Ford Explorer

Everyday Explorer drivers taken by surprise by a tread separation or loss of tire pressure in high speed traffic situations may have panicked and swerved violently, resulting in a significant portion of reported rollovers. For example, gold is quite common in Turkey but considered a most valuable gift in Sicily. The Explorer did not flip in any of the numerous tests , and that was mostly because the driver managed to stay calm. The symbolic value of gold varies wildly around the world, even within geographic regions. Car and Driver magazine tested a first-generation Explorer with a built-in rollcage and a special device that would flatten the tire at the push of a button. In Orthodox Christianity, the wedded couple is adorned with a golden crown during the ceremony, an amalgamation of symbolic rites. Ford denied these allegations. Wedding rings are traditionally made of gold; since it is long-lasting and unaffected by the passage of time, it is considered a suitable material for everyday wear as well as a metaphor for the relationship.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs have argued that both Ford and Firestone knew of the dangers but did nothing, and that specifically Ford knew that the Explorer was highly prone to rollovers. Medieval kings were inaugurated under the signs of sacred oil and a golden crown, the latter symbolizing the eternal shining light of heaven and thus a Christian king's divinely inspired authority. A large number of lawsuits have been filed against both Ford and Firestone, some unsuccessful, some settled out of court, and a few successfully. Winners of races and prizes are usually awarded the gold medal (such as the Olympic Games and the Nobel Prize), while many award statues are depicted in gold (such as the Academy Awards, the Emmy Awards and the British Academy Film Awards). A product recall was announced, allowing the Ford Explorer owners to change the affected tires for others. Great human achievements are frequently rewarded with gold, in the form of medals and decorations. However, a subsequent NHTSA investigation of real world accident data showed that the Ford Explorer was no more likely to roll over than any other SUV. Gold is associated with notable anniversaries, particularly in a 50 year cycle, such as a golden wedding anniversary, golden jubilee, etc.

Many outside observers tend towards blaming both parties; Firestone's tires being prone to tread separation and failure, and the Explorer being especially prone to rolling over if a tire fails at speed compared to other vehicles. On the other hand, eminent orators such as John Chrysostom were said to have a mouth of gold with a silver tongue. Ford's conclusions were confirmed by NHTSA in their report into the tire failures, published in October 2001. American Indians of the Sioux tribe called it "The yellow metal that makes the white man crazy". Ford, meanwhile, pointed out that tires manufactured by the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company to the same specification had a spotless safety record when installed on the Explorer. In Communist propaganda, the golden pocket watch and its fastening golden chain were the characteristic accessories of the class enemy, the bourgeois and the industrial tycoons. Firestone has claimed that they have found no faults in design nor manufacture, and that failures have been caused by Ford's recommended tire pressure being too low and the Explorer's design. The Golden Calf is a widely-recognised symbol of idolatry and revolt against God.

Ford and Firestone have both blamed the other for the failures, which has led to the severing of relations between the two companies. Gold has been associated with the extremities of utmost evil and great sanctity throughout history. Many rollovers cause serious injury and even death; it has been estimated that over 250 deaths and more than 3,000 serious injuries resulted from these failures. Gold used in dentistry is widely regarded as the safest form of restorative material, as well as the most successful. If that happened, and the vehicle was running at speed, there was a high likelihood of the vehicle leaving the road and rolling over. Liver and kidney damage has, however, been reported for up to 50% of arthritis patients treated with gold-containing drugs. The failures all involved tread separation—the tread peeling off followed often by tire disintegration. The human body does not absorb gold very well, thus compounds of gold are not normally very toxic.

Ford investigated and found that several models of 15 in (381 mm) Firestone tires (ATX, ATX II, and Wilderness AT) had very high failure rates, especially those made at Firestone's Decatur, Illinois plant. There is only one stable isotope of gold, and 18 radioisotopes with Au-195 being the most stable with a half-life of 186 days. In May 2000, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) contacted Ford and Firestone about the high incidence of tire failure on Ford Explorers fitted with Firestone tires. Gold also forms:.
. Such compounds containing the Au^- anion are called aurides and include caesium auride, CsAu, rubidium auride, RbAu, and tetramethylammonium auride, (CH₃)₄N⁺ Au^-. See a complete list at List of Ford Explorer suppliers. Gold also can under extreme conditions form a +5 state with fluorine (gold pentafluoride, AuF₅), as well as (unusually for a metal), a -1 state.

