Potholes are a pain in the backside (quite literally) and are a major factor for axle and suspension failure. According to potholes.co.uk (yes, that is a real thing!), potholes cause motorists an estimated £2.8 billion per year! Don't fear though as Ford are on hand to develop cars to tackle this issue, by creating a 1.2 mile stretch of road on their Belgian test track riddled with the worst potholes imaginable. Having said that they are probably not as bad as some of the potholes in Surrey....
Ford are developing a system called Continuous Control Damping with Pothole Mitigation Technology which adjusts the suspension if the car thinks it had dropped into a pothole. The result of this is a protected suspension and wallet which is great news for motorists. The road is made up of varying surfaces, from Belgian granite blocks, French cobbles and Epsom bumps. Ok, I may have made that last one up but it's applicable to me. This is part of Ford's mission to make their cars durable and able to withstand the world's worst roads. The engineers drive through these hazards at speeds of almost 50mph so Ford either have strong cars or good chiropractors, that's for sure!
As well as subjecting their cars and test drivers to massive potholes, Ford also test their cars in extreme temperatures (-40 dg C to 40 deg C), salt and mud baths, high speed circuit and also corrosion testing. So anyone buying a Ford can have reassurance that their car will be up for the task in hand.