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Ford and Kmart Team Up on Enhanced Child Car Seat System

14 March 2000

Ford & Kmat Offer Savings on Enhanced Child Car Seat System

    DETROIT - Ford Motor Company and Kmart Corporation will beat the competition 
to market by providing consumers with early access to a child car seat system 
that is easier to use and provides a more secure attachment.

    New owners of a 2000 model year Ford Windstar minivan will receive $20 and
$35 coupons for use toward the purchase of any advanced child safety seat sold
at Kmart.

    Kmart is the first retailer at any level to sell LATCH system (Lower
Anchors and Tethers for Children) car seats.

    LATCH, also known as ISOFIX, is intended to improve the attachment of car
seats in vehicles.  Under a new federal regulation, lower attachment hardware
will be required on all vehicles and child restraints manufactured on or after
September 1, 2002.

    "Partnering with Ford on the LATCH-system child car seat project is
rewarding.  It gives us further assurance that the car seats we sell will be
used properly and help keep our youngest Kmart customers safe and sound," said
Lorna Nagler, Vice President and General Merchandise Manager, Kidsworld and
Menswear, Kmart Corporation.

    The first LATCH seats offered are Cosco's Triad child car seat ($79.99),
which are available in Kmart stores nationwide, and the Fisher Price Safe
Embrace II ($129.99), which will be available this summer at any of the 1,159
Big Kmart or Super Kmart stores that have Kmart Solutions electronic shopping
kiosks.  As other LATCH-compatible child car seats are introduced, they also
are expected to be available at Kmart.

    Approximately three weeks after new owners of Windstar minivans take
delivery of their vehicles, they will be mailed $20-off coupons for LATCH car
seats that retail for $100 or less and a $35 coupon to be used toward the
purchase of a LATCH car seat that is more than $100.  Current owners of the
2000 Windstars will receive their coupons beginning in April.

    The 2000 Windstar is the only minivan that comes equipped with the special
lower anchor attachments that are part of the LATCH system.  The standards
already require most forward-facing child car seat manufacturers to equip
their car seats with an upper tether strap to help meet more stringent head
protection requirements.  And all 2000 Ford Motor Company vehicles come
equipped with upper tether anchors.

    "Ford and Kmart are both committed to putting available safety technology
into the hands of consumers as soon as possible," said Mary Ellen Heyde,
Ford's vehicle line Director for Lifestyle vehicles.  "We worked closely
together to encourage child car seat manufacturers to make the seats available
about the same time the 2000 Windstar hits dealerships."


    Proper Use Saves Lives

    Most serious injuries result when child safety seats are either not used
or not used properly.  Improper installation and buckling are the most common
safety seat mistakes.  More than 600 children under five are killed annually
in motor vehicle crashes and more than 70,000 are injured, according to the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  A child seat attachment
system simplifies installation and should increase the effectiveness of child
car seats and help to reduce fatalities and injuries.


    How the System Works

    The Ford Windstar system incorporates universal rigid, metal anchoring
points in the vehicle seat bight (where the seat back and cushion meet),
providing a secure and easy installation of the child car seat.  The child
safety seat is connected directly to the metal anchor points in the second and
third row seats of the vehicle.  The lower anchor points not only make
installation of child car seats easier and more secure, they also reduce the
variability associated with different vehicle safety belt/child safety seat
designs and components in the past.

    The universal anchor system is also available on model year 2000 Ford
Focus cars and will be available on the all-new Ford Escape SUV.  The system
will be phased-in over the next several years on all Ford Motor Company
vehicle lines worldwide.  Vehicles in the U.S., Canada and Australia will also
have built-in anchors for a top tether strap.