Ford Fights Fuel Economy Legislation

[toyotablackbox]

My friend forwarded this Ford internal email sent to dealership employees today asking them to fight proposed fuel economy legislation. I thought it would only be fair to ask all of you to contact your local senators in support of the fuel economy legislation as I have done. The link from the email doesn't work outside the Ford intranet, but it shouldn't be hard to find your local politician's email via Google. Please send your thoughts and comments to the Ford grassroots program manager as well. I think it is about time the least fuel efficient automaker in the U.S. is forced to make some changes or close up shop altogether. WARNING! The attached FORD email is very upsetting, and is not for those with a weak stomach:

Call to Action!
As Randy Ortiz discussed in Friday's Straight Talk broadcast, the U.S. Senate is currently debating new fuel economy legislation that is not economically feasible. This proposed legislation, which is both extreme and arbitrary, would harm the entire U.S. auto industry and would unfairly penalize Ford Motor Company due to the sales success of our F-Series trucks and SUVs.

Ford Motor Company is asking you to help us defeat the damaging and extreme fuel economy mandates in Senate Bill 1419 by calling your U.S. Senators and asking them to oppose the bill.

Here are our suggested talking points for your call to your Senator's office: (Feel free to adapt them to fit your conversational style.)

· I am [NAME], the dealer principal of [DEALERSHIP NAME] located in [CITY]



· My dealership employs [#] of [STATE] residents and have been in business for [#] years.



· I am calling to ask you to relay to Senator [LAST NAME] a request for him / her to oppose Senate Bill 1419 for the following reasons

· The fuel economy mandates in the bill are extreme and arbitrary

1 The bill would restrict vehicle choice for families and workers

· The bill would harm U.S. auto workers, dealers and consumers.

Below is the web link that will take you to the Ford Grassroots website, where you can very quickly obtain your senators' contact information by entering your zip code. We are asking dealers in most states to contact only one of their U.S. Senators (the website will give you the name and number of the Senator we are asking you to call). However, this are eleven states (AK, ID, IN, KS, MO, MT, NM, ND, OH, PA and VA) in which both Senators are critical to the outcome of this legislation, and we are asking our dealers in those states to contact both senators.

To obtain your senator's contact information:

* Please go to www.capwiz.com/ford
* From that page, please click on Ford and Lincoln-Mercury Dealers Take Action - Click Here!
* That will take you directly to a page where you will be asked to enter your dealership's zip code and then the name(s) and phone number(s) of your U.S. Senator(s) will be generated automatically

If you have any questions or encounter any difficulties with the website, please contact Laurie Martin, Grassroots Program Manager at 313 322-1262 or lmarti50@ford.com

Thank you very much for your support on this important issue. [/b]

[TonyPSchaefer]

Haha. I think I know who I'm going to be calling tomorrow.

And as a former Hoosier, I'm calling them as well.

[ozyran]

You know what? I'm going to use that template myself...AGAINST them. They want to cry and whine about the harm done to F-series sales? Fine. I'll whine right back at them about their continued limitation on hybrid development.

Enough is enough.

*UPDATE*
This is the template the Ford workers use:

I am writing to strongly urge you to oppose Senate Bill 1419. This bill mandates fuel economy standards that are extreme and not economically feasible. Not only would this bill restrict vehicle choice for families and workers, it would harm U.S. auto industry workers, retirees and dealers. Again, I urge you to help protect America's jobs and workers by opposing Senate Bill 1419. Thank you.

I emailed my version of it both of my Senators:

To the Honorable (Senator's name):
I am writing to strongly urge you to support Senate Bill 1419. This bill mandates fuel economy standards that are not only economically feasible, they would provide the necessary motivation for the American population in general to pursue driving more fuel-efficient vehicles. Not only would this bill restrict vehicle choice for families and workers, it would potentially force the U.S. auto industry to revise their current automotive engineering practices and move America towards a more environmentally-friendly mindset. Many major automotive corporations in the United States today rely heavily on the sales of their full-size trucks and SUVs, which consume excessive amounts of fuel to do the same job a smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicle is capable of. Major corporations are producing vehicles which have regressed in their technological standpoint and have become heavier, larger, and overall less efficient. Enough is enough! It's time for the auto industry to begin producing more efficient and environmentally-friendly automobiles, vans, trucks, and buses. Again, I urge you to help protect Americans from the pressure of the auto industry corporations by supporting Senate Bill 1419. Thank you for your time.
Very Respectfully,
Donald McNurlin

I didn't realize it, but by connecting to each Senator's website via the links provided at capwiz.com, I was actually emailing to the Senators while connected to the Ford website! Let's fight fire with fire!

[TonyPSchaefer]

When sending a message to the honorable Dick Durbin, the website wanted to automatically name my message "Oppose Extreme Fuel Economy Mandates in S. 1419". So I copied the heading and clicked [Compose Your Own Letter]. Then I changed the subject line to "Please support Fuel Economy Mandates in S. 1419" and pasted ozyran's letter.

And above all else: Make sure you (and this is great) "Send a copy of this E-mail to the Ford Grassroots Action Program"

[Pinto Girl]

I've eMailed my Senators, urging their support; also cc'ed the Ford Grassroots Action Program.

Feeling saucy.

[boulder_bum]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Jun 4 2007, 09:36 PM) [snapback]455451[/snapback]</div>

And above all else: Make sure you (and this is great) "Send a copy of this E-mail to the Ford Grassroots Action Program"
[/b]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Pinto Girl @ Jun 6 2007, 11:53 AM) [snapback]456647[/snapback]</div>

I've eMailed my Senators, urging their support; also cc'ed the Ford Grassroots Action Program.

Feeling saucy.
[/b]

Awesome. I'll have to do that as soon as I get off of work.

See here: http://priuschat.com/Why-The-Ford-Escape-H...rap-t34075.html.

[Proco]

Add Senators Lautenberg & Menendez to the list of Senators urged to support the legislation.

[naterprius]

I don't think it's possible to have a "grassroots campaign manager" and still have it be "grassroots."

Nate

[priusFTW]

I emailed my senators too to support this bill.

[Miss_Taz]

Sent to the 2 TN senators: Alexander and Corker...