Northwest Herald from Woodstock, Illinois • Page 53

HERALD WHEELS Friday, March 25. 1994 Page 13 WHEELS designed with a womM9 tdiicli i I wgpi I 11 VN 'rr Vehicle: 1994 Ford Windstar. Type: minivan. Price: $19,455. Cargo: 144 cubic feet, second and third row seats removed.

Wheelbase: 120.7 inches. Length: 201.2 inches. Width: 75.4 inches. Weight: 3,730 pounds. Fuel tank: 20 gallons.

Engine: 3.8 V6, electronic fuel injection. Transmission: four speed automatic. Horsepower: 155 at 4,000 revolutions per minute. Torque: 220 horsepower at 3,000 rpm. Tires: P20570R15 (GL), P215 70R 15 (LX).

Steering: power rack and pinion. Brakes: 10.86 inch front disc, 10 inch rear drum. Ford pickup for business arid "that's a real joke." "I have to grab on to the steering wheel and hoist myself in," she said. Taking her 2-year-old son to day care every morning is also a chore, and Curry said it's easy to get in and out of Windstar's back seat, even while wearing a dress and heels and carrying 25 extra pounds during pregnancy. Electrical engineer Priscilla Summers said she modified a wire running along the floorboard that tended to catch the tips of high heels.

Although a minivan is considered a truck, Ford built the Windstar with car-like features. The automaker put its women's marketing committee on the job a group bent on putting a women's touch on certain Ford vehicles. Other Windstar features designed for women include: A hanging strap used to reach and pull down the hatch. A driver's seat that slides closer to the gas pedal for shorter women. Adjustable seat belt straps that can be moved so they don't cut across the neck.

Cup trays in the back seats that can also fit kids' square juice boxes. Stereo control buttons in the back seat area and headphone plugs for teen-agers and a kill switch for By JULIA PRODIS AP Business Writer DEARBORN, Mich. Not that good mileage and aerodynamic styling aren't important. But when Ford designed its new minivan, the engineers' priority was to make sure a pregnant woman in high heels could put a baby in the back seat. Mothers were not just the customers 4n mind for the Windstar.

They were also the designers and engineers. "This is one of the first truck products that really has a female target market," said Holly Kramer, marketing coordinator for the Windstar, which goes on sale Thursday. Some of its features include low steps so drivers and passengers can get in and out without difficulty, even while wearing a long, straight skirt, and dashboard controls that can be manipulated by someone with long fingernails. The vehicle is the No. 2 U.S.

automaker's biggest challenge yet to Chrysler dominance of one of the fastest-growing segments of the auto market. Engineer Sue Curry was pregnant with her first child when she was assigned to the Windstar project. Now 8V2 months pregnant with her second child, she said she has to drive a big Photo provided Ford's Windstar is the fifth of 14 new prdoucts Ford will bring on line in a 24 month period that began May 1993. The above minivan interior is one reason Ford officials believe the Windstar will become a bestt selling minivan. In 1982 12,846 minivans were sold in the United States.

That number reached 1,051,886 for the first 11 months of 1993. moms up front if the music gets out of hand. Chris Cedergren, an analyst for Thousand Oaks, consulting firm AutoPacific Group agreed that the Windstar is well-suited for women, the group that "basically decides the fate of the compact van market." going to be very, very close together in their abilities and what they can do," Cedergren said. "And they will each have their own distinctions of what they can do better." The Windstar's base price is $19,455. The base model of Chrysler's Dodge Caravan starts at $15,520.

The Grand Caravan, considered more comparable to the Windstar, sells for $18,178. "The Windstar will put pressure on Chrysler, no doubt. But Chrysler's hot sitting idly by," he said. By this time next year, Chrysler plans to introduce a new-generation minivan. The company, which has a 50 percent share of the minivan market, has invested $2.3 billion in the project.

"The Chrysler and Ford vans are Insurance study puts brakes on antilocks "I think there is a perception out there that antilock brakes are going to allow you to stop on a dime in any crash situation." Brian O'Neill Insurance spokesman shown that antilock brakes can prevent skids and spins during sudden stops. The study did not explain why antilock brakes didn't curtail the number and severity of accidents in everyday driving. But previous studies have indicated that most accidents are not caused by uncontrolled skids and that drivers either don't know how to use antilock brakes or take less care in driving vehicles equipped with them. The institute based its findings on a study of 95,000 insur still believes cars and minivans should have antilock brakes. But it also said the study showed that they should be considered secondary safety devices, behind air bags and seat belts.

Automakers and government regulators said more research is needed on antilock brake systems, or ABS. "Our concern is that a bad message not get out there about ABS," said Jay Minotas, insurance industry relations manager for GM. "There are a lot of benefits to ABS, and we know they're there." "There isn't enough data yet," said Barry Felrice, associate administrator for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "I would continue to advise people, if they can afford it, to purchase it." About 43 percent of all cars sold in the 1993 model year were equipped with antilock brakes. But Congress has asked NHTSA to consider requiring them on all cars.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS DETROIT Vehicles with four wheel antilock- brakes are involved in as many accidents and sustain as much damage as those without the highly touted devices, according to an insurance industry study. "I think there is a perception out there that antilock brakes are going to allow you to stop on a dime in any crash situation," said Brian O'Neill, president of the Highway Loss Data Institute, which conducted the study ance claims involving seven General Motors Corp. vehicles: subcompact Pontiac Sunbird and Chevrolet Cavalier, compact Beretta and Corsica passenger cars, and Chevrolet Lumina APV, Oldsmobile Silhouette and Pontiac TransSport minivans. The institute said it found virtually no difference in the accident rates or the amount of damage in 1991 vehicles without antilock brakes and similar 1992 models equipped with the devices. The insurance group said it released in January.

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