The Car Chick’s 2008 Car Show Kudos Award

The Car Chick’sKudos Award for the 2008 Charlotte Auto Show goes to Ford Motor Company! Yes, you read that correctly Ford. Not only was Ford the only manufacturer to bring their A-game to the auto show this year, including some cool concept cars, they also earned the Kudos award for environmental responsibility.

Ford knows thatgoing green means a lot more than spitting out hybrid vehicles. Although the company said that hybrid and electric vehicles will be fast tracked as a part of their bailout plan, Ford is looking at the bigger picture. In the 2008 Mustang, Ford introduced the industry’s first soy-based seat foam which replaced the previously petroleum-based foam. This not only helps reduce our oil dependency, but it reduces 605,000 pounds of carbon dioxide annually (based on Mustang production alone). This eco-friendly technology is now being rolled out to almost all of the Ford and Lincoln line.

To literally top the seat foam, Ford’s seat fabrics are made from 100% post-industrial waste materials such as recycled plastics and un-dyed polyester fibers. This use of recycled materials that would otherwise be sent straight to the landfill saves an estimated 600,000 gallons of water, 1.8 million pounds of carbon dioxide equivalents and more than 7 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually.

In their luxury Lincoln division, the seats are wrapped in beautiful leather made with vegetable dyes and an environmentally responsible chromium-free process that makes the material recyclable. The rich wood grain trim in the vehicles is even made from recycled furniture!

Between Ford’s improvements in overall quality and reliability and their dedication to truly green technologies and practices, these guys may be worth bailing out after all.
Kudos, Ford!

LeeAnn Shattuck is the owner andChief Car Chick of Women’s Automotive Solutions, Inc. Women’s Automotive Solutions is a unique car buying service dedicated to helping women through the entire car selection and buying process. Their automotive experience enables them to save clients hundreds to thousands of dollars on a new or used car without the usual frustrations that come with car shopping. www.WomensAutomotiveSolutions.com