Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   The International Automotive Scene (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/international-automotive-scene/)

-   -   Ford subjects even its badges to torture tests; Ensure durability in all market conditions (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/international-automotive-scene/278691-ford-subjects-even-its-badges-torture-tests-ensure-durability-all-market-conditions.html)

According to reports, American car giant Ford, subjects its 'Blue Oval' badge to torture tests to ensure its durability.

The Ford badges are tested individually and while installed on the vehicle. The torture tests include a wide range of situations and conditions to ensure they are durable across different markets.



Tests with the badge on the vehicle include enduring 300 miles of chipped-stone roads, a powerful wind tunnel and 60 car washes. Ford engineers even pelt the door seals, badges, headlights & adhesives with 1,700 psi pressure washers from a foot away. Further to this, engineers at Ford are said to have even created an acid bath which simulates 10 years of corrosion.

Other tests include a brutal freezing process to temperatures as low as -40 degrees Celsius. Apart from this, Ford attaches and reattaches the badge over and over and makes it sustain streams of high-pressure water.

Reports state that the badge is made using polymethyl methacrylate and a transparent thermoplastic; it measures 244 mm in width. Ford uses either blue colour (for production vehicles) or black colour (for special vehicles) on the badges.

Source: TheDrive

Link to Team-BHP news

Ironically I have seen many fords ( even in my ex- ikon) like the figo, fiesta etc where the badge lettering has completely gone off. Guess the torture test is not enough. Fellow team bhp members can comment on the badge durability?

I guess those are cars where the cleaners use force to clean the badges. The one on my Fiesta was perfect for the entire 14 years it was with me--only once it had to be glued back as it had fallen off in my office parking.

Tbe one on the Figo is perfect for the past 11.5 years.

Looks like a news piece built for marketing. :)

There are plenty of Ford Badges wearing off instances, even internationally. They would be doing it, but, ideally the news should be about the details on how they torture test their cars/components.

Same here. I have also seen many fall off on older Fords. However, mine is still intact, touchwood. Maybe they should include adhesives in the torture tests.

What I would ideally like to see is Ford spending all that resources on managing its operations and marketing in India better. Sadly, as is the case in most corporations, they splurge on little things like the above instead of where it actually matters.

Well my Figo lost its badge within 9 years of our ownership

So they spend millions testing badges?! And yet, they still have not mastered updating their own SYNC system. Takes hours, if it can be done at all.

On our Focus, the Ford IT boffins could not update the Sync system and therefore the navigation system for almost 18 months.

If I have said it a million times, I have said it a billion times. Car companies are the worst when it comes to IT. That is why they put out totally ridiculous announcements like this.

Who gives a toss when your Ford badge falls off? Not being able to update your Sync and or your navigation system is a real issue.

Get real Ford. Give some of your mechanical engineers who work on badges the boot and get yourself some proper IT competence.

Jeroen

Classic case of resource wasting and looking stupid when "departments" get involved.

This is just news for marketing. Every reputed manufacturer does a plethora of tests on each component to test its durability and reliability under extreme conditions. This is true not just for automobiles but for every product that we use. There are reliability engineering teams hired for this very purpose. I don't see anything special in this testing by Ford.

rl:Our Fiesta's front badge fell off within very few years of ownership (around five)! So I wonder how generalisable these claims are for older cars. Our Ikon's front badge also wore out to the point that it turned from a blue oval to a silver oval!

Even my real world observations of other Ford's do not suggest that these tests are representative of Indian conditions. :)

Incidentally, My Ford Ecosport’s rear badge fell off in the last long trip. I have got it replaced at Ford ASC for Rs 1553. Labour charges extra.

The new one is not as smoothly contoured like the original one. But there is no option. Couldn’t allow the vehicle without manufacture’s badge.

There’s one thing about the Ford spares. They have good supply and the pricing is reasonable.

What difference does this make to owners forget regular viewers? Does it reduce maintenance costs, or enhance the longevity of the vehicle?

Godbless to those who conduct such tests and more blessings to those who spread such useless information.

Every OEM has multiple dedicated departments whose sole responsibility is to execute reliability/performance testing. Some tests are done by Suppliers, some by independent 3rd party labs and some directly by the OEM.

At the scale and level OEMs operate and the regulatory scrutiny they are under, anything can easily cost "millions" to develop and test. It's not as if other companies just slap on a piece of metal or plastic and call it a day.

This is nothing new. Seems to be just a puff piece.