One more thing Ford is doing to ensure your safety….

Ford Upgrades Virtual Reality Simulator to Help Develop Future Safety Technologies, Driver Aids

 

DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 17, 2012 – Upgrades to Ford’s full-motion virtual test track will help the automaker continue to develop and test active safety and driver aid technologies that warn drivers of imminent collision, drowsiness and other potentially dangerous scenarios behind the wheel.

The VIRtual Test Track EXperiment (VIRTTEX) simulator, which features a spherical dome on top of a hydraulic system to mimic vehicle movement, now has upgraded image rendering technologies to provide a high-resolution, digitally projected 360-degree horizontal field-of-view to test and measure driver acceleration, braking and steering performance as well as overall driver reactions in varying conditions.

“VIRTTEX plays an integral role in helping us develop future safety and driver assist technology, making it essential to keep the simulator current with the latest technology,”,” said Mike Blommer, technical lead for the lab. “Coupled with improvements in the resolution and brightness of the projection technologies, as well as improved imagery capabilities, we will be able to boost our capabilities to conduct active safety studies.”

The 360-view helps the engineers evaluate driving performance with a complete view of every angle around the driver. Improved imagery creates the most realistic scenarios including other traffic, pedestrians and landmarks alongside the roadway.

Technical advances tested in part in VIRTTEX have included Lane Keeping System and collision warning, which is set to appear in the all-new Ford Fusion available to customers later this year.

Ford used VIRTTEX to examine driver responses and reaction times with advanced early-warning systems such as forward collision warning, a radar-based system designed to help avoid or mitigate the effect of rear-end collisions. The study concluded that certain warning systems may elicit a faster and more appropriate response for distracted drivers.

Ford continues to research numerous types of warnings – including audible, visual and tactile or vibrating warnings – and whether they are most effective alone or in combinations.

This work has already helped determine how soon incident warnings should be used, how intense they need to be, and specific patterns of the warnings in technologies such as the Lane Keeping System. Research to date has shown drivers respond more quickly to certain audible alerts that are more intense, thus more authoritative. Early research also shows some benefit from a combination of warnings – audio alerts backed up by visual warning reinforcement.

VIRTTEX studies are longer-timeframe studies, Blommer noted. The lab focuses on collecting quantitative and objective data, to determine what works best to keep drivers alert and safe behind the wheel. For example, studies show that for similarly performing warnings, drivers prefer subtle warnings such as steering wheel vibrations rather than loud chimes to alert them to a lane departure. The studies focus on how drivers react in certain scenarios and how technologies can help deter potential accidents.

The upgraded projectors are made by Ohio-based Barco and the imagery software is provided by Blue Newt Software of Michigan.

In 2003, Ford conducted one of its first driver distraction studies in VIRTTEX that measured a driver’s failure to detect safety-relevant events while doing visual or manual tasks such as retrieving voicemail on a handheld cell phone. The study revealed much higher levels of distraction – glances off the road – among drivers doing such manual and/or visual tasks rather than if they were using some type of hands-free, voice interface.

The VIRTTEX simulator features a spherical dome mounted on a hydraulic system to duplicate vehicle movement. Projectors display a 360-degree horizontal and 45-degree vertical field of vision mounted to the base. The projectors surround the driver to replicate driving scenery, conditions and traffic scenarios synched with the test vehicle’s acceleration, braking and steering functions.

Via Media.Ford.com

2015 Ford Focus RS….Pure Ford Innovation

Engines keep getting smaller, but that doesn’t mean they’re getting weaker. Case in point: Ford, which is developing a new 2.3-liter four with turbocharging and direct injection. It’s rumored to go into the Mustang in a couple of years, but sources from across the pond (read: Hot Hatch country) expect it to power the next Focus RS.

