Crash-tested Ford Taurus on display at New York International Auto Show

NEW YORK — Most cars at auto shows are highly polished and gleaming, except one – a Ford Taurus that crashed into a one-million-pound wall at 35 mph en route to the Jacob Javits Convention Center. Deliberately.

Ford wants New York International Auto Show visitors to see how the Taurus, rated Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), fared in the 35 mph crash test. Positioned in the same place occupied by the seated crash-test dummy, showgoers view video of the actual crash test.

"We want people to see what happens in the blink of an eye," says Stephen Kozak, North American safety chief engineer for Ford Motor Company. "We want to open people's eyes that not all cars are created equal when it comes to safety. There is a difference and we want to show why Taurus is the safest rated large sedan sold in America."

A car crash can literally happen in the blink of an eye – 100 milliseconds, or about a tenth of a second, from start to finish. In that brief span of time, safety belt pretensioners tighten the belt, frontal air bags are inflated to the appropriate level, and the forces of the crash are being deflected by the structure of the vehicle designed specifically to help protect occupants inside.

The crashed Taurus test car is expected to be a popular display at the show, and not just because it looks so different from all the other vehicles. Ford says more than 50 percent of car buyers call safety a major purchase consideration.

The crash test was conducted at Ford's testing facilities in Dearborn, Mich., prior to the show. The company conducts hundreds of crash tests and thousands more simulated computer tests on a yearly basis for its vehicles.

Taurus models equipped with optional AdvanceTrac electronic stability control have earned the highest available rating of five-stars for rollover resistance from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA). Taurus earned five-star ratings from NHTSA for both driver and front passenger in a frontal crash test and five stars for both the driver and rear-seat passenger in a side impact crash test.

For more information, visit www.ford.com.