Ford Of Britain 100: Image Of The Week - 18/52

BRENTWOOD, UNITED KINGDOM – May 4, 2011: To celebrate the centenary of Ford of Britain in 2011 the company is exploring its photo archive to reveal rarely seen images.

Ford's unique relationship with Britain and its society will be illustrated each week by specially selected pictures.

Ford customers have seen, and benefited from, many changes over 100 years but one thing that hasn't changed is Ford's commitment to vehicle testing. From cobblestones to laser alignment, only the method of testing has changed.

This week's image illustrates how technological advances in the second half of the 20th century encouraged greater electronic testing of Ford vehicles. In the 1970s with wireless data transfer still a generation away, engineers had to rely on imagination and careful driving to record the data they needed. The use of 'tethering' permitted bulky recording equipment to follow in the vehicle behind without affecting the test vehicle.

Today, such technology can be conveniently packaged in a portable device providing instant feedback. In our second image, the Noise Source Identification Tool helps a Ford engineer improve cabin quality by pinpointing exactly where there are unwanted sounds in the vehicle.