AUTOMAKERS GM, Ford's SUVs to include anti-rollover system in '05

Stability control systems could save 7,000 lives, federal study says.
DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., the nation's two largest automakers, said Thursday they'll offer electronic stability control systems as standard equipment on 1.8 million sport utility vehicles in 2005, a significant safety enhancement for the popular vehicles.
No. 1 GM said the vehicles include the Chevrolet Tahoe, Suburban, Avalanche and Trailblazer; GMC Envoy; Hummer H3l Saab 9-7X; and Buick Rainier. The Hummer H2 will get the system in 2006.
The Cadillac Escalade and GMC Yukon Denali already feature standard stability control.
No. 2 Ford said more than 500,000 of its sport utility vehicles will be equipped with the company's anti-rollover system by the end of 2005, and it plans to try to market the technology to other automakers.
Standard equipment
Ford said this summer it would add the stability control system as standard equipment to the 2005 Ford Explorer, Mercury Mountaineer, Lincoln Aviator and Lincoln Navigator, but it didn't provide estimates on quantities.
The anti-rollover system also will be standard on the 2005 Volvo XC90 and available as an option on the 2005 Ford Expedition. The Dearborn-based automaker said the equipment will cost $595 on the Expedition. Ford expects roughly one-quarter of Expedition customers to buy it.
Ford began offering the stability control system in 2003 on the Volvo XC90 and expanded it the next year to the Lincoln SUVs.
Safety factor
Last month, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released a study that said stability control systems could save up to 7,000 lives each year if they were standard equipment on all vehicles -- findings that mirrored those of an earlier federal study.
"Except for the growing use of seat belts, we have rarely seen a technology that brings such a positive safety benefit to the driving public," said GM North America President Gary Cowger.
Ford uses technology and software to monitor and control a vehicle's roll motion during extreme maneuvers. It seeks to right the vehicle by automatically slowing the engine and applying the brakes to the appropriate wheels.