Ford unveils line of flexible fuel cars

CEBU CITY — Ford Motor Co. presented here yesterday its line of flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) in line with its commitment to put alternative vehicles on the road as a response to higher fuel prices in the market.

The government had been promoting FFVs to those who could afford them to save on imported crude.

Ford said FFVs can operate on gasoline or ethanol blends up to E85 — a blend of 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline— regular gasoline or a combination of the two.

President Arroyo attended the motor company’s presentation here yesterday, as a side trip. Mrs. Arroyo is in the city attending the APEC Business Advisory Council meeting.

Ford officials showed Mrs. Arroyo their newly designed FFVs in line with the government’s thrust to use alternative sources of fuel to mitigate the skyrocketing prices of fuel in the market.

Ford said the FFV is its answer to growing worldwide calls for safer, cleaner and more energy-efficient internal combustion engines that rely less on conventional fossil fuel-derived gasoline than on alternative sources like the "specially blended" fuel with ethanol.

According to Ford Motor Co. Philippines (FMCP) data, its sedan line of vehicles, particularly the Ford Focus 1.8-liter and the Ford Focus 2.0-liter Sport, are now equipped with engines that can run on either conventional gasoline or blended gasoline and bio-ethanol fuels.

Both vehicles are E20 capable which means they can run on fuel composed of 80 percent gasoline and 20 percent ethanol. Ethanol is a renewable fuel made from corn or other starch feed stock and has been touted as the "new gasoline" because it has a higher octane rating in its purest form. A higher octane rating means it burns better and leaves little or no unburned fuel molecules.

When mixed with regular unleaded gasoline, the resulting blend increases the energy efficiency of an engine and lessens harmful emissions to the environment, ensuring a clean and green environment. The detergent properties of this special blend are far more superior than that of regular unleaded gasoline, thereby reducing the need for frequent oil changes.

At the Ford presentation, FMCP president Henry Co informed Mrs. Arroyo that they had already invested P1.1 billion to manufacture these FFVs in their plant in Sta. Rosa, Laguna.

Co said FMCP is the first flexible fuel engine manufacturing plant and the only Ford Machine and Ford Engine Assembly Operations in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region to date.

Co said they plan to export these engines and completely built-up vehicle units in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam once they become fully operational by the end of this year. The engines are readily available in the Philippine market.