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SPECIAL

Ford Territory

SPECIAL

Ford Territory

Premium Safety at No Premium

Staff, Friday May 25, 2001.

Page 1 of 1

Where once the customer might have been primarily focused on appearance features and 'extras' such as high spec audio gear, Mr Priddle believes today's large car customer is more heavily focused on safety for the entire family.

"The customers we meet today are not only concerned about occupant safety; they rightly demand it," he says. "And the Ford safety philosophy is very much about integrating safety into the design of our cars so that all customers benefit."

Falcon is the only locally-produced family car to provide Passenger Airbag, Energy Management Seat Belts and a Laminated Impact Protection Panel as standard equipment.

Falcon was the first local car to provide a driver airbag as standard equipment, and the AU2, launched last year, is the only locally manufactured family sedan to offer a driver and passenger airbag as standard equipment across the entire passenger car range.

Apart from the direct benefits of having both passenger and driver airbags, the combination allows the use of Energy Management Retractor front seat belt technology to limit the force applied to the wearer's chest in a severe crash. Today's Falcon also comes with a Laminated Impact Protection Panel in the driver's floor area for lower leg protection in offset front crashes, where most debilitating leg injuries occur.

In addition to these unique features, the AU2 Falcon passenger range also incorporates pyrotechnic seat belt buckle pre-tensioners, and upgraded front and side body structure for maximum occupant protection.

While many of these features are 'invisible' to the casual observer, Mr Priddle believes that safety performance is becoming a key factor in the choice of a car for the modern family.

"We're dealing with a very well-informed customer base these days and they know what they want. More than ever before, that's a real focus on safety for their family," he says.

AU2 Safety Feature Summary

The Falcon safety philosophy is very much about integrating safety into design.

One of the advantages of being part of the Ford global network is access to the tremendous computer modelling and analysis resources of the parent company. This simply means a safer car for our customers.

This capability, combined with Ford Australia's extensive expertise has enabled us to engineer some important improvements in key areas of occupant protection

The AU2 Falcon delivers class-leading occupant protection features as standard across its entire passenger vehicle range.

• Passenger and driver airbags are standard across the passenger car range
  
• Seat belt Energy Management Retractors (EMRs) keep occupant chest loads to a minimum by cleverly regulating the forces applied by the webbing in a frontal crash
  
• Laminated Impact Protection Panel (LIPP) in the driver's floor maximises lower leg protection
  
• Front structure incorporates a sub-frame breakaway joint and refined side-rail collapse features for increased protection in an offset frontal impact
  
• Upgraded side structure with tuned energy management feature delivers optimum side impact protection
  
• Energy absorbing foam inside both front doors enhances side impact protection
  
• Pyrotechnic seat belt buckle pretensioners, triggered by the airbag crash sensor, help the seat belts to deliver maximum benefit
  
• Ford "Caring 4 Kidz" child restraints ensure a family's most precious cargo is afforded the best possible protection

Offset Frontal Impact
Offset crashes, where only part of the front of the car collides with another car or object (e.g. in a head-on collision), usually on the driver's side, can be among the most debilitating types of crash due to the risk of severe leg injury.

The AU2 front structure now incorporates a sub-frame breakaway feature and a new side rail with refined collapse mode. These features all work to provide controlled crush management, optimising protection of the cabin's safety cell. (see figure 1)

In addition to this, the AU2 incorporates a Laminated Impact Protection Panel (LIPP) in the driver's footwell, under the carpet. The LIPP is almost 30mm thick and consists of two layers of steel covered and filled with energy-absorbing foam. (see figure 1 & 2)

The LIPP carries the driver's heels rearward with any intruding floor panels and, as a result, helps to avoid over-rotation of the ankle joint and entrapment of the feet. In addition, the steel acts like armour and the foam reduces heel shock. Crash tests indicate that it's very effective in reducing an injury measure called "tibia index". The end result is better lower leg protection for Falcon drivers.

Restraint System
Falcon was the first local car to provide a driver airbag as standard equipment and the AU2 is the only locally manufactured family sedan to offer a driver and passenger airbag as standard across the passenger car range.

The airbags work in concert with Falcon's state of the art seat belt system. This system incorporates pyrotechnic buckle pre-tensioners in the front bucket seats. The pre-tensioners are fired with the airbags in a severe crash, pulling the front seat belts tighter for improved protection.

Energy Management Seat Belt Retractors
All Falcons with dual front airbags are fitted with Energy Management Retractors (EMRs) in the front bucket seats.

In the event of a crash, the EMR seat belts limit the force on the occupant's chest to a pre-determined level. Powerful computer-aided engineering has allowed the EMRs to be developed to work in concert with the front body structure, pyrotechnic pre-tensioners and airbags, to improve protection for the upper body.

The EMR seat belts are world-class technology, fitted as standard to all Falcon passenger cars.

Side Impact
Using sophisticated computer analysis techniques, Ford Australia safety experts have delivered enhanced protection for side impact.

The AU2 body features upgraded B-pillar and roof-rail reinforcements, in addition to clever energy management features:

• The bending strength of the B-pillar has been increased by around 370%
  
• The base of the B-pillar reinforcement includes a tuned energy management feature which allows controlled deformation to distribute the crash forces into the floor instead of the occupant
  
• To complement this, energy absorbing foam is packaged inside the front door to minimise impact to the occupant. (See figure 3)

There are two additional reinforcements and the existing reinforcement has been thickened and upgraded to a higher strength steel (see figure 4)

These actions now provide a solid foundation for protection in a side impact.

Ford "Caring 4 Kidz" Child Restraint Range
Ford has teamed up with Safe-n-Sound to provide the "Caring 4 Kidz" range of child restraints. The child restraints all comply with the latest Australian Standards and have been specially chosen to provide optimum protection in Ford products. They are available through the Ford dealer network.

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

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