WHEELS

Sat., Oct. 25, 2008

Deep inside the laboratories of Ford Motor Co.’s research and innovation center, one lab feels a lot more like a witch’s pantry than a place for developing the green cars and trucks of the future.

One corner is cluttered with coconuts, hemp twine, switchgrass, wheat straw, wood pellets, and oils made from grape seeds, palm trees and soybeans.

The earthy ingredients sit on countertops, hang on the wall and are stored in neatly labeled glass jars.

The work that goes on in this Dearborn, Mich., lab – replacing petroleum-based car parts with natural, renewable ones – isn’t exactly what most Americans think about when considering environmentally friendly cars.

Conscientious consumers most often focus on improving fuel economy, which averages 25 mpg for America’s cars and trucks.

“Most people think hybrids,” said Debbie Mielewski, who has been heading unique efforts to help make Ford’s products more environmentally friendly.

But Mielewski is part of a growing contingent of scientists who are trying to get consumers to also think about the thousands of parts – and pounds of materials – in their car that are made with petroleum, a limited resource. That includes foam seats, plastic dashboards and door panels, rubber gaskets and floor mats and yards and yards of upholstery.

“This is just as important” as improving fuel economy, Mielewski said.

Over the years, Ford has taken a lot of flak from environmentalists for failing to live up to its promises, such as its pledge three years ago to offer 250,000 hybrids a year by 2010. But Ford maintains it has a broader view of environmentalism than most consumers realize.

The evidence is easily seen around the company’s sprawling Michigan facilities – from the grass roof on the Dearborn Truck Plant to the beautiful acres of sunflowers that Ford plants around its headquarters, which reduce gas and fertilizer use and create a natural habitat for foxes, wild turkeys and butterflies.

The kind of work being done by Mielewski’s research team is also an example.

Essentially, the group researches how to reduce or replace the amount of petroleum that goes into making car parts, usually by substituting biomaterials, without compromising their durability, safety and other characteristics.

Detroit Free Press

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