Ford Motor offered a glimpse into one of its testing labs on Tuesday. The showcase was assumably to promote the new safety features in its upcoming lineup of cars, and as you can imagine, the peek into this world of crash test dummies is rather amusing.
One of the technologies Ford talked about testing was a new air bag system, which was put in the 2009 F-150 and will be in the 2010 Ford Taurus. Instead of being acceleration-based, the new sensors are pressure-based, which makes them more accurate, according to Ford, but also more sensitive.
The company wanted to make sure the highly sensitive system in its cars was not set off by minor everyday annoyances. Obviously, there's no need for an air bag to deploy when things like shopping carts, baseballs, and bicycles hit the side of a car. To that end, Ford's safety group engineers incorporated real-world scenarios combined with robots and other sophisticated lab equipment that go beyond the usual car collision tests.
One of its tests involves a robot plowing a shopping cart filled with 110 pounds of weight (roughly one kid and a full cart of groceries) into the side of a Taurus at 10 miles per hour.
Another test has Ford engineers driving the cars at high speeds on a test track of curbs, potholes, and ditches to re-create the real-life carelessness most drivers engage in at some point, but likely never admit to.
Is this method really necessary, or just something Ford engineers came up with to break up the monotony of sifting through safety testing data?
"Blasting and ramming cars may seem over-the-top, but they're part of a serious testing regimen that Ford had to invent, because increasingly sophisticated technologies require more advanced testing," Sue Cischke, vice president of Ford's Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering Group, said in a statement.
Ford's new air bags are sensor-based so they can deploy before the full impact of a crash occurs, but not so sensitive they go off from an errant baseball or shopping cart. (Click above to see more photos.)
(Credit: Ford Motor)
Ford's Michigan Assembly Plant in city of Wayne.
(Credit: Ford Motor)Ford Motor plans to spend $550 million to retool its Michigan Assembly Plant so it will be capable of producing its new line of Ford Focus cars, the company announced Wednesday.
More than $160 million of the money Ford plans to invest in the Wayne, Mich.-based plant will come from tax credits and grants from the state of Michigan, Wayne County, and the city of Wayne.
The rebuilt plant, which Ford expects to support more than 3,000 jobs, will produce the new Ford Focus, and, eventually, the battery-electric version of Focus that the company plans to begin producing in 2011 for a 2012 release.
About 155 jobs will be salaried positions, and 3,180 jobs will be hourly worker positions at the Wayne location, according to Ford.
"This is about investing in modern, efficient and flexible American manufacturing. It is about fuel economy and the electrification of vehicles," Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement.
The Michigan Assembly Plant (formerly known as the Michigan Truck Plant) originally opened in 1957 and has produced the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, as well as the Ford Bronco and Ford F-Series, according to Ford.
The Michigan change is part of Ford's plan to convert three of its North American plants so that it can introduce six small cars to the American market by the end of 2012. The other two plants undergoing renovation are the Cuautitlan Assembly Plant in Mexico, which will begin producing the Ford Fiesta in 2010, and the Louisville, Ky., plant, which will begin producing cars build with the Ford Focus platform starting in 2011.
(Credit:
Ford Motor)
A new feature from Ford Motor will allow drivers to let their car do the steering when faced with a parallel parking space, the company announced Tuesday.
This latest car gadget, which Ford calls Active Park Assist, works slightly differently than the park assist feature on Toyota's self-parking Lexus.
On the self-parking Lexus, the driver can use an interface to adjust the space the car aims for, and only maintains control over the brake while it's maneuvering.
In Ford's version the driver pulls up alongside a space and pushes a button. The car then applies ultrasonic-based sensors at the four corners of the car to detect its position and that of other street obstacles near the space. It then calculates the optimal steering angles for maneuvering into the space and prompts the driver to give the OK. After the driver pushes the OK button, the EPAS (Electronic Power Assisted Steering) then uses those calculations to automatically steer the car into the spot while the driver maintains control over the shifting, gas, and brake.
The feature will be available as an option on the Lincoln MKS sedan and MKT crossover models starting in mid-2009, according to Ford.
I'm curious to know exactly how tight of a space it's willing to maneuver a roomy Lincoln into.
We'll probably know soon at CNET, as I'm sure the gals and guys in our car review department are already making plans to test out a Lincoln with this latest piece of tech magic.
(Anyone else think it would be funny if Linkin Park sings in the commercial for this Lincoln "Park Assist"?)
Ford's MyKey will come standard in the 2010 Focus coupe. Other models will follow.
(Credit: Ford Motor)Ford Motor has found a new way for parents to keep teen drivers in check when they lend them the car, the company said Monday.
MyKey, a car key with a chip, can be programmed to curtail the top speed of its user to 80 mph.
The MyKey will come standard with the 2010 Focus coupe and eventually will be available on other Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury models, according to Ford.
In addition to implementing a speed limit, the key can be used to limit the volume of the car stereo system and emit a chime for six seconds every five minutes until the driver puts on a seatbelt.
MyKey can also be programmed to chime once each time the car reaches 45 mph, 55 mph, and 65 mph to alert young drivers about their acceleration.
Another feature, useful to anyone who fails to notice when the fuel light goes on, chimes when the car is 75 miles from empty. (The light on a Ford usually goes on at 50 miles to empty.)
The new gadget is part of Ford's Driving Skills for Life program, which is dedicated to educating drivers not only about safety but also on techniques for reducing fuel consumption.
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