It is 3 pounds lighter, thinner, more cost-effective and designed to be more comfortable for drivers as they spend more time behind the wheel, said Mike Kolich, an engineer with the global seating comfort team that has 14 members worldwide.
Known as “F Gen II” (for second-generation seats for family vehicles), it is one of two front-seat structures to be used in all Ford and Lincoln vehicles in the future. The company will add more features to seats for Lincoln.
The other seat family, code-named MS, debuted in the new global Ford Focus.
All Ford seats must now meet a global comfort standard.
The Escape seat will also support a global array of backsides, fitted in the crossover that will be sold as the Kuga in Europe and Asia Pacific.
Ford also is working on a single structure for rear seats with the flexibility to flip and fold as needed. That design will soon replace all existing back seats, Kolich said.
Until 2005, Ford relied on suppliers to engineer its seats; there were about 10 designs across the lineup. Ford decided to take over the work internally, creating savings with common seats and parts.
Ford is one of the few automakers to do its own seats, but other companies are trending in that direction. Ford has seven exclusive patents on its work.
“It’s been hugely beneficial,” Kolich said. “Now we’re among the leaders in seat comfort.”
Ford is using virtual technology to evaluate designs to better ensure quality, craftsmanship and comfort before the prototype stage, said Elizabeth Baron, virtual reality and advanced visualization technical specialist.
In its labs, Ford suits up engineers to work in a virtual interior.
Baron also uses “augmented reality” technology that lays a virtual seat over the current one to evaluate the differences between the two with an X-ray-like transparency that shows how the seat touches the body.
Third-party data from Global Quality Research System shows Ford and General Motors Co. are leaders, Kolich said. Consumer satisfaction scores for Ford seats have risen steadily from 78 percent in 2005 to 83 percent in 2010.
The average driver spends 101 minutes a day on the road, according to a University of California study.
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