DETROIT – The 2007 Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX crossovers have earned Top Safety Pick ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). Ford also made changes to improve the Fusion's ability to withstand front and side crashes, and new institute testing gave it top scores of “good” in both scenarios. The Fusion, which has the same underpinnings as the Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ, received a “marginal” rating in rear protection. To earn a Top Safety Pick, vehicles must earn good ratings in IIHS’ high-speed front and side crash tests and in seat and head restraint evaluations. An added requirement for 2007 is that vehicles must also offer electronic stability control. The Edge and MKX also earned the governments highest Five-Star ratings in recent side-impact crash testing. Every new Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury SUV and crossover launched since the 2006 Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer now have standard electronic stability control and side-impact protection. By the end of 2009, every Ford vehicle will feature these technologies. The Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX offer Ford’s AdvanceTrac with RSC, front seat-mounted side airbags, and Safety Canopy air curtain system with rollover detection. Both vehicles also come standard with Ford’s Personal Safety System, which includes dual-stage driver and front-passenger airbags, a driver seat position sensor, passenger seat occupant classification sensor, and load-limiting safety belt retractors and pretensioners. The airbag system uses front passenger classification sensing to determine if the seat is occupied and, if so, whether the passenger is an adult, a child, or a child in a child safety seat. In testing last year, early versions of the 2007 Fusion and Milan with side airbags received the second-highest score of “acceptable” in front- and side-impact tests. It was an improvement over the 2006 version of the vehicle without side airbags, which received a “poor” rating in side-impact tests. Side airbags are now standard equipment in all 2007 Fusions. The Lincoln MKZ also earned the highest individual ratings from IIHS for frontal crash-test performance. In addition, Milan achieved top performance in the IIHS side-impact test. Both vehicles come with standard front-seat side-impact airbags and first- and second-row side-impact air curtains.

2007 Ford Edge

2007 Ford Fusion

2007 Lincoln MKX