Ford Opens Nanjing Test Centre

[Wretched]

THE opening of an all-new proving ground in China has robbed Ford’s Australian proving ground of work – but it’s a move the top-secret You Yangs-based facility has welcomed.
Ford China last week announced it had opened the Nanjing Test Centre, a 66-hectare proving ground that features its own test track and an emissions-testing facility – two functions shared with Ford’s post-manufacturing role in Australia.
The car maker said the new eastern China test centre would help the company “speed up development of new products, services and technologies to better meet the driving requirements of customers in the region”.

“The NTC will enable Ford to develop the next generation of vehicles for China and Asia Pacific at a quicker pace than ever before,” it said.

“The centre includes close to 80 different types of real road surface conditions, a three-kilometre test track and a sophisticated emissions testing facility. It will also have a new laboratory for noise, vibration and harshness testing that will allow Ford to deliver vehicles that offer a smooth, quiet and relaxing driving experience.”
However, Nanjing’s opening was welcomed by Ford’s 900-hectare Australian facility, which will benefit from a less intense workload as a result.

“The opening of NTC will take some pressure off other global Ford proving grounds, including the You Yangs proving ground, which continue to support testing of vehicles for Chinese consumers,” Ford Australia spokesman Martin Gunsberg told Wheels, indicating the new Asian test facility would have a positive, rather than negative, effect here.
“Ford’s recently opened Asia Pacific product development centre based at Broadmeadows will continue to support new model programs for global markets and the centre remains the global lead for Ranger and Everest vehicles sold here in Australia,” he said.
“Ford’s global proving grounds, including the You Yangs proving ground, continue to support testing of vehicles for Chinese and Indian consumers.”

Ford’s Australian proving ground appears to have been instrumental in the development and tuning of the Chinese-market Ford Taurus midsize sedan, as well as a Ford Ka-based hatchback for India.
Late last year Ford tipped $450 million into its product development resources in Australia, including at the You Yangs proving ground.
“Recent and planned upgrades include new test facilities including durability, crash, noise vibration and harshness,” Gunsberg said. “We are also adding a new test area at the proving ground to support validation of a greater range of driver assist technologies.”

he Australian upgrade is expected to herald the introduction of even more driver-assist technologies for the Ford Ranger trade ute and the closely related Everest large SUV as they are updated in response to sharper competition – including the introduction next year of the Nissan Navara-based Mercedes-Benz X-Class.
Four-cylinder turbo diesel versions of the X-Class will arrive in Australia next year priced – and equipped – as a premium choice for cab-chassis, single-cab and dual-cab ute buyers.

When they are launched in Australia late next year, the turbo-diesel V6-engined version of the X-Class is expected to become one of the most expensive trade utes on sale in Australia.
It will have a bit of competition for the title, though, with Ford planning to introduce a high-performance Raptor-badged version of the Ranger next year, and HSV believed to be about to unveil a more performance-honed version of the Holden Colorado later this week.

https://www.wheelsmag.com.au/news/17...-work-to-china

[Trump]

That's the first nail...

[stoodoo]

Originally Posted by Trump

That's the first nail...

Yep, taking pressure off the australian test facility means Ford can cut back on its workers here, maybe not straight away, but i believe it is inevitable. lower wages in china. It all comes down to profit, and if they can save money on wages.........

[Bossxr8]

It's always funny how the guys with no clue about what is actually going on here, think they can comment about what they think it all means like they actually have a clue.

[Trump]

For some odd reason, Australians have this sense of "nah (XYZ) won't/can't happen here, we're special". Despite some impressive contributions by people within Ford Australia, Ford Motor Company is an American corporation, with an American way of doing business. The American way of doing business is to cut the costs of doing business by any means. Moving high labour cost business units to countries where the cost of labour is far lower is the first rule in the US business playbook.

The Australian engineering outfit at the moment is a necessary evil in their eyes; they are wearing the cost of keeping it running because China isn't up to scratch yet. As such, don't for a second think that Ford HQ won't pull the rug from under the Australian operation when the Chinese engineering teams get up to speed and begin producing work of comparable quality to their Australian counterparts.

Making a comment like that doesn't require any inside knowledge, it's Business USA 101.

[XRtowcar]

You Yang test ground will become an awesome club race circuit.

[marty351]

Originally Posted by XRtowcar

You Yang test ground will become an awesome club race circuit.

Looking into my crystal ball, I can see a housing estate.

