Ford Helps Heal the Bay

Ford Motor Co. donated a 2005 Escape Hybrid to Heal the Bay, the Santa Monica-based environmental group dedicated to improving water quality along California’s coastline. Customers Klaus and Jami Heidegger placed the winning bid for the vehicle at Heal the Bay’s auction this past June. The auction raised $40,000 at the group’s annual charity event.

“The new 2005 Ford Escape Hybrid is the industry’s first no-compromise, full-hybrid SUV and the cleanest, most fuel efficient SUV on the road,” says Mary Ann Wright, director of sustainable mobility technologies and hybrid programs and Escape Hybrid’s chief engineer.

The Escape earned the highest fuel economy numbers for an SUV as certified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The front-wheel-drive model achieves 36 mpg city and 31 mpg highway.

Heal the Bay, founded in 1985, is dedicated to making Santa Monica Bay and Southern California coastal waters safe and healthy again. The organization focuses on education, outreach, research and advocacy through programs like Coastal Cleanup Day and the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium.

For more information, visit www.healthebay.org