[GenX]

2010 Escape Adds New Safety Technologies, Builds On Leading Crash Ratings,
Rollover Protection

- The new 2010 Ford Escape and Escape Hybrid will feature five new safety and
driver-aid technologies, including Integrated Spotter Mirrors, MyKey(TM), Rear
View Camera System and Active Park Assist.

- Escape is one of the first Ford vehicles to feature SYNC with Traffic,
Directions and Information - helping reduce distractions while accessing
important route and safety information.

- The technologies build on Escape's 5-star and top pick crash-testing
ratings, including the highest ratings from the government and Insurance
Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

- Escape is the only small SUV to offer advanced roll stability control and
side curtain air bag technologies with rollover protection.

DEARBORN, Mich., March 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ford's 2010 Escape, the
small SUV with the best crash test ratings of any vehicle in its class, is
increasing its technology leadership with the addition of five new features
that improve safety, reduce driver distractions and aid drivers by
automatically parallel parking their vehicle.

The new Escape, in showrooms this summer, will add MyKey(TM) teen-safety
technology, Integrated Spotter Mirrors - both offered standard (MyKey on XLT
and above models) - optional Rear View Camera System and SYNC with real-time
Traffic, Directions and Information. The new model also will be the North
America's first SUV to offer Active Park Assist, which uses an
ultrasonic-based sensing system and Electric Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) to
position the vehicle for parallel parking, calculate the optimal steering
angle and quickly steer the vehicle into a parking spot.

The new technologies build on Escape's unsurpassed crash ratings - a "Top
Safety Pick" award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and
5-star government ratings in all crash tests. The Escape, which Kelley Blue
Book editors recently named one of the "2009 Best New Family Vehicles," also
is the only compact SUV to offer standard AdvanceTrac(R) with RSC(R) (Roll
Stability Control) and a standard Safety Canopy(R) side curtain air-bag
system.

"The Ford Escape is one of few vehicles that earned both full 5-star crash
ratings and a 'Top Safety Pick' in the small SUV segment," said Susan Cischke,
Ford's group vice president of Sustainability, Environment and Safety
Engineering. "These new technologies will help to take the new Escape to the
next level of safety and driver satisfaction."

According to 2008 Ford market research data, nearly nine out of 10 Escape and
Escape Hybrid buyers rank safety features - including the road-holding
capability delivered by roll stability control - as one of their top purchase
reasons.

Technology Transformation
Unprecedented for a carryover model, the Ford Escape's technological makeover
demonstrates Ford's broader efforts to quickly and efficiently introduce new
features along the consumer electronics industry's development cycles measured
in months.

"Our vision with SYNC, MyKey and other new technologies is to be a technology
leader, making it affordable for millions - just as Ford has done with safety
and fuel-saving technologies," said Doug VanDagens, director of Ford's
Connected Services Organization.. "We are a car company that through
market-driven, customer-focused innovation is learning to think and act like
an electronics company, leveraging partnerships with fresh technology
leaders."

The 2010 Escape will feature:

Integrated Spotter Mirror(standard) - a consumer-friendly, affordable blind
spot technology that consists of an outside rearview mirror designed with a
secondary convex spotter in the top outer corner, which is aimed exclusively
at the driver's blind spot. When traffic enters the driver's blind spot on
either side of the vehicle, it is visible in the secondary convex mirror,
helping provide the driver broader peripheral view.

MyKey(standard) - allows owners to program a key that can limit the vehicle's
top speed and audio volume. MyKey also encourages safety-belt usage, provides
earlier low-fuel warnings and can be programmed to sound chimes at 45, 55 and
65 miles per hour. This feature is standard on Escape models featuring a
message center cluster, including XLT and above.

Rear View Camera System - uses an exterior camera embedded in the rear of the
vehicle that sends images to a video display in the rearview mirror or the
navigation system screen to help enhance visibility directly behind the
vehicle when it is in reverse. Ford is leveraging the affordability of
high-quality video cameras to widely offer the technology with navigation
systems.

