xcel
05-01-2009, 09:45 PM
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg Purchases a 2010 Ford Fusion to replace her totaled 2007 Fusion after walking away from the catastrophic accident. (cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?p=204970)
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2007_Ford_Fusion_crash_into_Bison.jpgWayne Gerdes – CleanMPG (cleanmpg.com) – May 1, 2009
Aftermath of the 2007 Ford Fusion collision with a group of migrating Bison.
Maureen Edgerton, 51, of West Yellowstone, Mt., was driving home on the pitch-black night of April 11, when she unexpectedly slammed her 2007 Ford Fusion into a herd of bison. The 55-mile-per-hour impact totaled the car and killed several of the migrating “American buffalo” on the snowbound highway. Edgerton, however, walked away with only minor scrapes and bruises.
“The crash was like a war scene,” said Maureen Edgerton, Fusion owner and resident of West Yellowstone, Mt. “By the time it was over the hood was smashed in, the mirrors were ripped from the doors and the windshield was shattered, but the interior of the car wasn’t affected whatsoever. And the car was still running and not leaking fluid. Not even the tires were deflated. Everyone who came to the scene asked ‘what kind of car is this?’ because they couldn’t believe it was possible to walk away from such a crash.”
“The Fusion’s safety systems worked just as they were supposed to in Maureen’s accident,” said Gary Berg, sales consultant at Bozeman Ford Lincoln Mercury in Bozeman, Mt. “They saved her life. I don’t think there was any question in her mind when she came to us that her next car would be another Fusion, because the new model has even more safety technology on it than the one she’d been driving.”
“While our customer’s bison collision certainly demonstrates how tough the 2007 Fusion is, we've designed the new Fusion to be even tougher. It proves that a high level of safety can come in a midsize package,” said Steve Kozak, chief engineer, Ford Safety Systems.
Impressed by the Fusion’s crash protection, safety features and fuel efficiency, Edgerton chose to replace her 2007 for a brand new 2010 Ford Fusion as her next new vehicle.
While Ford Motor Company does not have specific requirements to protect customers in collisions with bison or other animals, all of the company’s vehicles are designed and tested to meet rigorous crash safety requirements. These requirements help protect occupants in all sorts of collisions, even with bison, which can grow to more than 6 feet tall, 11 feet long and more than 2,200 pounds.
Having emerged from the accident relatively unscathed, Edgerton said the decision to buy another Fusion came easily. The new model has even more safety features, such as side curtain air bags and is “Top Safety Pick” rated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). It also comes equipped with optional all-wheel drive and delivers segment-leading fuel economy for Edgerton’s long drives up Rocky Mountain passes to visit her daughter in Seattle, WA.
Maureen and her husband Doug, who manufactures and sell ski grooming equipment, have driven Ford vehicles for many years, including the now totaled 2007 Fusion and her soon to arrive brand new 2010 Ford Fusion.
The Fusion gets some of its core strength from the use of lightweight high-strength steel in the body structure. The structure of the Fusion helps it withstand intrusion in many accidents, including the most common frontal and side impacts.
The tailor-welded B-pillars between the front and rear doorframes are stronger at the top of the vehicle – from below the beltline upward – than at the bottom. This helps to channel energy below the level of the occupants. At the torso level and above, the structure helps to prevent intrusion into the passenger compartment.
Fusion’s front and side-protection elements include:
The first use on a Ford vehicle of dual-phase, high-strength steel rails on the front end;
Two energy absorbing foam blocks between the inner door panels and interior trim, aligned with the occupants’ chest and hip;
Side-intrusion beams inside the door, anchored at the hinge and latch areas;
Tailor-welded steel in the B-pillar structure with extra thickness – nearly a quarter inch of solid steel – above the beltline; and
Front-seat side air bags for front occupants and side-curtain air bags for head protection in both rows.
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2007_Ford_Fusion_crash_into_Bison.jpgWayne Gerdes – CleanMPG (cleanmpg.com) – May 1, 2009
Aftermath of the 2007 Ford Fusion collision with a group of migrating Bison.
Maureen Edgerton, 51, of West Yellowstone, Mt., was driving home on the pitch-black night of April 11, when she unexpectedly slammed her 2007 Ford Fusion into a herd of bison. The 55-mile-per-hour impact totaled the car and killed several of the migrating “American buffalo” on the snowbound highway. Edgerton, however, walked away with only minor scrapes and bruises.
“The crash was like a war scene,” said Maureen Edgerton, Fusion owner and resident of West Yellowstone, Mt. “By the time it was over the hood was smashed in, the mirrors were ripped from the doors and the windshield was shattered, but the interior of the car wasn’t affected whatsoever. And the car was still running and not leaking fluid. Not even the tires were deflated. Everyone who came to the scene asked ‘what kind of car is this?’ because they couldn’t believe it was possible to walk away from such a crash.”
“The Fusion’s safety systems worked just as they were supposed to in Maureen’s accident,” said Gary Berg, sales consultant at Bozeman Ford Lincoln Mercury in Bozeman, Mt. “They saved her life. I don’t think there was any question in her mind when she came to us that her next car would be another Fusion, because the new model has even more safety technology on it than the one she’d been driving.”
“While our customer’s bison collision certainly demonstrates how tough the 2007 Fusion is, we've designed the new Fusion to be even tougher. It proves that a high level of safety can come in a midsize package,” said Steve Kozak, chief engineer, Ford Safety Systems.
Impressed by the Fusion’s crash protection, safety features and fuel efficiency, Edgerton chose to replace her 2007 for a brand new 2010 Ford Fusion as her next new vehicle.
While Ford Motor Company does not have specific requirements to protect customers in collisions with bison or other animals, all of the company’s vehicles are designed and tested to meet rigorous crash safety requirements. These requirements help protect occupants in all sorts of collisions, even with bison, which can grow to more than 6 feet tall, 11 feet long and more than 2,200 pounds.
Having emerged from the accident relatively unscathed, Edgerton said the decision to buy another Fusion came easily. The new model has even more safety features, such as side curtain air bags and is “Top Safety Pick” rated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). It also comes equipped with optional all-wheel drive and delivers segment-leading fuel economy for Edgerton’s long drives up Rocky Mountain passes to visit her daughter in Seattle, WA.
Maureen and her husband Doug, who manufactures and sell ski grooming equipment, have driven Ford vehicles for many years, including the now totaled 2007 Fusion and her soon to arrive brand new 2010 Ford Fusion.
The Fusion gets some of its core strength from the use of lightweight high-strength steel in the body structure. The structure of the Fusion helps it withstand intrusion in many accidents, including the most common frontal and side impacts.
The tailor-welded B-pillars between the front and rear doorframes are stronger at the top of the vehicle – from below the beltline upward – than at the bottom. This helps to channel energy below the level of the occupants. At the torso level and above, the structure helps to prevent intrusion into the passenger compartment.
Fusion’s front and side-protection elements include:
The first use on a Ford vehicle of dual-phase, high-strength steel rails on the front end;
Two energy absorbing foam blocks between the inner door panels and interior trim, aligned with the occupants’ chest and hip;
Side-intrusion beams inside the door, anchored at the hinge and latch areas;
Tailor-welded steel in the B-pillar structure with extra thickness – nearly a quarter inch of solid steel – above the beltline; and
Front-seat side air bags for front occupants and side-curtain air bags for head protection in both rows.