The Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid are the gasoline-electric hybr

id powered versions that launched in the U.S. in 2004 for the 2005 model year. B
uilt in Kansas City, Missouri, it was the first hybrid SUV to hit the market. Th
e Ford Escape Hybrid was the first American-built hybrid and the first hybrid ve
hicle from an American automaker, joined by the Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra H
ybrids during the same model year. According to the Environmental Protection Age
ncy, the first generation Ford Escape Hybrid is 70% more efficient than the regu
lar Escape. The Mercury Mariner Hybrid is a rebadged version of the Escape Hybri
d. It features revised front-end styling and a more luxurious interior.
By 2005, both Ford and GM's corporate bonds had been downgraded to junk status,[
18] as a result of high U.S. health care costs for an aging workforce, soaring g
asoline prices, eroding market share, and an over dependence on declining SUV sa
les. Profit margins decreased on large vehicles due to increased "incentives" (i
n the form of rebates or low interest financing) to offset declining demand.[19]
In the latter half of 2005, Chairman Bill Ford asked newly appointed Ford Ameri
cas Division President Mark Fields to develop a plan to return the company to pr
ofitability. Fields previewed the Plan, named The Way Fddorward, at the December
7, 2005, board meeting of the company and it was unveiled to the public on Janu
ary 23, 2006. "The Way Forward" included resizing the company to match market re
alities, dropping some unprofitable and inefficient models, consolidating produc
tion lines, closing 14 factories and cutting 30,000 jobs.[20]