Active Park Assist - uses an ultrasonic-based sensing system and Electric
Power Assisted Steering (EPAS) to position the vehicle for parallel parking,
calculate the optimal steering angle and quickly steer the vehicle into a
parking spot. The technology is a major leap forward in speed and ease of use
compared with the camera-reliant systems offered by competitors. Ford's
system requires less driver interaction and reduces the risk of selecting a
parking spot that is too tight. Ford's Active Park Assist also works in
downhill parking situations, unlike competing systems.

SYNC - Ford is expanding its connectivity leadership by introducing exclusive
new SYNC real-time information features. The new Escape is one of the first
vehicles to introduce this innovation - SYNC with Traffic, Directions and
Information - which leverages industry-leading voice-recognition software,
integrated GPS technology, and a customer's Bluetooth-capable mobile phone.
SYNC's new services provide simple hands-free access to personalized traffic
reports, precise turn-by-turn driving directions and up-to-date information
including business listings, news, sports, and weather.

A recent study shows that SYNC's hands-free system significantly reduces the
level of distraction when drivers select a phone number or choose a song on
their MP3 player compared with the same operations performed with hand-held
cell phones and music players.

"We know people want to stay connected in their vehicles, so Ford is
continuing to deliver that connectivity for them responsibly and safely," says
Susan Cischke, Ford's group vice president of Sustainability, Environment and
Safety Engineering. "Our SYNC research backs up what most of us instinctively
know - that it is better while driving to place a call using a voice interface
than dialing manually, because you can keep your hands on the wheel and eyes
on the road."

Safety Standard
The 2010 Ford Escape's standard safety technologies also include:
-- AdvanceTrac(R) with RSC(R) (Roll Stability Control) - the world's
only system with a gyroscopic sensor that actively measures and helps
prevent both side-to-side "yaw" and roll movements
-- Safety Canopy(TM) - a side air curtain technology offering protection
for the first and second seating rows, and helps provide rollover and
ejection protection with extended deployment in rollovers
-- Personal Safety System(R) - a suite of seven safety technologies,
including new dual-stage front air bags for the driver and front-seat
passenger, side air bags and a front passenger sensor system
-- Tire Pressure Monitoring System - alerts drivers when tire pressure is
low. Properly inflated tires not only are important for safety - they
also can help improve fuel economy.

[mod]Moved to Tailgate Chat.[/mod]

 

[scott6003]

Looks pretty nice. I really with I had the traffic directions on my 2009 escape. Sounds good overall.

-Scott

 

[Squishy]

Moved to Tailgate Chat

 

[stone]

Excellent! Very beneficial features. :thumb: :happy:

 

[Scooter Scott]

Ford really is stepping up their game lately. I can't wait to see what they come out with :wave: next!!

 

[jonas1022]

Hmmm. I may have to trade up! eace:

 

[Scooter Scott]

Like I did?

 

[jonas1022]

:roll:

Sure... :lol:

 

[HybridArchitect]

All right... active parking assist!

Where was this feature when I took my driving test back in '78???

lay:

 

[Billyk]

One big question: will the rear wheel feature disc brakes on the hybrid models or will the 2009 version with rear drum brakes continue? Seems like a stupid question when the 2010 Fusion/Milan hybrid version have rear disc brakes.

 

[Billyk]

Rear drum brakes continue to exist with the 2010 Escape. What a bummer.

 

[Squishy]

Rear drums are ideal in the corrosion belt. If I had a choice between two otherwise equal cars with rear drums and rear discs, I would choose rear drums, always.

 

[jonas1022]

Rear drums are less maintenance intensive maybe? The rear drums on my F-150 have over 167K miles on them. They are the originals. Could it be that the drums offer the same stopping power as the disks? So it's one axle set less expensive to maintain? Sounds like a cost benefit to me with no sacrifice to safety. I'm for the drums, if that's the logic.

