Using only two words to describe my Ford Experience at the North American International Auto Show

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Ford is History.

What’s a trip to Detroit with two things? Henry Ford and cars. Arguably the birthplace of automobiles, you couldn’t but feel like a part of history stepping into the service elevator at the Ford Piquette Avenue Plant, better known as the birthplace of the Model T.

The plant happened to be the location of a lovely welcoming dinner from Ford to all its invited guests to the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). With themed drinks, delicious food, and historic cars, it was the perfect setting to really acquaint myself with my SheBuysCars colleagues.

We quickly found that we had several things in common: a sense of humor, a fascination with cars, and the desire to have fun. So we chatted and then drooled over a few of the classic cars on display including this Mustang from the World’s Fair. Soooo pretty.

But Ford’s history is more than pretty cars. It’s about quality.

And it’s about this.

Ford is Innovation.

Innovation was definitely a theme throughout my time at the show as a guest of Ford. In fact, innovation started when Henry Ford opened his first plant and introduced the assembly line allowing him to increase his workforce from 450 to 14,000. And instead of letting his business rely on the manufacturing and shipping of auto parts, he created his own factories to craft the parts on premises.

With his great-grandson, Tom Ford, at the helm, Ford is still seeking out innovation with cars like:

The Ford Edge

I’ve loved this car for many years and then forgot about it. And then fell it love with it again. Call me a car-crossover-unibody type gal. And that light interior was sooooo pretty.

But maybe you’re not into “mom cars.” That’s totally okay because you’ll love Ford’s focus on innovative performance.

Ford Shelby GT 350R

Although I did once own a Ford Mustang convertible, performance is not my middle name. So I’ll just leave this one here for you.

And while performance doesn’t get my heart racing, a pretty car like this one sure does.

Ford GT

I’m sure the engineers weren’t focusing on me as the target market but I still this this GT was quite spectacular and so, apparently, did all of the journalists who rushed the stage after the press conference.

(Is it me or does the rear end look like a pig snout?)

And finally, for you hunting, fishing, big-rig loving guy and gals, I present you this.

Ford F-150

The Ford F-150 was actually named the North American Truck of the Year. I drooled over the luxury of the Platinum edition and drooled a bit over the performance possibilities of the Raptor edition (actually my husband drooled over the Raptor when we talked about it).

And the name Ford still stands for the quality that Henry Ford talked about. I know because I saw it firsthand. I ended my tour in Detroit with a trip to the Ford Rouge Factory Tour where I was able to see those Ford F-150 trucks being built.

But that’s a story for another day. The trip was filled not only with cars but with so many insights about how Ford is always looking to the future, analyzing trends, and figuring out what, if anything, that means to the car buyer.

Now if they can just figure out how to design a car with a place to put my purse…

My trip to NAIAS was sponsored by Ford, including hotel accommodations and travel expenses. I was not compensated for this post and all opinions are my own.