Official press release:

A 1,200-pound electric concept car called the Mercury Antser --which depicts what cars might be like in the late 1980s and beyond --will be on display in the Lincoln-Mercury Division exhibit at the Detroit Auto Show,January 12-20 at Detroit's Cobo Hall.

The revolutionary Antser, about the size of a Mercury Bobcat, has two regular seats and two jump seats. It features a bold, aerodynamic design and lightweight construction, highlighted by an injection-molded plastic body with energy-absorbing foam bumpers... all helping to achieve extraordinary fuel economy.

But the car's proposed unique hybrid electric power system is its major form of fuel-efficient technology. Two power cells would provide DC power to drive all four wheels, and a compact power generator continuously would recharge the energy cells. The computer-operated dual power system would be virtually pollution-free and permit an extended cruising range.

The Mercury Antser has electronically assisted sliding doors, and seats that are scientifically contoured with inflatable cushions so that air pressure can be controlled individually -- by console buttons --to suit passenger needs.

The Antser's highly sophisticated electronic instrument panel provides a wide array of computer-controlled readouts. For example, the speedometer has a lineal display of vehicle speed. As a safety measure, it also continuously displays the computer-calculated average distance required to stop the car under current operating conditions.

The same on-board computer makes it possible to control electronically everything from passenger-compartment climate to radio-station selection.

It also enables the driver to pick the most direct route over the highways to the ultimate destination. A comprehensive electronic map display -- which can be programmed into the computer with a cassette -provides the basis for extremely precise computer-based trip monitoring.

And it can be programmed to give detours and alternate routes around accidents and other traffic problems.

The Antser is 155 inches long, 65 inches wide, and 48% inches high. Wheelbase is 86 inches.