Ford Earns Top Ranking in Best Global Green Brands

Recently Ford Motor Company earned the number one ranking in Interbrand's 50 Best Glocal Green Brands.  Ford has been dedicated to sustainability, alternative energy options and bettering our fuel efficiency technologies for decades and is now being recognized.  Ford Motor Company has been dedicated to continued research and development and has achieved exciting results.  Ford is now using wheat straw reinforced plastics in the vehicle interiors for many of the Ford product line.  

Ford Motor Company Develops New Sustainable Technologies

Ford is the first automaker to develop and utilize wheat straw in it's plastics for vehicle interiors.  This use of sustainable materials is being hailed as revolutionary because its use in just in third row storage bins is saving 20,000 lbs of petroleum and 30,000 lbs of CO2 emissions annually.  

Ford has maintained a collaborative culture that encourages advancement and forward thinking. Utilizing bio-based sustainable materials like soy based polyurethane seat cushions and seatbacks is just one other example of how the blue oval has gone green! 

So if you want a truly green vehicle that is good to the environment, look into the complete line of Ford cars, trucks and SUVs.  Gresham Ford is proud to be a certified Green Business by the City of Gresham and proud to offer the full line of revolutionary Green Ford vehicles.  Stop by 1999 East Powell Blvd in Gresham for a test drive or contact a Ford product specialist at 503-665-0101.

Gresham Ford explains the Ford Fusion Hybrid Powertrain

The Ford Fusion Hybrid that is sold at Gresham Ford, just outside of Portland, has a 88-kW Electric Traction Motor.  That electric traction motor drives the vehicle (by itself or with the gasoline engine).  You can power the vehicle alone up to 85 mph — up from 62 mph.  When you take a test drive at Gresham Ford up highway 26 and then down the back roads to Hogan you can feel how responsive the Fusion Hybrid is compared to your vehicle now.  By using the electric traction motor during launch it allows for a smaller gasoline engine and significantly reduces fuel consumption.  Because the Fusion hybrid uses as a generator to recover the vehicle’s energy
during deceleration or braking to recharge the lithium-ion battery it also reduces fuel consumption.  The Electric Generator Motor starts the gasoline engine quickly and automatically when required for performance and this eliminates the need to “plug in” the vehicle.  Many customers have found that this option also eliminates their range anxiety.

Ford Fusion Hybrid is available at Gresham Ford

Ford Motor Company and Gresham Ford are both dedicated to reducing our impact on the planet and have a Battery Recycling Program in place for the vehicle batteries after they serve their use.  The Lithium-ion batteries are environmentally responsible and recyclable.  This recyclability will become increasingly important as larger numbers of hybrids enter the market.   If scrapping Fusion Hybrid, the dealer will be able to properly dispose of the discharged lithium-ion battery.  As always Ford is looking towards the future and is helping to develop the high-voltage battery (HVB) end of life recycling infrastructure in the U.S. by providing educational material on battery removal, transportation and recycling as well as a call center for end of life vehicle dismantlers through ELVS. More information can be found on the ELVS website at www.elvsolutions.org
or by calling 1-855-358-7228.

Hybrids, Plug Ins and More - What does it mean?

Gresham Ford offers the Full Line of Green Vehicles

Gresham Ford knows that you want to be green and do the right thing but sometimes it can all be just too confusing.  With many automakers creating new technologies and each having their own name for similar products it can be difficult to compare apples to apples.  Understanding the new terms and understanding how these systems differ, as well as how Ford compares with the competition is essential to helping you to find the right car for your lifestyle.

So lets define what it all means.

What is a mild hybrid?
This is a variant of a hybrid that uses a smaller electric motor and a battery to assist a gasoline engine.  The system functions similarly to a hybrid however, the smaller battery and electric motor only assist the gasoline engine when extra energy is required.  This technology increases fuel efficiency over a standard gasoline engine but does not offer electric only propulsion.  Ford has chosen not to offer a mild hybrid but rather focus on hybrid technologies that offer some form of electric-only propulsion.  Examples of a mild hybrid include the Chevrolet Cruze, Chevrolet Malibu and the Chevrolet Impala.

Gresham Ford Offers the Full Line of Ford Green Vehicles

What is a Plug-In Hybrid?

This type of vehicle is an efficient pairing of gasoline and electric power combined with an internal Regenerative Braking System and/or external plug-in capabilities to charge its larger, advanced lithium-ion battery.  Ford Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles have been built off advanced hybrid technology and added a chargeable lithium ion battery to propel the vehicle farther under electric-only power, gasoline power or a combination of the two.  Which means that if during the week your commute is only 5 miles you may use only electric power all week. But on the weekends you decide to drive to Seattle to visit Pike's Place Fish Market.  Then you would be on electric power for the first leg and utilize the gasoline engine only when the electric battery is depleted.  Our General Manager, Bess Wills has been driving a CMax Plug In Hybrid for at least six months at this point and has only filled up a handful of times.  This is a great way to relieve the distance anxiety experienced by all electric vehicles.  Ford Plug-In Hybrids offer enhanced fuel economy advantages over hybrids and with a chargeable battery - allowing the driver to use the vehicle much like a full-electric car, if desired.

What is a true electric vehicle?

The ultimate in terms of zero CO2 emissions, zero gasoline usage and state of the art electric technology.  The combination of electric traction motor and advanced battery technology provides impressive torque and range creating a truly useful vehicle.  The Ford Focus Electric system propels the vehicle under electric power only with zero use of gasoline and emissions; no internal combustion engine is included.  An advantage we have heard from Focus Electric vehicle customers is that their maintenance has been reduced to almost nil because there is no oil to change or gunk to build up.  Focus Electric competitors are the Nissan Leaf and Honda Fit EV.  For more information or to take your very own test drive contact a Gresham Ford Product Specialist at 503-665-0101 or 1999 East Powell Blvd in Gresham.