Ford challenges Ann Widdecombe to strictly come parking

Ford invited The Right Honourable Ann Widdecombe to swap dancing for driving in a Strictly Come Parking challenge featuring Ford's Active Park Assist technology on the all-new Focus.
 
The challenge put Ann’s reverse parking skills to the test as a panel of judges scored her technique, spatial judgement and finesse as she attempted a manoeuvre often feared by many of Britain’s drivers.
 
Ann also tested Ford's Active Park Assist, which controls the steering of the car into a parallel parking space, while the driver concentrates on the accelerator and brake.
 
Ann is no stranger to competition, having forged a successful political career that has spanned over two decades and, more recently, appearing as a popular contestant on BBC One’s Strictly Come Dancing.
 
Describing Active Park Assist, Ann Widdecombe said: "It is any woman's parking dream."
 
A video of Ann’s experience with Active Park Assist can be seen at the FordUKTV youtube channel: youtube.com/user/FordUKTV?feature=mhee#p/u/0/H3onYHc2S-o
 
Parallel parking can prove quite problematic for Britain’s drivers according to a recent survey poll commissioned by Ford, which found that 39 percent of UK drivers needed more than one attempt to complete the manoeuvre.
 
David Calder, Ford of Britain medium car product manager, said:  "The all-new Ford Focus only went on sale a few months ago and already one in 10 is sold with Active Park Assist.  It's proving popular as a parking aid, which first checks the space is big enough for the car and then helps the driver to park in it in one smooth attempt."
 
Active Park Assist is available on new Focus, C-MAX and Grand C-MAX models. The system takes the stress out of parallel parking by employing 10 ultrasonic sensors mounted on the sides of the vehicle and on the front and rear bumpers. Once the system is activated, front side sensors constantly scan for gaps between cars parked at the side of the road, alerting the driver to a suitable space with an audible chime and via a visual display in the centre console.
 
Retaining control of the accelerator and brake inputs and selecting first or reverse gears is all the driver needs to do. Steering input is provided by the electronic power steering system, which uses information from the sensors to help usher the vehicle perfectly into the parking space. Parking manoeuvers can be carried out at speeds of up to 10km/h and the system is designed to park 150mm from the kerb to avoid damage to wheels and tyres.