Much of the focus lately on Ford products has surrounded technology, as in Ford Sync. That changed yesterday, however, with the announcement of the new Ford Green Escape. That’s green as in environmentally friendly, although you can get it in green the color also. The emphasis for the Green Escape is in two areas – the components and the noise.
The components that go into building the Green Escape are all made from environmentally friendly materials designed to make it 85% recyclable. Some of the features include seats that contain 5% soy foam, carpet made from 25 recycled 20 ounce plastic bottles, dash insulation made from 10 pounds of scrap cotton from the clothing industry, and a climate control gasket made from 100% recycled tires. In addition to the eco-friendly components, there are also features like the EcoBoost engine and a six-speed automatic transmission.
Ford’s engineers also put a lot of thought into noise levels and worked out ways to make the new Green Escape as quiet as possible. For instance the body structure is 20 percent stiffer to help reduce road noise, the sunroof has a fabric mesh deflector to reduce wind noise when open, and the exterior mirrors are what Ford calls “aero-acoustically optimized” which also helps to reduce wind noise, both with the windows open and shut.
Ford also used special sound treatment methods to audibly insulate the carpet, dash panel, and interior trim panels to further reduce the transmission of noise. They even enhanced door and windows sealing.
Of course, the Green Escape still contains those great tech features that today’s Ford customers have come to expect. The Sync computer system helps the driver control everything from music to phone to directions. The Green Escape also has a great aerodynamic look that fits the small-sized SUV.
