Mercury Mariner Hybrid goes on sale a year early
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Mercury Mariner Hybrid goes on sale a year early
Ford Motor Co. is taking orders for a gasoline-electric powered version of its Mercury Mariner sport utility vehicle, the company's second hybrid. Ford said it expects to sell most of the vehicles online.
The 2006 hybrid Mariner will sell at a starting price of $29,840, Ford said Monday. The standard gasoline-powered Mariner sells for $21,995 to $27,400, according to the Edmunds.com car-price Web site. Ford began selling a hybrid version of its Escape SUV last year.
Ford and other U.S. carmakers are seeking to catch Toyota Motor Corp.'s Prius, a passenger car introduced in 1997 that uses an electric motor at low speeds to burn less fuel and cut emissions. Sales of the Prius more than doubled to 53,308 in the first half of this year. Ford expects to sell about 2,000 hybrid Mariners in the first year.
The hybrid Mariner is going on sale one year earlier than originally planned after Ford moved up development of hybrid vehicles.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosins...C02-244322.htm