The engine would crank out at least 320 horsepower, and replace the 2.5-liter inline-five that Ford borrowed from Volvo (from which it has since divested) for the previous Focus RS. If you’re worried that a turbo four would lack the roar of the previous five, Ford is reportedly preparing to equip the new Focus RS with active noise cancellation and pipe in sound to replace it.

Ford is reportedly ruling out the all-wheel drive you’d expect from other hot hatches like the Subaru WRX or Volkswagen Golf R, due to high weight and cost, in favor of the RevoKnuckle torque-steer compensation system found in the previous Focus RS, and similar to the systems used in the Renaultsport Megane and Vauxhall Astra VXR.

Since the new Focus has yet to appear in any form other than four-door sedan, five-door wagon or five-door hatch, Top Gear expects the new Focus RS to pack five doors where the previous model had three.

By Noah Joseph

Via Autoblog.com

Ford Fusion Hybrid Projected as America’s Most Fuel-Efficient Sedan

DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 14, 2012 – The road to the new Ford Fusion Hybrid’s 47 mpg – expected to be America’s most fuel-efficient non-rechargeable sedan – can be traced back to Ford’s electrified vehicle team and the nearly 500 patents Ford now holds for its hybrid technology.

“Ford continued to invest to develop new products like our new Fusion hybrids during the depths of the economic downturn,” said Chuck Gray, Ford chief engineer of Global Core Engineering Hybrid and Electric Vehicles. “We succeeded in transforming our lineup with leading fuel efficiency, thanks in part to the many Ford inventors who are helping make our Fusion Hybrid America’s most fuel-efficient sedan.”

One of those inventors is Ming Kuang, who has helped grow Ford’s hybrid patent portfolio from 10 in 2000 to nearly 500 today.

Kuang’s reason is simple, even though his inventions are complex and among the most advanced technologies available on Ford Motor Company hybrid vehicles.

“The work on the Fusion Hybrid is all about a commitment I made a long time ago to have a positive effect on our environment,” said Kuang. “It’s about helping make the world my children live in – and the world my children’s children will live in – a better place.”

Kuang, 52, is technical leader in vehicle controls at Ford Electrification Research and Advanced Engineering in Dearborn, Mich.

Kuang’s innovations can be found throughout Ford’s transformed lineup, one-third of which will feature a model with 40 mpg or more in 2012 and build on the company’s commitment to go further by giving fuel-efficiency-minded customers the power of choice.

His name is on 40 of the 461 patents held by Ford that fall under the hybrid category. Twenty-five of the 40 patents are in production including key components of Ford’s innovative powersplit architecture system found on vehicles like the all-new Fusion Hybrid and Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid.

The all-new Fusion Hybrid is anticipated to deliver 47 mpg city and 44 mpg highway and the new Fusion Energi, arriving this fall, is anticipated to deliver more than 100 MPGe – more than the projected efficiency of the Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid model.

For example, one patent covers the display system for the Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid that shows how efficiently the power of the car is being used. Fusion Energi, scheduled to be available later this year, is projected to achieve a better miles per gallon equivalent in electric mode than Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid.

“I’m proud to have always had the resources and freedom to keep pushing forward on innovations for those vehicles,” said Kuang. “Being part of an organization that has so much respect for research and advanced engineering is what really gets me out of bed every day.”

Hybrid patents – yesterday and today

As recent as 2000 Ford owned just 10 patents that it classified as hybrid technology.

Things slowly began to change with the evolution of the Escape Hybrid – the first hybrid vehicle from a U.S.-based automaker that was designed and developed in the early 2000s. Still, by 2002 Ford only had approximately 30 hybrid patents.

Kuang, who graduated from the University of California-Davis in 1991, was at Ford in those early days of hybrid technology development.

“The level of cohesiveness wasn’t anywhere close to where it is today,” said Kuang. For example, research and advanced engineering and product development didn’t work as closely as they do today, slowing the pace of innovation.

However, the amount of green patent activity began to increase significantly in the mid-2000s, Kuang said. With the launch of the One Ford strategy designed in large part to accelerate development of new products customers want and value, a more efficient method of innovation emerged.