Suppliers include Johnson Controls, Magna International, Lear Corporation, Dana Corporation, and Visteon. Gold compounds can be aurous (univalent, +1) or auric (trivalent, +3). A large number of companies are suppliers for materials and parts that make the Ford Explorer. Although gold is a noble metal, it can form many compounds, auric chloride (AuCl₃) and chlorauric acid (HAuCl₄) being the most common. It is assembled in Louisville, Kentucky and Hazelwood, Missouri. Roosevelt expropriated gold by Executive Order 6102, and President Richard Nixon closed the gold window by which foreign countries could exchange American dollars for gold at a fixed rate. The Explorer is assembled at two different plants. President Franklin D.

After the Firestone tire problems (see below), Ford withdrew the Explorer from the UK market. Within the United States, the private possession of gold except as jewelry and coin collecting was banned between 1933 and 1975. That meant that UK SUV buyers largely stuck with Land Rovers or Jeeps. Because of its use as a reserve store of value, the possession of gold is sometimes restricted or banned. Many UK buyers only bought SUVs if they needed cargo flexibility or off road capability, and they looked at the SUV as less of a family car, as they believed that station wagons were the best family haulers, unlike Americans. Prices have risen to the $570/oz ($18,300/kg) mark in early 2006 [3]. The Explorer was poorly received in the UK, apparently in large part because it was designed for comfortable city cruising, rather than off road capability. Since 1968 the price of gold on the open market has ranged widely, with a record high of $850/oz ($27,300/kg) on 21 January 1980, to a low of $252.90/oz ($8,131/kg) on 21 June 1999 (London Fixing).

With the introduction of the second generation Explorer in 1995, Ford attempted to market the Explorer in the UK, similar to the Taurus Ghia, Ford's attempt to market the Taurus in Australia and New Zealand. Federal Reserve Bank, in New York. It will be a successor to the F-Series Lightning pickup with 390 hp (291 kW) and 21 inch wheels. The largest gold depository in the world is that of the U.S. A special 2007 SVT model called the Sport Trac Adrenalin will use a supercharged version of the 4.6 L Modular V8. Central banks still hold historical gold reserves as a store of value although the level has generally been declining. AdvanceTrac® with Roll Stability Control™ will be standard in the Sport Trac. On March 17, 1968, economic circumstances caused the collapse of the gold pool, and a two-tiered pricing scheme was established whereby gold was still used to settle international accounts at the old $35.00 per troy ounce ($1.13/g) but the price of gold on the private market was allowed to fluctuate; this two-tiered pricing system was abandoned in 1975 when the price of gold was left to find its free-market level.

Unlike its predecessor, sold through 2005, it will feature the V8 engine as an option, and will be based on the new, larger Explorer platform. By 1961 it was becoming hard to maintain this price, and a pool of US and European banks began to act together to defend the price against market forces. Despite slow sales, a new Sport Trac will be added to the Explorer line in early 2006 for the 2007 model year. For a long period the United States government set the price of gold at $20.67 per troy ounce ($664.56/kg) but in 1934 the price of gold was set at $35.00 per troy ounce ($1125.27/kg). The Explorer was nominated for the North American Truck of the Year award for 2006. As part of this system, governments and central banks attempted to control the price of gold by setting values at which they would exchange it for currency. A six-speed automatic transmission is available with this engine as well. Historically gold was used to back currency in an economic system known as the gold standard in which one unit of currency was equivalent to a certain weight of gold.

