What’s the deal with earning a “key to the city?” What gargantuan lock does it unfasten anyway? As civic rituals go it’s kind of an absurd photo op. Everyone gathers on the steps of City Hall and the mayor hands a humongous old-fashioned key to some grinning citizen. How about giving them a “get out of jail for free” card instead? It promises more action.

One wonders what comedian Mark Malkoff will have to do on his current quest to see how many mayors east of the Mississippi he can convince to give him keys to their cities. The jokester – who has made news before for doing unusual things like living and sleeping in an IKEA store for a week while his apartment was being fumigated – is undertaking this 28-day odyssey in a fuel-efficient fashion, behind the wheel of the 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid.

Maybe you remember the Fusion Hybrid – America’s most fuel-efficient midsize sedan – making news in April when it set a world record traveling 1,445 miles on a single tank of gas. The Fusion boasts an EPA-estimated 41 mpg in the city.

Malkoff says he's thrilled to be partnered with the new Ford Fusion Hybrid, adding “I always tell people I feel like I'm driving KITT from 'Knight Rider' because of all the cool technology in the car. It's the best car I've ever driven."

All of Malkoff's adventures behind the wheel of the Fusion Hybrid will be chronicled in cyberspace. Videos, photos and blogs will be featured daily at www.markmalkoff.com/keystothecity, and Malkoff will provide interested followers with regular updates on social networking sites such as Twitter, Flickr and Facebook.

Malkoff and the Ford Fusion Hybrid began their quest into the unknown Monday in Harrisburg, Pa., where the mayor had a somewhat peculiar task in store for him to complete in order to earn a key to the city. Apparently, all of the police officers ride on horses, so the mayor wanted Malkoff to follow them around and clean up after the horses in order to get the key.

Malkoff, who readily admits he will do just about anything to get a key, says he hopes to earn 100 keys before his journey with the Ford Fusion Hybrid ends on Nov. 1.

Quotes
"Once people start finding out about this, mayors from all over the country are going to be Twittering me to come to their cities," he said. "I like doing things that on paper look almost impossible to pull off."
– Mark Malkoff, comedian

"Mark will be connected and working constantly with both hands securely on the wheel, thanks to the Fusion Hybrid's voice-activated Ford SYNC® communication system," said Eggen. "It also will be great to see Mark's reaction to his own real-world fuel economy."
– Jeff Eggen, Ford car experiential marketing manager