Spinning Around Ford’s Test Track

By Lori Cunningham

Wow, what a thrill!    I just got off Ford’s World renown test track at their headquarters in Dearborn, MI*.  Ford set up a trends conference called “Forward with Ford” for journalists and bloggers this past week to learn about the essential trends they have been building their strategy and cars around.  Experts from numerous industries were on hand to educate us on merging trends…worldwide.  I will write more about some of these trends soon.

For now, I want to show you some pics from the awesome day we had trying out Ford’s new 2013 cars.  We headed to  the Ford test track for a half day of fun and surging adrenaline.  To appreciate the performance of their cars, Ford set up various testing track areas to highlight their cars.

2013 Ford Mustang GT

This was on of my favorite tracks.  Here we got behind the wheel of a 2013 Ford Mustang and were encouraged to push it to our limits as we drove around a cone-filled track with many sharp turns.  Let me tell you, what a thrill that was!  In Ford’s Car of Tomorrow event I attended, Ford driving instructors taught me how to get back on track if you go around  a corner sharply and lose control of your back  tires.  That training came in handy for this track.  I felt like a pro…or perhaps semi-pro.

The handling of the Mustang impressed me.  I’ll admit that taking corners fast is a thrill that I enjoy and I have never seen a car handle corners better than the 2013 Mustang.  And I loved the comfort of the seats, even when taking sharp curves I felt very secure and comfortable.  And of course, who can deny that the styling of the Ford Mustang is super sexy.

2013 Ford Interceptor

Have you ever wanted to drive a police car?  We were all stoked to take to the track  in Ford’s new Interceptor sedans and utility cars.  I choose to drive the sedan because it’s lower to the ground, so it could take tighter corners better.  OK, so you’re learning something more about me now.  I have a safe side to me when I’m with the kids and a wild streak surfaces when at the Ford test track.  🙂

Nonetheless, there’s a certain thrill in driving in a cop car.  My friend and co-pilot, Naomi of Superdumb, Supervillian, assisted me as we chased the invisible “bad guys” on the curvy, cone-filled track.  We didn’t catch the “bad guys,” but we made it back to the start in record time!

2013 Ford F-150 SVT Raptor

Talk about a big truck, the F-150 SVT Raptor is HUGE.  It’s so big they named it after a dinosaur!  For this ride, Ford made sure everyone, including the driver wore helmets.  Why?  The best way to show off the truck was to off-road it.

We took off across the dirt field at top speed then headed up a steep hill.  All we saw was blue sky.  I was just hoping that once we got to the top we would connect to the ground again.  We did, but I tell you, it was one bumpy ride!  We had a professional driver take my friend, Elise , from Elise’s Ramblings, and I out, so my hands were free to shoot some video of the ride.  This truck handled itself very well despite the very rough terrain.  I felt very secure in the front seat.  Elise, on the other hand, did get tossed around a bit in the backseat.

2013 Ford Escape

Naomi Shapiro, Cathy Herald, and myself after our exhilarating days at the Ford test track.

Although we didn’t take to the track in the Ford Escape, we did get to do a fun obstacle course using some of its great features.  We needed a partner for this course.  My new friend, Cathy of CathyHearld,  was my teammate and a good one at that.

Our first task was for me to run to a car with a baton and access voice dialing using MyFord Touch to call a number.  Then  hop out of the car to hand the baton to Cathy in the next car.  She utilized the Parallel Park  Assist function to skillfully have the car parallel park for her than handed me the baton through the open window.

I then rushed to the next car and with the key FOB (key) in my pocket, I gingerly waved my foot below the bumper in the rear to initiate the new hands-free liftgate.  The hatchback opened by itself.  This is a great new feature in the 2013 Ford Escape to help you when your hands are full of boxes, groceries, you name it.

After opening and closing the hatchback, I had to run back to the start of the obstacle course.  We were timed and our scores were compared to other teams throughout the day.

Did we win?  Well, no, but we did get an honorable mention for losing the most clothes during the competition.  Both of my shoes had fallen off during the run.  You can imagine the puzzled looks of our competitors as we went up front of a packed room to receive our prize?  LOL!

What a fun day!  I’m writing this post during my plane trip back to LAX.  By the time I touch ground, my safe and sensible driving hat will be back on and my adrenaline, heart pumping, sweaty palm making, shoe flying adventure at the Ford test tracks will be a distant but unbelievable memory.  Hmmm, perhaps I need to upgrade my car to a Ford Mustang!

*Ford paid my expenses for the flights and lodging.  All opinions are my own.