• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Ford Fusion's Crash Scores Lag Rivals: Company Wants Car to Be Retested

Posted on: Monday, 6 March 2006, 06:00 CST

By Justin Hyde, Detroit Free Press

Mar. 6--WASHINGTON -- Sedans from BMW AG and Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus division earned top scores in new crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, but the group flagged subpar grades for the Ford Fusion sedan.

Ford Motor Co. said it was asking the institute to retest the Fusion, and would make side air bags standard equipment for 2007 models this year.

The institute, in its latest test of selected models, said it gave the BMW 3 Series and the Lexus IS a "silver Top Safety Pick" designation for good performance in its front and side crash tests, plus acceptable ratings for their seat/head restraint designs in rear tests.

Two other models, the Hyundai Sonata and the Pontiac G6 with optional side air bags, also received good scores in frontal offset tests and "acceptable" scores for side-impact crashes. The G6 received a "poor" score for side impact when tested without the optional air bags.

But the Fusion earned only an "acceptable" grade for frontal crashes, and a "poor" score for side impact. Most new models earn good scores for the IIHS's front-impact test. IIHS President Adrian Lund said the Fusion's scores were "not competitive with other cars in its class."

"The Fusion is a disappointment because it's a brand-new design," he said in a statement. "Ford has done a good job with some other recent models, but the Fusion is at the back of the pack among midsize cars for overall safety performance."

Ford spokesman Dan Jarvis said the Fusion's score resulted from damage to a test dummy's ankle during the Fusion's crash test, and that Ford had not been able to repeat the results.

Jarvis also said Ford would make side air bags standard in the Fusion starting with vehicles built in October. The IIHS tests vehicles with optional side air bags only if automakers request it and pay for the testing.

Ford has asked IIHS to redo both tests later this year. "We do expect better scores on both of these measures," Jarvis said.

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, Detroit Free Press

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

XETRA:BMW, NYSE:TM, NYSE:F,

Source: Detroit Free Press

More News in this Category