Volvo’s Tackling Off-road Crashes; It’s Awards Time
Volvo’s commitment to automotive safety is legendary in the industry. This is the company that developed the first three-point seat belt in the late 1950s and immediately made the design patent open for free to other manufacturers to adopt.
Today, Volvo has announced a corporate initiative that no one will be killed or seriously injured in a Volvo by 2020.
How do people get hurt? In the United States, half of all traffic fatalities involve a vehicle going off the road.
Volvo is tackling that type of accident with what it’s calling a run-off road protection package in the new 2016 XC90 midsize SUV.
There are no regulatory agency tests for these going-off-the-road accidents so Volvo developed its own.
“Commitment to safety is not about passing a test or getting a ranking,’’ says professor Lotta Jakobsson, Volvo’s senior technical specialist for safety. “It’s about finding out how and why crashes and injuries occur and then developing the technology to prevent them. To reach our Vision 2020, we have to cover all accident types that occur in real-life traffic.
“Our solution focuses on keeping the occupants firmly in position and introducing unique energy-absorbing functionality in the seat. This counteracts spine injuries, which are serious and relatively frequent consequences of run-off road scenarios,’’ says Jakobsson.
That quote hits home here. Several years ago, friends of ours—Tom and Jean—were driving across central Canada in their small RV.
Tom dozed off and off the road they went, plowing through a ditch, going airborne, and bouncing through the rough terrain of a cornfield. Jean suffered spinal injuries, including compression fractures in her back.
These are the type of accidents in which occupants are thrown in random directions, and in some ways Volvo’s two-part solution is a direct descendant of those original seat belts.
1.Based on the car’s sensor systems, Volvos now can detect a potential run-off scenario, and electronically retract and tighten the front safety belts until the car stops moving.
2.To help prevent spinal injuries, energy-absorbing functionality is built into the seat cushion AND frame, allowing for it to deform mechanically and cushion the vertical forces in a hard landing.
“By keeping occupants in an upright posture while cushioning the impact, vertical forces can be reduced by up to one third, considerably lowering the risk of the most serious and frequent spine injuries in these situations,’’ says Jakobsson.
Volvo has three test tracks—Ditch, Airborne, and Rough Terrain—plus advanced crash test dummies to test results at 50 mph.
“Of course, we also focus on preventing run-off road crashes from happening,’’ says Jakobsson. “The new XC90 has both Lane Keeping Aid and Driver Alert Control to target these situations.’’
Lane Keeping Aid applies extra steering torque if the vehicle is wandering from its lane, and Driver Alert can both detect and warn tired or inattentive drivers. Additionally, the XC90 enhances the system by using GPS to direct the driver to the nearest rest area.
Awards Dept.
Motor Trend this month named the new Chevy Colorado its 2015 Truck of the Year, which joins the Volkswagen Golf (Car of the Year) and Honda CR-V (SUV of the Year). The magazine’s editors cited the Colorado’s “clean-sheet design, right-sized package, handling, overall capability, and best-in-class fuel economy’’ in making the Chevy a rare unanimous winner. There were six other contenders for the award: Chevy’s Silverado; Ford’s F-150, F-450, and Transit; and GMC’s Canyon and Sierra Denali 2500 HD … The folks at Cars.com named their nominees for Best of 2015. Pickup truck finalists are the Chevrolet Colorado, Ford F-150, Ford Super Duty F250/F-350, GMC Sierra 2500/3500, and Toyota Tacoma TRD Pro. Top car nominees for Best of 2015 are the BMW M4, Dodge Challenger, Honda Fit, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Subaru Outback, and VW Golf … The finalists for the North American Car of the Year are the Ford Mustang, Hyundai Genesis, and VW Golf. SUV/Truck finalists are the Chevy Colorado, Ford F-150, and Lincoln MKC. The awards, now in their 22d year, are announced at next month’s North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Chevrolet swept last year’s awards with the Corvette Stingray and Silverado pickup.
Ads to Remember
There are interesting auto ads running these days. Lexus has its annual “Season to Remember’’ TV commercials running with white vehicles and red bows. Infiniti is countering with a similar ad with black cars … Side note to my Mustang convertible-driving son: Ford is now shipping the 2015 Mustang convertible to dealers. Among the available features are heated seats and remote starting. It also has selectable drive modes that include snow/wet. “These Mustangs are meant for year-round practicality and enjoyment,’’ says Melanie Banker, Mustang brand manager. Mustang starts its 51st year with more than 9.2 million sold since 1964 … Looking ahead to January: The Boston International Auto Show returns to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center from Jan. 15-19, ending on the Martin Luther King holiday Monday … Season’s Greetings to all.
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