The All New Ford Focus Receives A Techie Award

The all new Ford Focus has been presented with a "Techie" award from BusinessCar.

Ford's Driver Assist pack, with six high-tech features, debuted with the launch of the new Ford Focus this year,. The pack, priced at £570, was judged by BusinessCar to be worthy of the award.

"It's a big tick next to the box marked duty of care," said BusinessCar editor Paul Barker. "The most useful feature is its low speed safety system, which prevents or mitigates accidents in urban areas. For such a range of technologies brought together as one option, a price well into four figures would be expected."

Alongside the Driver Assist low speed, the forward facing radars, included in the pack, are utilised by a lane keep aid, traffic sign recognition which can read and display the last speed sign, a warning which will sound if the system detects behaviours indicative of driver drowsiness and auto switching of the headlamp high beam. Radars located behind the car's side panels automatically monitor any obstacles in the driver's blind spot.

Kevin Griffin, Ford Britain fleet director, said: "Ford's Driver Assist pack is an option which enables companies to prioritise further the safety of their employees while also minimising running costs.

"Just as parking sensors limit repairs, the technology behind this new pack will do the same for new Ford Focus drivers in a wider variety of situations on the road."

Ford engineers were inspired by the Aero chocolate bar, producing plastic parts with a bubble structure, by injecting gas during the manufacturing process. Their efforts received commendation by BusinessCar's "Techie" awards.

Kerb weight can be reduced by the changing the types or grade of metal used to a stronger and lighter materials. Traditionally, plastic parts have been difficult to reduce in weight without a sacrifice of strength, durability or function. The Ford MuCell technology creates a honeycomb structure in the plastic as it is moulded by introducing gas bubbles. The result is tiny spaces which reduce the amount of plastic required by have no impact on the part's integrity.