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Five-Star Windstar Helps Kickoff National Child Passenger Safety Week

15 February 2000

Five-Star Windstar Helps Kickoff National Child Passenger Safety Week

    WASHINGTON, Feb. 14 -- The 2000 Ford Windstar minivan takes
center stage with the nation's top safety regulator today as the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration kicks off National Child Passenger
Safety Week -- a safety campaign reminding parents to use booster seats when
buckling up children weighing between 40 and 80 pounds.
    Department of Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater and NHTSA Acting
Administrator Rosalyn Millman used the Windstar to demonstrate the
installation of child booster seats in an effort to remind parents and
childcare-givers of an important but often overlooked step in child passenger
safety.
    The Ford Windstar is the only minivan available to have earned the U.S.
government's highest frontal crash test rating, five stars for driver and
front passenger, for five straight years.  Additionally, with optional side
impact air bags, Windstar is the only minivan to combine a double five-star
frontal crash rating with a double five-star side impact rating.  This makes
Windstar the first and only vehicle to earn the government's quadruple five
star rating.
    The 2000 Ford Windstar also is the only minivan equipped with LATCH (Lower
Anchors and Tethers for Children), a standard child safety seat anchorage
system that is not required on all vehicles by federal safety regulations
until Sept. 1, 2002.  This anchorage system secures child safety seats to car
frames with a set of special rigid metal attachment points, rather than using
the safety belts.  The child safety seat is placed directly onto the metal
points, making it easier to use and providing for a more secure attachment in
vehicles.  This system helps further improve parents' and caretakers'
abilities to securely anchor child safety seats properly.
    "At Ford, we believe in providing safety features in our high volume
vehicles to reach as many customers as possible, as soon as possible," said
Helen Petrauskas, vice president, Environmental and Safety Engineering.  "The
Windstar minivan is a perfect example of how these features can help our
customers provide a safe driving environment for their families."
    The Windstar features safety and security innovations for the whole
family.  These include second-generation driver and front passenger air bags
in frontal collisions; optional head-and-chest side impact air bags; the
BeltMinder system that reminds drivers to buckle up; antilock brakes;
SecuriLock(TM) passive anti-theft system; a remote keyless entry system; and
power door locks.
    A new option for Windstar this year is power adjustable pedals, which will
be available to customers in May 2000.  The adjustable pedals enable smaller
stature drivers to move the pedals up to four inches toward the seat while
maintaining a comfortable operating distance from the steering wheel.