 

[Squishy]

In theory, drums offer more stopping power than discs because of the self-servo action and large surface area - the rotating action of the drum will "pull" the pads into more contact. That's why most emergency brake mechanisms use a drum-style setup, even on rear disc brakes. The downside to drums is the lack of fade resistance compared to discs, and an inconsistent braking force due to self-servo. You can apply more force to a disc brake without overheating it, thus allowing you to have more stopping power in a situation where you have to repeatedly brake or brake over a long period. Stopping power with a disc is also proportional to the force applied, giving you more control. However, just having front discs is enough to give you those benefits in most cases.

Given a set of cool brakes and an ABS-enabled car, I think modern disc/drum and disc/disc setups are fairly comparable. Disc/disc setups will outperform a disc/drum setup on the track or if you go through a lot of mountain passes.

The main benefit here in the corrosion belt is that drums are pretty much a sealed system. Rear discs don't see much heavy use and thus the rotors rust away and wear out the pads. It's not uncommon to replace rear pads and rotors twice as often as fronts here, instead of the other way around for drums.

 

[jonas1022]

I think I have replaced the front discs of my pickup three times in the 165K miles that I have owned it since new. As stated above, I have never had to replace the rear brakes. Serviced yes. Replaced no. :blush:

Our 98 Escort had front and rear discs. The rears wore out just as fast as the fronts, at about 25K miles per set . Same with the ZX2, about 25K miles per set :shrug: . That's city rush hour driving, so others that drive rural roads probably do better. My 84 Capri :heart: had front disc and rear drums. They wore out at about the same time, just over 100K miles :thumb: . That was mostly high speed driving on Interstates, but about 40% was rush hour commutes. Bottom line, I think it depends on the driver for wear :angel: , but agree with Squishy. Drums are better in wet enviorments eace: , just don't submerge them :lightning: . Wet drums, don't work! :wall: I won't go into that... :stop:

 

[stone]

I used to fettle drum brake castings. It was simple enough. There was only the ingate lump to grind off. This was to keep the machinists happy, so that they wouldn't cry. Can not leave lumps on anything. Otherwise the cutting tip of milling machine will bust.

Could you take that down, just a bit more please? Leave only a few millimetres on, but not too much. The milling blokes are having a sook. " OH! Allright then. :lol: :lol: I have allways believed in doing a competent job.

 

[fast 09 escape]

I really hope that Ford steps up to 4 wheel disc, just like everything else is!I was shocked that the 09's didnt have them!Didnt stop me from buying one though! :lol:

 

[fast 09 escape]

Ohh sorry,I just read that 2010's will have drums!Sorry, and too bad!Maybe next year!

 

[KC5ZRQ]

Why "Active Park Assist" is considered a safety feature?

 

[CrashNburn]

im a bit late here, but as far as stopping power, a disk will beat a drum any day. no brake fade with a disk, and you have an even 100% of the pad touching the disk. also as your disk expands you get more pressure on your pads. if drums were so good then they would still have them on motorcycles and the front of cars. because of weight transfer during braking your rear brakes only do 30% of the work.

most drums only have one piston acting against the top of the shoe. so you have a leading and trailing shoe. the leading one does most of the work because its forced into the drum in the forward direction of the drums travel, the trailing shoe's leading edge barely even contacts the drum. we have some trailers that have duel piston drums so they have dual leading shoes. my 1970 suzuki motorcycle has a lever that makes the front drum brake a dual leading as well. but....

multiple piston calipers on a disk is the way to go!. way more force can be applied and more even force. the disk gets more cooling just by the nature of its design. but if it does over heat it expands. as it expands it forces into the shoes. a disk also has more surface area for contact with the shoes, as well as more surface area means better cooling.

a 10" disk vs a 10" drum. i didnt do the math, but i cam imagine its more the 2x the surface area for a disk.

drums on the back of a car or suv are better then disk in my opinion, after changing out a few 1000 brake parts, rear drums are the way to go as far as service life, and protection from mud and grime. off road you can burn up a set of rear pads and rotors on a chev truck in 10,000km. i know because we have a few 1000 of these trucks. the fords that have rear drums the last longer. but i prefer the stopping power of the chev when towing a trailer.

this has to be one of my longest post on here LoL.

feel free to rebuttal with your opinions and experiences.