“We stopped trying to create and fix one-off, niche vehicles, and it made all the difference in the world,” he said.

With better collaboration, inventors are more in tune to where opportunities exist. In the last three years alone, the number of inventions submitted to Ford’s legal team to be considered for patents has increased more than 25 percent.

But David Kelley, a Ford attorney who handles hybrid patents, said Ford doesn’t engage in the practice of getting patents for the mere sake of getting patents.

“We get the high-quality patents that Ford really needs,” said Kelley. “With the high level of innovation from people like Ming, it makes sense that we should see our hybrid patent levels increase the way they have.”

Eric Kuehn, Ford’s chief engineer, global electrified programs, said that level of innovation makes him happy to be part of the team working on vehicles including the Fusion Hybrid and Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid.

“One of the best parts of being involved with Ford’s electrified vehicle group is that they are never satisfied,” said Kuehn. “They are always striving to go further and see how far they can push toward creating even larger gaps between Ford and its competitors. That is ingrained in the culture and mindset of the team here and isn’t going to change anytime soon.”

Via Media.Ford.Com

Ford Shows Off Convertible Mustang Shelby GT500 in Chicago

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ford gave the Mustang Shelby GT500 a major power boost for the 2013 model year with a supercharged 5.8-liter V8 that pumps out 650 hp. After unveiling the coupe at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, Ford is using the Chicago Auto Show to reveal the convertible counterpart.

The car’s performance is enhanced with the optional Performance Package that adds Bilstein electronic adjustable shock absorbers, a Torsen limited-slip differential and a Brembo brake package. Ford says the 2013 Shelby GT500 convertible with the Performance Package is nearly 3.5 seconds faster around Sebring International Raceway than the 2012 model.

The driver can choose between normal and sport modes for the suspension. Normal mode softens the ride for more comfortable cruising.

Other equipment in the Shelby GT500 convertible includes driver-adjustable steering effort and launch control programming for the powertrain. The car’s supercharged V8 is mated to a six-speed manual transmission.

Ford is also using the debut of the Shelby GT500 convertible to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the SVT performance group. The Mustang Shelby GT500 convertible gets lighted sill plates with a commemorative emblem. Ford’s Special Vehicle Team has helped produce more than 210,000 vehicles in its two decades.

By Dale Jewett

Via Autoweek.com

New Escape All-Wheel-Drive System Thinks Faster and Improves Handling, Giving Drivers More Control

DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 7, 2012 – As winter rain, ice and snow slows travel across the country, the all-new Ford Escape’s all-wheel-drive system offers drivers a little extra traction in slippery and snow-ridden conditions.

Advanced Ford-developed software behind the new Escape’s intelligent all-wheel-drive system pre-emptively reassesses conditions about 20 times faster than it takes to blink an eye, readjusting the power split to give the driver the precise blend of handling and traction at all times.

If, for example, the front of the vehicle is on ice and the rear is on pavement, the all-wheel-drive system can send all the torque the powertrain can produce to the rear, putting power where the driver needs it.

“This is a very robust system, tested and tuned around the world in many conditions,” said Joe Torres, senior engineer, all-wheel-drive system development.

Using advanced software and sensors, the system gathers data from 25 external signals, including wheel speed, accelerator pedal position and steering wheel angle, to deliver outstanding driving performance in both wet and dry conditions as well as excellent off-road traction.

Greater confidence when entering and driving through turns is enabled by the technologies Torque Vectoring Control and Curve Control, which are available together for the first time in an SUV in the all-new Ford Escape.

The system always pre-emptively splits the torque produced by the powertrain between the front and rear axles. Splitting the torque offers several benefits to the driver. First, it transfers the power, which means when a driver corners hard, the vehicle will better follow the intended steering path. For example, if the vehicle is understeering – the tendency to go straight when cornering – the system will automatically split more torque to the rear wheels to help counteract that effect and provide more neutral steering.

