Ford Motor Co. will offer its Advance Trac traction control and electronic stability system as standard equipment on all its sport/utility vehicles and pickup trucks.
Advance Trac and similar systems from competitors may help dispel growing safety concerns that sport/utility vehicles, particularly in the wake of findings, are more prone to tip in an accident than cars and pickup trucks.
“The idea behind Advance Trac is to prevent accidents before they occur,” Ford Vice President Martin Inglis said in a speech at an automotive conference here. “Featuring a computer-controlled system, Advance Trac uses a series of sensors to measure whether the vehicle has begun to slide, then applies braking selectively to whichever wheel will bring it back under control.”
The first use of Advance Trac will be on the new Ford Explorer mid-size SUV in the fall of 2001. Inglis and Ford officials did not detail how quickly Advance Trac would be added to other models. But some models could get Advance Trac in mid-cycle before major redesigns, a spokeswoman said.