Ford Motor Company operates several proving grounds worldwide, for development and validation testing of new vehicles.
North America
Arizona Proving Ground (APG) – Wittmann, Arizona
The Arizona Proving Ground opened in 1985. The Proving Ground consists of 1,498 acres (6.06 km2) located less than one hour northwest of the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport at an elevation of 1,650 feet (500 m). The facility was originally a Volvo facility (VAPG) but was transitioned to the Ford branding in the summer of 2009 and renamed the Arizona Proving Ground (APG). Volvo still is a large user of it.
It features a 2-mile oval track with banked curves, a 2-mile completely straight road, a brake test area and some more tracks.
The Arizona Proving Ground is operated year round. The climate is of a desert type with low annual rainfall and low relative humidity. Daytime temperatures are high throughout the summer months. The winters are mild. Nighttime temperatures frequently drop below freezing during the three coldest months, but the afternoons are usually sunny and warm. The summer heat (over 100 F) is the most used time of the year, since worst case should be tested in order to cover many test cases.