Auto News: Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA), General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), Ford Motor Company (F)

Page 2 of 2

Ford Executive: “Hybrids Are Flying Off The Shelves Out In California” (Gas2)
J Mays, vice president of design at Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), said that their hybrid cars are flying off the shelves in California. He also added that the US hybrid market is growing as a whole, slowly, but steadily. Looks like Americans are finally warming up to hybrids. In an interview with Inhabitat, J Mays says that “…our hybrids are flying off the shelves in California,” which has helped Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) far exceed sales goals for its hybrid and plug-in hybrid models. Sales in import-dominated areas like San Francisco are up 325%, and in the L.A. area hybrid sales are up a staggering 500%.

Ford marks 10 years of teen driver safety program with international growth (MLive)
Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) and its philanthropic arm recently marked the 10th anniversary of their “Driving Skills for Life” program aimed at educating teens about safe driving. The program was started May 8, 2003 by the Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) Fund in partnership with the Governors Highway Safety Association to curb teen fatalities on roadways — the number one cause of teen deaths. Since then, the program has expanded from one or two hands-on programs with high school students a year to about 200 high schools across the U.S. this year Ford Fund Community Relations Manager Jim Graham, who has been with the program since its inception, said FDSL continues to grow domestically, as well as globally.

Ford Lincoln Tries Cheese to Lure Mercedes Buyers (BusinessWeek)
For those who think the car-buying experience stinks, Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is teaching its Lincoln dealers about fine cheeses. Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) is spending more than $1 billion to try to resurrect the Lincoln brand and knows it needs not just better cars, but a luxury car-buying experience that will attract younger, better-educated and wealthier buyers. So it’s putting dealers through training at the Lincoln Academy, where they raise their consciousness and sharpen their senses with exercises including sampling cheese. It’s a challenge. When one of the trainers asked how old the dealers’ customers are, several shouted out numbers in the 70s and 80s.




Page 2 of 2