I was delighted to be sent to Detroit to attend the Focus with Ford conference. It was an amazing time, and I never thought I'd say this again in my lifetime - but I want to buy a Ford.
Hold me now, Internetz. The lightning, she be coming my way.
My first car was a 1976 dark green Ford Pinto. Yes, the car that had the reputation - deservedly so - of exploding when hit in the back. The floorboard had rusted out, in a circle of about 7 inches in diameter, and the engine throttle kept sticking, so my dad retrofitted it with a manual throttle. Picture me, trying to take off from a stop light. The car won't accelerate, and so I have to slowly let out the manual throttle -
But not too fast. Because that would flood it and the car would die.
I was HOT. Let me tell you what.
So. I'm not a life long fan of Ford, and when I arrived at the conference, I was a bit out of my league. There were more than 100 other bloggers there - but when I say that, there's no problem there. I frequently attend conferences and I've never attended a conference and not known a few people, so I've gone with a modicum of comfort. I knew no one when I arrived. No one. I'd asked around online before leaving and wasn't able to find friends, so I was a little bit uncomfortable.
Scratch that. RIDICULOUSLY uncomfortable. I'm outgoing and friendly and chatty when I know at least one person for a touch base, but going into a strange situation with no one to have my back - well, I've said enough to think that you probably understand what I'm saying. To make matters worse, it seemed as if everyone knew each other. One third of the bloggers were green/tech bloggers, one third were generational (older) bloggers and the other third were mixed between automotive and lifestyle. If you've read me for any length of time, you'll see that I don't blog about green, tech, older people or cars.
So how, exactly, do I fit into this spectrum?
I wondered.
Ford brought us together to talk about the future of Ford. How Ford planned to change what cars would do, how they would interact with you in your daily life, how the car you drive can improve your life and how it can save your life. Can a car actually know that you have diabetes and your sugar is too low? Can a car be comfortable to an older person, with a dashboard that can be read WITHOUT reading glasses? Can your car keep you safe, help you avoid accidents, and be a place that you'd want to hang out in?
These were the questions.
In the next couple of posts, I'll be discussing the five Trend Options that Ford covered. They were:
1 Aging population
2 Youth influence and the convergence of taste
3 safety and security - freedom of injury and protection/ health and wellness
4 green action concerns over sustainability and human rights
5 information addiction. Technology. Consumers demand information at the touch of a finger
And how, exactly, a mom with six kids who blogs about every single thing that comes into her head fits into this spectrum. (But I won't have pictures. Booooooo. I left my camera at Ford headquarters - totally my own fault, Ford has been helping me look for it and they can't find it. I can't believe I was so incredibly careless - and it hasn't been recovered. I'm betting someone scooped it up and got themselves a sweet Canon Rebel XTi with a very nice Macro Lens. And my sunglasses.)
We have a couple of Fords--love them. I particularly love the little camera image that shows up in my rear view mirror when I shift into reverse. And the blind spot sensors in my wing mirrors that light up when someone's in my blind spot.
Posted by: Becki | June 25, 2011 at 01:18 PM
Not a ford fan - convince me?
Posted by: addy | June 25, 2011 at 08:51 PM
I grew up in Dearborn, Ford's home territory, but we are not currently Ford fans -- that is, I haven't had a Ford since my 1964.5 Mustang, my first car (if only I had known how cool it would be in 40 or 50 years). What they are doing recently is gradually changing my view. Will be interesting to see what you thought. Sorry about your camera, lens and sunglasses
Posted by: bama Cheryl | June 26, 2011 at 09:11 AM
My husband has a Mustang. I currently have the Flex. Before this I had the Fusion, the Escape, the minivan, and a Taurus. We are Ford people. The Flex is by far the best car I've ever owned - tons of bells and whistles and I I planned to drive it into the ground or until it commits suicide.
Posted by: Tara | June 26, 2011 at 02:28 PM
I have the same birthday (year and date) as the Ford Mustang -- and my first car was a Ford (though not as infamous as yours! ;-))
but have never ventured back to driving them, as they have not been so impressive over the last 10/15 years. I think they are changing, so maybe in the future we'll be ford drivers again. I look forward to reading the rest of your Ford review. Thanks for sharing about it!
Posted by: eko | June 28, 2011 at 10:04 AM
Among the five Ford Trend Options, I would love to hear how Ford will tackle the fourth one: green action concerns over sustainability and human rights. I believe that Ford can contribute to helping the environment with its hybrid models. A change in the landscape of the automobile industry will be crucial in the fight against climate change.
Posted by: Ervin Capvitz | October 19, 2011 at 09:24 AM
Ford was the first to truly innovate to make the driving experience better. I believe they got their ideas and concepts by thinking about the needs of the people who rode their cars. For example, they are aware that some drivers have health issues so they plan to equip mobile alerts on their cars for people with serious conditions.
Posted by: Erwin Calverley | November 03, 2011 at 02:13 PM
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