Canada may not get safety upgrade from Chrysler

The Canadianwing of The Chrysler Group may not follow the lead of its U.S. division and make stabilitycontrol standard in its SUVs.

LouAnn Barretteof the Windsor-based operation says ''no decision has been made for marketsoutside of the United States.''

In Canada,the firm's Electronic Stability Program (ESP) is currently standard on somecars as well as the Jeep Grand Cherokee but none of the firm's other SUVs.

Stabilitycontrol plays a key role in stopping vehicles from starting the kinds of spinsthat often result in rollovers, particularly in SUVs, which have higher centersof gravity.

This is the latest move in a gamethat started late last week when Ford bragged about how many of its SUVs weregoing to have stability control in the future and GM leapt past them with adecision to make the technology standard in all of its SUVs within two years.

The Chrysler Group was clearlytrying to catch up with its decision to make its brand of stability controlstandard in its SUVs by 2006, but now the Windsorfirm is left wondering whether it can afford to make the same move.

''ESP enhances driver control andhelps maintain directional stability under all conditions,'' says EricRidenour, executive vice-president or product development for the Chrysler Group. ''It provides the greatest benefitin critical driving situations such as turns and is especially valuable whendriving on mixed surface conditions such as patchy snow, ice or gravel. Ifthere is a discernible difference between what the driver asks through thesteering and the vehicle's path, ESP applies selective braking and throttleinput to put the car back onto the driver's intended path.''

The system is calibrated to offersafe control of the vehicle under a variety of conditions, Ridenour says, ''andto operate in a manner that is not intrusive in normal or spirited driving.''
photo:DaimlerChrysler