RCSignals
09-17-2003, 05:28 PM
Ford says Crown Vic tests fudged
Dallas officials believe automaker is trying to take focus off safety
09:13 PM CDT on Tuesday, September 16, 2003
By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News
Ford Motor Co. has accused Dallas officials of fudging Crown Victoria police car crash test results, which the city said demonstrated that the vehicle remains unsafe even when equipped with manufacturer-approved safety equipment.
This week, Ford posted the results of its analysis of Dallas' tests on its official Crown Victoria police interceptor Web site. Photos from the tests include a crowbar welded to a jack before it broke off on impact and a pry-bar wedged with its sharp end perpendicular to the fuel tank.
"The way Dallas welded these things together and placed the others in the trunk, it prevents them from behaving like they would in a real crash," said Doug Lampe, a Ford attorney. "It was a test with a purpose in mind, and the purpose was to fail the trunk pack."
City officials said that the tests it ordered in July on the Ford-recommended safety device are accurate and that Monday's accusations are more evidence that the auto giant is more concerned with trashing legitimate tests than with producing a safer car.
An independent consumer group said that Dallas' tests appear to be legitimate.
For the tests, items that the city said were commonly found in a police officer's trunk were alternately loaded into an empty Crown Victoria trunk and one lined with a plastic and Kevlar container called a trunk pack. Cars were then crashed into the rear of the Crown Victoria cars to see whether the packs made a difference.
The city deemed the trunk packs a failure, saying they didn't protect against fuel leaks in its tests.
Ford criticized the city for not disclosing the artificial conditions when reporting its testing results and for packing items not normally found in a police officers' trunk. It cited an ammunition box filled with sand instead of bullets, saying the weight forces gear into the tank.
Dallas City Attorney Madeleine Johnson said the placement of items in the trunks was meant to ensure consistency throughout the crash tests.
"I just feel that this is just typical of the way that Ford is approaching this whole issue," Ms. Johnson said. "We asked them to be a part of the tests and help come up with standards and help us analyze the results. ... They wanted no part of it. What have they done? All they've released is criticism of what we've done. The real losers are the police officers driving these cars."
Clarence Ditlow, executive director of The Center for Auto Safety in Washington, D.C., an independent consumer group frequently called on to testify before Congress on safety issues, said that Dallas' tests appear to be legitimate.
"I don't think it was deliberate attempt to rig the test to have a puncture source," Mr. Ditlow said. "There's no testing standard for how you pack the interior of a vehicle. It's a question of judgment. To my mind, the most obvious reason for doing it the way they did it was so you can replicate the exact same packing every time. If the objects are loose, you have harder job."
A representative of KARCO Engineering, which hosted the city's tests at its California facility, said this week that it did not pack the trunks. They referred questions to the Arizona company that oversaw the testing, Transportation Safety Technologies Inc. Officials there did not return phone calls Tuesday.
The tests were financed by attorneys representing the city in a lawsuit over the death of Officer Patrick Metzler. The 31-year-old officer died last Oct. 23 on Central Expressway after a speeding motorist struck his patrol car from behind, causing it to erupt in flames. More than a dozen law enforcement officers nationwide have died from fuel tank fires in Crown Victoria rear-end crashes.
Ford says the trunk pack and fuel tank shields, with which Dallas has retrofitted its fleet, are effective in preventing fuel-tank punctures on a car that it says meets government safety standards. The automaker also is developing a fire-suppression system in newer models.
Ford's statement:
http://www.cvpi.com/pdfs/CustomerBrochureImportantMsg.p df
Dallas officials believe automaker is trying to take focus off safety
09:13 PM CDT on Tuesday, September 16, 2003
By JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News
Ford Motor Co. has accused Dallas officials of fudging Crown Victoria police car crash test results, which the city said demonstrated that the vehicle remains unsafe even when equipped with manufacturer-approved safety equipment.
This week, Ford posted the results of its analysis of Dallas' tests on its official Crown Victoria police interceptor Web site. Photos from the tests include a crowbar welded to a jack before it broke off on impact and a pry-bar wedged with its sharp end perpendicular to the fuel tank.
"The way Dallas welded these things together and placed the others in the trunk, it prevents them from behaving like they would in a real crash," said Doug Lampe, a Ford attorney. "It was a test with a purpose in mind, and the purpose was to fail the trunk pack."
City officials said that the tests it ordered in July on the Ford-recommended safety device are accurate and that Monday's accusations are more evidence that the auto giant is more concerned with trashing legitimate tests than with producing a safer car.
An independent consumer group said that Dallas' tests appear to be legitimate.
For the tests, items that the city said were commonly found in a police officer's trunk were alternately loaded into an empty Crown Victoria trunk and one lined with a plastic and Kevlar container called a trunk pack. Cars were then crashed into the rear of the Crown Victoria cars to see whether the packs made a difference.
The city deemed the trunk packs a failure, saying they didn't protect against fuel leaks in its tests.
Ford criticized the city for not disclosing the artificial conditions when reporting its testing results and for packing items not normally found in a police officers' trunk. It cited an ammunition box filled with sand instead of bullets, saying the weight forces gear into the tank.
Dallas City Attorney Madeleine Johnson said the placement of items in the trunks was meant to ensure consistency throughout the crash tests.
"I just feel that this is just typical of the way that Ford is approaching this whole issue," Ms. Johnson said. "We asked them to be a part of the tests and help come up with standards and help us analyze the results. ... They wanted no part of it. What have they done? All they've released is criticism of what we've done. The real losers are the police officers driving these cars."
Clarence Ditlow, executive director of The Center for Auto Safety in Washington, D.C., an independent consumer group frequently called on to testify before Congress on safety issues, said that Dallas' tests appear to be legitimate.
"I don't think it was deliberate attempt to rig the test to have a puncture source," Mr. Ditlow said. "There's no testing standard for how you pack the interior of a vehicle. It's a question of judgment. To my mind, the most obvious reason for doing it the way they did it was so you can replicate the exact same packing every time. If the objects are loose, you have harder job."
A representative of KARCO Engineering, which hosted the city's tests at its California facility, said this week that it did not pack the trunks. They referred questions to the Arizona company that oversaw the testing, Transportation Safety Technologies Inc. Officials there did not return phone calls Tuesday.
The tests were financed by attorneys representing the city in a lawsuit over the death of Officer Patrick Metzler. The 31-year-old officer died last Oct. 23 on Central Expressway after a speeding motorist struck his patrol car from behind, causing it to erupt in flames. More than a dozen law enforcement officers nationwide have died from fuel tank fires in Crown Victoria rear-end crashes.
Ford says the trunk pack and fuel tank shields, with which Dallas has retrofitted its fleet, are effective in preventing fuel-tank punctures on a car that it says meets government safety standards. The automaker also is developing a fire-suppression system in newer models.
Ford's statement:
http://www.cvpi.com/pdfs/CustomerBrochureImportantMsg.p df