Ford to Support Pearson Ford's Revolutionary Alternative Fuel Center
2 December 1998
Ford to Support Pearson Ford's Revolutionary Alternative Fuel Center SAN DIEGO, Dec. 1 -- Ford Motor Company is teaming
up with the San Diego Environmental Foundation and Pearson Ford, a San Diego
dealership, to open a new multimillion dollar center designed to be a showcase
to the public for alternative fuels and the vehicles they power.
The Regional Transportation Center will house an Alternative Fuels
Education Center, an Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) Showroom, an AFV
Rental/Demonstration Fleet, a special Alternative Fuel Servicing Center and
Fueling Center. It is scheduled to open February 2000.
"Simply put, the center provides a space in which the motoring public can
comfortably, conveniently and economically learn about and transition into AFV
technology," said Steve Bimson, the Center's Managing Director.
"This is an extremely exciting project for us," said Jim O'Connor, vice
president and general manager of Ford Division. "Ford is the industry's clear
leader in developing and building alternative fuel vehicles and we're looking
forward to showing off our products to the San Diego public."
The Education Center will be the "heart" of the complex with
state-of-the-art instructional devices, working models, interactive displays
and much more. It will be supported by Ford Motor Company, including a grant
to the San Diego Environmental Foundation, with instructional leadership
provided by the San Diego County Office of Education. It is expected that
35,000 middle and high school students will visit the Center each year. They
will learn about current and future alternative fuel technology -- everything
ranging from natural gas to hydrogen-powered fuel cells.
The AFV showroom will be the "signature" structure of the RTC. It will
highlight modern automotive showroom designs and will showcase Ford's complete
line of alternative fuel vehicles. Today Ford builds 11 vehicles fueled by
natural gas, propane, ethanol and electricity. In addition, there will be
active, hands-on demonstrations of emerging AFV technology and interactive
kiosks that provide information ranging from manufacturing techniques and fuel
issues to safety demonstrations and equipment trials.
The AFV showroom will be managed and staffed by Pearson Ford. "At Pearson
Ford, we believe AFVs are an important part of our clean air solution and we
want to do everything we can to tell the AFV story," said Bimson. "It is
widely recognized that buyers need to physically see, touch, smell and drive
their vehicles of choice. This showroom gives that opportunity."
Because of that, an innovative program called the Rental/Demonstration
Operation has been created. It consists of a fleet of 25 AFVs, including
cars, trucks and vans that will be fueled and ready for prospective buyers to
test drive.
"It takes creative approaches to sell AFVs," said O'Connor. "The AFV
Showroom and Demonstration Program are the first-of-their-kind and should make
a significant difference in the actual number of AFVs sold in the San Diego
area."
The Regional Transportation Center will house another first-of-its-kind --
multiple service bays equipped to service all AFVs, including the Ford Ranger
Electric Vehicle. Non-Ford AFVs will also be serviced by Pearson Ford.
The unique Fueling Center will be a cooperative effort among major
regional providers of electricity, natural gas, propane, ethanol and
petroleum. The RTC's parking area will provide space for EVs (conductive and
inductive) to receive a full, slow charge. The service station will be open
24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week.
