How many times have you hit your vehicle’s doors on an adjacent car or a wall? The answer is probably one too many dings and scratches to remember. Of course, the aftermarket industry offers various solutions like vertical door protector strips, but add-ons will always be add-ons with undesirable aesthetic results.
In a rare moment of Zen, Ford has come up with a clever and fully functional feature that protects the doors without ruining the appearance of your car. Aptly named Door Edge Protector, the system was designed by Ford engineers in Cologne, Germany.
It comprises of a protective flap concealed in the door that moves into position in a fraction of a second as the door opens providing a buffer to prevent damage to paint and body work.
The rubber flap fully extends at a door opening gap of less than 15cm and according to Ford, retracts in a mere 60 milliseconds to allow for doors being slammed shut. It also includes a clutch mechanism that prevents damage if the flap is obstructed when returning.
Ford says that the feature offers protection against more than 90 per cent of variously positioned obstructions to the front doors and 85 per cent at the rear doors. And for heavy users, the rubber flap can be replaced simply by clipping a new unit into place.
“The Door Edge Protector will be one of those features that we think will make customers say ‘Why didn’t someone think of this sooner?’” said Matthias Tensing, product development system engineer. “It will help parents with children in the backseat or anyone who needs to park in a tight spot.”
The Door Edge Protection system will make its production debut in January 2012 on the new Focus.
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