Test facility to help Ford get to market fast

DEARBORN, Mich. -- Ford Motor said a new $16 million safety-testing facility will help get vehicles on the road eight to 10months faster, part of a broader, $65 million endeavor to trimexpenses and adapt more quickly to the fast-changing market.

Ford now takes about 28 months to get a vehicle to market once thedesign is complete.

The change is critical for the automaker, which has fallen behindAsian competitors in getting fresh vehicles to consumers. Ford's U.S.sales were flat in the first seven months of this year.

Ford is spending a total of $65 million to upgrade vehicle-testing facilities. It's revamping test tracks and has equipped 8,000engineers with new mobile phones and wireless laptops so they canmove more freely between labs and test tracks, said Phil Martens,Ford vice president for product creation.

He said it will shave up to 60 percent off the cost of vehicleproduction.

The simulator allows Ford to see what would happen to the interiorof a vehicle in five different types of crashes without actuallyhaving to destroy an expensive prototype vehicle.

Ford said the changes will allow it to conduct 10 tests each day,compared with two currently. Ford tests finished vehicles at aseparate location.

Ford's new facility has a separate lab where engineers can testhow well vehicles prevent head injuries. In that lab, a mechanicalarm slams the heads of crash test dummies into the side of thevehicle at different speeds and angles.

Ford also has a lab that simulates what happens when occupantsaren't wearing safety belts or are sitting very close to the steeringwheel.

AP