Ford to Help Set Up Ethanol Fuel Stations

Ford Motor Co. said Friday that it was teaming up with an energy company to increase the number of ethanol fuel stations in the U.S. next year.

Ford said it would work with Brookings, S.D.-based VeraSun Energy Corp. to covert existing fuel pumps to E85, an alternative fuel made from a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.

Ford spokeswoman Chris Morrisroe said the automaker would announce the number of stations and their locations later. She said Ford planned to add fewer than 100 fuel stations in the Midwest, where ethanol is readily available because it is distilled from corn and grain.

Only about 500 of the 180,000 fuel stations in the U.S. now offer E85, Ford said.

Ford also said it would launch a consumer awareness campaign about the benefits of ethanol, which can be used in some Ford Explorer sport utility vehicles and Ford Taurus sedans. Ford has about 1 million ethanol-capable vehicles on the road, but the company said many owners might not realize that their vehicles could use ethanol as well as gasoline.

Ford plans to produce 250,000 ethanol-capable vehicles in 2006, including the Ford F-150 pickup, the Ford Crown Victoria, the Mercury Grand Marquis and the Lincoln Town Car.

“Ford is working on innovative solutions to customer concerns over high gas prices and America’s overdependence on foreign oil,” Ford Chairman and Chief Executive William Clay Ford Jr. said. “Ethanol is an innovative energy source straight from the heartland of America.”

Ford shares fell 9 cents to $8.29.