IIHS Recognizes Ford Safety Among This Year’s Top Picks

The Ford Motor Company recently received some good news that they’re certain to brag about a lot in the coming months. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), a private group funded by the nation’s insurance companies, has named several Ford models as top safety picks for the year.

Leading the way are the Ford Flex and Fusion, Lincoln MKS, and the Mercury Milan, beating out Honda for the most “Top Safety Picks” amongst 2009 models. In addition, the IIHS has recognized Ford as having more 5-star government crash test ratings than any other automaker.

Class Leading New Vehicle Safety

“Leading the industry in ‘Top Safety Picks’ is great news, because IIHS tests are some of the most demanding conducted outside of our own laboratories, and customers are increasingly relying on them when choosing a new vehicle,” said Susan Cischke, Ford’s group vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety Engineering.

The IIHS doesn’t dispense these awards freely, requiring that vehicles earn the top “good” ratings in the institutes’ high-speed front and side crash tests, and a rear crash test simulation that evaluates seat and head restraints. Since 2007, the IIHS has added a new requirement one that requires vehicles to offer electronic stability control.

“Flex and MKS are built on a platform that has a tremendous safety heritage – one that it shares with the 2009 Ford Taurus, rated America’s safest full-size car,” said Steve Kozak, Ford’s chief engineer for safety systems. “And Fusion and Milan prove that a high level of safety can come in a midsize package.”

Safety Packed Features

In addition to electronic stability control and anti-lock brakes, standard safety features on Flex, MKS, Fusion and Milan include:

Six Standard Air Bags and Ford’s Personal Safety System®: Safety features include six air bags (dual-stage driver and front-passenger air bags, thorax side air bags for front-seat occupants and side-impact air curtains), safety belt pretensioners, seat weight-sensing system for the front passenger seat and crash-severity sensing.

Ford’s BeltMinder®, a safety belt reminder technology for the driver and front passenger that takes over after the initial safety belt reminder stops chiming.
LATCH: The Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren system provides convenient mounting points for compatible child seats.

Tire Pressure Monitoring System: This system warns a driver if one or more tires are underinflated. An active pressure sensor with a radio transmitter is mounted inside each tire. A receiver in the vehicle monitors each transmitter, and if tire pressure is not within specific limits, it will activate a visual warning light.

Other key safety features on select models include:

Adaptive Collapsible Steering Column – In an impact, the column will collapse, dependent on the weight and belted status of the driver.

Safety Canopy® – Ford’s exclusive side impact protection system features side curtain air bags that help protect front and rear outboard passengers in both rollovers and side impact crashes.

“Safety is a top purchase consideration, second only to fuel efficiency, so the top safety ratings and competitive fuel economy of Flex, MKS, Fusion and Milan are a winning combination,” said Michael Crowley, North America car and crossover marketing manager, Ford Motor Company.

Rare Good News For Ford

The IIHS report is good news for Ford in a year when the automaker continues to experience record losses and where domestic auto sales are down by 17% for the year. When the market does recover, Ford will be able to tout the many safety features found across its model line, features which are a proven hit with savvy and safety smart shoppers.

(Source: Ford Motor Company)

Ford Canada Cancels Shift, Lays Off 350 Workers

Announcements of layoffs in the automotive industry hasn’t been uncommon news over the past year what with Chrysler, Ford, and General Motors closing plants and encouraging people to take early retirement. Nobody likes to lose a job, but in the current economic climate it can be particularly hurtful.

A recent decision by Ford Canada strikes at the heart of the matter in a slightly different manner. The company had been expected to begin a third shift at its Oakville, Ontario plant, but has since backed off from that move indefinitely. Though the plant produces the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKZ crossover vehicles and had recently added another crossover vehicle, the all-new Ford Flex, demand for these types of cars hasn’t kept pace.

The result for 350 workers is that they don’t have jobs, at least for now. Worse, some of these same workers left previous jobs to begin work at Ford and now find themselves unemployed.

Ford had expected that its widening fleet of crossovers would fuel demand for these vehicles but $4 per gallon gasoline and an uncertain economic climate have conspired to push down demand. Only the most fuel efficient cars are selling, particularly the Ford Focus which gets 35 mpg on the highway.

“The delay is certainly regrettable,” Ford spokeswoman Lauren More said. “We recognize it affects the lives of hundreds of people. As difficult as the decision is, it’s the only way to do it, to adjust production with demand.”

Ford had expected that as many as 100,000 Flex vehicles would be sold annually, but the early sales trends for this unusual looking vehicle which went on sale in June shows that the demand isn’t there.

On Thursday, Ford announced that several small European models would be produced in the US and Canada for the domestic market as the company attempts to keep pace with rapidly shifting consumer demand for small cars.

(Source: Ford Motor Company and news wires)

Love It, Hate It: Presenting The New Acura TL

Bold new design. Innovative good looks. Eye catching appeal. These are some of the words automakers use to describe a new model, particularly one that has somewhat of a controversial look to it. Ford has done that recently with its Flex wagon, Subaru with the first generation Tribeca, and you can expect more of the same from Acura when the all-new TL goes on sale this Fall.

Late last week, American Honda released the first photograph (pictured above) of the next generation Acura TL and the grill is sure to spark a lot of jabber. Perhaps not as polarizing as the Ford Flex, but you’ll probably either like the new look or wish they stuck with something closer to the 2008′s design.

Acura isn’t saying a whole lot about the new TL just yet, other than to boast about its “dramatic styling” and its luxurious, technology-friendly interior. The TL will feature what Acura says is its most powerful engine ever and be available in two distinctive versions including the first ever application of Super Handling All-Wheel Drive™ (SH-AWD®).

The timing of the TL’s release should help spark sales which is a good thing as Acura’s year-to-date sales of 77,914 (through June 30th) are down 14.3% versus 2007. Most luxury brands are experiencing a drop in business this year as the US works through its current economic doldrums.

Further Reading

All-New 2009 Acura TL to Debut This Fall

2009 Acura TL first official photo, details released