What Is It?
Ford Model U
What's Special About It?
Like Honda's Element, the Model U offers a reconfigurable interior with little clutter and lots of possibilities. However, the Model U presents a reconfigurable exterior, too. The roof is power-retractable and the rear of the vehicle can be opened as well. The rear window retracts into the deck lid which can then be folded into the floor. Unlike the Element, or any other car, is the Model U's environmentally friendly nature. The Model U is powered by a 2.3-liter supercharged, intercooled hydrogen internal combustion engine mated to an electric transmission. In short, it's a hybrid, but a hybrid that can meet PZEV emissions standards.
Continuing the green trend is the Model U's soy-based body panels, seat foam and grease as well as corn-based tires and sunflower-seed-based engine oil. Much of the Model U can be recycled or is biodegradable so as not to further pollute the soil when its life is over.
Why Should You Care?
It's doubtful the Model U will ever make it to a showroom floor, but the technologies used in its development will surely find their way into future Ford cars and trucks. Ford is certainly putting its money where its collective mouth is with regard to building environmentally friendly vehicles. — Brian Moody
Ford Model U
What's Special About It?
Like Honda's Element, the Model U offers a reconfigurable interior with little clutter and lots of possibilities. However, the Model U presents a reconfigurable exterior, too. The roof is power-retractable and the rear of the vehicle can be opened as well. The rear window retracts into the deck lid which can then be folded into the floor. Unlike the Element, or any other car, is the Model U's environmentally friendly nature. The Model U is powered by a 2.3-liter supercharged, intercooled hydrogen internal combustion engine mated to an electric transmission. In short, it's a hybrid, but a hybrid that can meet PZEV emissions standards.
Continuing the green trend is the Model U's soy-based body panels, seat foam and grease as well as corn-based tires and sunflower-seed-based engine oil. Much of the Model U can be recycled or is biodegradable so as not to further pollute the soil when its life is over.
Why Should You Care?
It's doubtful the Model U will ever make it to a showroom floor, but the technologies used in its development will surely find their way into future Ford cars and trucks. Ford is certainly putting its money where its collective mouth is with regard to building environmentally friendly vehicles. — Brian Moody
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