Complete Story
08/02/2007
Ford Model U Concept Car on Display at the Ohio State Fair
Contact:
Jamie Mossbarger
Communications Director
614-476-3100
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 2, 2007
Ford Model U Concept Car on Display at the Ohio State Fair
COLUMBUS, OH - The Ohio Soybean Council (OSC) is pleased to present the Ford Model U concept car at the Ohio State Fair. Serving as Ford's model for change, the Model U pioneers green materials and is a vision for the future. Located in the Ag & Hort Building, fairgoers will have the opportunity to see how Ford is exploring the benefits a vehicle provides to its users and how it impacts the world.
The Model U is eco-friendly from front to back, featuring soy-based seat foam, soy-based plastic tailgate and corn tire filler. Additionally, it has cradle-to-cradle eco-friendly polyester, corn-based canvas roof and carpet mats. It is powered by a supercharged hydrogen fueled internal combustion engine, equipped with a hybrid electric transmission.
"OSC chose to display this vehicle to showcase biobased products and to demonstrate how versatile crops such as corn and soybeans can be in creating new industrial products," says OSC Chairman, Dan Corcoran.
Other telematics and active safety features include conversational speech interface, upgradeable instrument cluster, active night vision, adaptive headlights, accident avoidance stereo cameras, TrafficView forward looking cameras and four-point safety belts.
"OSC has invested millions of dollars in research work at Battelle in developing new industrial uses for soybeans and this Model U car is an excellent example of how these research efforts can be applied to consumer products," says Corcoran.
The design and technologies in the Model U are being considered for future vehicles. The display is sponsored by OSC in cooperation with the Ohio Farm Bureau, Ohio Corn Growers Association and the Ohio BioProducts Innovation Center. It will be on display at the fair until Sunday, August 12.
Headquartered in Columbus, the Ohio Soybean Council is governed by an 18-member volunteer farmer board, which directs the Soybean Promotion and Research Program. The program's primary goal is to improve soybean profitability by targeting research and development projects through the investment of farmer-contributed funds.
Media Note: Media interested in doing a story on the Ford Model U should contact Jamie Mossbarger, OSC Communications Director at 614-476-3100 or 614-795-0558.
