Do They Provide Someone To Drive It For You?

With one monthly payment, consumers may soon be able to lease a Ford car and pay for its insurance and even oil changes.

Ford is preparing to test a one-stop leasing program in upscale Westchester County, N.Y. The company is also talking with a major oil company to see if gasoline purchases can be included.

“It would be a turnkey operation so all they would do is write one check - to Ford Motor Credit - a month,” said John G. Clissold, executive vice president of North American Operations for Ford Motor Credit Co. “Research tells us (consumers) want an absolutely nohassle lease … .”

Still, such leases won’t be cheap, he said.

A typical, conventional lease costs $500 to $600 a month for a Lincoln, $300 to $400 for a Taurus.

Ford Motor Credit is still working out details, like getting dealers to competitively price oil changes with quick-change lube operations even when the work is done by technicians trained to do more sophisticated maintenance.