(Photo credit: Ford Motor Company)
A completely redesigned 2013 Ford Fusion has been picking up all
sorts of kudos among the automotive press since it arrived on the scene
in the last few months. New from the ground up, the Fusion is considered
Ford’s most significant midsize car since the Taurus in the early ’90s.
This makes its recent achievement as a Top Safety Pick by the
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) even more significant.
Ford has suffered in quality ratings due to its high-tech MyFordTouch
infotainment system, which uses voice and touch commands to interact
with many different Internet-based apps, but the distraction its systems
may cause was not a part of the IIHS testing.
IIHS crash testing mainly rates vehicles good, acceptable, marginal,
or poor based on performance in high-speed front and side crash tests.
It also conducts a rollover test, plus evaluations of seat/head
restraints for protection against neck injuries in rear impacts, which
is a common accident.
Belt and Bag Technology
Ford points to its many new safety technologies as the reason for the
win. Its new safety belt and frontal impact airbags have futuristic
computerized brains to know how to assess a crash situation and act
accordingly. From a central “chip,” something called the restraint
control module (RCM) can translate information from the front crash
sensors, front safety belt buckle switches, driver-seat track position,
and passenger seat weight sensor. With all this information, the RCM
activates the safety belt pretensioners and determines how the
dual-stage front airbags will deploy. All this technology results in
adapting the airbag release to the size of the person.
Airbags have become increasingly complicated in the competitive
landscape of safety technology. The strategy Ford is employing seems to
create the right airbag to go off for the right-sized person. If the
occupant is large, the side airbag lines up with the shoulder, keeping
the side airbag solidly inflated. On smaller passengers, the side airbag
vents, keeping the firm part of the bag at shoulder height for smaller
people.
Filling in Blind Spots
Other safety features on the all-new Fusion include blind spot
information system with a cross-traffic alert for making maneuvering in
parking lots and traveling open roadways safer. The Fusion has something
called BLIS (Blind Spot Information System) to sound an alert when the
car is detected entering a blind spot. Cross-traffic alert warns if
traffic is detected approaching from the sides, such as when you are
leaving a parking space in reverse.
Competition is Steep
Ford needed to score this safety test to continue playing in the big
game of finding enthusiastic buyers for its mid-size, moderately-priced
cars. Most of the biggest contenders in this market have won the same
honor. Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Chevrolet Malibu, Hyundai Sonata, Kia
Optima and Volkswagen Passat have each won the honor for their latest
model year, making crash test scores simply a cost of entry for the
segment.
Also, coming in at pricing that undercuts some of the most popular
sedans is a smart strategy for Ford. A base Fusion with an Appearance
Package lists for $25,745 — which is thousands less than a comparable VW
Passat.
No doubt Ford is glad to accomplish this safety testing for the
Fusion. Still to come are the government tests conducted by the NHTSA,
which determine other types of safety. A car that achieves high scores
on both these tests is usually in pretty good shape from a safety
aspect.
Steve Kenner, Ford’s global safety chief, said that Ford’s safety technology efforts have paid off so far.
“The new Fusion is another example of Ford’s commitment to the
highest standards of safety and we are proud that IIHS has recognized
these efforts,” Kenner said.
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