Bangkok--20 Feb--Hill+Knowlton Strategies
Ford built the new Ranger pickup truck to take on the world's toughest conditions. And when the world's toughest conditions weren't tough enough, Ford created a new season of Science of Truck, with tests designed to push the truck to its limits – tests so extreme they had the potential to tear a lesser truck apart.
The tests are designed to simulate the reliability and durability testing that Ford vehicles go through before hitting the road.
The intense new season of Science of Truck will demonstrate that whether it's towing heavy payloads up dirt hills – in reverse – having its bed loaded – on the go – or spinning around on a custom-built centrifuge, the Ranger takes it all in its stride.
"The original series tested the Ranger in extreme versions of situations customers face in their daily lives," said Vince Gower, Vehicle Engineering Manager, Ford Motor Company. "For the second season, we shifted into an even higher gear. We wanted to show that it can handle situations far beyond what the real world can throw at you."
· Air Mail: The new Ford Ranger was engineered to deliver responsive handling that enhances driver confidence, even in adverse conditions. But how do the Ranger's smart adaptive systems handle heavy loads being dropped into the truck bed – in the middle of a high-speed slalom challenge? Click https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mRLwuOWwBg to watch the results.
· Back it Up: Towing a 2,000-kg payload up a steep incline would be enough of a challenge for many trucks. Towing 2,000 kg from a dead stop in reverse will put the advantages of the Ranger's traction control, Hill Launch Assist and locking rear differential on clear display. And what about a 45-degree ascent up a dirt hill with a full payload? You can see how the Ranger handles a test that would leave some trucks spinning their wheelshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfoP1hjIVFg.
· Ranger-fuge: The Ranger's frame was precisely engineered using eight different kinds of steel to optimize strength, weight, performance and energy distribution. How better to demonstrate its strength than attaching 600kg of extra mass with weights at each end and rotating it at high speed on a specially constructed centrifuge? Watch this episode https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6dQpvhjZ0U if you've ever wondered if your truck could tow the equivalent of not one, but two space shuttles. And if the test leaves your head spinning, watch for exclusive behind-the-scenes footage and an interactive 360-degree panorama to see how it all came togetherhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUyxgdsykoQ.
"We've been working on and testing the Ranger for years – putting it through countless tests that demonstrate how durable this truck is, how strong, smart and tough it is," said Gower. "And then we started doing stuff like this. This is so far beyond what we do in the lab. You've really got to see it to believe it!"
In the first season of Science of Truck, Ford put the Ranger's capabilities through a string of extreme tests – towing over 50 tons of rock in a wheel-less sled over the course of a single day, 24 hours of high-speed driving on a rough Thai jungle track, and subjecting the Ranger's bed, suspension and tires to brutal load drops with a combined max payload of 1,100kg*. The Ranger barely broke a sweat.