Business

<< Previous   of   Next >> Associated Press  (click to enlarge) A blind-spot mirror will be standard equipment on the 2009 Ford Edge this fall.   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Much ado about nothing 8/7/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Mike Benbow, Business Editor benbow@heraldnet.com   Published: Thursday, August 7, 2008 Ford, GM race to debut blind-spot mirrors Associated Press DEARBORN, Mich. -- Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it will introduce its new blind-spot mirror this fall on the 2009 Ford Edge crossover. The automaker had planned to bring the mirror to market next year but moved up the date after getting so much positive feedback, said Kelly Kohlstrand, a member of Ford's advanced product marketing and technology planning team. Ford also is in a race with General Motors Corp. to bring the technology to market. Blind-spot mirrors will be a standard feature on some versions the 2009 Chevrolet Traverse crossover, which will start production in September, according to GM spokesman Terry Rhadigan. Kohlstrand said the mirror will be a standard feature on the Edge and will be added to other vehicles in 2009. On both the Edge and the Traverse, small mirrors that give drivers a view of the "blind spot" alongside the vehicle sit flush in the outer corner of the side mirrors. Kohlstrand wouldn't say how much the feature will cost Ford, but he said it's less than the retail cost of the small convex blind-spot mirrors that many drivers attach to their vehicles. Ford said its blind-spot mirror will weather the elements better than aftermarket offerings, and it also is specifically designed for each car or truck model to provide an optimized field of view. The factory-installed mirror also meets a federal standard that requires original-equipment driver's side mirrors to be flat.

1. Threat of severe flooding as more roads are closed 2. Woman dropped from a size 22 to a size 0 3. Prosecutors state their case that girl was brutally raped 4. Kyle Beach's Silvertips career comes to sudden end 5. Record flooding possible in county 6. Record flood level developing on Stillaguamish River 7. Rising waters in Gold Bar behave in odd ways 8. Boy, 6, drives to school after missing bus 9. Silvertips players 'shocked' by Beach deal 10. Marysville man's 1948 Ford tractor a bit of Elvis history 2 - Top 10 Stories Most Talked about 3 - Top 10 Stories Most Emailed

• Becoming 'a new person' • The poet speaks • Quieting the mind • Students of the Month • T-Wolves survive slow start, beat M-P • T-birds' Michaels on track for state titles • The senior center limbo • Clues to destructive fire frozen in plastic • Bonding on the lanes • Edmonds surgeons on cutting edge of weight loss