Ford move to European sourced product

Ford move to European sourced product

By Russell Williamson

Ford in Indonesia will begin sourcing its vehicles from Ford
of Europe over the next two years.

The first of these products, the Escort, will be on show at
the Jakarta Auto Expo and is expected to go on sale in the first
quarter of next year.

The Escort is likely to replace the present Mazda-sourced
Japanese-built Laser as Ford's small car competitor.

Although PT Bimantara Automotive, the parent company which
distributes Ford in Indonesia, has yet to make a decision on
whether the free market Laser will disappear, with such small
sales volumes and a much better, more modern European product, it
seems likely.

The president director of Bimantara, Jongkie Sugiarto, said:
"We will see whether the demand of the free market Laser is still
there or not and if not, we will discontinue it and replace with
the Escort."

He said the Laser would continue in production for taxis
because the industry needed the continuity of spare parts for the
vehicles and it was a simple vehicle, which could be easily
repaired.

The Escort will be offered initially as a four-door sedan but
Jongkie said the company may also look at the five-door hatch
version if the market demanded it.

Under the hood is a 1600cc low-emission engine from Ford's
Zetec-E family.

The 16-valve, 65kW double overhead cam (DOHC) engine provides
plenty of torque in the low to mid-rev band, making it a very
usable engine.

The Escort will be available with either a manual or automatic
transmission and in two trim levels: LX and top-of-the-range
Ghia.

In Europe, depending on specifications, the Escort comes with
dual air bags, an electronic antilock brake system, height-
adjustable seat belts, side-impact protection, power steering,
rear fog lamps and central locking.

Also available in Europe is the unique CTX continuously-
variable automatic transmission.

This type of transmission dispenses with specific shift points
in gear changes and essentially has only one forward gear.

When the accelerator pedal is fully depressed, the engine
immediately revs to its maximum and the car accelerates rapidly,
until the throttle is released when the desired speed is reached.

The Escort has been widely praised for its low levels of noise
vibration and harshness and already meets the European drive-by
noise control standards, which will be introduced there next
year.

Measures introduced to achieve these low levels include a
40mm-thick acoustic shield under the engine, which not only
reduces noise but protects the engine from stones, a stainless
steel exhaust system, with extra sound-deadening material and
improved door seals.

Vibration has also been reduced through improvements to the
suspension mountings and geometry.

Although there has been no price set for the Escort, Jongkie
said he hoped they would be able to sell it at about 10 percent
lower than the current Laser, which sells for about Rp 71
million.

The Escort is also likely to be joined by its bigger mid-sized
European brother, the Mondeo.

This might become available in Indonesia as early as late next
year and would replace the current Mazda 626-based Telstar.

The Mondeo offers good interior space for its size and plenty
of power from a 2000cc engine.

-------
Caption:

Ford's European Escort is likely to replace the Japanese built
Laser early next year.