* Launched in 2004, the Ford Escape Hybrid was the world's first domestically produced hybrid SUV
* The Ford Escape Hybrid debuted on the streets in Manhattan in 2004, setting a record driving
37 hours straight and 576 miles on a single tank of gas
* In 2005, San Francisco became the first city in the United States to use a hybrid SUV in its taxi fleet with the Ford Escape Hybrid
* Today, there currently are 250 Ford Escape Hybrids providing taxi service in San Francisco and 1,400 Ford Escape Hybrids providing taxi service in New York City
* Kermit the Frog debuted with the Ford Escape Hybrid in 2006 in an award-winning Super Bowl ad bringing two green icons together with the "It must be easy being green after all” campaign
* Escape Hybrid continues to be the most fuel-efficient (34 mpg city/31 mpg hwy) and cleanest (ATPZEV) SUV on the planet
* In 2006, Ford created a fleet of E-85 Ford Escape Hybrids – capable of operating on blends of fuel containing up as much as 85% ethanol, a renewable fuel – demonstrating a combination of two technologies that could contribute to the nation’s energy security
* Ford is doubling its hybrid production in 2009
* The 2010 Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan Hybrids are the newest additions to Ford's hybrid lineup
* The 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid is America’s most fuel-efficient mid-size sedan at 41 mpg city driving, beating the Toyota Camry by 8 mpg
* In January, 2009, Ford announced its electrification strategy to deliver a suite of electrified vehicles to market by 2012 – the Ford Escape Hybrid serves as the base for Ford's Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) demonstration fleet with utility companies around the country
Press release via Ford