A 210 hp (157 kW) 4.0 L V6 will be the base engine, with the 292 hp (218 kW) 24-valve V8 taken from the Mustang as the top choice. The price of gold is determined on the open market, but a procedure known as the Gold Fixing in London, originating in 1919, provides a twice-daily benchmark figure to the industry. The new Explorer is marketed in Japan in a left-hand drive configuration, as LHD vehicles are considered prestigious there. The purity of a gold bar can also be expressed as a decimal figure ranging from 0 to 1, known as the millesimal fineness, such as 0.995. Ford Australia has a capable local equivalent instead, being the Australian designed and developed Ford Territory. When it is alloyed with other metals the term carat or karat is used to indicate the amount of gold present, with 24 carats being pure gold and lower ratings proportionally less. However, unlike previous Explorers, there will be no right-hand drive version engineered. Like other precious metals, gold is measured by troy weight and by grams.

Power running boards (like those on the Lincoln Navigator) that retract when the vehicle is in motion are an option. No commercially viable mechanism for performing gold extraction from sea water has yet been identified. A tire-pressure monitoring system and electronic stability control will be standard. The effort produced little gold and cost the German government far more than the commercial value of the gold recovered. Along with this new, stronger base are a new interior, redesigned rear suspension, and power-folding 3rd-row seats. Unfortunately, his assessment of the concentration of gold in sea water was unduly high, probably due to sample contamination. The Explorer and Mountaineer are updated for 2006 on a new frame, produced by Magna International rather than Tower Automotive. Fritz Haber (the German inventor of the Haber process) attempted commercial extraction of gold from sea water in an effort to help pay Germany's reparations following the First World War.

All three trucks use code U6 (for 4x2), U7 (for 4x4), and U8 (for AWD) in the 5th, 6th, and 7th positions of the VIN. The world's oceans hold a vast amount of gold, but in very low concentrations (perhaps 1-2 parts per billion). AdvanceTrac® with Roll Stability Control™ were standard for 2005. The possibility of cheap man-made gold would have unforeseen economic and political consequences. Trim lines were the base Sport Value, Sport Choice, XLS, Sport Premium, XLT, Eddie Bauer, and top Limited. No economically feasible method to manufacture gold artificially has been found and published yet. Both manual and automatic 5-speed transmissions and 2, 4, and all-wheel drive were available. However, it is possible to obtain infinitesimally small amounts of gold by artificial nuclear transformations in particle accelerators The gold isotopes produced would likely be radioactive.

Engines were either the SOHC 4.0 L V6 (210 hp/157 kW) or a 4.6 L 239 hp (178 kW) V8, with the 203 hp (151 kW) 4.0 L V6 still available on the Explorer Sport. Modern science has since proven the impossibility of making gold from other elements via chemical reactions. The 4 door Explorer and companion Mercury Mountaineer were redesigned entirely in 2002, losing all kinship with the Ranger and the continued Explorer Sport/Sport Trac. porcelain), while searching in vain for the philosopher's stone, which was supposed to turn mercury into gold. 2001 saw the introduction of the Explorer Sport Trac, which put a small pickup bed behind the four normal SUV doors. Scientists, kings and charlatans obsessed with the secret art of alchemy accidentally invented practically useful materials (e.g. Another facelift came in 1999, at which time the XLS name replaced XL as the base model . The idea of producing gold out of lesser metals or other cheap substances has fascinated people throughout the centuries.

This was replaced with more conventional lamps when the liftgate was refreshed in 1998. Other methods of assaying and purifying smaller amounts of gold include parting and inquartation as well as cuppelation, or refining methods based on the dissolution of gold in aqua regia. The 1995 Explorer was the first production vehicle to use a neon center high mount stop lamp. After initial production, gold is often subsequently refined industrially by the Wohlwill process or the Miller process. A Mercury twin, the Mercury Mountaineer was added in 1997 as well. In South America, the controversial project Pascua Lama aims at exploitation of rich fields in the high mountains of Atacama, at the border between Chile and Argentina. A more-powerful SOHC 205 hp (153 kW) engine came as an option in 1997 along with an optional 5-speed automatic. Kolar Gold Fields in India is another example of a city being built on the greatest gold deposits in India.

