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SPECIAL

Ford Territory

SPECIAL

Ford Territory

BA Falcon Wins Gold Award for Safety Engineering

Staff, Tuesday August 19, 2003.

Page 1 of 1

Unanimously selected by the judges, the Gold Award recognises the BA Falcon as the first locally engineered and produced vehicle to provide sophisticated safety technologies that take into account crash severity and occupant characteristics to deliver tailored levels of occupant protection.

"Our entire philosophy when developing the BA Falcon was to put the customer first and foremost," said Ford Australia Vice President of Product Development, Trevor Worthington.

"That philosophy was behind every aspect of the vehicle's development ? from exterior design through to engine performance and interior comfort.

"But where it was most evident was in the safety systems developed for the vehicle. Ford Australia is committed to building exciting products with advanced safety technologies that are relevant to real-world driving conditions.

"The Intelligent Safety Systems in the BA Falcon include two stage driver and passenger airbags that tailor the level of protection to suit the severity of the crash, the driver seating position and the use of seatbelts," said Mr Worthington.

The ability of the Falcon's ISS to adjust airbag inflation pressure means that the risk of airbag-induced minor injuries is minimised. Most accidents require only the first stage to be inflated but, even when both stages are required, the staggered inflation of the two stages means the airbag pressure rise rate is gentler.

"Using this technology, the interactions between the driver, the vehicle and the road environment are managed to achieve new levels of road trauma reduction that cannot be achieved by traditional component-based approaches."

Unique features of the BA Falcon's ISS include:

• passenger and driver airbags to control airbag inflation pressure according to the circumstances of a crash
• An additional "crash severity" sensor to enable the earlier detection of a wider array of crash events
• Driver's seat position sensor to enable airbag inflation to be adjusted according to the proximity of the driver to the airbag
• Seat belt buckle latch detection to determine if the seat belt is worn at the time of the crash.

The ISS seat belt buckle sensing feature is further enhanced by the Beltminder intelligent seat belt reminder system, which provides an effective system of warnings if the driver's seat belt is unbuckled when the car is moving.

"The Beltminder system has also been acclaimed by road transport agencies," says Mr Worthington.

"Unbuckled occupants represent a high proportion of road fatalities and this system provides ample warning that a seat belt is not buckled in as soon as the vehicle starts to move at even the slowest speed."

The ISS and Beltminder systems are complemented by an array of additional occupant protection features in the BA Falcon. These include:

• Head and chest protecting side airbag with an innovative deployment chute available across the entire passenger car range
• Extensive structural upgrades to optimise crash energy management and enhance the integrity of the passenger safety cell in all crash modes
• An anti-intrusion brake pedal that improves lower leg protection by decoupling the pedal in severe frontal impacts
• Shock-absorbing EVA foam integrated into the steering column shroud for increased knee protection
• Seat belt Energy Management Retractors that keep occupant chest loads to a minimum by cleverly regulating the forces applied by the webbing in a frontal crash
• Laminated impact protection panel in the driver's door which increases lower leg protection
• Refined side structure with tuned energy management feature, which delivers greater side impact protection
• Fuel tank packaged forward of the sedan rear axle to help ensure fuel system integrity in a rear impact
• Fuel pump inertia shut-off switch that functions in all impact directions

"This extensive range of safety features delivers a world-class safety package for BA Falcon customers," said Mr Worthington.

"Recognition such as the Gold Award from the Society of Automotive Engineers for our engineering excellence in developing these safety systems reaffirms our philosophy of engineering great cars with the customer first and foremost.

"We have concentrated on building a team of engineering experts and providing them with the most advanced technologies with which to deliver innovative products for our customers. This award is a direct result of the customer benefits that have been derived from this dedication.

"It also recognises the hard work and effort put into the project by our suppliers, particularly Autoliv and Air International."

For further information, please contact:
Ford Australia Communications
Phone: 03-9359 8491

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