Ford, with help from Volvo, tops safe car list

By KEN THOMAS, Associated Press Writer Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writer Tue Nov 25, 7:49 am ET
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," 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."

Top 10 Ford Motor Company Quality Success Stories

Ford continues to make great strides toward achieving its goal of best-in-class qua lity. The following ten examples show some of the successes already achieved along the way.

Now shoulder-to-shoulder with industry leaders in initial quality – The quality of Ford brand vehicles soared to the top of the charts equaling that of Toyota and Honda, according to the second quarter 2008 U.S. Global Quality Research System (GQRS) study conducted by RDA Group of Bloomfield Hills, Mich. The study showed Ford brand improved 6.5 percent versus last year with a combined average of 1343 things-gone-wrong (TGW) per 1,000 vehicles during the first three months of ownership. This performance is statistically equivalent at the 95% confidence level to the TGW levels of Honda and Toyota.

Virtual technology expertise worth sharing – For nearly a decade, Ford has been using its industry-leading digital ergonomics research to help line operators do their jobs efficiently and issue-free. Led by a world-renowned ergonomics expert, the team optimizes every movement so employees can build car after car and avoid fatigue and injury. This upfront virtual technology greatly reduces issues at launch and relates directly to quality. The company shares its findings on how to reduce repetitive stress and other injuries with the other American automakers and University of Michigan researchers.

Best-in-class paint performance – According to GQRS studies, Ford is tied in first place for fewer chips and scratches and more long-term durability. Its three-part wet application process not only provides better long-term resistance to chips and scratches than water-borne paint, it reduces the plant shop’s CO2 emissions by 15 percent. An eco-friendly anti-corrosion system helps prevent rust while cutting paint shop water use nearly in half and reducing the production of sludge by 90 percent. Also, Ford is the first automaker to implement a technology called High-Gloss Mold-in-Color. The 2008 Ford Super Duty’s wheel lip molding is injection-molded with the high-gloss metallic color built right in – no primer or paint required. This increases long-term appearance and durability, as well as being more environmentally friendly than priming and painting those parts.

Chart-topping electrical functions – Thanks in part to stringent electronics testing during the predelivery process, Ford topped the charts in20GQRS studies for electrical functions such as the radios. Hundreds of end-of-line evaluations take place and are tracked through Ford’s Quality Leadership System (QLS), which gives anyone in the plant the ability to flag a vehicle as having an open concern and keeps that vehicle from leaving the plant until it’s been fixed.

Quality testing goes green – As the 52-year-old high-speed test track at Ford’s Michigan Proving Grounds undergoes its $13 million reconstruction, it’s reusing almost every bit of existing material, preventing 130,000 tons of debris from going to local landfills. The track is critical to Ford’s quality assurance process, as it’s used for a wide range of vehicle testing.

Earning third-party accolades – In May, two separate research firms confirmed that Ford continues to make great strides in quality. San Diego-based researcher Strategic Vision put Ford neck-and-neck with Toyota for total quality, and ahead of everyone else. The firm said the two automakers were tied for topping the most segments on its Total Quality Index with three vehicles each. Winning Ford vehicles are Ford Edge, Ford Mustang Convertible and Ford F-250/350, which was also a segment winner in 2007. Meanwhile, noted automotive consulting firm AutoPacific released the results of its 2008 model year vehicle satisfaction research, putting Ford on top or tied for first in six Vehicle Satisfaction Award categories. Vehicles earning accolades were Ford Taurus, Mercury Milan, Lincoln Mark LT, Ford Explorer Sport Trac, Ford Explorer and Ford Edge.

Ford Flex boasts ultra-quiet ride – Ford Motor Company’s wind noise went from second-w orst in the industry in 2003 to best in the bunch for 2007 based on TGW according to GQRS results. The all-new 2009 Ford Flex is no exception. In Ford’s wind tunnel tests, it delivered a quieter ride than competitors including the Acura MDX, Toyota Highlander and GMC Acadia, good news for customers who equate quietness with quality.

J.D. Power says Ford Focus is most improved – The 2008 Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study by J.D. Power and Associates showed that Focus gained 88 index points over last year. The Ford Escape also earned a spot among the top 10 most improved vehicles in the industry. In addition, five Ford Motor Company vehicles received second- or third-place honors in their segments: Ford Explorer Sport Trac, Mazda CX7, Mazda CX9, Ford Focus and Lincoln Navigator.

Long-term durability improves – Ford brand improved at a rate of 3 percent versus the industry average of 1 percent according to the 2008 GQRS three-years-in-service report. The survey looked at 2005 model year vehicles (compared to 2004 model year in 2007). The top non-luxury brands were Toyota, Mercury, Honda and Ford, with a gap of only 0.6 problems per vehicle difference from Toyota to Ford. For the fifth year in a row, Mercury did better than Honda in this durability study.

Ford brand makes significant quality gains – According to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Initial Quality Study, Ford vehicles increased in quality at a faster rate than the industry average. Continuing its five-year upward trend, Ford brand improved by eight points over last year’s study, bettering the industry’s seven-point improv ement. Ford Motor Company vehicles received 10 honors, including three with the highest rankings in their respective segments: Lincoln Navigator, Mazda MX5 Miata and Ford E-Series.