Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Ford's focus on safety and stringent internal performance targets has earned the motor company's products numerous recognitions and accolades.
The most recent ones include five Top Safety Pick awards from the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) of the US for the Ford Edge, Ford Five Hundred, Lincoln MKX, Mercury Montego and Volvo XC90.
The Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego also earned the maximum five-star ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), earning their recognition as safety leaders and to be named the safest full-size sedans in America.
"These recognitions are a result of Ford's ongoing efforts in offering a better and safer driving experience," said Hussein Murad, sales and marketing director of Ford Middle East.
"Ford is leading the industry in standardising new safety technologies for millions of customers, including the industry's first three-point safety belts; multiple-deployment air bags and the most advanced stability control system on the market."
A car crash happens in the blink of an eye - 300 milliseconds, or about a third of a second, from start to finish. And for this reason, a car's safety system becomes prime consideration. Ford is doing more to make its vehicles top performers in safety with the following:
Electronic Stability Control (ESC): Ford Motor Company and its global brands have built four million vehicles globally with electronic stability control systems.
Electronic stability control offers additional confidence to drivers in emergency situations by helping them stay on the road and avoid accidents.
It significantly reduces crash risk by helping drivers maintain control of their vehicles during emergency maneuvers. Ford Motor Company will build all Ford, Lincoln and Mercury retail cars and trucks with standard electronic stability control (ESC) by the end of 2009.
Ford already is a world leader in the technology, with ESC currently standard on all Ford mid and full-size SUVs, and standard ESC expanded to small SUVs and all CUVs this year.
AdvanceTrac(r) with RSC(r) (Roll Stability Control):_The only available electronic stability control system with two gyroscopic effect sensors measure vehicle motion about both the Yaw and Roll axes.
More than one million vehicles feature Ford's industry exclusive AdvanceTrac with RSC (Roll Stability Control). Ford Motor Company today has more than 80 patents worldwide for its innovative RSC system. RSC features roll-rate sensing and stability enhancement capability, offering assistance to the driver in maintaining vehicle control during extreme maneuvers.
The system automatically engages counter measures to help the driver maintain maximum control and reduce the risk of rollover. Ford has licensed and continues to make this groundbreaking technology available to suppliers who are expected to provide it to competitive automakers.
Safety Canopy(tm):_Ford's exclusive collision and rollover activated side curtain air bags feature "roll fold" technology. Ford was the first in the industry to offer rollover deploying side curtain air bags, known as Safety Canopy, beginning with the Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer in 2002.
Today, Safety Canopy with rollover sensors - which helps protect vehicle occupants during side-impact collisions and rollover accidents - is available on nearly all Ford Motor Company SUVs, and on certain vans and cars, including the 2008 Taurus and Mercury Sable, as well as the Taurus X crossover.
By the 2010 model year, all Ford, Lincoln and Mercury retail SUVs, crossovers, vans and trucks are planned to have standard Safety Canopy. Ford Motor now has nearly 1.5 million vehicles on the road with Safety Canopy rollover-activated curtains.
Ford's BeltMinder(tm):_BeltMinder is a safety belt reminder technology first offered in 1999 that takes over after the initial safety belt reminder stops chiming.
If the driver remains unbuckled, the system chimes and flashes a warning lamp for six seconds every 30 seconds for five minutes or until the driver buckles up, whichever comes first. Ford first offered driver-side BeltMinder at no cost to customers in 1999.
Ford has licensed its BeltMinder technology to four other vehicle manufacturers at no cost. Ford's BeltMinder system now has been expanded to cover right front-passengers in all vehicles equipped with Ford's Personal Safety System. Data show that BeltMinder works.
Research conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety showed that safety belt use was 5 percentage points higher in vehicles with BeltMinder. It's a simple reminder that can make a great difference in saving lives.
Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS):_Ford's TPMS system warns a driver if one or more tyres are underinflated.
An active pressure sensor with a radio transmitter is mounted inside each tyre. A receiver in the vehicle monitors each transmitter, and if tyre pressure is not within specific limits, it will activate a visual warning light and message in vehicles equipped with a message centre.
SPACE(tm) Architecture:_Ford's Side Protection and Cabin Enhancement architecture (SPACE) was first introduced on the Ford Taurus and will be standard on the all-new Ford Flex.
It is designed to help channel crash forces using strategically placed steel rails and square tubes under the car body, the vertical door posts ("B-pillars"), in between the front and rear seats, and in the front diagonal posts ("A-pillars").
The rails are designed to bend and the tubes compress in a severe crash. This creates 10 different crush zones in different parts of the car to help channel crash forces away from the occupants inside.
More IIHS Top Safety Picks in 2007 Than Ever Before:_The 2008 Ford Taurus, Mercury Sable, Taurus X, Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX all earned Top Safety Picks from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for achieving the highest available individual ratings in front-, side and rear-impact crash protection. Taurus, Sable and Taurus X also earned the highest possible five-star crash test ratings from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
