Conservative group ends Ford boycott
 

Conservative group ends Ford boycott

The conservative American Family Association said Tuesday it's ending a two-year boycott of Ford Motor Co., saying the company has met most of its demands, which included ending donations to groups that support same-sex marriage.

Ford said in a statement that its principles haven't changed, but that it has reduced overall advertising and charitable spending in recent years because of losses in North America. Ford lost $2.7 billion in 2007.

"We are committed to treating everyone fairly and with respect, including our dealers, customers and employees," the company said. "Ford will continue to market its products widely to attract as many customers as possible and make charitable contributions to strengthen communities to the extent business conditions allow."

This year Ford received its highest rating for gay-friendly policies from the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization, based on its anti-discrimination policies and health benefits for domestic partners.

Volvo, whose car division is owned by Ford, also is a corporate sponsor of the HRC, according to the organization's Web site.

"A few minor issues remain, and we will continue to bring these to the attention of Ford," Don Wildmon, AFA founder and chairman, said in a letter.

The Tupelo, Miss.-based AFA said 780,365 people had signed its petition to boycott Ford.

The AFA wanted Ford to end corporate donations to what it called gay organizations and to stop donating cash and vehicles to gay pride parades. It also wanted Ford to cease advertising on gay-oriented Web sites, magazines and television shows.

The automaker was among the sponsors of a gay pride parade in Cleveland last year, and a sales executive for The Advocate and Out, two gay magazines, said Volvo, was their heaviest automotive advertiser in 2007. Scion, Jeep, Volkswagen, Saab, Cadillac, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Subaru also advertise in the magazines.

It's unclear how much the boycott affected Ford's sales. The company's U.S. sales fell 10 percent in 2007, and Toyota knocked it from its longtime position as the No. 2 automaker by U.S. sales. But that partly was because Ford reduced low-profit sales to rental-car agencies by 32 percent.

Ford shares rose 13 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $5.73 on Tuesday.