Ford Proving Grounds

Ford Motor Company operates several proving grounds worldwide, for development and validation testing of new vehicles.

The Arizona Proving Ground opened in 1985. The Proving Ground consists of 1,498 acres (6.06 km²) located less than one hour northwest of the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport at an elevation of 1,650 feet (500 m). The facility was originally a Volvo facility (VAPG) but was transitioned to the Ford branding in the summer of 2009 and renamed the Arizona Proving Ground (APG). Volvo still is a large user of it.

It features a 2-mile oval track with banked curves, a 2-mile completely straight road, a brake test area and some more tracks.

The Arizona Proving Ground is operated year round. The climate is of a desert type with low annual rainfall and low relative humidity. Daytime temperatures are high throughout the summer months. The winters are mild. Nighttime temperatures frequently drop below freezing during the three coldest months, but the afternoons are usually sunny and warm. The summer heat (over 100 °F (38 °C)) is the most used time of the year, since worst case should be tested in order to cover many test cases.

The facility is conveniently located on the outskirts of Phoenix, and offers complete services for vehicle testing to outside companies. Outside parties can have testing conducted by APG personnel or can directly rent the use of the test surfaces for their own staff. Office space, garage areas and event planning is also offered.

The Ford Michigan Proving Ground (MPG) of Romeo, Michigan sits on 3,880 acres (15.7 km²), and contains a total of over 100 miles (160 km) of roads. These grounds hold events like the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Formula car competition (FSAE). This involves teams from colleges and universities around the world to compete in a competition involving both design and performance.

The Dearborn Development Center was built on the site of Ford Airport in Dearborn, Michigan. The facility, formerly known as Dearborn Proving Ground (DPG), completed major reconstruction and renovations in 2006.

The facility is located at the nearby airport in Thompson, Manitoba, Canada. The Extreme Cold Weather Test Facility offers vehicle testing in extremely cold weather conditions, and with ice and snow, during the winter months from around November 1 to April 30.

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Wikipedia