Following a recent bond downgrade to "junk" status by Standard & Poors, investors and environmental advocates inside Ford Motor Company's annual meeting expressed concern that Ford is losing market share and profits to foreign competitors -- like Honda and Toyota -- by actively lobbying against increases in national fuel economy standards, by not implementing a policy to tie executive compensation to greenhouse gas reductions, and by not using current clean car technologies. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Ford has the lowest fleetwide fuel economy of any major automaker.

Ford's sales have fallen for the tenth straight month. With rising gasoline prices and increasing concern about global warming and global security, the company may have lost a significant number of customers seeking high-tech, high-efficiency vehicles rather than heavy, gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs.

In the meeting, shareholders voted their concerns in the form of two shareholder proposals:

• Proposal #4 on Ford's 2005 proxy questions the company's policy of lobbying against increased federal corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards. This resolution, sponsored by Green Century Capital Management, Sierra Club and U.S. PIRG, received a 6.4% vote.
  
  
• Proposal #6 requests that Ford's Board tie a large portion of senior executive compensation to progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from Ford's passenger vehicles. This proposal, sponsored by Bluewater Network and Global Exchange, received a 5.5% vote.

"Ford has fiercely resisted moves by Congress to raise CAFE standards," said Beth Williamson, shareholder advocate for Green Century Capital Management. "Undermining these federal efforts to protect consumers from rising gas prices and global warming pollution may harm consumer confidence in Ford's vehicles and our company's competitive positioning."

"We believe that an efficient method of protecting shareholder equity against future oil price increases and increasing government regulation of greenhouse gas emissions is to tie executive compensation to progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions from Ford's automotive products," said Russell Long, director of Bluewater Network.

Jennifer Krill, representing Global Exchange and the Jumpstart Ford Coalition, stated, "Curbing greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles will be one the key drivers determining competitiveness in the automobile industry over the next few decades; establishing an incentive program will ensure that our company regains lost market share of recent years."