Do Special Tickle Rods Make Cars Happier?

No, Ford Engineers are not using special tickle rods on the underside of certain models to make the cars laugh before they leave the factory.

Ford's safety engineers have concocted a clever test method using a multi-tailed, lead-tipped steel whip. They use it to repeatedly "pepper" the underbody area where side impact air bag sensors are located. Data collected from such tests is used to refine sensor calibrations as well.

Posted on 5/13/2009 09:02:00 PM



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