Folks at Oklahoma City GMC are going to have some competition in the SUV class when the 2011 Ford Explorer is released on the market. You can get a used model at Bradenton used cars, but older model Explorers are not equipped with Ford’s innovative new Curve Control technology. While the sporty models you can get at VW Peoria are known for their superior handling, we’ve never seen such tight cornering from an SUV like we have with the prototype 2011 Explorers currently being reviewed by auto industry professionals.
Dave Messih is an engineer at Ford Motor Company and describes curve control as a way “to reduce the vehicle speed to help you stay inside the intended path.” The technology reduces engine torque just enough to help you corner more tightly, and can reduce your vehicle’s speed by 10 mph in one second. Imagine taking a corner at 50 mph and you can feel your vehicle slipping either into the oncoming lane or the shoulder; a bit unnerving. You could tap your brakes and adjust your speed, but you are going to have to manually correct your steering direction to avoid a crash. When turned on, Curve Control will take the current traveling speed and how much the driver is intending to turn the vehicle and then adjust your speed accordingly. The actual calculations that Curve Control does is above most of our physics and calculus educations, but the technology reacts instantly so that the driver doesn’t have to adjust their steering. If you took that same corner again at 50 mph but had the Curve Control activated, you wouldn’t have to brake and correct your steering at all. Plus, the torque reduction is so subtle that your passengers won’t notice a shift in speed nor will they crush one another as they slide around the backseat from cornering too sharply!
As mentioned earlier, the feature will be standard on the 2011 Ford Explorer. Like many safety technology features, this one can be disabled should you want to go off-roading and take corners at more than safe speeds! Ford hopes that this feature will become standard on all of their North American SUV, truck, van, and crossover lineup by 2015.
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