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FORD, BP PARTNER ON HYDROGEN CAR PROJECT              

DETROIT - Ford Motor Company and UK-based BP plc have announced a major initiative aimed at moving the US closer to a "hydrogen economy." 

Ford has said it will place up to 30 hydrogen-powered vehicles and BP plans to build a network of fueling stations to support them, in several US cities including Sacramento.

The Ford and BP joint proposal calls for Ford to provide up to 30 hydrogen-powered Ford Focus Fuel Cell Vehicles (FCV).  Assembly of the vehicles will begin in the fourth quarter of this year, depending on the timing of successful contract negotiations with the US Department of Energy and various state and local entities.

The Ford Focus FCV is one of the industry's first hybridized fuel cell vehicles combining the improved range and performance of hybrid technology with the overall benefits of a fuel cell.

The Ford Focus FCV uses an 85kW fuel cell stack supplied by Ballard Power Systems, a world leader in proton exchange membrane (PEM) technology.  The FCV is hybridized with the addition of a nickel metal-hydride battery pack and a brake-by-wire electro-hydraulic series regenerative braking system.

BP plans to install a network of stations demonstrating state-of-the art fueling technologies to support the hydrogen fuel cell vehicles.  Some BP hydrogen refueling stations will evaluate technologies that have near-term commercial feasibility, such as reformation of natural gas, while others will explore more long-term technology options and assess the potential to produce renewable-based hydrogen that achieve U.S. DOE hydrogen fuel cost targets.

Ford plans to place up to 10 Focus FCVs with two organizations in Sacramento - the State of California Fleet and the Sacramento Municipal Utility District - and the City of Davis

Service and maintenance of the vehicles will be provided at the existing California Fuel Cell Partnership facility in Sacramento, while BP plans to support the FCVs by installing refueling sites in the Sacramento area.

MATTEL COMPLETES MEXICO FACILITY AUDIT

EL SEGUNDO - The International Center for Corporate Accountability (ICCA) has released audit results of Mattel, Inc.'s manufacturing facilities in Mexico.

The audit was commissioned by Mattel "to provide an unbiased, third-party analysis of working conditions in Mattel's manufacturing facilities" and covers two Mattel-owned factories in Mexico, located in Tijuana and Monterrey.

According to the ICCA audit, Mattel's facilities in Mexico "meet or exceed the requirements of Mattel's…code of conduct" and "provide generally good working conditions and uphold standards in the areas of safety, maintenance, employee communications, payroll and working conditions."

In summary, the report's findings indicate that Mattel's Mexico operations have shown "significant overall improvement in plant facilities and workplace management since ICCA's last audit of the two facilities."

The full text of the ICCA report can be viewed on ICCA's Web site at www.ICCA-corporateaccountability.org and on the Mattel corporate website at www.mattel.com/about_us/Corp_Responsbility/default.asp.

With headquarters in El Segundo, California, Mattel has offices and facilities in 36 countries and sells its product in more than 150 nations throughout the world.

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