DEARBORN, MI – Ford has sold more than 1 million Escapes since the vehicle’s introduction in November 2000, making it the best-selling small-utility vehicle on the market and the industry’s best-selling crossover of any size, for the past six years, according to the Web site www.paddocktalk.com. When the 2001 Escape was introduced, it incorporated the wide, solid stance and successful design cues of Ford’s larger SUVs in a more compact package. Escape also meets Ford Tough Truck standards, subjected to durability testing in the heat of the Australian outback, the sub-zero cold of Manitoba, Canada, and pulling a 3,500-lb. trailer up the severe grades of the Davis Dam in Nevada. Off-road capability was enhanced by almost eight inches of maximum ground clearance and an advanced all-wheel-drive system that automatically divided torque between the front and rear axles. Escape rose to the top of the compact SUV segment in its first full year of production — selling 164,184 units in the 2001 calendar year, according to www.paddocktalk.com. Ford will unveil the redesigned 2008 Escape at the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show Nov. 29.