Ford Motor Company's Mercury brand today debuts its 2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid at the Sierra Summit 2005: The First Ever Sierra Club National Environmental Convention and Expo. Sierra Summit attendees will be among the first consumers to test drive the 2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid, a compact SUV with outstanding fuel economy, before it appears in dealerships later this fall.

In addition, Ford Motor Company and its Mercury brand today launched at the Sierra Summit 2005 a two-pronged national consumer education effort aimed at helping people get the maximum fuel efficiency from their hybrid and conventional vehicles. The first part of the effort is an online game, the "Mercury Mariner MyDrive Game," which launches today at http://www.marinerhybrid.com/. "Mercury Mariner MyDrive Game" was designed by Mercury to demonstrate the many ways a driver can obtain maximum fuel efficiency from a hybrid vehicle by modifying his or her driving behaviors and patterns.

The second prong will be a series of hybrid fuel economy clinics in the fall. The kick off event will occur on October 8 where Ford Escape Hybrid owners from across the country will converge with their vehicles along with potential Mariner Hybrid owners at Ford's Scientific Research Lab in Dearborn, Mich. for the first Ford Hybrid Experience event.

These Ford hybrid owners will get the opportunity to have their vehicles evaluated by a hybrid technician, learn and get to practice fuel economy driving tips and spend one-on-time with Ford hybrid engineers to understand the technology and how to maximize its benefits. These owners even will get the opportunity to affect the direction of future Ford hybrids by providing their input to the company's product development engineers.

Following the kick off event, additional fuel economy clinics will be hosted in major markets in the following weeks.

In addition to the all-new 2006 Mercury Mariner Hybrid, Sierra Summit 2005 attendees have the opportunity to drive the Ford Escape Hybrid, which was the world's first hybrid SUV and the most fuel-efficient and cleanest compact SUV on the road, and the Ford Focus Fuel Cell Vehicle, which combines Ford's hybrid expertise with advanced fuel cell technology and as such, is the most sophisticated environmental vehicle Ford has ever developed.

The "Mercury Mariner My Drive" is a fun, interactive driving game that features the Mercury Mariner Hybrid in urban and suburban settings and gives consumers three levels of play to discover a variety of eco driving tips such as:

 * Allowing plenty of distance to slow the vehicle to a stop; a unique
   feature in a hybrid vehicle is the ability to recapture energy during
   braking, known as regenerative braking; extending the period of
   deceleration by decreasing the rate in which the vehicle slows down will
   store more energy in the high voltage battery;
 * Avoiding aggressive driving since quick acceleration and deceleration
   decreases fuel economy;
 * Driving at a smooth, constant speed as excessive variation in pedal
   input creates more operating mode changes and subsequently reduces fuel
   economy;
 * Driving at reasonable speeds (for instance, traveling at 60 mph uses
   approximately 20 percent less fuel than driving at 70 mph);
 * Storing hybrid vehicles in garages where there is less fluctuation in
   storage temperature;
 * Keeping tires properly inflated and using only the recommended size;
 * Keeping wheels properly aligned;
 * Using recommended engine oil;
 * Performing all regularly scheduled maintenance.

The Mercury Hybrid is the second of five hybrids announced by Ford Motor Company. The first, the Ford Escape Hybrid, went on sale last fall as a 2005 model year vehicle. "Demand for our first hybrid was so strong that we pushed very hard to pull production of the Mariner Hybrid up by a full year," said Golightly.

The Mercury Mariner Hybrid is a compact SUV that blends the best features of a gasoline engine and an electric motor to achieve 80 percent higher city driving efficiency (50 percent higher combined city and highway driving efficiency) and lower emissions with no loss of functionality or performance. With outstanding fuel economy estimated at 33 mpg/city and 29 mpg highway, it meets the cleanest emission achievable by a fossil-fuel vehicle: California's Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emissions Standard. In addition, it has extended range well over 400 miles per tank and V-6-like acceleration performance.