T he P ortland O bserver • S eptember 6, 1995
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Ford’s New Dashboard: Is It a Belter Idea?
It would be a challenging as­
signment for any designer: into a
space a fraction o f the size o f an
small bathroom, cram a bunch o f
gauges, a network o f ducts for hot or
cold air, a pair o f air bags, a set o f
sophisticated audio components, a
digital clock, several miles ofelectri-
cal wire and the knobs, buttons and
switches to tum it all on and o ff and
up or down.
And don’t forget the big “easys”
- everything has to be easy to reach
and easy to read.
For the 1996 models, Detroit’s
dashboard designers are gambling
on distinctive new layouts. Ford, for
example, is gambling on radical ovals
in its Taurus and Sable models, which
have undergone a multi-billion-dol-
lar face lift inside and out, the most
complete makeover since they first
hit the streets 10 years ago.
The centerpiece is an all-in-one
unit for the radio, the heater and the
air conditioner - an “integrated con­
trol panel,” in Detroit jargon. It’s
slightly off-center egg shape carries
the roundness o f the newly reshaped
rear windows and front end into the
passenger compartment.
Ford is not alone, o f course.
Detroit designers have been asking
basic questions about the way they
lay out dashboards, which they pre­
fer to call “ instrument panels.”
What is the best place for the
headlight and windshield-wiper con­
trols? Do knobs or sliding switches
make the best heater controls? What
shape knob is the easiest to twist?
Does it make sense to line up the
radio or heater controls vertically
instead o f horizontally?
Dashboards date back to the
horse and buggy.
“When horses dashed, they threw
mud up in your face,” said Bruce
Hannah, the former chairman o f the
industrial design department at Pratt
Institute in Brooklyn. The name for
this inside front panel stuck even if
the mud no longer did. Fast-forward
past Henry Ford and the "any color
as long as it’s black” cars. Since the
big-tinned models o f the 1950s, dash­
boards have conveyed what Michael
McDonough, a New Yo rk architect,
calls “the big-picture metaphor.”
“Airplane? Rocket ship? L ivin g
Keep Your Car Running Cool
Summer temperatures can be as
brutal on a poorly maintained auto­
mobile as the most chilling winter
weather.
“ It is trouble for many motorists
when the temperature hits 90 de­
grees, said A A A President Roger
Graybeal. “ Vehicles with weak bat­
teries may have difficulty starting,
air conditioning systems can fail and
poorly maintained cooling systems
can overheat. Cracked belts may snap
and worn hoses can blister and begin
leaking as temperatures rise inside
and outside the engine.
Have the car inspected by an
auto technician to keep vehicles free
from heat-related pro b lem s.
Throughout the summer, motorists
can conduct their own visual inspec­
tion o f hoses, tires and fluid levels,
but only when the engine is cold.
Keep a list handy o f the items that
need checking.
Keep the antifreeze/coolant lev­
el high to prevent the radiator from
overheating Make certain proper 50z
50 mixture o f antifreeze and coolant
is present. I f the coolant is rust col­
ored, have the radiator Hushed out.
Once every 2 years, have the radiator
flushed out.
C heck the owner’s manual and
follow the manufacturer's recommen­
dation. Y o u r car may require a sum­
mer grade oil.
Replace cracked belts, and worn,
cracked, blistered or soft hoses. A
$15 hose could save as much as
$ 1,000 in repairs on an overheated
engine.
Have the air conditioning sys­
tem checked for leaks.
Battery performance is compro­
mised by extremes in temperatures.
A weak batter should be tested and
replaced.
Keep you engine tuned-up. A
m isfiring spark plug can reduce fuel
efficiency by up to 30 percent.
Check your tire pressure. Un­
der-inflated tires can overheat, in­
crease wear, reduce fuel efficiency
and make your vehicle handling more
difficult.
Rotate and balance your car’s
tires every 6,000 to 8,000 miles. It
w ill help guard against blow-outs.
Motorists can keep the cabin
area cooler by using a cardboard
sunshade in the windshield when the
car is parked. Avoid discomfort and
minor bums by shading the vinyl and
plastic surfaces o f the car’s interior.
It w ill also help prevent cnftks int he
seats, dashboard and doors.
“ Even a well-maintained car can
bread down,” said Graybeal. It is a
good idea to carry drinking water.
Also, carry' a cellular telephone or a
citizens band radio so you can call
for help.”
room?” he said. “ Americans want
comfort.”
Indeed, 25 years ago, Ford ad­
vertised the dashboard design for its
flagship L T D and Galaxie 500 mod­
els as “the front room.” It wasn’t
exactly an old fashioned front p al­
lor, but it had a clearly defined instru­
ment cluster on the driver’s side and
a wide, open space with a relatively
inconspicuous glove compartment on
the right. Ford’s original Taurus ech­
oed that theme, even as it brought
easy-to-grab knobs to Detroit. (Saab,
made in Sweden, already had them.)
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O D O T construction and mainte­
nance delay information on routes,
in addition to those shown on the
brochure. The brochure is avail­
able at T ransportation, Department
o f Motor Vehicles and State Police
offices and at visitor information
centers and chambers o f commerce
around the state.
Also, the new 1995-96 O D O T
O fficial Highway Map o f Oregon
is available now at the same loca­
tions.
O fficials also remind motor­
ists to remember to obey all work
zone signing, stay alert for con­
struction related traffic impacts,
watch out for construction workers
and remember that when it comes
to road construction workers: “Give
’Em A Brake.”
Join us in celebrating
it 's news,
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Road Construction
Information Available
Over 180 Department o f I rans-
portation road improvement projects
are underway throughout Oregon.
The odds are not in your favor -
you’re bound to run into one of
them.
There is something you can do
about it.
An Oregon Road Construction
informational brochure is available
that will let you know where the
road projects are, plan for the delays
or avoid the construction entirely.
Nearly 100 projects are listed.
If the route you’re taking is not
shown, you can call O D O T ’s Road
Construction Hotline numbers at
731-3081 for the Portland area, or
l-503-976-7277(30centstoll)or 1-
503-889-3999 (long distance rate).
The phone reports include
B ut the T a u ru s and S a b le
makeover gave both cars softer,
rounder silhouettes that approximate
Ford’sjellybean-shaped trade-mark.
“ You can sketch the whole car within
that oval," said Ara Ekizian, a Ford
design manager who woiked on the
project.
Inside, the dashboard designers
had a chance to rethink the place­
ment o f all the elements except the
steering wheel. “There are a lot o f
times where two, three or four are
competing to occupy the same space,”
Ekizian said.
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