Ford wins two CAA Pyramid Awards

Ford has won two prestigious CAA Pyramid Awards(TM) - one for its newly developed blind-spot mirror and the other for its 100%-recycled seats. This is a historic first, as no automaker has previously won both awards.

CAA-Quebec, the second-largest automobile club in Canada, was part of the awards jury and, since road safety and the environment are among its priorities, fully supports the consensus arrived at by the members. CAA-Quebec was represented by Raynald Côté, who has been in charge of road testing for the organization since 1984 and is an expert in road safety and automobile research.

The Pyramid Award for Safety Innovation of the Year went to the new blind-spot mirror, which uses a secondary convex mirror to widen the driver's field of view and improve views of approaching vehicles by limiting the size of the blind spot. In focus group testing by Ford, 76% of respondents said that the mirror improved their confidence behind the wheel, and that they had no difficulty adjusting their driving habits with the mirror installed. In the opinion of CAA-Quebec and all Canadian clubs, this represents a road safety gain.

The other award was in the category Environmental Initiative of the Year. Ford's seats, available on all Escape models, use 100% post-industrial recycled materials. Their use will save an estimated 600,000 gallons of water, 1.8 million pounds of CO2 and 7 million kilowatts of electricity. Protecting the environment is an important issue, and this type of initiative represents one more step in the right direction.