Ford tops safe car list

KEN THOMAS
The Associated Press
November 25, 2008 at 6:55 AM EST

WASHINGTON — The insurance industry named dozens of new cars and trucks, led by Ford Motor Co. and its Volvo subsidiary, to its annual list of the safest vehicles Tuesday, helped by the increased use of anti-rollover technology.
Ford and Volvo had 16 vehicles in the 2009 model year on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's list of the safest new cars, followed by Honda Motor Co. with 13 vehicles.
Seventy-two cars, trucks and SUVs received the top safety pick designation for 2009, more than double the number of vehicles in the 2008 model year and three times the number in 2007.
“The sheer number of this year's winners indicates that automakers have made huge strides to improve crash protection,” said Institute president Adrian Lund.

The selected vehicles are the best in protecting people in front, side and rear crash tests based on institute evaluations during the year. The vehicles are required to have electronic stability control, or ESC, to qualify for the award.
IIHS said electronic stability control is now standard equipment on virtually all new SUVs and three-quarters of passenger cars for the 2009 model year. ESC is standard on more than one-third of 2009 pickups.
Ford was led by the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan midsize cars with optional ESC; the Ford F-150 pickup, Ford Edge and Ford Flex midsize sport utility vehicles; and the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner small SUVs. The list also included the Mazda Tribute, which has the same underpinnings as the Escape and Mariner.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally argued last week in Washington that the automaker had made safety strides when he testified along with other Big Three executives seeking massive government aid.
“Every year, we're going to improve the quality, we're going to improve the fuel efficiency, we're going to improve the safety, and we're going to keep improving the productivity so we can offer the consumer the very best value,” Mr. Mulally told a House committee.
Honda and its Acura unit had vehicles in nearly every category, including top-sellers such as the Honda Accord; the Honda Civic 4-door with optional ESC; and the Acura MDX and RDX midsize SUVs; and the Honda Fit with optional ESC. The Fit is the first mini-car to earn the safety award.
Volkswagen AG and its Audi brand had nine vehicles on the list, including the Volkswagen Jetta and Passat and the Audi A3, A4 and A6.
General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. both had eight vehicles on the list. GM's included the Cadillac CTS and the Buick Enclave, Chevrolet Traverse, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook large SUVs.
Toyota's top performers were the Toyota Corolla with optional ESC, Toyota RAV4, Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Tundra and Scion xB.
Using the awards, consumers can compare vehicles without having to review results from multiple tests. Automakers pay close attention to the institute's findings and frequently note positive ratings in television commercials.
The institute has advocated for an early adoption of anti-rollover technology such as ESC ahead of a government requirement for the systems by the 2012 model year.
Electronic stability control senses when a driver may lose control and automatically applies brakes to individual wheels to keep the vehicle stable and avoid a rollover. It helps motorists avoid skidding across icy or slick roads or keep control when swerving to avoid an unexpected object in the road.
IIHS said Chrysler LLC was the only major automaker that did not receive a single award. They said Chrysler could have picked up five awards if the head restraints had been improved in the Dodge Avenger and Chrysler Sebring, the Sebring convertible and the Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town and Country.
Chrysler spokesman Cole Quinnell said he could not comment on whether the head restraints might be upgraded in the future. He said Chrysler vehicles are equipped with a variety of safety features and the institute's results “are just one of the sources of information about a vehicle's crash performance.”

Preview: Ford Transit Connect coming to America...with top rating

November 10, 2:28 PM
by John Matras, Auto Review Examiner

Cue Neil Diamond for a chorus or two of “Coming to America.” Mid to late-summer 2009, a new Ford --at least new to us--will be imported. Not that imports are anything new, even for Ford, which has been bringing cars to the U.S. from overseas since the 1950s.

But this one’s really new. It’s the Ford Transit Connect.

It’s new because it’s the first time for Ford to bring a small tradesman-type truck/van to the States. But more surprisingly, the Ford Transit Connect is made in Turkey. As in the country in the Middle East. Ford has a plant in Ankara where the Transit has been made since 2002 for export mainly to Europe.

Built for European use, it’s built to European dimension. The Transit Direct’s wheelbase is 114.6 inches, much shorter than Ford’s conventional American E-Series van which measures a whopping 138 inches. And instead of that vehicle’s big V-8, the Transit Connect is powered by a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that makes 136 horsepower and 136 lb-ft of torque and is rated at 19 city/24 highway mpg. Don’t ask what the E-Series gets. It’s too heavy for EPA mileage rating.

The Transit Connect won’t be in direct competition with the E-Series van or the E-Series’ equivalents from Chevrolet and GMC. Rather it will match up against the Chevy HHR or Honda Element. Advantage: Transit Connect with its 143 cu ft of cargo volume and maximum payload of 1,600 pounds. The Chevy has about 62 cu ft and the Honda 74.6 cu ft of cargo volume, and neither—as technically automobiles—has a payload listed. Neither has the height inside that a Transit has either.

The Ford Transit Connect, not to sound too much like a cheerleader, sounds like the right product at the right time. And if the origin seems a little odd, consider that the British trade magazine Fleet News has called the Transit Direct the “second most reliable model” for 2007 and 2008. That’s not faint praise considering that number one was also a Ford, the larger Ford Transit van.

It can’t happen fast enough for Ford, of course, even it means that some of its income is made overseas. After all, as Ford products, the profits are coming to America too. Sing it, Niel.

2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Put To The Test

Ed Hellwig, Senior Editor of Edmunds' Inside Line had the opportunity to test drive the 2010 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor pickup truck out in the Nevada desert prior to SEMA. The video below showcases an interior view of the truck in action, as well as its handling, ride quality, and ability to suck up the bumps at over 90 miles per hour.