Plant in Russia initially producing Ford Model A and AAs thereby playing an impo

rtant role in the industrialisation of that country.[13]

The creation of a scientific laboratory in Dearborn, Michigan in 1951, doing unf
ettered basic research, led to Ford's unlikely involvement in superconductivity
research. In 1964, Ford Research Labs made a key breakthrough with the invention
of a superconducting quantum interference device or SQUID.[14]
Ford offered the Lifeguard safety package from 1956, which included such innovat
ions as a standard deep-dish steering wheel, optional front, and, for the first
time in a car, rear seatbelts, and an optional padded dash.[15] Ford introduced
child-proof door locks into its products in 1957, and, in the same year, offered
the first retractable hardtop on a mass-produced six-seater car.vbvbvbvbbvbvbvT
he Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid are the gasoline-electric hybri
d powered versions that launched in the U.S. in 2004 for the 2005 model year. Bu
ilt in Kansas City, Missouri, it was the first hybrid SUV to hit the market. The
Ford Escape Hybrid was the first American-built hybrid and the first hybrid veh
icle from an American automaker, joined by the Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra Hy
brids during the same model year. According to the Environmental Protection Agen
cy, the first generation Ford Escape Hybrid is 70% more efficient than the regul
ar Escape. The Mercury Mariner Hybrid is a rebadged version of the Escape Hybrid
. It features revised front-end styling and a more luxurious interior.
The Ford Escape Hybrid and Mercury Mariner Hybrid are the gasoline-electric hybr
id powered versions that launched in the U.S. in 2004 for the 2005 model year. B
uilt in Kansas City, Missouri, it was the first hybrid SUV to hit the market. Th
e Ford Escape Hybrid was the first American-built hybrid and the first hybrid ve
hicle from an American automaker, joined by the Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra H
ybrids during the same model year. According to the Environmental Protection Age
ncy, the first generation Ford Escape Hybrid is 70% more efficient than the regu
lar Escape. The Mercury Mariner Hybrid is a rebadged version of the Escape Hybri
d. It features revised front-end styling and a more luxurious interior.