Dearborn, Michigan - The Ford Motor Company has been going through a considerable rebirth over the past little while. Some might say that "it's about time". Although to be fair, Ford was not the only nameplate to suffer unkind comments over the last decade or so.
In my mind, and I know several other journalists who would agree with me, the buying public has been subjected to what might be described as "the jelly bean era" for quite some time now. That is where the overall success of one manufacturer's design leads to the other companies following along the same lines. As time passed, models became more and more alike, until we were all driving remarkably similar-looking vehicles.
Oh yes, the interiors and the powerplants might have been different, but the basic shape was like nicely-rounded jelly beans. Think about it. How often over the past decade did we hear that famous phrase "cars all look alike to me nowadays"???
However, fast forward to 2007 and things are starting to change for the better in the car industry, and especially at Ford.
With several new products already launched, and many more planned for the near future, the big blue oval is actually becoming quite exciting again.
There is also a new wave of enthusiasm growing within the company, which certainly could be seen on the faces of the Ford employees who were out in force to show myself and several other North American journalists around their amazing Dearborn proving facility, and introduce us to their 2008 model offerings.
For those of you who have not visited Dearborn, Michigan, the home of the Ford Motor Company, I strongly suggest that you do so one day. This town, which should perhaps more aptly be called Fordborn, as every road name, medical center, museum, and just about every building has some association to Henry's famous company, is simply amazing.
Sitting adjacent to The Henry Ford, which has been described as America's "must-see attraction", is Ford's renowned testing facility. This is where all the new Ford products go through their rigorous testing and product development stages.
An amazing facility, now over 80 years old, it originally started out as a commercial airport providing flights between Detroit and Chicago. In fact, the Ford Air Transportation Service was the first regularly scheduled airline out of there to offer service between those two cities.
In my mind, and I know several other journalists who would agree with me, the buying public has been subjected to what might be described as "the jelly bean era" for quite some time now. That is where the overall success of one manufacturer's design leads to the other companies following along the same lines. As time passed, models became more and more alike, until we were all driving remarkably similar-looking vehicles.
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Oh yes, the interiors and the powerplants might have been different, but the basic shape was like nicely-rounded jelly beans. Think about it. How often over the past decade did we hear that famous phrase "cars all look alike to me nowadays"???
However, fast forward to 2007 and things are starting to change for the better in the car industry, and especially at Ford.
With several new products already launched, and many more planned for the near future, the big blue oval is actually becoming quite exciting again.
There is also a new wave of enthusiasm growing within the company, which certainly could be seen on the faces of the Ford employees who were out in force to show myself and several other North American journalists around their amazing Dearborn proving facility, and introduce us to their 2008 model offerings.
For those of you who have not visited Dearborn, Michigan, the home of the Ford Motor Company, I strongly suggest that you do so one day. This town, which should perhaps more aptly be called Fordborn, as every road name, medical center, museum, and just about every building has some association to Henry's famous company, is simply amazing.
Sitting adjacent to The Henry Ford, which has been described as America's "must-see attraction", is Ford's renowned testing facility. This is where all the new Ford products go through their rigorous testing and product development stages.
An amazing facility, now over 80 years old, it originally started out as a commercial airport providing flights between Detroit and Chicago. In fact, the Ford Air Transportation Service was the first regularly scheduled airline out of there to offer service between those two cities.
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