[GO FURTHER]

Originally Posted by marty351

Looking into my crystal ball, I can see a housing estate.

Holden's Lang Lang and Toyota's Angelsea proving grounds appear in my tea cup leaves as home sweet homes too.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by Trump

Despite some impressive contributions by people within Ford Australia, Ford Motor Company is an American corporation, with an American way of doing business. The American way of doing business is to cut the costs of doing business by any means. Moving high labour cost business units to countries where the cost of labour is far lower is the first rule in the US business playbook..

Whilst I do agree with Bossxr8's comment the bolded above is VERY relevant. Ford and GM are masters of this and don't seem to hide it well.

[Nu66et]

Are engineers in China actually cheaper though?

[Trump]

Originally Posted by Nu66et

Are engineers in China actually cheaper though?

About 1/10th the cost.

[mr smith]

Australian engineering 90% gone in 10 years.

[nuthin' fancy]

Originally Posted by Trump

That's the first nail...

Surely not the first.

The 'Button Plan' was the first. This is about #15.

[Trump]

Originally Posted by nuthin' fancy

Surely not the first.

The 'Button Plan' was the first. This is about #15.

Too true.

[jpd80]

Time will tell if Australia is given more projects or not...

[Adamz Ghia]

Given the size difference between the two surely China couldn’t replace You Yangs?

[Syndrome]

Originally Posted by GO FURTHER

Holden's Lang Lang and Toyota's Angelsea proving grounds appear in my tea cup leaves as home sweet homes too.

Chrysler's/Mitsubishi's test track at Tailem Bend is set to be a race track.

https://www.thebend.com.au/

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by Nu66et

Are engineers in China actually cheaper though?

Cheaper but you need lots more of them...and even then not that good.

[Trump]

Originally Posted by vztrt

Cheaper but you need lots more of them...and even then not that good.

For now...

[b0son]

Originally Posted by vztrt

Cheaper but you need lots more of them...and even then not that good.

IF we were as good as we'd like to think we are, maybe we wouldn't have to put up with 'they all do that' whenever we tried to exercise our warranty rights...

[jpd80]

"Ford Motor Co. will pump 50 new vehicles into China over the next eight years as the company tries to grow its share in the world’s largest market. Executive Chairman Bill Ford and CEO Jim Hackett announced their plans in China on Tuesday. They include introducing eight new SUVs, and at least 15 electrified Ford and Lincoln vehicles, some of which will be built and sold exclusively in China.



By 2025, the company plans to offer more than 50 new Ford and Lincoln vehicles in China, emphasizing SUVs and the electric vehicles pushed by the Chinese government. That number includes both brand-new product launches and next-generation models of vehicles the company already sells in China. Ford will also assemble five more vehicles in China for the Chinese market starting in 2019. Those vehicles include a previously announced Lincoln SUV, and Ford’s first all-electric small SUV"



http://www.detroitne...hina/108326432/.

[383hq]

Originally Posted by Trump

About 1/10th the cost.

Maybe a decade ago.
More like 40-60% cheaper now, and rising quickly.
South Korean engineers are now more expensive than US engineers.

The problem is not only about cost, but also about growth.

Most companies see developing much higher growth elsewhere.

I laugh at environmental testing in Nanjing. For those that have been there it is a tier 3 city population wise, But at best you can see maybe 6 mile due pollution. On the clearest day, the sun was just an outline.

[Dr Terry]

Originally Posted by nuthin' fancy

Surely not the first.

The 'Button Plan' was the first. This is about #15.

No, the Button Plan was about the 3rd or 4th.

The writing was on the wall during our wage explosion in the early 70s, with the accompanying invasion of cheap Japanese cars at the same time.

This was one of the factors in GM-H cancelling the production of the GTR-X Torana.

Then we had the two petrol crises of the 70s, along with rampant inflation.

The Button Plan was a symptom, not a cause.

Dr Terry.

[malazn mafia]

Originally Posted by jpd80

"Ford Motor Co. will pump 50 new vehicles into China over the next eight years as the company tries to grow its share in the world’s largest market. Executive Chairman Bill Ford and CEO Jim Hackett announced their plans in China on Tuesday. They include introducing eight new SUVs, and at least 15 electrified Ford and Lincoln vehicles, some of which will be built and sold exclusively in China.



