Ford Green Wows at NAIAS in Detroit!

Last weekend right after CES I hopped a plane from Vegas straight to Detroit to hang out with Ford and 100 other bloggers and media from all over the world. I was VERY impressed at the diversity. There were even people from as far as Australia. We started off the evening on Sunday with dinner at the Detroit Institute of Art’s Diego Rivera Gallery. It was breathtaking. Lots of art and history.

Other than just enjoying the art, we got a glimpse into what to expect at the event… green cars. And I do not mean the color.

 

Monday morning was the start of the real excitement. I had not been to a Chicago Auto Show in YEARS. So, it was very cool to go to NAIAS (North American International Auto Show) in Detroit and get a chance to look at some shiny new cars. The day started with the Ford Press Conference, which was more like a show.  I recorded the whole thing! Yes, my arm was tired. But it was worth it.

Ford unveiled a whole new fleet of eco-friendly vehicles including the Ford C-Max. We also heard about how Ford is helping to provide jobs in other countries, all while helping the environment.

During NAIAS we got to wander around and look at the other cars, take some pics, conduct some interviews and hear from some other Ford reps and experts about what goes into making Ford cars.

My favorite part of the event came the next day with a tour of the Ford Rouge Factory.  The Rouge Factory sits on 200 acres in Detroit, MI. Henry Ford purchased this land in 1915 and it was fully functional by 1920. It was used to make all Ford cars. At one point there was a staff of 100,000.

Fast forward to 2011, the Rouge factory builds only Ford F150s, the company’s best seller. There are 2 shifts of 1000 people each that crank out 60 F150s per hour. I loved how there is a green line that divides the parking lot about 70-30. To the right is where staff members that drive Fords park. To the left? Those that drive others. They have to walk farther to work. 🙂

The tour of the factory was phenomenal. Seeing the assembly line in action was very cool. The workers all seemed to love what they do and they never missed a beat while waving.

I had an absolutely fabulous time. I enjoyed learning about what Ford’s history, and what is coming in the future.

 

Disclosure: I was sponsored to attend this trip by Ford. All opinions are my own.