People who buy Ford Motor Co.'s F-150 truck don't much care about fuel economy. It ranks 28th on their list of priorities, according to the automaker's research, way below such essentials as durability and reliability, even the roominess of the cab. Yet Ford is plowing ahead with a gasoline-electric hybrid of the crazy-popular truck, which has been the best-selling vehicle in the U.S. every year since the first Reagan administration. To coax pickup fans into the greener future, the automaker won't stress the benefits of cutting carbon dioxide emissions or better mileage. Instead, the marketing will note that the F-150's battery not only will feed the electric motor but also can function as a mobile generator to keep the beer cool at a tailgate party, charge your miter saw, or run the coffee maker on a camping trip. "It still may be a hard sell, but they've got to have this in their lineup," says Michelle Krebs, an analyst at Autotrader Inc.
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