardize Ford's stated goal of making its vehicles
the
 most environmentally benign in the industry.  Safety advocates already
 attacked the Excursion for the threat they say it poses to small cars."
 (Orange County Register, 2/26/99)

 "The Excursion poses a dilemma for Ford. New Chairman William Clay Ford
Jr.,
 who considers himself a "lifelong environmentalist," has promised to make
the
 world's No. 2 automaker the leader in developing clean vehicles." (Buffalo
 News, 2/26/99)

 The Bad News

 "...it's so big that it can't be classified as a light-duty truck like
other
 SUVs and pickups, making  it exempt from federal fuel- economy standards.
 Even at an expected 12 miles per gallon, the  Excursion won't drive down
 Ford's fuel-economy average and make it eligible for federal fines." (Palm
 Beach Post, 2/26/99)

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