DETROIT — Ford will provide up to 1,000 cars to car-sharing network Zipcar at more than 250 colleges throughout the U.S. to reach younger consumers accustomed to driving Toyota Priuses, Nissan Versas and Mini Coopers when they use the rent-when-you-need service.

The partnership will last two years and gives Ford a marketing tool it has lacked as the car-sharing service has grown in college towns and larger cities, especially on the east and west coasts.

“Today’s students are thinking differently about driving and transportation than they have in the past,” said Bill Ford, the automaker’s executive chairman. “This program enables today’s new drivers to experience our latest fuel-efficient vehicles, while helping them reduce their cost of living and help relieve congestion on campus. We’re looking forward to making Ford a staple of their college experience.”

Ford and Zipcar will offer $10 off the $35 annual membership fee for the first 100,000 new university students members who sign up for Zipcar, plus $1 off the hourly rate for the first 1 million hours of use on any of the new Ford vehicles at select colleges and universities.

Scott Griffith, chairman and CEO of Zipcar, says the alliance will help Ford and Zipcar better understand the preferences of the college-age drivers.

“We’ve had Zipcars on campuses for more than eight years and as a result we’ve learned a lot from the next generation of drivers. We’re targeting a generation that only knows how to buy music by the song, so paying for a car by the hour is a natural for them,” said Griffith.

Zipcar has established partnerships with more than 250 universities throughout North America, including Harvard University, Yale University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Stanford University, the University of Southern California, the University of California-Berkeley, Loyola Marymount University, Florida State University and George Washington University.