NEWS: Five Hundred stars

By Michael Banovsky

Ford’s decision to base the Five Hundred and the Mercury Montego off of the Volvo S80 platform have paid dividends. The Five Hundred starts at $29, 295. Ford-speak follows:

“DEARBORN, Mich., June 20, 2005 – The 2005 Ford Five Hundred and Mercury Montego large sedans today added another award to their safety “trophy case” by earning IIHS’ highest technical safety rating of “Good” and a “Best Pick” designation for offset frontal crash performance. The sedans’ “Best Pick” designation by IIHS is awarded to vehicles that are top performers in a particular class.
Five Hundred and Montego are the only 2005 model passenger cars to have received a “Best Pick” designation from IIHS and NHTSA’s top five-star crash-test rating for front- and side-impacts for vehicles tested without the optional side air bags. A two-row Safety Canopy™ side air bag system with rollover sensor is available and provides additional protection not only in certain side collisions, but in rollover events as well.”