China's Choices

Ford Motor Company -
Has begun an assault on our minds and our ideals for the profit of only a few.

This page is dedicated to documenting the double action that Ford Motor Company is taking.  We hope to recognize marketing attempts that affect the conceptual reputation of Ford and placing those next to actual business practices.

Actual Business Practices

Please post statistics and data revealing the business activity of Ford Motor Company.  This would include but is not limited to: annual investments, job structuring, budget suggestions, properties and assets.

• In January 2006 Bloomberg reported that a recent ad Ford claims it is "dramatically ramping up its commitment" to more environmentally friendly cars. "Left unstated in Ford's recent ads: In 2003, the No. 2 U.S. automaker after General Motors, dropped its promise to increase average fuel efficiency on its sport utility fleet. In 2004, the company joined other automakers in suing to block a California law that would limit emissions of gases linked to global warming. And even if Ford meets its goals, low-emission hybrids by 2010 would make up less than 4 percent of the company's fleet," Bloomberg reports. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut's attorney general, called some of Ford's claims "questionable," telling Bloomberg, "They're definitely exploiting the fashion of environmentally friendly vehicles." (Learn more about Ford)
•    Ford, the Sierra Club and SUV's    Readers of the Sierra Club's magazine know it runs glossy full-page ads from car companies selling hybrids. Now the Sierra Club is also mobilizing its members and launching a marketing campaign to help Ford peddle its latest SUV the Mercury Mariner, which has a reported fuel efficiency of 33 city, 29 highway miles per gallon. In June 2003 the Sierra Club took out a full page ad in the New York Times to coincide with the company's 100th anniversary. "1903-2003: A Century Of Innovation ... Except at Ford", the ad stated pointing out that the Model T Ford travelled 25 miles for each gallon of petrol. (NY Times full story)
  
•    Ford's political action committee (PAC) gave $316,900 to federal candidates in the 05/06 election cycle - 23% to Democrats and 77% to Republicans.
•    The company spent $9,100,000 for lobbying in 2006.

Marketing

commercials and marketing actions of Ford Motor Company that present them as green.