Ford-Volvo safety link - stronger in ads than in practice

Ford's ads like to promote the company's strong relationship with safety leader (and Ford subsidiary) Volvo, as in this PR piece for the Ford Freestyle: "And Freestyle is packed with industry-leading safety technology pioneered by Ford and Volvo, including an exclusive three-row Safety Canopy™ side curtain air-bag system."

Well, Ford's safety links with Volvo are proving to be a double-edged sword in U.S. courtrooms. Lawyers suing Ford because of deaths and injuries in crashes are asking why Ford isn't using Volvo's safety-oriented designs and crash tests across the board in Ford's vehicles.

Ford representatives seem to be trying to explain away the real-world differences by suggesting that Volvo is a higher-priced brand, appealing to people willing to pay more for extra safety features.

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