Inside Ford's high-tech climate chamber

Sat, Dec 27 2014

There are two ways an automaker can test its vehicles in extreme climates: it can send said vehicle around the world – from Death Valley to the Arctic Circle Â– in search of the harshest weather, or it can recreate those conditions in an enclosed environment. We're sure that many automakers undertake some combination of both, but in this latest video clip, Ford shows us around inside it's state-of-the-art climate chamber.

At its Driveability Test Facility in Allen Park, MI Â– inaugurated in 2010 just across the street from the Roush Technology Center Â– Ford can simulate all sorts of extreme conditions. It can drop the temperature down to -40 degrees Fahrenheit or raise it up to 130, and take it up to a simulated 12,000 feet above sea level or drop it down to 280 feet below. blast it with 150-mile-per-hour winds. It can control the level of humidity, approximate the intensity of the sun and even blast the test vehicle with artificial snow, just like your favorite ski resort.

The facility strikes us as an engineering feat as impressive as some of the vehicles it's used to test, but don't take our word for it Â– scope it out for yourself in this brief two-minute video clip, which even includes some helpful tips for winter driving this holiday season and beyond.

News Source: Ford via YouTube

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By Noah Joseph