Ford: "Tough"

Two California drivers fight Ford to keep their electric vehicles

An around-the-clock protest began Friday in Sacramento, Calif., to save two electric vehicles from being repossessed and scrapped by their maker. The electricity-powered Ford Ranger pickup trucks were two of many produced by Ford Motor Co. during a new-vehicle pilot program in 1999 and then leased to drivers. Lessees David Raboy and William Korthof say they're ready to purchase the vehicles, which cost very little to maintain, require no gasoline, and have no direct emissions. But Ford is ready to (ahem) pull the plug on these EV Rangers because, according to a spokesflack, "we've moved on from electric vehicles and our focus is more on hybrids." Raboy understands that cars are sometimes discontinued, but he wants to know why his truck is to be demolished and why the company can't sell it to him instead. "How about the Excursion -- it's being discontinued," he said. "It gets 12 miles per gallon. Why not go back and crush all of those?" Indeed.