Autoblog

NHTSA investigating Ford Freestyle over unintended lunging

Chris Shunk — Mon, 16 May 2011 11:01:00 EST

Filed under: Government/Legal, Safety, Crossover, Ford

Thanks to Toyota's recent throttle and floor mat recalls, the term "unintended acceleration" has forever been etched into our minds. Automotive News reports that an investigation of the Ford Freestyle by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration could introduce us to "unintended lunging."

The NHTSA investigation arrives in the wake of a reported 238 complaints of Freestyle models that can lunge forward at low speeds when the driver isn't using the accelerator pedal. The vehicles in question are 170,000 examples of the 2005 to 2007 Freestyle.

NHTSA claims that 18 crashes have been attributed to the alleged defect, and one minor injury, a bruised knee, has been reported. The government agency says that the "lunge" is up to 10 feet in length either forward or in reverse, though applying the brakes will bring the vehicle to a halt. Ford says it will fully cooperate with NHTSA's investigation.

NHTSA investigating Ford Freestyle over unintended lunging originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 May 2011 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Ford faces $850,000 fine for deaths of two Canadian workers

Zach Bowman — Thu, 27 May 2010 10:30:00 EST

Filed under: Safety, Earnings/Financials, Canada

Ford Motor Company of Canada has pleaded guilty to two counts of failing to take all reasonable precautions to protect the safety of two workers, and the automaker faces a $850,000 fine as a result. According to The Canadian Press, an employee was accidentally crushed to death between two forklifts in 2008 at the company's Oakville, Ontario assembly plant. The worker was standing beside one of the lifts when another worker reversed a separate forklift into the individual.

In a separate incident one year later, a lift truck driver was crushed to death between a loose pallet and the vehicle while driving down a narrow storage aisle at Ford's Bramalea, Ontario parts distribution center.

Ford was charged for the violations under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and is being charged with an additional 25 percent victim surcharge in addition to the $850,000 fine.

[Source: The Canadian Press]
Image by John Neff / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Report: Ford faces $850,000 fine for deaths of two Canadian workers originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 27 May 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford using $10,000 car-sized balloons for crash-testing

Dan Roth — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:01:00 EST

Filed under: Etc., Safety, Technology, Ford, Lincoln

click the image above for a high-resolution gallery of Ford's car balloons

Ford is working hard to continue earning top marks for crash safety. With a platform inherited from Volvo, they might as well keep piling on the goodies, including radar-assisted cruise control that keeps an eye out for impending collisions and charges up the brakes preemptively. How do you develop, test, and tune such a system? "Why, they smashed a lot of cars into each other" you might conclude. That sounds expensive, and if there's one thing all automakers have been trying to do for quite some time now, it's save cash. Instead of running hunks of metal into one another, Ford has been using balloons shaped like cars for target practice.

With a price tag of $10,000, the balloons might seem a waste, but they can be reused multiple times and no cars get damaged in the process. Plus, the air-filled faux-mobiles facilitate a safer experience for test drivers and are guaranteed to provide some comic relief on windy days. Press release after the jump

Gallery: Ford Crashtest Balloons

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Ford using $10,000 car-sized balloons for crash-testing

Ford using $10,000 car-sized balloons for crash-testing originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 10 Feb 2009 15:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford unveils radar-based Collision Warning with Brake Support system

John Neff — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:29:00 EST

Filed under: Safety, Technology, Ford

Click above for high-res gallery detailing Ford's new radar-based safety tech

Just a day after unveiling its innovative and controversial MyKey system, Ford has come back with another piece of new technology, this time safety related, that will start appearing on some 2009 models. It's called Collision Warning with Brake Support, and it uses the radar system that makes Adaptive Cruise Control possible to detect what's in front of the car. If the system senses contact with something might happen, most likely another car, it will at first sound an audible alarm and activate a warning light. At the same time it will "precharge" the brakes and activate a brake-assist function in case the driver needs to slam on the brakes. While Ford doesn't give the details about what's exactly happening, it sounds as if this radar system will monitor the distance between your Ford and what's in front of you, and if a collision is deemed imminent will effectively get the brakes ready for a panic stop. We're told the technology will begin on appearing on select Ford and Lincoln models for 2009, along with other radar-based technologies like the aforementioned Adaptive Cruise Control that debuted on the 2009 Lincoln MKS and BLIS, a blind spot warning system. Check out video of the Collision Warning with Brake Support after the jump along with Ford's official press release.

Gallery: Ford Radar-Based Active Safety Technology

[Source: Ford]

Continue reading Ford unveils radar-based Collision Warning with Brake Support system

Ford unveils radar-based Collision Warning with Brake Support system originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford to offer new blind spot and hazard detection in 2009

Dan Roth — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:56:00 EST

Filed under: Safety, Technology, Ford, First Drives

We've all done it; you're halfway through a lane change and suddenly a horn sounds and snaps you to reality. Whether you failed to check your blind spot adequately, or just plain oblivious, Ford's introducing a two features to help you out. The Blind Spot Mirror and Cross Traffic Alert with Blind Spot Monitoring System will arrive in 2009, and one offers a low-tech solution, while the other appears to be a Volvo feature trickling down.

Elegantly simple, the Blind Spot Mirror cleverly integrates a convex mirror into the regular mirror glass, much like the generations-old side-reducing mirrors available in other markets with a concave area to aid in viewing blind spots. The Cross-Traffic alert system uses radar to monitor traffic perpendicular to the back end when reversing. During forward travel, the radar system is used to detect and warn of vehicles traveling in your blind spot. The radar tricks sound to us like Ford leveraging Volvo's BLIS system, that monitors blind spots and lights a pilot LED when there's a vehicle there, and we worry that it will make drivers even less attentive, but then, we realize nobody is paying attention now, so if this rig raises awareness, road safety should improve. Ford's planning on bundling these new safety features along with reverse sensing and rearview cameras to create a more comprehensive portfolio of electronic safety aids in response to customers indicating a desire for better mirrors and safety systems. Press release after the jump

[Source:Ford]

Continue reading Ford to offer new blind spot and hazard detection in 2009

Ford to offer new blind spot and hazard detection in 2009 originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 09 Apr 2008 18:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford proposes intelligent active safety system

Chris Tutor — Tue, 25 Sep 2007 10:36:00 EST

Filed under: Safety, Technology, Ford

After driving the same route to and from work every day shouldn't your car know every bump in the road? Every curve? Every blind intersection and speed trap? Ford agrees, and is working with several partners to develop an automotive system that uses navigation and GPS systems to learn the dangers of oft-driven roads.

Ford of Europe recently presented its ideas to the PReVENT group. Ford envisions a car that learns where danger lurks and helps the driver avoid it. Once the car knows where you swerve or slow down, it would anticipate those moves and, if you didn't act quickly enough, would take action without your input. Or if there is a particularly bad curve in your route, refocus the headlights seconds before you reach it to make the turn safer.

Ford admits in its press release (in full after the jump) the technology has a long way to go before showing up on a Monroney, but it has already begun trying to anticipate legal hurdles like how quickly and to what extent the system would step in.

The PReVENT project is part of the European Union's Intelligent Car Initiative that's working toward safer, less-polluting cars and its partners include DaimlerChrysler, Audi, BMW, Renault, Volvo, Volkswagen and numerous suppliers and technology companies.

Continue reading Ford proposes intelligent active safety system

Ford proposes intelligent active safety system originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 25 Sep 2007 10:36:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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