AUTOS

Flywheel Battery Co. Withdraws From Ford Project: Bellevue Wash.-based American Flywheel Systems Inc., which exhibited a much-noticed concept car at the Greater L.A. Auto Show, informed Ford Motor Co. that it is quitting a joint project to build a hybrid flywheel-combustion engine vehicle for the U.S. Department of Energy. Flywheel batteries are devices that store energy in kinetic form, much like a spinning potter’s wheel. AFS Chairman Edward W. Furia said in a letter to Ford that the move reflected disappointment at Ford’s “intention to withdraw from America’s drive to develop a zero-emission vehicle.” Ford spokeswoman Pam Kueber said that Ford’s DOE contract to develop hybrid vehicles “is pretty much a separate issue” from whether practical electric cars can be built. Ford’s hybrid project, she said, “is part of an unprecedented cooperative nationwide program . . . and we’re excited about it.”