The 2009 Ford lineup continues the company’s strong safety record, introducing even more standard safety features to customers.

Key Ford safety technologies include:

* SOS Post Crash Alert System, which honks the horns and activates emergency flashers in the event air bags are deployed, comes standard on several vehicles including on the 2009 Ford Taurus, Taurus X, Ford Edge, Ford Explorer, F-Series Super Duty and other vehicles.

* The Safety Canopy(r) side-curtain air bag rollover protection system is a Ford exclusive feature that helps protect front and rear outboard passengers in both rollovers and side-impact crashes. It is designed to stay inflated for several seconds, as rollover crashes often last much longer than side-impact crashes. The system not only helps cushion customers in impacts but helps prevent occupants from being ejected from the vehicle in rollovers.

* Ford’s Side Protection and Cabin Enhancement architecture (SPACE) was first introduced on the Ford Taurus and is standard on the 2009 Ford Flex. It is designed to help channel crash forces using strategically placed steel rails and square tubes under the car body, the vertical door posts (“B-pillars”), in between the front and rear seats, and in the front diagonal posts (“A-pillars”). The rails are designed to bend and the tubes compress in a severe crash. This creates 10 different crush zones in different parts of the car to help channel crash forces away from the occupants inside.

* AdvanceTrac with Roll Stability Control is the industry’s only electronic stability control system that uses two gyroscopic sensors to monitor both yaw and roll motion, helps the driver maintain control and keep the vehicle on the road during situations that may lead to rollover. NHTSA and IIHS say this technology could potentially save thousands of lives a year if equipped on every light passenger vehicles in the U.S.