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.