Second, and new to this all-new SUV, are feedback sensors and software that calculate – based on the driver’s steering angle – where the driver wants to go versus where the vehicle is heading, and make the appropriate split.

An advanced computer uses all the inputs from an array of sensors and data – such as lateral acceleration, driver-demanded torque and steering angle – and processes that information to get the vehicle to turn in the direction the driver wants it to go. The Ford system builds on the pre-emptive actions by adding and subtracting torque as needed through an electromagnetic clutch.

All of these adjustments, corrections and calculations are made every 16 milliseconds, which is about 20 times faster than the blink of an eye.

Both the brains (the control software) and the brawn (the rear axle) were developed in-house by Ford.

The driver can see the power distribution displayed on a screen inside the dash.

The system faced rigorous testing from the mountains of New Zealand to the California desert. Testing included snowy conditions, long mountain passes, extended hill climbs and high-temperature, off-road environments.

Via Media.Ford.com

 

Ford Focus Sees Strong Demand in West, Adds Stick-Shift Choice for Range-Topping Titanium Series

DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 3, 2012 – Customer demand for the 2012 Ford Focus is on the rise, most notably in the high-volume California market.

“Focus is making new friends for the Blue Oval out west,” said Paul Russell, Ford Focus Marketing Manager. “Ford dealers are seeing more small car activity, and that tells us Focus is getting on to more shopping lists.”

Focus was completely redesigned for 2012, bringing up to an 11 percent increase in highway fuel efficiency and being offered in expressive new five-door hatchback and sleek four-door sedan body styles. In addition, Focus brings unexpected convenience and luxury features such as active park assist and leather-faced seating with contrast-colored piping.

“Focus relevance to California customers is on the rise,” said Mark Wexler, Ford Northern California Regional Manager. “The contemporary styling, fuel efficiency and technology offerings are getting lots of customer attention. High-end Titanium models are selling at twice the rate we anticipated, showing that our customers want convenience and technology in their fuel-efficient Focus purchase.”

Focus is drawing new customers to the Ford showroom. Matt Wood, Dealer Principal at Elk Grove Ford in Sacramento, Calif., said this trend accelerated last month.

“Almost 40 percent of our January Focus trade-ins were import brands. Focus also is bringing in customers that have been out of the market for some time. These buyers are brand new to us,” said Wood.

A key objective for the 2012 Focus was to offer customers more choices by extending the models offered in the marketplace. Previously announced models include the highly anticipated Focus Electric and the high-performance 250 hp ST model. Additionally, in response to customer demand, Ford will now offer a five-speed manual transmission in the range-topping Titanium Focus models. Buyers migrating from higher-price import brands frequently prefer manual transmissions, especially automotive enthusiasts. Now those buyers can have a manual and their creature comforts.

 

Via Media.Ford.com

 

Chinese carmaker blatantly copies Ford F-150

The Ford F-150 has just picked up a doppelganger in China. According to CarNewsChina, Jianghuai Auto Corporation has just unveiled its new 4R3 pickup, and sure enough, the vehicle looks to be a near carbon copy of America’s best-selling truck. JAC reportedly wants to provide buyers in China, Africa and South America with a larger, inexpensive work vehicle. While the appearances of the Ford F-Series and 4R3 visuals differ ever so slightly, the similarities far outweigh the incongruities. According to CNC, JAC is a fairly small automaker in the People’s Republic that specializes in rebodied Hyundai cars, SUVs and pickups.

Word has it the 4R3 will be powered by a 2.8-liter diesel four-cylinder engine generating just 108 horsepower and 177 pound-feet of torque. There’s no word on cost at this point. The JAC 4R3 is set to debut at the Beijing Motor Show in April, though there’s no telling how long the vehicle will be on the market before the company gets a call from the lawyers in Dearborn.

By Zach Bowman

Via Autoblog.com