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Automotive Industry

U.S. Focus To Get Stability Control System In 2001 - Brief Article

Automotive Industries, Nov, 1999 by Don Sherman

For the 2001 model year, Ford will introduce its electronic stability control system on the new Focus model, with a price tag comparable to antilock brakes (currently a $400 option). The automaker recently launched the system on its European-market Focus, to battle numerous competitive systems now making their way downmarket

What's a sophisticated feature like ESP doing in a mass-market model like the new Focus? Gerry Davis, supervisor of Ford's brake group responsible for developing the Focus, explains.

"Even though the technology didn't exist at the onset of the Focus program, we felt that Interactive Vehicle Dynamics was an excellent feature to add," he says. "When the opportunity arose for Ford of Europe to introduce a stability system on the Focus, we took it regardless of cost."

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Davis identifies VW as Ford's direct rival "VW has been very aggressive in putting electronic systems in its cars," he notes. "They're on the verge of standardizing this hardware. And in Europe, where the competition is so intense, specifications really help sell the car."

Electronic Stability Programs (ESPs) work by comparing the vehicle's path-- determined by wheel speed, `lateral acceleration, and yaw-rate sensors -- with the direction of travel desired by the driver, measured by a steering-wheel-position sensor. In the event of a discrepancy, one, and if necessary two, brakes are automatically applied to nudge the vehicle back on track and to shed speed.

While some makers, most notably Mercedes, have used ESP as a band-aid to cover for a high center of gravity or lapses in stability, Ford regards yaw control as a driver aid. Notes Davis, "We don't regard this as a perforce enhancement."

Davis reveals that three winters were needed for Ford and primary supplier-integrator Continental Teves to develop the Focus's ESP system. "Every major component came from a different manufacturer, but this is probably the last car we'd develop that way," he asserts. "Now that the market for ESP is growing more suppliers are interested in providing both components and fully integrated systems. Them am strong incentives to go to the full-service route. Second-generation sensors will be significantly less expensive."

Ford's experience with the Jaguar S-Type, the Lincoln LS, and now the Focus reveals that it's essential to Pane springs and dampers to suit specific markets. ESP, however, is more genetic. In the case of the Focus, Ford engineers tuned the stability system to the chassis, instead of vice-verso. "We're beginning with small volumes," Davis notes, "but the plan is to spread this technology across the full model range. Every new Ford model will have ESP."

Automotive Industry

U.S. Focus To Get Stability Control System In 2001 - Brief Article

Automotive Industries, Nov, 1999 by Don Sherman

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