FORD COURIER:  PICKUPS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES TOO

Take Ford's popular new South American light pickup and give it some "north-of-the-border" attitude and you have the Courier F1 show vehicle.

The subcompact Courier is extremely fuel efficient and environmentally responsible. A customized version of the Brazilian-built Courier pickup Ford sells in South America, the Courier F1 will test market reaction to a vehicle smaller than any pickup now sold in the United States.

Modifications for the North American auto show circuit include bigger wheels and tires, a new grille and hood, load shift protector, fog lamps, a one-piece rear bumper with integrated trailer hitch and moldings on the side and bed. The suspension was raised more than 2 inches to enlarge the wheel openings to accommodate the Courier's 15-inch wheels. The Scarlet Red pickup features unique Courier graphics, including 3-D metallic-etched lettering.

A sport steering wheel, a white-faced instrument cluster and black bucket seats with red trim give Courier an equally striking interior. "No one is selling a pickup of this size in the United States," said Jac Nasser, president, Ford Automotive Operations. "Perhaps the time is right for this vehicle. To find out, we've taken our Ford Courier and dressed it up for the auto show."

Ford Courier offers customers the agility needed in urban driving as well as the ability to withstand the wear and tear of rural South American use. It replaced the Ford Pampa as Ford's entry in the South American small pickup segment.

It is the market's first small pickup to be equipped with a 16-valve engine with aluminum block, cylinder head and crankcase. Engine options include the 1.3-liter Endura-E, assembled at Ford's Taubate, Brazil engine plant, and the 1.4-liter aluminum-block Zetec-SE, manufactured at Ford's Valencia Engine Plant in Spain. With either of these engines and the Courier's five-speed manual transmission, the lightweight pickup is extremely fuel efficient - achieving a Brazilian highway fuel economy rating of 15.77 km/liter (better than 37 mpg).

Courier's front suspension features MacPherson struts with helical springs and gas-pressurized telescopic shock absorbers with a stabilizer. The rear suspension is a reinforced rigid axle and a single-leaf spring. Front brakes are vented discs designed for rugged duty. The rear brakes are self-adjusting drums.

Courier also offers a high level of safety. The cabin was designed with a "safety cell concept" with reinforcements in the front and rear columns in the floor and in the dividing section between the engine and passenger compartments. The doors include reinforced beams.

Courier is produced at Ford's Industrial Complex at Sao Bernardo do Campo in the State of Sao Paulo on the same production line that manufactures the Ford Fiesta and Ford Ka. Courier marks another stage in the company's $2.5 billion investment program in Brazil through 1999. Courier joins Ka and the European Puma sports coupe as unique products to be developed from Ford's versatile Fiesta platform.