Ford Motor Co. is taking two increasingly popular gasoline-saving technologies and putting them in the same vehicle.

The company has built a Ford Escape Hybrid that also is a flexible-fuel vehicle. The internal combustion engine teamed with an electric motor in the hybrid configuration is capable of running on E85 as well as gasoline, the company says.

E85 is 85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline. Ethanol generally is produced from corn in farm states. But automakers and others are touting opportunities to make ethanol economically from plant waste as an alternative to imported petroleum.

The vehicle was unveiled at the Washington Auto Show on Wednesday.

Ford executives say the flexible-fuel hybrid is a research vehicle at this point. They conceded in prepared remarks that technical obstacles remain before it could be produced. A big obstacle is controlling evaporative emissions, they said.

Still, Anne Stevens, Ford COO for the Americas, said: "This innovative research program could lead to breakthroughs to significantly reduce our nation's dependence on imported oil while also helping to address global climate change."

Ford is not alone in wanting to combine fuel-saving technologies.

A coalition of groups on Tuesday told of a campaign to pressure automakers to build hybrids that could be plugged in when they are not in use, to charge battery packs that are heftier than those in existing hybrids.

The argument for plug-in hybrids is that they would run more in the electric-only mode than existing hybrids do, especially on short trips and daily commutes. Proponents say plug-in hybrids would save more energy and produce less pollution than the hybrids produced so far.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, supports the coalition. He said a plug-in hybrid, especially one that uses alternative fuel, could be a "silver bullet" for the nation's auto-related environmental problems and dependence on foreign oil. He was an author of federal tax credits for hybrids and other advanced-technology vehicles, which took effect Jan. 1.

The plug-in hybrid coalition includes city governments, electric utilities, environmental groups and national security organizations.

Automakers, stung by their experiences with all-electric vehicles, generally have downplayed the promise of plug-in hybrids.

At the Washington show Wednesday, Stevens of Ford was asked about plug-in hybrids. She said the company is interested in all kinds of technology but there are concerns about the durability of the heftier battery packs needed by plug-ins.

Peter Savagian, engineering director at General Motors Powertrain, said his company is looking into plug-ins, along with other technologies, and is "kind of intrigued by the concept."

Separately, in its own show announcement, GM unveiled ads that will be used in its new campaign to build consumer interest in E85 fuel.

The campaign slogan is, "Live Green, Go Yellow," referring to the corn from which ethanol is usually made.

Energy Secretary Sam Bodman toured Ford, GM and DaimlerChrysler exhibits on Tuesday. He announced the release of $119 million in federal funding toward further government-industry research on developing hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicles.

President Bush made hydrogen a priority in his 2003 State of the Union address.

The vehicle was unveiled at the Washington Auto Show on Wednesday.

Ford has unveiled a new Escape SUV in Japan. The car appears to be a facelifted version of the existing model, with improvements throughout. While U.S. consumers will undoubtedly complain about not getting the new model, it appears Ford has a clear plan this time. The recently-spied U.S. version of the car will get Ford's new family headlight design, among other shared design cues. The new American model may share some elements with the Japan-market Escape, however.

Here's the 2008 Ford Escape, caught completely disguise-free near Detroit. Compared to the recently-released '08 Mercury Mariner, the face of the new Escape looks more aggressively truck-like. Its chunky chrome grille eschews Ford's three-bar grille design, instead taking cues from Ford's new Expedition. The Escape shares the Mariner's cleaned-up side panels, which now are free of any side cladding except for a small lower trim strip between the wheel wells. Around to the tail-lights, the Escape gets red lamps with a horseshoe-shaped strip of white which adds some visual interest.

Comparing the '08 with the current model parked next to it, and its immediately clear that the redesign has given the new Escape a lot more character.

Our interior shots show that the Escape's interior is identical to Mariner sibling, but it appears that Mercury has upped the ante a bit in the trim department. On the instrument panel, door trim, and gages--where the Mariner showcases handsome satin pewter and chrome trim bits--the Escape (at least on this prototype) makes due with black trim or more mundane plastic. Even without the extra blingy touches, the result is still a handsome, functional interior.

The Escape will get the same engines recently announced on the Mariner - and will be on display at the Los Angeles auto show later this month.

The 2008 Ford Escape could hardly wait for Los Angeles - our spy photographers caught it completely disguise-free near Detroit. Its chunky chrome grille eschews Ford's three-bar grille design, instead taking cues from Ford's new Expedition. Comparing the '08 with the current model parked next to it, and its immediately clear that the redesign has given the new Escape a lot more character. You can see more shots, including an interior, by following the link above. The Escape will get the same engines recently announced on the 2008 Mercury Mariner - and will be on display at the Los Angeles auto show later this month.

The goal for styling changes to the Ford Escape for 2008 was to make the small SUV look tougher.

So Ford designers raised the belt line -- the line formed by the bottom edge of the side glass -- and blacked out the B pillar behind the front doors. Also, they gave the hood a higher profile and grafted a bigger, chromed grille onto the front of the Escape.

The redesigned Escape is being shown today at the Los Angeles auto show.

Inside, designers reshaped the instrument panel and took steps to cut down on road and wind noise -- changes include thicker carpeting and a sound deadening sheet of clear plastic sandwiched inside the windshield. The seats are covered in fabric made from recycled materials.

Under the hood, the retooled Escape has been fitted with an electric power steering system. The base 2.3-liter four-cylinder engine is rated at 153 hp. A 200-hp, 3.0-liter V-6 is optional.

The redesigned Ford Escape, due to be unveiled next month at the Los Angeles Auto Show, will drop the hybrid and V-6 power options and add new turbo four-cylinder engines.

Ford, in its announcement, made a point of saying, however, it would still have hybrids: It now will sell a Focus-based C-Max hybrid "multi-activity vehicle" that will be rated about 25% higher in fuel efficiency than the outgoing Escape hybrid.

"Customers are prioritizing fuel economy above every other trait," said Ford product chief Derrick Kuzak in a statement. "Ford is meeting people's needs by offering a family of fuel-efficient vehicles."

As for power:

The next-generation Escape's three four-cylinder engines will include a small 1.6-liter turbo new to the U.S. market, a 2-liter turbo, and non-turbo 2.5-liter.

Ford said the 1.6-liter, direct-injected EcoBoost engine is expected to be rated higher in highway mpg's than the current Escape hybrid's 31 mpg rating. The engine is already being used in the European Focus and C-Max. Ford touts the 2-liter as offering V-6 performance with better fuel economy, though it gave no specifics.

The five-seat C-Max hybrid, due next year, will be offered in regular and plug-in varieties. The C-Max will be a dedicated hybrid line with no conventional powertrains in the U.S.