Ford Motor Co. believes that if you’re in a car crash, you should survive. And better yet, don’t crash in the first place.
To those ends, Ford on Wednesday showed off a new suite of automotive devices designed to lessen collisions and mitigate their damage.
The newest of the mechanisms for introduction this year are inflatable rear seat belts.
During a collision, the belts deploy small air bags that can reduce the severity of injuries.
“It’s the world’s first marriage of two fantastic safety features — seat belts and air bags,” said Andy Sarkisian, Ford’s safety planning and strategy manager. “It keeps you in a position to better survive an accident.”
Sarkisian and other Ford officials demonstrated the safety technologies in Denver as part of a 50-city national tour.
The inflatable seat belts will be an option in the 2011 Explorer. The feature will be offered in other Ford models in subsequent years. The estimated cost is $200 to $400.
Other devices are designed to prevent collisions.
One system uses radar to detect slower- moving vehicles ahead and warns the driver with lights and audio tones of a potential rear-end crash. Some models initiate braking if a collision is imminent.
Ford also is using radar to alert drivers to vehicles in their blind spots and to detect oncoming cars when drivers are backing out of parking spaces.
The radar options, priced at $500 to $1,100, were introduced over the past year in some Ford models and will be expanded.
“Our goal is to bring technologies like this to the market and make them affordable to the average customer,” Sarkisian said.
Ford officials also demonstrated a system that automatically turns a vehicle’s wheels for hands-free parallel parking — available for $500 to $600 — as well as a no-cost option that enables parents to set limits on speed and music volume for teen drivers.
While some of the features are available on high-end models from other makers, Ford is pushing to implement them more widely.
“These features usually start in luxury vehicles, but Ford is a leader in getting the technology into mainstream models,” said Russ Rader, a spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
Customers are intrigued by the safety features, said Eric Jones, Internet sales manager at Lakewood Fordland.
“The majority of our customers,” he said, “once they’re familiarized with the features, they have no problem paying the few hundred dollars in view of the improved safety it gives them.”
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948 or sraabe@denverpost.com
