Debuting at the 1982 Detroit Auto Show and continuing its tour in Chicago, the Ford Alternative Fuel Vehicle was a highly aerodynamic two-door concept designed by Ghia-or whatever was left of Ghia after being reduced to a trim level after Ford took over the company in 1970.
The AFV was powered by a highly modified version of the European Ford Escort's 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine. It could run on natural gas, methane, ethanol, alcohol, and conventional gasoline. A later development even promised to add diesel to acceptable fuels. Yet it's not like Ford was about to put anything like that into production, according to a passage from the academic textbook Progress in Biomass Conversion, published when the AFV concept was new:
Ford Motor Co. plays a leading role in developing alternative fuel vehicles for maximum operational flexibility. The AFV concept car introduced at the Detroit Auto Show in January 1982 has been designed to operate on compressed natural gas, with provisions for conversion to liquified propane, alcohol, or diesel fuel. The current Ford engineering and marketing thrust is toward alternative single fuel vehicles, rather than multi-fuel vehicles, because of the performance and operational compromise associated with instantaneous multi-fuel capability.
Source: This 1982 Ford Concept Is The Perfect Car For the Zombie .... https://news.yahoo.com/1982-ford-concept-perfect-car-172437849.html
Images: Ford; Alden Jewell Collection
