Campaign Trail Escape Tale

Ford Motor Co. is using the hype surrounding the presidential primary season to tout its new sport utility vehicle, the Escape Hybrid.

Ford is running a print advertisement in several Capitol Hill publications, such as Roll Call, the Hill, and Politico, that claims the SUV is a favorite of many presidential contenders and their campaign staffs. "We may not know where all the candidates stand, but we know where a lot of them sit," the advertisement reads.

Ford's campaign for the "green" Escape Hybrid includes the boast that its seat fabric is made of 100% recycled material, and that it emits 76% fewer smog-forming emissions than the average new car. (Whether the car emits fewer smog-forming emissions than do the candidates themselves is not yet known.) "We thought we would have a little fun with it, because the Escape Hybrid has emerged in news reports as the front-runner in the race for the White House," Ford's group vice president for government and community relations, Ziad Ojakli, said. The environmentally conscious hybrid is a favorite of many Democratic contenders. According to reports, Senators Obama, Dodd, and Edwards all drive the Escape Hybrid. New Mexico Governor Richardson also bought one back in 2005 but has since traded up because he said he needed more room, although his campaign still uses the hybrid. Not to be outdone by anyone, even in the realm of campaign transportation, Senator Clinton rides in a more upscale Mercury Mariner Hybrid that was prepared by Ford for the Department of Homeland Security for use on her husband's detail.

An informal Ford poll of the candidates' car choices suggests that you really can tell a lot about a candidate by the car he drives. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, a liberal Democrat, drives an economical Ford Focus, for example.

As for the Republicans, the private-equity multimillionaire Mitt Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, has a sporty Mustang, and Senator Brownback drives a family-friendly Taurus when he's in Washington.

The conservative Rep. Duncan Hunter bought a Ford F-150 pickup truck while on a Michigan campaign swing in June. Great choice: The F-150 is President Bush's preferred mode of transportation on his Crawford, Texas, ranch.