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News of February 15, 2000
.
| Five-Star Windstar helps kickoff National
Child Passenger Safety Week . |
|
| WASHINGTON, D.C. - The 2000 Ford Windstar minivan takes center
stage with the nation's top safety regulator today as the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration kicks off National Child Passenger Safety Week - a safety campaign
reminding parents to use booster seats when buckling up children weighing between 40 and
80 pounds.
|
Ford Windstar Photo: Ford |
| Department of Transportation Secretary Rodney
Slater and NHTSA Acting Administrator Rosalyn Millman used the Windstar to demonstrate the
installation of child booster seats in an effort to remind parents and childcare-givers of
an important but often overlooked step in child passenger safety. . |
|
Ford Motor Company and Fisher-Price are helping lead the way in developing a child car seat system that's easier to use and provides for a more secure attachment in vehicles. Photo: Ford |
The Ford Windstar is the only minivan available to have
earned the U.S. government's highest frontal crash test rating, five stars for driver and
front passenger, for five straight years. Additionally, with optional side impact air
bags, Windstar is the only minivan to combine a double five-star frontal crash rating with
a double five-star side impact rating. This makes Windstar the first and only vehicle to
earn the government's quadruple five star rating. The 2000 Ford Windstar also is the only minivan equipped with LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for Children), a standard child safety seat anchorage system that is not required on all vehicles by federal safety regulations until Sept. 1, 2002. This anchorage system secures child safety seats to car frames with a set of special rigid metal attachment points, rather than using the safety belts. |
| The child safety seat is placed directly onto the
metal points, making it easier to use and providing for a more secure attachment in
vehicles. This system helps further improve parents' and caretakers' abilities to securely
anchor child safety seats properly. "At Ford, we believe in providing safety features in our high volume vehicles to reach as many customers as possible, as soon as possible," said Helen Petrauskas, vice president, Environmental and Safety Engineering. "The Windstar minivan is a perfect example of how these features can help our customers provide a safe driving environment for their families." The Windstar features safety and security innovations for the whole family. These include second-generation driver and front passenger air bags in frontal collisions; optional head-and-chest side impact air bags; the BeltMinder system that reminds drivers to buckle up; antilock brakes; SecuriLock™ passive anti-theft system; a remote keyless entry system; and power door locks. A new option for Windstar this year is power adjustable pedals, which will be available to customers in May 2000. The adjustable pedals enable smaller stature drivers to move the pedals up to four inches toward the seat while maintaining a comfortable operating distance from the steering wheel. (Feb. 14, 2000) |
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