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SUV Safety: Ford Explorer Sport Trac Worst in U.S. Safety Test

Aired February 05, 2004 - 06:15   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for a little "Business Buzz" right now. A popular American SUV gets the worst rating in a national safety test.
Carrie Lee has more live from the Nasdaq market site.

Good morning -- Carrie.

CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

We're talking about the Ford Explorer Sport Trac, which received the worst rating among 14 vehicles tested in a new government safety test. The idea here to test to predict the likelihood of a rollover during a sharp turn.

Now the Federal Auto Safety Agency uses a five-star system. Five means the safest. The Sport Trac 4x2, and this is a rear-wheel SUV, earned just two stars. And that means that the rollover risk in a one-vehicle crash is 30 to 40 percent. Pretty high.

Ford says the test uses an extreme maneuver that does not necessarily reflect real world driving. But Ford says it is considering adopting the test conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Interesting, Carol, because this test was adopted last fall by the government. Before this, they pretty much used a mathematical formula. So at least, from a consumer standpoint, it's good that they are actually testing these vehicles on the road.

COSTELLO: All right. Carrie Lee live from the Nasdaq market site.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





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Aired February 5, 2004 - 06:15   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for a little "Business Buzz" right now. A popular American SUV gets the worst rating in a national safety test.
Carrie Lee has more live from the Nasdaq market site.

Good morning -- Carrie.

CARRIE LEE, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

We're talking about the Ford Explorer Sport Trac, which received the worst rating among 14 vehicles tested in a new government safety test. The idea here to test to predict the likelihood of a rollover during a sharp turn.

Now the Federal Auto Safety Agency uses a five-star system. Five means the safest. The Sport Trac 4x2, and this is a rear-wheel SUV, earned just two stars. And that means that the rollover risk in a one-vehicle crash is 30 to 40 percent. Pretty high.

Ford says the test uses an extreme maneuver that does not necessarily reflect real world driving. But Ford says it is considering adopting the test conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Interesting, Carol, because this test was adopted last fall by the government. Before this, they pretty much used a mathematical formula. So at least, from a consumer standpoint, it's good that they are actually testing these vehicles on the road.

COSTELLO: All right. Carrie Lee live from the Nasdaq market site.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com





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