Part 2 of my Ford BlogHer experience:
…in which I report back about my experience as one of 60 bloggers who spent about seven hours touring Ford’s Chicago Assembly plant and listening to Ford employees’ presentations about their company.
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When I walked into the hotel conference room to join the other bloggers for breakfast, I was greeted by some folks from Ford and Caitlyn and Karen from Ogilvy. Very soon afterward, I discovered that I was probably the most skeptical attendee. In fact, when Scott Monty, the Ford host, approached me, I sheepishly admitted that, if they were hoping we would leave singing Ford’s praises, I would most likely disappoint him. He emphatically insisted that he wanted to hear what I had to say. Good or bad.
In a nutshell? My perception of Ford vehicles was simply horrible. Where I grew up in the midwest, people regularly referred to FORD as the cars you had to Fix Or Repair Daily.
And now? If you were to ask me to name one person I know who drives a Ford? I couldn’t do it. Okay, maybe one – and she drives an Expedition SUV. Because she has a big family. My mom had a Lincoln, but I’ve never owned a Ford. In fact, I’ve only owned one domestic car.
Be honest. When you think of Ford, what comes to mind?
For me it’s this:
Which, if you like trucks, isn’t such a bad thing. I mean, they won Motor Trend’s Truck of the Year. And hey, there’s a site devoted to Ford Truck Lovers!! I kid you not! These folks love their trucks.
The thing is, I’m not a big truck fan. Nothing against them, just not something I need in my life right now.
So, if you put aside the trucks, where does your mind go next? The Taurus, right? Top selling car in the 80s, it competed head-to-head with Toyota’s Camry.
Remember this?
So what happened between 1986 and 2009? Plenty.
As Bill Vlasic reported today in the New York Times, the Taurus is back and better than ever.
Not only is it sleeker and updated for this millennium, it’s full of state of the art technology and high quality details.
But, could I imagine myself driving my family around my town in it?