A 210 hp (157 kW) 4.9 L "5.0" V8 engine was added for 1996 along with real all wheel drive on the Eddie Bauer and Limited in 1997. Siberian regions of the USSR also used to be significant in the global gold mining industry. Two more trim lines were added as well, the Limited was a higher end 4-door, while the Eddie Bauer trim level was replaced with Expedition on 2-door Explorers (1995 only, the name would be reused on the 1997 Ford Expedition). Mines in South Dakota and Nevada supply two-thirds of gold used in the United States. The Explorer lineup now consisted of two models: 2-door Explorer Sport and the 4-door Explorer. Other major producers are Canada, United States and Western Australia. The former "Twin Traction Beam" (TTB) front suspension was replaced with a more car-like independent front suspension. The Second Boer War of 1899–1901 between the British Empire and the white Boers was at least partly over the rights of miners and possession of the gold wealth in South Africa.

The Explorer saw significant exterior, interior and suspension updates in 1995. Gold fields in the Orange Free State and the Transvaal are deep and require the world's deepest mines. A variant of the Explorer Sport was sold by Mazda as the Mazda Navajo, which won Motor Trend's Truck of the Year award but was discontinued two years later. The city of Johannesburg was built atop the world's greatest gold finds. It featured automatic headlights, foglamps, an automatic transmission as standard equipment, an auto-dimming rear view mirror, a center roof console with compass and outside thermometer, special wheels, and a special grille. This decline was due to the increasing difficulty of extraction and changing economic factors affecting the industry in South Africa. Available only in the 4-door style, it was even more upscale than the Eddie Bauer version. Production in 1970 accounted for 79% of the world supply, producing about 1,000 tonnes, however production in 2004 was 342 tonnes.

The Limited version was also added for 1993. Since the 1880s South Africa has been the source for a large proportion of the world's gold supply. 15 hp (11 kW) was added for 1993 for a total of 160 hp (119 kW). It is claimed, that all the gold that has been mined throughout the history of mankind could be incorporated in a solid ball with a diameter of 27 metres. A 5-speed manual transmission was added, for the Sport, for 1992, and the engine lost 10 hp (7.5 kW). Ore grades of 30 g/1000 kg (30 ppm) are usually needed before gold is visible to the naked eye, therefore in most gold mines you will not see any gold. Explorers came in 4 trim levels: base XL, XLT, Sport (the two-door version), and the upscale Eddie Bauer. Economic gold extraction can be achieved from ore grades as little as 0.5 g/1000 kg (0.5 ppm) on average in large easily mined deposits, typical ore grades in open-pit mines are 1–5 g/1000 kg (1-5 ppm), ore grades in underground or hard rock mines are usually at least 3 g/1000 kg (3 ppm) on average.

There were both 2-door and 4-door bodystyles with available rear or four wheel drive. Gold occurs in sea water at 0.1 to 2 mg/t (0.1 to 2 ppb by weight) depending on sample location. Like its predecessor, it was based on the Ford Ranger compact pickup truck and was equipped with a 4.0 L 155 hp (116 kW) V6 engine and 4-speed automatic transmission. Another important ore type is in sedimentary black shale and limestone deposits containing finely disseminated gold and other platinum group metals. The Ford Explorer was released in March 1990 as a 1991 model, replacing the Bronco II, which was almost exactly identical to the original Explorer. In all these deposits the gold is in its native form. . Primary deposits can be weathered and eroded, with most of the gold being transported into stream beds where it congregates with other heavy minerals to form placer deposits.

Part-time four wheel drive is an available option, and since 1995 this has been a 'shift on the fly' system with full protection against being engaged at too high a speed. There are several primary deposit types, common ones are termed reef or vein. Both two-door Explorer Sport and four-door models of Explorer have been sold. A deposit usually needs some form of secondary enrichment to form an economically viable ore deposit: either chemical or physical processes like erosion or solution or more generally metamorphism, which concentrates the gold in sulfide minerals or quartz. The Explorer has also been involved in controversy, after a spate of fatal rollover accidents involving Explorers fitted with Firestone tires. The primary source of gold is usually igneous rocks or surface concentrations. It has been the best-selling vehicle midsize SUV in the United States each year since its introduction, and is one of the vehicles instrumental in turning the SUV from a special-interest vehicle into one of the most popular vehicle types on the road. Hydrothermal ore deposits of gold occur in metamorphic rocks and igneous rocks; alluvial deposits and placer deposits originate from these sources.

