Ford Extends No-Interest Loan Offer

Ford Motor Co. said Monday that it will continue to match the 0% financing offered by General Motors Corp. and the U.S. arm of DaimlerChrysler, extending the deals on new cars and light trucks to Nov. 20.

The program offers 36-month, no-interest loans on most 2001 and 2002 Ford-brand cars, pickups, sport-utility vehicles and minivans, matching similar deals on GM and Chrysler vehicles, which last week were extended to Nov. 18 and 19, respectively.

GM, Ford and Chrysler Group adopted the financing programs in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, which sent U.S. vehicle sales into a tailspin. Although the deals have boosted sales to the point where October may become the best month on record, the program eats deeply into profit and lowers the value of used-car trade-ins.

Ford is hoping to increase its business, albeit modestly, with the introduction of its Think Neighbor electric vehicle, which began rolling off the factory line Monday at Detroit Chassis, which will produce 10,000 of the cars a year.

The Neighbor is an open-air car resembling a golf cart and is designed for use in gated communities, on campuses and in urban and corporate fleets. It can drive on city streets with speed limits up to 35 mph and has a range of about 30 miles with its six 12-volt batteries, which can be fully charged from household current in eight hours.

The first shipments are to leave the plant today, bound for California, where demand is expected to be the greatest. The Neighbor will go on sale next month through Ford dealerships for $6,000 to $8,000.

DaimlerChrysler already is marketing a neighborhood vehicle called the Gem, which has been acquired for fleet use by Anaheim and other Southland customers.