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Ford to Include Standard Trunk Release On Passenger Car Range

30 March 1999

Ford to Include Standard Trunk Release Feature On Passenger Car Range: No Batteries Required

    NEW YORK, March 30 -- Ford Motor Company today
announces it will become the first automaker to install a standard emergency
trunk release system on a range of passenger cars.
    "All Ford, Lincoln and Mercury cars sold in the United States and Canada
will come equipped with this potentially life-saving technology at no cost to
customers," Ken Kohrs, vice president - Large and Luxury Vehicle Center,
announced at the New York Auto Show.  "We're providing this feature to so many
customers because safety -- in all forms -- is a priority at Ford Motor
Company."
    Ford's innovative new emergency trunk release system uses a special
cable-operated release to help prevent youngsters and victims of carjackings
from becoming trapped inside car trunks, where temperatures can soar and
create harmful conditions for those locked inside.
    Inside the trunk, a cable is attached to a T-shaped handle, measuring
roughly 2.25 by 2.75 inches and made of a special phosphorescent material.
This allows the handle to glow in the dark for hours following brief exposure
to ambient light -- without requiring any battery power.
    The T-shaped handle either hangs from the top of the trunk lid or is
located inside the luggage compartment near the tail lamps, depending on the
car model.  The handle will open the trunk if it is pulled from a variety of
directions.
    "We wanted to make this trunk release system easy to use and as intuitive
as possible, for adults as well as children," Kohrs said.  "We've even worked
with youngsters and a child development expert to best understand how children
commonly react and respond to different conditions.
    "For instance, we discovered that, even at young ages, children are
inclined to pull on objects, rather than push.  That's why Ford's release
mechanism will work if it's pulled from a variety of directions."
    In addition, images printed on the T-shaped handle show how pulling it
opens the trunk.
    "Our safety team has worked hard to ensure this feature is user-friendly.
Our biggest hope, of course, is that people never need to use it," Kohrs said.