The Ford Explorer is a midsize sport utility vehicle sold mostly in North America built by the Ford Motor Company since 1990 and still in production as of 2006. Gold is widely distributed in the Earth's crust at a background level of 0.03 g/1000 kg (0.03 ppm by weight). Rarer mineral associations are petzite, calaverite, sylvanite, muthmannite, nagyagite and krennerite. The most common sulfide associations are pyrite, chalcopyrite, galena, sphalerite, arsenopyrite, stibnite and pyrrhotite. Common gold associations are quartz often as veins and sulfide minerals.

These grains occur between mineral grain boundaries or as inclusions within minerals. Occasionally large accumulations of native gold (also known as nuggets) occur but usually gold occurs as minute grains. Due to its relative chemical inertness gold is usually found as the native metal or alloy. Because of its historically high value, much of the gold mined throughout history is still in circulation in one form or another.

During the 19th century, gold rushes occurred whenever large gold deposits were discovered, including the California, Colorado, Otago, Australia, Witwatersrand, Black Hills, and Klondike gold rushes. For modern attempts to produce artificial gold, see gold synthesis. Their symbol for gold was the circle with a point at its center (☉), which was also the astrological symbol, the Egyptian hieroglyph and the ancient Chinese character for the Sun (now 日). Although they never succeeded in this attempt, the alchemists promoted an interest in what can be done with substances, and this laid a foundation for today's chemistry.

The primary goal of the alchemists was to produce gold from other substances, such as lead — presumably by the interaction with a mythical substance called the philosopher's stone. Gold in antiquity was relatively easy to obtain geologically; however, 75% of all gold ever produced has been extracted since 1910.[2] It has been estimated that all the gold in the world that has ever been refined would form a single cube 20 m (66 ft) a side. Gold has been used as a symbol for purity, value, royalty, and particularly roles that combine these properties (see gold album). Gold has long been considered one of the most precious metals, and its value has been used as the standard for many currencies (known as the gold standard) in history.

The European exploration of the Americas was fueled in no small part by reports of the gold ornaments displayed in great profusion by Native American peoples, especially in Central America, Peru, and Colombia. Exploitation is said to date from the time of Midas, and this gold was important in the establishment of what is probably the world's earliest coinage in Lydia between 643 and 630 BC. The south-east corner of the Black Sea was famed for its gold. Gold is also mentioned several times in the Old Testament.

Egypt and Nubia had the resources to make them major gold-producing areas for much of history. Egyptian hieroglyphs from as early as 2600 BC describe gold, which king Tushratta of the Mitanni claimed was as "common as dust" in Egypt. It may have been the first metal used by humans and was valued for ornamentation and rituals. Gold ( Sanskrit jval, Greek χρυσóς [khrisós], Latin aurum for "shining dawn", Anglo-Saxon gold, Chinese 金 [jīn],Japanese 金 [kin] ) has been known and highly valued since prehistoric times.

Because of its high electrical conductivity and resistance to corrosion and other desirable combinations of physical and chemical properties, gold also emerged in the late 20th century as an essential industrial metal. Gold and its many alloys are most often used in jewelry, coinage and as a standard for monetary exchange in many countries. Pure gold is too soft for ordinary use and is hardened by alloying with silver, copper, and other metals. [1].

Recent research undertaken by Frank Reith of the Australian National University shows that microbes play an important role in the formation of gold deposits, transporting and precipitating gold to form grains and nuggets that collect in alluvial deposits. The added metal is oxidized and dissolves allowing the gold to be displaced from solution and be recovered as a solid precipitate. Gold ions in solution are readily reduced and precipitated out as gold metal by the addition of virtually any other metal as the reducing agent. Common oxidation states of gold include +1 (gold(I) or aurous compounds) and +3 (gold(III) or auric compounds).

