Ford pulls plug on electric-powered bicycle

DEARBORN, Mich. - Like the Falcon and Pinto before it, the Th!nk bicycle is headed toward the junkyard of Ford Motor Co. history. <br> <br> The automaker has pulled the plug on the electric-powered bicycle introduced at the 2000 North American International Auto Show by then-CEO Jacques Nasser, who rode one onto the stage at Detroit&#39;s Cobo Arena. <br> <br> In July 2000, Ford started selling two Th!nk models -- the Fun and the Traveler -- over the Internet. They were billed as being environmentally friendly, having ranges of up to 30 miles and costing between $1,000 and $1,200. <br> <br> But in an e-mail sent to employees last week, Ford said it was halting production of the bikes and offered the remaining ones to employees, suppliers and other affiliates for $495. They are available to the public for $595. <br> <br> &#34;We didn&#39;t see the growth we wanted out of that market,&#34; Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood told The Detroit News in a report Thursday. &#34;We were probably a little ahead of the market so we scaled back.&#34; <br> <br> Ford lost $5.45 billion last year, but will continue to sell the Th!nk Neighbor, a golf cart-like electric vehicle. It also plans to begin selling the Th!nk City, a small, plastic-bodied electric-powered hatchback, this year. <br> <br> The Th!nk Fun is a seven-speed bike with 26-inch wheels. The Traveler is a four-speed, folding frame bicycle with 20-inch wheels. <br>

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