Ford Vehicle

And a car that can get up to 37miles per gallon and is available in a variety of body styles and transmission choices. What you won’t get are tax credits or a free pass to drive solo in the diamond lanes. You can literally extend the green theme to the exterior. The test model sported a kiwi green clear coat metallic paint job. The PZEV badge is affixed to the right rear of 2007 Focus models sold in California with the 2.0-liter Duratec 20E engine.

It’s Ford’s way of letting the buying public know about the company’s clean-air choices. There’s an audience, too. Ford said this model accounts for about 97 percent of Focus sales in the Golden State. (This certification badging is also available on some Mercury, Volvo and Mazda models.) In a Ford news release announcing the program last summer, the California Air Resources Board noted that not all hybrids meet the PZEV standards while some non-hybrids, such as the Focus, are cleaner.

And car companies do have to meet three air board standards to earn the designation. They are requirements that a vehicle’s tailpipe emissions must meet the Super Ultra-Low Emissions Vehicle standard, which is more than 80 percent cleaner with respect to smog-forming emissions than the average 2007 vehicle; eliminate the escape of fuel vapor; and warranty coverage to ensure that the vehicle will meet PZEV requirements for 15 years or 150,000 miles.

Ford also put together some fun facts about PZEV. Grilling one hamburger emits more hydrocarbon emissions than a Focus PZEV would on a three-hour drive (about 180 miles). (I pumped out twice as many hydrocarbons doing this Thursday night.) A Focus PZEV would have to be driven more than 2,100 miles, or five trips between Los Angeles and San Francisco, to equal the emissions generated by the leading 5.4-horsepower lawn mower in just one hour of use.