Ford's folding bonnets
Special folding points are built into the sheetmetal
and reinforcement sections which make up the bonnets. In sufficiently severe frontal crashes, the structure gives way at these points so that the front of the bonnet tucks down to form the side of the “hat.” This folding helps stop the bonnet from driving back through the windscreen and possibly injuring the car's occupants.
The photograph of a Ford test car which has just been crashed head-on into a barrier shows how the system works. The company’s engineers say that the fold points do not affect the strength of the bonnet in normal use. but they do help absorb collision energy as well as keeping the bonnet away from the windscreen.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19730223.2.124
Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33158, 23 February 1973, Page 12
Word Count
122Ford's folding bonnets Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33158, 23 February 1973, Page 12
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Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Christchurch City Libraries.
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