DETROIT (AP) — For most drivers there’s a lingering doubt when changing lanes on the freeway: Did I miss a car in the blind spot?
Starting early next year, Ford Motor Co. will try to eliminate that doubt. It will begin installing side-view mirrors on its vehicles that show the blind spots in the outside upper corners.
The Dearborn, Mich., automaker and several industry analysts say they know of no other automaker that offers the feature, though some are considering it and auto-parts stores sell small mirrors that focus on blind spots.
“Those blind spots, changing lanes — we’re always having some challenges seeing who’s there,” said Jim Buczkowski, Ford’s global director of electrical and electronic systems.
Ford says it will put the mirrors on several Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models initially, before making them standard across most of its lineup. It also will offer an optional radar-based blind-spot warning system similar to those marketed by other automakers, but with the ability to scan parking-lot aisles and warn of oncoming vehicles as a driver backs out of a space.
The additions come from research Ford did on customer wants and needs and is part of its campaign to be more customer focused, said spokesman Alan Hall. The new low-cost mirrors probably won’t add to the sticker price of a car or truck, he said.
Of 450 people who took part in Ford driving clinics, 76 percent thought the mirrors improved visibility, Mr. Buczkowski said.
Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis for the Power Information Network, a division of J.D. Power and Associates, said he has seen many drivers with small, convex blind-spot mirrors affixed to their side mirrors. Ford, he said, is capitalizing on that consumer demand.
“It may seem like a trivial thing,” he said. “It’s obviously something in the direction of being customer focused. I think that makes a lot of sense.”
The new feature is almost essential as automakers shrink the glass area on the side of vehicles to create sleeker designs, said Jack Nerad, executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book in Irvine, Calif.
“The blind-spot issue, I think, gets to be more and more an issue every day,” Mr. Nerad said, adding that some new crossover vehicles’ small third-row side windows make the blind spots even tougher to see.
People won’t buy a car or truck solely because of the new mirrors, but they are a feature that could help sway an undecided buyer, Mr. Libby said.
“I think it’s sort of a cumulative thing,” he said. “It’s one more thing that would help. It’s a little thing, and those things add up.”
Ford isn’t alone in its pursuit of the new mirrors. General Motors Corp. and other automakers also are considering them, though GM hasn’t developed a timetable yet to install them, said spokeswoman Angele Shaw.
“We have done some studies and we’re looking at where we’re going to use them,” she said.
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