Ford to Begin Offering Factory-installed Sirius Radio Options

Press Release: Beginning this month, Ford and Lincoln Mercury will offer Sirius Satellite Radio as a factory-installed option in four of its 2006 models (Ford F150, Lincoln Mark LT, Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer), following up an agreement announced last year. Car customers will be offered the system for about $195, which includes a six-month subscription to the Sirius service...

"Satellite radio is the fastest growing consumer electronics product today," said Steve Lyons, Group Vice President, For Marketing, Sales and Service. "With SIRIUS radio, we are providing another way for our customers to personalize their vehicles and driving experience to their tastes. We look forward to growing the relationship and offering SIRIUS in more product lines in the near future."

Under the deal, SIRIUS radios will arrive at dealerships pre-activated, thereby allowing dealer to give in-vehicle actual demonstrations and enabling the customer to immediately access SIRIUS at the time of delivery...Earlier this year, Ford and Lincoln Mercury announced plans to target up to 21 vehicle lines for factory installation of SIRIUS over the 2006 and 2007 model years. Ford also announced that they expect to generate up to one million SIRIUS subscribers over those two model year periods.