DETROIT, April 7 (UPI) -- The Ford Motor Co. says the Mercury Mariner will be offered as the automaker's third hybrid gas-electric powered vehicle in the near future.
When production begins in 2006, the Mariner SUV will join the Ford Escape small sport-utility vehicle and a future midsize sedan in Ford's offerings of more environmentally friendly vehicles. The hybrid Mariner was announced at the New York Auto Show.
"We will continue to develop all of our hybrids in-house, including core research," said Jim Padilla, Ford Motor Co. executive vice president and president of the Americas.
Ford had been criticized for falling behind Toyota and Honda in introducing fuel-efficient hybrids -- vehicles that run both on batteries and small internal combustion engines.
"We're starting to get out heads around where we want to take the technology next," said Mary Ann Wright, chief engineer of the hybrid Escape, and Ford's director of sustainable mobility technologies and hybrid vehicle programs.
