Dan Becker Q&A I Will Evolve Test Drive at the Summit! Mercury Mariner Hybrid

Ford's Mercury Mariner Hybrid: A Better Way to Build an SUV July 11, 2005 Ford Motor Company's 2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid SUV, American-made and built by union workers, will appear in showrooms this fall, but goes on sale on-line today. "If we can work with Ford to make their Mercury Hybrid a hit," said Dan Becker, director of the Sierra Club's Global Warming program, "Ford will be convinced that you can make money and make a vehicle that's clean." The Sierra Club will be working with Ford to get the news about the Mariner Hybrid out to its members and other environmentally conscious Americans. The Sierra Club will introduce it to 300,000 activists through the Sierra Club's Insider newsletter, and 3,000 Sierra Club leaders from across the United States and Canada will be given the first opportunity to test drive it and other hybrids at the Sierra Club's Sierra Summit September 8 through 11, in San Francisco. The Sierra Club and Mercury will also work together to educate consumers about how to get the best mileage from their hybrids. The new Mercury Mariner Hybrid SUV's electric motor allows its 133-horsepower gas engine to automatically shut down in stop-and-go traffic. As a result, it gets better mileage in the city (33 miles per gallon) than on the highway (29 mpg). Additionally, the Mariner includes regenerative braking -- applying the brakes generates electricity that recharges the motor. Making our cars, trucks, and SUVs go farther on a gallon of gas is the biggest single step we can take to curb global warming, cut America's oil dependence, and save consumers money at the gas pump. The technology exists today to make all vehicles average 40 miles per gallon within ten years. Taking this step would save more oil than the United States currently imports from the entire Persian Gulf or could ever take out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, combined. "Why the Sierra Club Is Helping Ford Make Its Hybrid a Hit." A Q&A with the Sierra Club's Dan Becker. More about hybrid technology at the Sierra Club's Clean Car Campaign website. Want to test drive a Mariner? Sign up for the Sierra Summit! Ford 2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid website Photo courtesy Ford Motor Company; used with permission. Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club