Potholes can be an annoyance, costing U.S. drivers approximately $3 billion a year with drivers paying $300 on average to fix pothole-related vehicle damage. Ford hopes to turn that number around by equipping its Fusion V6 Sport with computer-controlled shock absorber system — or continuously controlled damping — as a standard feature.

The system works through onboard computers that analyze signals from 12 high-resolution sensors and adjust the dampers to their stiffest setting when a pothole is detected. With the stiffer suspension, the Fusion's wheels don't drop as far into the pothole and, in turn, doesn't hit the other side of the pothole quite as hard as it otherwise would have. The front suspension can react in 2 milliseconds to make the adjustment while the rear wheels use the front wheels as an early warning system.

By: DocMemory
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