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Ford Motor Company operates several Proving Gounds worldwide, for development and validation testing of new vehicles.


ARIZONA PROVING GROUND (APG) - YUCCA, ARIZONA



Arizona Proving Ground (APG) is a vehicle test facility established in 1955 in Yucca, Arizona . It is owned and operated by Ford Motor Company based in Dearborn, Michigan , USA . APG is located at the foot of the Hualapai Mountains near Yucca, Arizona , 120 miles (200 km) southeast of Las Vegas , situated between Lake Havasu and Kingman, Arizona .

The facility was originally Yucca Army Airfield, an Army Air Corps training base, used during World War II . The field was declared surplus land by 1946 and the ownership was turned over to Ford in 1954.


Features

Arizona Proving Ground has more than 50 miles (80 km) of concrete and earthen surfaces on 3,840 acres (15.5 km&2) that are continuously maintained. It includes a five-mile high speed banked oval track, with a myriad of other road testing surfaces. With extended operations in the nearby mountain range, at elevations ranging from 500 to 6500 feet (150 to 2000 m) above sea level, and varied terrain and annual temperatures ranging from 30 to 120 °F (0 to 50 °C)), APG provides a wide spectrum of vehicle testing conditions. The facility also includes:
  • An 18 acre (7 ha) vehicle dynamics area

  • A water ingestion test area

  • Vehicle corrosion test chambers

  • Special test roads/surfaces for vehicle durability testing

  • A water leak test facility

  • A low friction facility suitable for ABS system testing

  • Light truck structural durability

  • Accelerated vehicle corrosion testing

  • Car and truck thermal management

  • Hot fuel and octane testing

  • Splash testing/water ingestion testing

  • FMVSS and IAO brake certification for car and light truck

  • Tire traction testing for car and light truck

  • Elevation - 1,950 feet (590 m)

  • Average maximum summer temperature - 103 °F (39 °C)

  • Average minimum winter temperature - 59 °F (15 °C)

  • Average annual precipitation - 6.4 inches (160 mm)



VOLVO ARIZONA PROVING GROUND (VAPG) - WITTMANN, ARIZONA


Volvo Arizona Proving Ground opened in 1985. The Proving Grounds consists of 1,498 acres (606 ha) located one hour northwest of the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport at an elevation of 1,650 feet (500 m). Volvo Arizona Proving Ground is operated year round. The climate is of a desert type with low annual rainfall and low relative humidity. Daytime temperatures are high throughout the summer months. The winters are mild. Nighttime temperatures frequently drop below freezing during the three coldest months, but the afternoons are usually sunny and warm.


MICHIGAN PROVING GROUND (MPG) - ROMEO, MICHIGAN


Ford's Michigan Proving Grounds of Romeo, Michigan sits on 3,880 acres (1,570 ha), and contains a total of 41 miles (66 km) of roads.

Major Facilities: High speed track, durability/special surface roads, grades, EMC facility, road simulators, fire resistance facility, vehicle dynamics area

Purpose: Car and truck durability, performance


EXTREME COLD WEATHER TEST FACILITY (ECWTF) - THOMPSON, MANITOBA

The facility is located at the nearby Airport in Thompson, Manitoba , Canada . The Extreme Cold Weather Test Facility offers vehicle testing in extremely cold weather conditions, and with ice and snow, during the winter months from around November 1 to April 30 .


Features

  • 600 foot (180 m) diameter skid circle

  • Ride & handling course

  • 1600 foot (490 m) straightaway

  • 1500 foot (460 m) variable friction surfaces

  • Ice skid pads

  • 500 foot (150 m) snow run up

  • 900 foot (270 m) ice straightaway

  • 200 foot (60 m) snow braking

  • 18,000 square foot (1670 m&2) indoor facility with vehicle hoists

  • 729 feet (222 m) above sea level

  • Refrigerated trailers for controlled cold temperature vehicle soaks

  • Dry surfaces on airport runways

  • Loose snow surfaces

  • Access to ice road on Moak Lake



DEARBORN PROVING GROUND (DPG)


The Dearborn Proving Ground was built on the site of Ford Airport in Dearborn, Michigan. The facility has just completed major reconstruction and renovations (2006), and is being renamed the Dearborn Development Center.


Features {Link without Title}

  • 360 acres (146 ha) in Dearborn with approximately 25 miles (40 km) of test roads

  • First test track was laid in 1938 around Ford Airport runways. Actively used as an airport until June 1947.

  • Tracks include two oval tracks at 2.8 miles (4.5 km) around, a straightaway nearly 1 mile (1.6 km) long, a ride and handling track 1.1 miles (1.8 km) around, two hills with 11 percent to 30 percent grades, a wet skidpad, and a variety of test surfaces for development of steering, brakes, NVH, ride and handling, powertrain, and durability.

  • Test vehicles drive approximately 2 million miles (3 million kilometers) per year.

  • Grounds include four wind tunnels, cold test rooms, Automotive Safety Center and Crash Barrier, Product Review Center and two vehicle service garages and offices

  • Approximately 800 employees

  • Gas station supplies specialty fuels for powertrain calibration and emissions certification.



History Timeline

  • 1924: 20,000-square-foot (1,900 m&2) Stout Metal Airplane Company factory opens

  • 1925: Ford Airport is dedicated as the first modern airport, equipped with two grass runways and flood lights for night landings

  • 1925: Henry Ford builds the largest, most modern and only privately owned permanent dirigible mooring mast. It was only used twice and demolished in 1946.

  • 1925: Ford Air Transportation Service between Detroit and Chicago begins – the first regularly scheduled airline in the United States

  • 1925-31: Annual National Air Tour to demonstrate safety and reliability of commercial aviation starts and ends at Ford Airport.

  • 1926: First successful radio guided flight, using system developed by Ford Motor Company.

  • 1926: Stout factory is replaced with a 62,000-square-foot (5,800 m&2) facility to build new Ford Tri-Motors using assembly line production for the first time.

  • 1928-29: Grass runways are paved—the first concrete runways in the world.

  • 1931: Dearborn Inn opens—one of the first hotels built to service the air traveler.

  • 1938: First vehicle test track is laid down.

  • 1947: Ford Air Transport Office moves to Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ending Ford Airport operations.

  • 2003: Five vintage airplanes, including two Ford Tri-Motors, fly into Dearborn Proving Ground—the first time in 56 years the test track is used as an airport.

  • 2005: Major reconstruction and renovation work adds more test track surfaces and handling courses.

  • 2006: Renamed as the Dearborn Development Center



LOMMEL PROVING GROUNDS (LPG) - LOMMEL , BELGIUM




MINE PROVING GROUNDS (MPG) - MAZDA GROUP - NAGAO , JAPAN


Recently aquired by Mazda Corporaton from CQ Motors Corporation, Tokyo in February–March 2006, after the previous company withdrew from the racing circuit business.

Current setup includes: a 3.3 km circuit course, control tower, Gymkhana space, pit area, paddocks, and viewing stands.

Mazda plans to add a large rollover test section, high speed straights for slalom performance testing, a European style mid-range handling road and a high speed hillclimb/low friction road for brake system assesment.


LARA PROVING GROUND - FORD AUSTRALIA - YOU YANGS, AUSTRALIA



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