"All Ford, Lincoln and Mercury cars sold in the United States and Canada will come equipped with this potentially life-saving technology at no cost to customers," Ken Kohrs, vice president – Large and Luxury Vehicle Center, announced at the New York Auto Show. "We’re providing this feature to so many customers because safety – in all forms – is a priority at Ford Motor Company."

Ford’s innovative new emergency trunk release system uses a special cable-operated release to help prevent youngsters and victims of carjackings from becoming trapped inside car trunks, where temperatures can soar and create harmful conditions for those locked inside.

Inside the trunk, a cable is attached to a T-shaped handle, measuring roughly 2.25 by 2.75 inches and made of a special phosphorescent material. This allows the handle to glow in the dark for hours following brief exposure to ambient light – without requiring any battery power.

The T-shaped handle either hangs from the top of the trunk lid or is located inside the luggage compartment near the tail lamps, depending on the car model. The handle will open the trunk if it is pulled from a variety of directions.

"We wanted to make this trunk release system easy to use and as intuitive as possible, for adults as well as children," Kohrs said. "We’ve even worked with youngsters and a child development expert to best understand how children commonly react and respond to different conditions.

"For instance, we discovered that, even at young ages, children are inclined to pull on objects, rather than push. That’s why Ford’s release mechanism will work if it’s pulled from a variety of directions."

In addition, images printed on the T-shaped handle show how pulling it opens the trunk.

"Our safety team has worked hard to ensure this feature is user-friendly. Our biggest hope, of course, is that people never need to use it," Kohrs said.