News Release - Owner Letter

NEWS

February 25, 2000

Mr. John Sample
123 Main Street
Anywhere, USA 12345

Contact:
Mike Vaughn
313-337-2786

FOR RELEASE 4:00 P.M. EST

FORD EXTENDS WARRANTY ON CERTAIN 3.8L ENGINE HEAD GASKETS TO YEARS/1OO,000 MILES

DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 25, 2000 -- In the interest of customer satisfaction, Ford Motor Company is extending the warranty on the head gaskets on the 1994 Lincoln Continental, 1994-1995 Ford Taurus and Mercury Sable, and 1995 Ford Windstar with 3.8L V-6 engines to 7 years or 100,000 miles, whichever comes first. The original extension, issued in 1998, was for 5 years/60,000 miles for the Taurus, Sable and Windstar vehicles, and 6 years/75,000 miles on Continental.

"When Ford issued the original warranty extension, our data indicated that the extension would cover the affected vehicles over the time and mileage where owners were most likely to have a head gasket concern," said Ann O'Neill, director, vehicle service and programs, Ford Customer Service Division. "But, as these vehicles have aged, we have received new data that indicate that some owners are having failures outside the original warranty extension."

Owners of these vehicles who experienced head gasket failures during the 7 year/100,000 mile time frame will be eligible for a full refund for past repairs, or for a limited time, may choose a $4,000 certificate to be used towards the purchase or lease of a new Ford, Mercury or Lincoln. Vehicle owners will receive a communication from Ford via first-class mail in March explaining the warranty extension.

"We have looked at the data, listened to the voice of our customers, and are taking this action because customer satisfaction is our number one priority," said O'Neill.