Welcome to Ford’s Drivability Test Facility locatedsomewhere in Detroit. Here they don’t just test parts like steering racks andsteering gearboxes, they test the car as a whole against the most severedriving conditions. This building is what they call “explosion-proof” and theycan create the harsh rain, snow and wind of a blizzard, as well as temperatureshotter than you could bear.
It’s amazing the lengths they go to that ensure that theircars don’t let you down. During the test shown in these photos, Fordtechnicians were testing “snow ingestion” on the newly re-designed 2013 FordEscape. Here, they pushed snow into the grill of the car and tested itscharging system, engine cooling, cabin heating, as well as the effects of thesnow buildup. From the comfort of the warm room next door, the technicians areable to shift the transmission, slam on the brakes, and accelerate the Escapethrough the man-made wind tunnel. Withthe flick of a switch they can create rain which instantly freezes into snowand pours down on the vehicle.
This is just one of many “torture tests” Ford conducts ontheir vehicles before they hit the streets. Ford is obviously not the onlymanufacturer that performs these tests, but from the glimpse they give it lookslike a pretty cool job. Having driven the same car through both the winter blizzards of the Northeast and the dead heat of Las Vegas' August desert, it’s obviously important that every car is able to handle both extremes of driving conditions. How does your car handle?
