Badge re-engineering: updated Freestar aims for its fair share of a resurgent minivan market

Automotive Industries, Nov, 2003 by John Peter

Don't count the minivan out yet. With newly re-designed models from both Toyota and Nissan already out this year and 16 other new or re-designed models coming before 2006, there must be plenty of life left in the segment.

But the resuscitation of the minivan segment isn't coming in the form of a mass-exodus of soccer moms ditching their SUVs. Industry, research shows that a lot of baby boomers who owned minivans during their child-rearing years are coming back to the vehicles for their utility, ease in ingress and egress and that ever-sought-after car-like ride.

"Plus," says Steve Lyons, president of the Ford division, "they're great for carrying your friends and going to dinner.

"If you stand back and look at the minivan business," Lyons continues, "there were over 1.1 million minivans sold in this country a year ago and it's likely to stay that strong for the foreseeable future."

In fact Lyons optimistically predicts that the segment might see a little growth. "We sold 142,000 Windstars last year." Lyons says, "We expect to up it a little with the new Freestar."

This vehicle has been extensively re-engineered for 2004. While Freestar carries over Windstar's body-side and door stampings, it sports new stamped-steel front fenders, hood and hatch and new front and rear fascias.

The Windstar's stamped-in ladder frame uni-body platform was extensively modified to accommodate the fold-down third seat. The rear rails were splayed to make room for the seat and the spare tire was moved forward.

Jeffrey DuComob, Freestar/Montery program manager, says that the front of the vehicle was designed to be a little shorter and taller.

The handle for the rear lift-gate has been moved out from under the license plate cover and is now a much larger square handle mounted on the center of the gate, that's easy to grab and pull. "A lot of times customers have shopping bags or kids in their arms and they want to get the liftgate open easily," says DuComb. Delphi will supply a power lift gate that will be available later in the model year.

The front suspension is all new. Ford went from an A-arm type suspension to a reverse "L" lower control arm. This allowed more room for a larger engine cradle with a liquid-filled engine mount that isolates engine noise and vibration from the cabin and a powertrain roll restrictor that eliminates the jerking motion that occurs during shifting events as the power train jounces around.

Engine noise was reduced by adding a free-flowing intake manifold to the 3.6L and 4.2L V-6s. The oil pan, exhaust manifolds and transmission housing have been reinforced with ribs for added strength. The exhaust manifolds are also shielded. DuComb says that all of those improvements added up to a 25 percent reduction in radiated noise.

Improved NVH was a top priority. Freestar, and Monterey need to appeal to the new crop of empty-nesters who are, more than likely, coming out of premium sedans, known for their smooth quiet ride.

Freestar's interior is all-new. Cabin NVH was improved by reducing the airflow by 50 percent. Two air extractors were installed at the rear of the vehicle, under the rear fascia, to pull the air down the sides instead of letting it flow through the middle. DuComb says that airflow and air movement are an important aspect of NVH.

"Reducing the amount of airflow not only eliminates wind noise," he adds, "but eliminates side window fogging and allows for faster warm-up in the winter and cool-down in the summer.

"This is the first program where Ford has paid so much attention to air flow," DuComb says. "Airflow was a very important part of our NVH strategy on this program."

Seal design is of utmost importance when controlling airflow. Engineers worked extensively with the body assembly plant making sure that body tolerances were tightened up and that uniform seal gaps were maintained around the body.

"A good measure for getting an indication of how well seal design is and how much noise, vibration and harshness you're going to get," says Barb Samardzich, executive director for small FWD and RWD vehicles, "is the amount of air that flows in and out of the vehicle."

Cabin airflow is measured by pumping the cabin full of air, measuring the PSI going in and coming out.

"Our cubic-feet-per-minute is substantially lower than our competitors that we've tested," says Samardzich.

Ford called on Rieter Automotive Systems, a global supplier of acoustic and thermal management systems, to develop an insulated sound package. Freestar has a double dash pad and specially-designed carpeting and padding were used throughout the cabin.

Engineers at Ford's Advanced Engineering Center used laser holography to take an image of vibrations created by the minivans body. By using this image they were able to target specific areas that needed acoustic damping pads.

Freestar is equipped with a dual-stage driver's side airbag and a seat position sensor that measures the driver's distance from the steering wheel. The right front passenger seat is equipped with an occupant classification sensor that calculates the weight of the occupant, detects if the passenger is belted or not and depending on the data collected decides what level of airbag deployment needs to be executed to protect the passenger.