The average vehicle now made by Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford gets 22.6 miles per gallon, the ads said, with its popular Explorer sport utility vehicle getting 16 miles per gallon.

Ford, which will observe its 100th birthday starting June 16, told Reuters that the projected fuel economy this year for cars alone is 28.4 miles per gallon.

Ford also said it has three models that are best in class for fuel efficiency and another three that produce almost no emissions. In addition, Ford said it plans to introduce next year the market's first hybrid SUV, which can switch between electric and gasoline power.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last month estimated the average fuel economy for all 2003 vehicles is about 20.8 miles per gallon, down from 22.1 in 1998. It put SUVs at 17.8 miles a gallon, pickups at 16.8 and cars at 24.8.

Publication of the Sierra Club ads is due to coincide with Ford's birthday celebration, the group said. The company's annual meeting is also scheduled for June 16.

Meanwhile, former Sierra Club president Robert Cox said this week he is running for the Ford board of directors.

A communications studies professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he was head of the Sierra Club from 1994 to 1996 and from 2000 to 2001.