Some environmentalists say that Ford hasn not been a good steward and that Cischke's appointment doesn't do a lot to convince them that the company is changing.
"She has spent a lot of time in Washington opposing environmental solutions like cleaner, more fuel-efficient cars," said Dan Becker, director of the Sierra Club's global warming campaign.
Becker said that Ford should spend more money marketing fuel-efficient vehicles, adding it instead spends its advertising dollars promoting sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks that make it the most profit.
"They market pickup trucks to people who want to haul lattes home from Starbucks, not just to farmers," he said.
Ford will fall further behind Toyota Motor Corp and Honda Motor Co if it doesn't come up with more fuel-efficient vehicles quickly, Becker said.
David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan, said that Ford is fully aware that it is good business to pay attention to fuel efficiency and the environment.
"But if you're in business and you want to be profitable, you've got to provide a range of products that people need," he said.
"If you can provide significant improvement in fuel efficiency without compromising utility, that's where everybody wants to go," Cole said.
"Unfortunately, the cost of doing that isn't zero," he said.
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