By 2025, the company plans to offer more than 50 new Ford and Lincoln vehicles in China, emphasizing SUVs and the electric vehicles pushed by the Chinese government. That number includes both brand-new product launches and next-generation models of vehicles the company already sells in China. Ford will also assemble five more vehicles in China for the Chinese market starting in 2019. Those vehicles include a previously announced Lincoln SUV, and Ford’s first all-electric small SUV"



http://www.detroitne...hina/108326432/.

Ford, please do a retro XY themed Falcon, even if it's designed and built in Nanjing by chinese students at 1/10th an American engineer's wage ffs. And all will be forgiven

[marty351]

Introducing the all new xy themed falcon! Precision engineered in China for the 21st century.

[simon varley]

you guys wouldn't believe just how much work is going on at YYPG now and for the foreseeable future. There is absolutely zero risk of Australian work being lost to NTC.

[Vesper Martini]

They look like very different tracks and conditions

You Yangs:
The complex covers 930 hectares (@ 2300 acres) and has 80km (@ 50 miles) of test tracks and roads.
These consist of:

Constant Speed Track (CST)
The three-lane reinforced concrete CST is 4.8 km long. There is an additional 304 m lane for merging both on and off the track and a long lane for stopping and parking on the west straight. The 400 m radius turns are super elevated to provide a neutral speed of 164 km/h in lane three, the highest point of the CST. Water baths are provided for car and truck brake testing off the straight.

Basic Durability Road
The Basic Durability Road is a 3.6 km loop, which is situated over rolling terrain with mild to severe gradients. The maximum upgrade is 25 per cent and the maximum downgrade is 14 per cent. The road divides into an inner and outer loop around a steep hill. Total road length including both loops is 4.3 km.

Unimproved Road
The Unimproved Road is a 5 km wide loop. It is an all-weather road and consists of rolling terrain with a number of short steep grades. It is mainly a granite-type gravel surface but includes formed bitumen sections with ruts to simulate potholes and wash board sections set at 30 degrees to the line of traffic.

Mud or Salt Bath
The Mud or Salt Bath is a concrete structure 27.4 m long and 3.3 m wide. The bath has side walls that are 610mm high.

Skid Pads
There are two skid pad facilities, one is a dry skid pad and the other has an artificial wetting system that uses a central water cannon.

Water Bath
The Water Bath is a concrete structure with a 19 m entry and exit ramp. It is 2.2 m wide, 45 m long and has side walls that are 610mm high.

Sand Pit
This area consists of sand to a depth of 200 mm laid over a 30 mm asphalt surface. In turn the sand and asphalt are laid on a 200 mm bed of crushed rock.

Special Surfaces Road
This road is 760 m long with three wide lanes and four 20 m diameter turnaround areas. This road, with a range of surfaces from potholes to Belgian blocks to cobblestones and washboard road surfaces, is designed to test a vehicle’s body strength and durability.

Dust Test Road
The dust test road replicates the fine dusty roads of outback Australia, generally utilised for body sealing systems testing.

Corrosion Test Tracks
The Corrosion Environmental track events include:
Mud bath- modified brake wading bath
Salt bath, which can be set to variable depths
Salt spray highway, including an access road to obtain a stable test speed which leads to a covered 50 m roadway
incorporating salt water sprays and a specially profiled concrete surface designed to pool water and induce under body splash
Stone Peck Road is a single lane gravel road sheeted with crushed rock. The road incorporates several opposing curves in its
800 m loop. The road is designed to accentuate under body stone chipping to condition the test vehicle for corrosion
evaluation

Ride and Handling Roads
These tracks provide a secure environment for handling evaluations and ride tuning over normal and emergency driving situations and mimic other roads used at Ford testing facilities globally. The track is flat, providing wide-angle views and flat runoffs for safe high-speed handling. The handling areas include 19 corners. The outer track is 2.5 km long with 1.5 km of corners. The centre track is 1.1 km long.

Off-Road Road
The 'off-road' road is comprised of steep gradients, bumpy rutted sections, tight corners and surface changes useful for testing off-road capability of vehicles, particularly 4WDs.

Vehicle Dynamics Area (VDA)
The VDA provides an area for vehicle dynamics development testing and vehicle systems tests.

Low Friction Surfaces
The Brake Test Road consists of three 110 m road surfaces of different textures side by side and all serviced by banks of automatic water sprays, which maintain a constant film of water.

Gravel Road and Skid Pad
A flat gravel road includes a cone-shaped gravel skid pad with a diameter of 110 m. There is also a tight braking and handling gravel circuit for evaluating ABS, traction control and braking in turns on a loose surface.

