[VKumar]

It looks like Ford has silently added ABS and EBD to the trend variants of Figo and Aspire:

To avoid any confusion, here is an on site comparo to show the presence of ABS + EBD in both petrol and diesel Trend trim.

[asit.kulkarni93]

Originally Posted by VKumar

It looks like Ford has silently added ABS and EBD to the trend variants of Figo and Aspire:

To avoid any confusion, here is an on site comparo to show the presence of ABS + EBD in both petrol and diesel Trend trim.

That's a great move by Ford. This addition of these safety features to the trend variant makes the Figo even more value-for-money. I guess this is one of the best diesel hatchbacks one can buy under Rs. 10-Lakh. It's a brilliant package. Wish it sells more.

[RavenAvi]

Seems like Ford India has done a silent upgrade to it's Figo hatch and the Aspire sedan, by adding ABS (Anti-Lock Braking System) with EBD (Electronic Brakeforce Distribution) to the Trend variants of both sibling cars.

This gives a much needed safety boost to the Trend variants, which are otherwise decently loaded with plenty of other contemporary features, including dual airbags & keyless entry.

Official Link 1

Official Link 2

[Aditya]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Indian Car Scene.

[aravind.anand]

This being such a nice move, I wonder why Ford did it so silently, while VW has been making headlines for making ABS standard on the Vento just today...

Come on Ford, you are not removing ABS from your car to save some costs, its okay to tell it out

[dpkbehera]

It looks like Ford have either exhausted their marketing budget or they do not want to disturb the existing marketing program.

Anways, the customer is the winner here.

[Mad Max]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

This being such a nice move, I wonder why Ford did it so silently, while VW has been making headlines for making ABS standard on the Vento just today...

Come on Ford, you are not removing ABS from your car to save some costs, its okay to tell it out

The first rule of Ford club is to not talk about Ford club.

But seriously, I don't buy that they exhausted their marketing budget so badly that they couldn't afford a front page ad on one newspaper. Good cars, decent service but amazingly inept marketing and roadmaps.

I hope they'll let us know when they launch their diesel automatic.

[amtak]

I own a Ford Figo DCT and completely happy with Ford India's service and performance of the car. It is indeed good that Ford is taking up safety, very seriously.

[aravind.anand]

Originally Posted by Mad Max

But seriously, I don't buy that they exhausted their marketing budget so badly that they couldn't afford a front page ad on one newspaper. Good cars, decent service but amazingly inept marketing and roadmaps.

I hope they'll let us know when they launch their diesel automatic.

I don't buy that one too. Say, they really have exhausted the marketing budget, but what would it cost them, to put this good news on their own website with a nice picture?

Or just give a press release on this, and get covered by media? Or even use their facebook and twitter accounts to announce this to the world?

Why would they wait till some alert car enthusiast notice this from their spec sheet and then post it on T-BHP, and then be noticed by other media?

Originally Posted by Mad Max

The first rule of Ford club is to not talk about Ford club.

That was a good one

[heydj]

Originally Posted by aravind.anand

This being such a nice move, I wonder why Ford did it so silently, while VW has been making headlines for making ABS standard on the Vento just today...

Maybe not to alienate buyers who bought these models recently without these features. Ford could be so afraid of negative comments from existing/new owners that for them it out weighed the appreciation from prospective buyers.

Or they have finally realized buyers in India don't care about safety features, build quality etc. To Indians chrome, bling, touch screen systems matter more.

After all VW & Ford despite offering solid cars are not able to set sales chart on fire. Whereas rattle boxes and zero safety rated cars sell like crazy.

[anachronix]

On the topic of marketing, what you have mentioned is indeed very evident.

For example, the Fiesta has some sort of a simple regenerative braking system that is used to control the way the alternator charges the battery by taking the load off the engine during acceleration. This I am sure you wouldn't have seen in any marketing flyer!

Originally Posted by Mad Max

The first rule of Ford club is to not talk about Ford club.

But seriously, I don't buy that they exhausted their marketing budget so badly that they couldn't afford a front page ad on one newspaper. Good cars, decent service but amazingly inept marketing and roadmaps.

I hope they'll let us know when they launch their diesel automatic.

[1100D]

I guess they did it silently, so that customers who bought these variants recently, without ABS, dont queue up on the workshops/showrooms for a retrofit.

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by 1100D

I guess they did it silently, so that customers who bought these variants recently, without ABS, dont queue up on the workshops/showrooms for a retrofit.

The way I see it, most buyers who opt for a Non ABS car are not very safety conscious. If safety was paramount, they would have opted for a car that is a segment lower but with safety features, for around the same price as a non ABS Figo. So announcement of ABS being available may not cause too much concern to a majority. The sheer number of Swift/Ritz Lxi/Ldi Vxi/Vdi (all non abs) on the road shows how highly is safety regarded by majority of the car buying public.

NOW, if Ford had instead announced a touch screen with navigation in the trend version silently, we may have seen dharnas in front of Ford showrooms by now!

[vijayvelprakash]

If this is done at no increased cost then it is a welcome move from Ford.

The customer is ultimately the winner here. The way I see this is, safety features are pushed by the car manufacturer but customers are giving it a second thought.

The Titanium+ variant of Figo has a waiting period of 8~10 weeks now which indicates that there are no takers for this trim.

[swiftnfurious]

Welcome move by Ford. The Trend variant is usually a VFM trim and the lack of ABS was definitely a turn off for safety conscious people. I'd have loved to see this standard across the range and hopefully in the near future. Happy to see the safety options gaining popularity with manufacturers. This will mean more people buying the variants with safety options and advocating their friends and family for opting the same. Even a 20-30% conversion will help a lot in the long run.

@Ford, you need to make some noise when you do good things! Silence is (relatively) good when you do a recall, not when you add worthy features to your car.