Making Trucks More Like Cars - Richard Parry-Jones of Ford Motor Co - Brief Article - Column - Interview

Automotive Industries,  Dec, 2000  by Don Sherman

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Ford's Richard Parry-Jones explains why the 2002 Explorer has more in common with a Taurus than a Ranger.

How do you make a hulking SUV move with the athletic grace of a sport sedan? If you're Ford Motor Co., you wield your secret weapon -- Product Development Vice-President Richard Parry-Jones. As a teenager in the U.K. he served an apprenticeship of sorts by resuscitating his father's discarded BSA Bantam motorcycle. Now the 49-year-old VP sets high standards for excellence throughout Ford's product lineup with a special emphasis on driving dynamics.

Parry-Jones recently shared some of his product passion with Automotive Industries while en route to Ford's Kingman, Ariz., proving grounds, where journalists were given their first opportunity to drive the 2002 Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer.

Q: What do you consider the most distinguishing feature of Ford's new SUVs?

A: The independent rear suspension we've incorporated not only moves these models significantly forward in refinement, it also facilities highly practical and versatile third-row seating.

Q: Is this yet another example of car attributes infiltrating light trucks?

A: Absolutely. SUVs began as trucks with passenger-carrying capability. As they became more popular, their constituents -- former car drivers -- naturally expected comfort, low noise, refinement and safety. So, the new Explorer has more in common with a modem car's technology than with pickup-truck technology.

Q: What other examples of car technology have you infused in the new Explorer?

A: In response to the desire for low noise levels and higher fuel efficiency, we moved advanced powertrain technologies into our truck engines. That's not to say car engines are suitable in SUVs. Due to their larger overall size, frontal area and mass, the ideal SUV engine needs much more torque and a broader torque curve. So, the piston displacement is invariably larger and torque-enhancement features will be more important.

But after saying that, it's interesting that the sohc 4.6L V-8 in the Explorer and Mountaineer beats the 5.0L pushrod engine it replaces in power, weight, fuel economy and performance feel. (Both engines provide roughly the same peak torque, but at different revs: 280 pounds-feet at 4,000 rpm in the new engine versus the retired V-8's 288 pounds-feet at 3,300 rpm.)

Another new priority from the car side is structural stiffness capable of providing the steering response and low noise and vibration levels SUV owners desire. The old philosophy was that truck frames had to be flexible to pass high-mileage durability tests. But with hydro-forming and other manufacturing technologies, it's possible to design frames that are both stiff and durable. (The torsional stiffness of the 2002 Explorer is 3.5 times higher than the model it replaces.)

Our intention is to maintain Ford's reputation for toughness while adding refinement.

Q: What about safety improvements?

A: It's a major opportunity area. Our SUVs are already safer than cars in terms of fatalities per million miles driven, but they do suffer more roll-overs. My goal is to reduce that deficit to zero. We'll start by adding side curtain air bags to reduce the likelihood of injury in lateral collisions. Later in the model year we'll add a sensor capable of triggering the side curtains if a roll-over is inevitable. Because they stay inflated for six seconds, they add a degree of protection unavailable from conventional air bags.

We've also made significant strides in braking performance. Explorer and Mountaineer stopping distances are shorter and fade is reduced by implementing larger brake hardware, which in turn necessitates larger wheels and tires for packaging and more sophisticated control systems. A philosophy we brought over from Europe is fine-tuning the brake system from the pedal-feel, response and modulation standpoints to enhance the driver's confidence.

We want the whole brake system to work intuitively so that every driver will be able to take advantage of the improved performance built into these new SUVs.

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