The Test facilities include:

High Speed Centre (HSC)
The HSC allows for high speed testing to be conducted without track closure or other driver-specific safety measures. HSC runs with minimal operator interaction, utilising fail-safe technology, automated vehicle fuelling and a robot driver. The HSC has the ability to operate up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Emission Laboratory
The laboratory is approved by the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) in the field of chemical testing of automotive emissions. It houses extensive calibration, diagnostic and associated emissions testing equipment. The environmental test facility encompasses test cells used for dynamic and static high and low temperature vehicle testing.

The environmental cell is used mainly for engine cooling, climate control and other dynamic and static vehicle tests.

The cold soak facility is primarily used to pre-condition vehicles before testing in the environmental cell. It is also used for any other low temperature testing particularly engine cold start and drive-away, engine warm up testing and glass demisting performance.

Environmental Laboratory Test Facility
The Environmental Test Facility encompasses three test cells used for dynamic and static high and low temperature full vehicle testing. Each test cell has unique facilities designed to cover a wide range of development testing requirement.

Environmental Cell
The Environmental Cell is a fully equipped chassis dynamometer facility with dual temperature range incorporating extensive computer controlled test, measurement and control equipment with a temperature range of –18 degrees to 52 degrees C. Used mainly for engine cooling, climate control and other dynamic and static vehicle tests.

Hot Soak Cell
The Hot Soak Cell is a supplemental chamber for the Environmental Facility and as such has many of the functions of the main environmental cell without the sub ambient temperature control. This cell is widely used for static vehicle hot soak testing, however can accommodate dynamic testing if required. It has an ambient temperature range up to 50 degrees C.

Cold Soak Cell
The cold soak facility is used to pre-condition vehicles before testing in other cells. It is also used for any other low-temperature testing, particularly engine cold start and driveaway, engine warm up testing and glass demisting performance. It has an ambient temperature range to minus 30 degrees C.

Climate Control Laboratory
The laboratory is primarily used for climate control test and development work and comprises of two rooms, each capable of housing a test vehicle and test equipment. It has an air-flow test area designed to provide repeatable ambient conditions for testing. An air conditioning development area focuses on the development, modification and testing of air conditioning and components in conjunction with air flow.

Water Flow Test Area
The Water Flow rig is used to record:
Engine and heater water flow and water pressure characteristics
Heater performance at controlled water flow and water temperature
Temperature modulation and distribution.

Vehicle Semi-Anechoic Chamber (VSAC)
The VSAC is designed to replicate a moving vehicle during open-road driving.
Some advantages of the VSAC include:
Front and rear axles can be independently driven and tested/developed as singular contributing systems
Testing can continue 24 hours a day, seven-days a week irrespective of ambient lighting conditions
Vehicle top speed testing can be conducted without track closures
Operator/driver variability is eliminated through application of driver robot
Improved prototype security due to reduction in equivalent on-road testing

Kinematics and Compliance Rig
The K&C rig determines elasto-kinematic properties of vehicle suspensions. A vehicle suspension can be loaded with cornering forces, braking forces as well as wheel alignment torques and simulated road undulations. Under these loads various characteristics can be measured.

Advanced Centre for Automotive Research and Testing (ACART) Wind Tunnel
ACART has a range of functions to replicate wind speeds of up to 250 km/h and sun load simulations on vehicles and vehicle air conditioning systems.

Squeaks and Rattles Facility
The facility is a “drive on” full vehicle, environmental facility. A road simulator is capable of accurately reproducing S&R evaluation roads e.g. washboard, cobblestones, pavement or Belgium blocks, and is also capable of simulating over 90 per cent of the Proving Ground durability test routes.

Vehicle Crash Barriers
The crash barrier is a 203 tonne block of reinforced concrete set into the ground.
A wide concrete apron and 6 m pit are located in front of the barrier to allow for filming of the underside of the vehicle during impact. The 73 m long concrete approach road has a channel down the centre, whereby the tow cable and vehicle tow trolley run. A high-speed camera running at 100 frames per second can record any impacts.

[Vesper Martini]

Behind the Scenes at Ford's You Yangs Proving Ground
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nePL7x55GtA

[vztrt]

Originally Posted by b0son

IF we were as good as we'd like to think we are, maybe we wouldn't have to put up with 'they all do that' whenever we tried to exercise our warranty rights...

Well ford are the only cars that have issues.

[marty351]

Originally Posted by vztrt

Well ford are the only cars that have issues.

At least ford have a squeaks and rattles facility.