New Ford Fusion skips over potholes

It does this by employing pothole mitigation technology that detects potholes and “catches” the car’s wheel before it has a chance to drop all the way in.

Ford has just recently announced that they’ve developed an advanced computer-controlled shock absorber system for their 2017 Fusion V6 Sport, so that means you’ve got to grab this if you feel like driving easily.

In detail, the system is called Continuously Controlled Damping and it utilizes 12 different sensors that monitors the road every 2 milliseconds. Continuously Controlled Dampening system will basically turn the Fusion into a pothole resistant vehicle and this is what most consumers actually need. The rear wheel in tandem is braced for the same impact when the first goes in.

The car’s computer detects when the auto is running over a pothole, then instantly adjusts the shock absorbers to keep the tire from dropping into the depression.

Ford unveiled the new, redesigned Ford Fusion at the Detroit Auto Show last January. To help engineers create more robust chassis systems and develop new innovations to ensure Ford vehicles can better withstand the world’s increasingly choppy roads. That Lommel Proving Ground has test tracks sprawled out over 50 miles, equipped with upwards of 100 extreme surfaces replicated from 25 countries and including 1.2 miles of potholes.

According to AAA, US drivers spend about $3 billion every year to cover pothole damages to their cars, with some of them reporting paying $300 to fix this type of damage.

“From a rutted traffic junction in China to a bumpy German side-street, this road is a rogues’ gallery of the most bruising surfaces that our customers might encounter”, said Eric-Jan Scharlee, Ford’s durability technical specialist.

Similar technology is available on some luxury cars, including Ford’s Lincoln MKZ. “By incorporating these real-world challenges into our test facilities we can develop future vehicles to better cope with challenging conditions”.

Engineers drive through the potholes and over surfaces as diverse as granite blocks from Belgium and cobbles from Paris, at speeds of nearly 80kph. For example, the all-new Transit van was driven over the course more than 5,000 times as part of a testing regime created to simulate 10 years of driver use in just six months.