Ford dominates at the Euro NCAP awards
American car manufacturer Ford is celebrating after three of its vehicles were honoured at Euro NCAP's 2012 best-in-class safety awards ceremony.
The fact that there was only seven possible prizes up for grabs at the event means that the Ford Motor Company was undoubtedly the standout vehicle maker at this year's awards.
In deciding the winners of each of its prestigious gongs, Euro NCAP looked back at the vehicle crash test performance ratings of every motor up for nomination, as well as the availability of advanced safety technologies.
It was clearly evident from these points that Ford was in with a shot of success at the awards ceremony. This is because the new B-MAX, new Fiesta, new Kuga and new Transit Custom all achieved maximum five-star ratings under Euro NCAP's new crash test scoring system throughout 2012.
On top of this, the Ford Ranger and Focus vehicles retained their five-star ratings which they originally received in 2011, despite going through more stringent tests last year.
With a long list to choose from, it was almost inevitable that at least one vehicle slapped with the Ford logo was going to be honoured by Euro NCAP in its best-in-class safety awards.
However, the manufacturer was overjoyed to see its new Kuga model excelling in the SUV sector, its Transit Custom van triumphing in the Business and Family Vans class and the B-MAX being named the joint winner in the small MPV category.
Stuart Southgate, the automotive safety director at Ford, underlined that the achievements were marked as "safety is a core value at Ford".
However, Mr Southgate was also keen to stress: "For Euro NCAP to evaluate our vehicles and determine that they are segment leaders in their safety assessment is a wonderful recognition of the values and talent of our designers and engineers."