Entries Tagged 'cars' ↓

I am passionate about automobiles. That’s no secret. And I marvel at concept cars. Have you ever seen one? Would you like to? Check this out:

They seem to be going in an interesting direction…

Not bad, for a start.

What do you think?

Did you know that driving while texting is the same as driving after having had four drinks?

This fact becomes especially important if you have teen drivers.

April 30 is National No-Phone Zone Day, declared to raise awareness about the dangers of using a phone while driving.

I’m on board and signed the pledge. Will you?

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?

Continue reading →

Part 1 (of 2) reports relating to the Ford BlogHer** event

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Ever since my dad gave a speech to hundreds of people about women drivers* years before I could legally drive, I have been determined to be a good driver. For many years, I was a bit too caught up in the notion and took myself too seriously. I even called myself a “serious driver” — whatever that means.

Over the years, I’ve rid myself of that old baggage and tried to lighten up when driving, but I am still fascinated and dazzled by outstanding, high quality automobiles. In other words, I’m still basically a car nut. Always have been, really.

My hometown was filled with car fanatics. In fact, when I was growing up, kids took pride in their abilities to identify cars by the sound of the engine or the taillights or other identifying characteristics. I could easily tell you which car was a Ford, Chevy, or Chrysler (we only played this game with domestic vehicles) by the style of the car, though I never mastered the art of engine identification.

Later in life, particularly after becoming a mom, my perspective changed somewhat. These days, I don’t spend much time identifying cars while sitting in traffic but I am certainly at a point in my life when I sometimes spend (what feels like) a majority of my day driving the kids and their friends to various activities and events.  So the quality of my car contributes to my quality of life.  You know what I mean?

If I enjoy my car and the time I spend in it, I’m likely to have a lot more fun with my kids (and be a more pleasant person).  If I’m driving a high quality automobile, chances are good that I’m going to enjoy (better still, love) the car. So the higher the quality of the car, the greater the enjoyment factor. And to take that one step further, the happier the mom then, naturally, the happier the family. Ah yes, so the happiness of my family all comes back to the quality of the car I’m driving.

Really?  Continue reading →