Heat, moisture, oxygen, and most corrosive agents have very little chemical effect on gold, making it well-suited for use in coins and jewelry; conversely, halogens will chemically alter gold, and aqua regia dissolves it. Gold is a good conductor of heat and electricity, and is not affected by air and most reagents. As the amount of silver increases, the color becomes whiter and the specific gravity lower. Native gold contains usually eight to ten per cent silver, but often much more — alloys with a silver content over 20% are called electrum.

Adding copper yields a redder metal, iron blue, Silver produces green, aluminium purple, platinum metals white, and natural bismuth together with silver alloys produce black. This can be done to increase its strength, or create several exotic colors, sold for instance in the western United States to the tourist trade as "Black Hills" gold. A soft metal, gold will readily form alloys with many other metals. It is the most malleable and ductile metal known; a single gram can be beaten into a sheet of one square metre, or an ounce into 300 square feet.

Only silver colloids exhibit the same interactions with light, albeit at a shorter frequency, making silver colloids yellow in color. These colors are the result of gold's plasmon frequency lying in the visible range, which causes red and yellow light to be reflected, and blue light to be absorbed. Gold is a metallic element with a characteristic yellow color, but can also be black or ruby when finely divided, while colloidal solutions are intensely colored and often purple. .

Its ISO currency code is XAU. Gold forms the basis for a monetary standard used by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). For millennia, gold has served as money and is also used in jewelry, dentistry, and in electronics. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks and in alluvial deposits and is one of the coinage metals.

A soft, shiny, yellow, dense, malleable, ductile (trivalent and univalent) transition metal, gold does not react with most chemicals but is attacked by chlorine, fluorine and aqua regia. Gold is a chemical element in the periodic table that has the symbol Au (from the Latin aurum) and atomic number 79. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Los Alamos National Laboratory – Gold.

Gold hydrazide: an olive-green powder, AuN₂H₃, one of several explosive compounds known archaically as aurum fulminans. Gold cluster compounds. Gold chalcogenides (O, S, Se,Te). Gold halides (F,Cl,Br,I).

The AuCl₄^- ion after dissolving in aqua regia. Green gold (a gold/silver alloy) is used in specialized jewelry while gold alloys with copper (reddish color) are more widely used for that purpose (rose gold)*. White gold (an alloy of gold with platinum, palladium, nickel, and/or zinc) serves as a substitute for platinum. Only the salts and radioisotopes (mentioned above) have any evidence of medicinal value.

For similar reasons, it also used as the basis for some superstitious, over the top, health claims. Some use it as an excuse to create super-expensive delicacies ($1,000 cocktails). Having no reactivity it adds no taste but is taken as a delicacy. Called varak or (varaq) in India.

Gold flake is used on and in some gourmet sweets and drinks. The gold isotope Au-198, (half-life: 2.7 days) is used in some cancer treatments and for treating other diseases. However, it can also cause photosensitive rashes, gastrointestinal disturbance, and kidney damage. It inhibits lymphocyte proliferation, lysosomal enzyme release, the release of reactive oxygen species from macrophages, and IL-1 production.

Disodium aurothiomalate is a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (administered intramuscularly). Since it is a good reflector of both infrared and visible light, it is used for the protective coatings on many artificial satellites. Many competitions and honors, such as the Olympics and the Nobel Prize, award a gold medal to the winner (with silver to the second-place finisher, and bronze to the third.). Gold is used as a coating enabling biological material to be viewed under a scanning electron microscope.

It is also the usual starting point for making other gold compounds. Gold(III) chloride is used as a catalyst in organic chemistry. Chlorauric acid is used in photography for toning the silver image. It is also the form used as gold paint on ceramics prior to firing.

Colloidal gold (a gold nanoparticle) is an intensely colored solution that is currently studied in many labs for medical, biological and other applications. Gold is used in restorative dentistry especially in tooth restorations such as crowns and bridges. The resistance to oxidation of gold has led to its widespread use as thin layers electroplated on the surface of electrical connectors to ensure a good connection. Gold performs critical functions in computers, communications equipment, spacecraft, jet aircraft engines, and a host of other products.

Gold can be made into thread and used in embroidery.