I was sent on an all expenses paid trip to attend the Ford Trends Conference. All thoughts and opinions are my own in this and following posts.
I got an email and just stared at it for a bit…Did they really want me to head up to Dearborn, MI to attend the 2014 Ford Trends Conference?? Why yes, yes they did…To say I was giddy is probably an understatement, but at the same time super nervous. I had never been to something so big and amazing. I was going to get an inside look at what Ford has been up to and where they are going on so many levels, not just in building cars/trucks, but how they are changing and evolving as a company.
I arrived just an hour or so before we were to head out to dinner at the Ford Performing Arts Center. I have to say it was pretty cool to be able to fly in to an airport then just walk from the terminal over to the Westin Hotel in Detroit. And guess what? You don’t even hear planes while you are inside the hotel.
At that nights festivities we were greeted by the new CEO Mark Fields as well Clayton Christensen of Harvard Law School and Kenneth Cole the designer. It was amazing to hear Kenneth Cole explain to us where he came from and that it takes creativity and sometimes being a bit stealthy to get started in business and make your name known. As the evening concluded Mark Fields unveiled the 2015 Ford Edge with some amazing new features that I will share later. Just look at the sleek design!
The next morning at breakfast Ford revealed a big secret they have been working on…. Power Wheels Ford F-150!!! I mean…I want one for myself. You can pre-order one here. I was in awe of how real they seemed and all the features that you can get on them just like a real truck. Amazing ingenuity and I would love to test one out.
The rest of the day was spent in some amazing informational sessions where we heard from leaders in different areas. Here are the sessions and their overviews:
DECODING DESIGN
Creating unique and meaningful experiences is at the heart of design today. Whether it’s a car, phone or computer, consumers put a premium on ease of use, functionality and overall emotional connection, as well as aesthetics. Solutions for how consumers interact with a product – the way technology is integrated to allow the most effective usability and the highest degree of satisfaction – are what elevate design beyond art. Because ultimately, design doesn’t just make things beautiful, it makes them work. Decoding Design will explore those brands, products and designers who are leading the way to seamlessly crack this code for customers, not only to create lasting relationships, but also to have a positive impact on people’s lives.
SUSTAINABILITY BLUES
Water scarcity is a rising issue globally. More than 780 million people live without access to fresh drinking water. Diseases from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation kill more people every year than all forms of violence, including war. Businesses too depend on and affect freshwater resources globally. Today, water risks to business and the global population are intensifying at an unprecedented rate. Re-thinking how we value water and disclose industrial use and performance is a critical first step in reducing these strains and safeguarding future water supplies. Some businesses and organizations are investing time and money into protecting and managing this critical resource; we’re convening their leaders to share their strategies, success and address problems they and the global population still face.
FEMALE FRONTIER
Across the globe, profiles of women have reached new prominence, turning attention to their place in politics and the workforce while changing the dialogue around gender roles. The corresponding demographic shifts are changing household dynamics and definitions of family worldwide, including women avoiding marriage and parenting altogether and men actively stepping in to fill traditionally feminine roles. With households more diverse than ever and the workplace as competitive as ever, the Female Frontier will explore how the changes in demographics are defining the future of business, commerce, education, and even brands.
WHAT’S the BIG DEAL with BIG DATA?
In 2005, there were 2.5 billion connected devices, mainly PCs, smartphones and tablets. By 2020, there will be over 30 billion connected devices, including cars, watches, refrigerators and even toothbrushes. All of these connected devices are leading to an explosion in Big Data – information about what people want, who they want it from and their likes/dislikes. Consumers are quickly learning that data can improve their lives, and they’re willing to exchange it for value such as convenience or personalized service or products. From theme parks to service providers, some companies are early adopters taking advantage of this shift. Explore just what is the big deal with Big Data and how might it influence the technology of tomorrow.
“INSIDE THE BLUE OVAL”
Animating Automotive Design: In a small, secret room in Ford’s Product Development Center, a team of about twenty animators work on computers with three screens each. This is Studio 2000X, Ford’s internal animation facility that creates ultra-high definition productions for a wide range of uses. Videos created by Studio 2000X convey the essence of upcoming Ford products, before a prototype is ever built. The artistic vignettes displays the shapes and forms and layer them against real life background, adding emotion to early designer sketches and incredible definition to more advanced renderings. Today, we want to give you a behind the scenes look at how we create these videos.
Virtual Reality Lab: Explore the first-ever automotive application of a new ultrahigh-definition, virtual reality lab that enables Ford designers and engineers globally to work together on vehicles in real time. Like a Second Life game – a popular online 3D virtual world – but with ultrahigh definition, engineers and designers at Ford now experience a car the way a consumer would in a showroom. Using a totally immersive virtual space allows them to create visuals almost indistinguishable from a real car, and results in improved vehicle quality and craftsmanship.
Suiting up for Safety: For years, Ford has employed the use of wearable technology as a way to train engineers and designers. From the third generation “old age suit’ helping healthy engineers and designers get an understanding of the effects of old age on our customers, to the new “drunk simulation suit” used to help new drivers get a sense of how impairment can dim the senses and increase reaction time, suit up with the Ford team and experience first-hand how Ford is developing the next generation of vehicles, safety technology and drivers.
Tough Testing: You will have the opportunity to go “behind the scenes” and see some of the tough torture testing in action. See first-hand some of the robotic technologies in use at Ford’s durability lab, including the seven-channel input, a specially-built torture rack that shakes and twists the vehicle’s frame in seven different directions at once. You will also see how Ford designed tougher seats, using both robots for seat testing, as well as new human-based test that simulates the kind of abuse leather seats face on a jobsite.
We then finished the night with a night of food and magic from David Kwong. This guy is a genius and his showcase of talents is awe inspiring. I have a hard time remembering what I did yesterday, he holds so much knowledge and presents it in a fun and truly magical way that you want to watch every second.
Our last day was spent really getting out there and testing some of the vehicles: Transit Connect Wagon(#Unminivan), all electric Focus, and a few of their other hybrids. We even got to ride in a remote controlled van. No physical driver. It was a little rough on the turning, but cool to see it in action. Yes, it stayed between the lines 🙂 Then the biggest highlight of the trip came when we toured the F-150 plant. I will be writing more about it later. By far my favorite part!
Thanks to Ford for having me out and I can’t wait to share more with you all about each section of the conference. The people at Ford really make you feel like you are one of the family. They put on an amazing conference and I look forward to sharing more about what they are doing now and in the future.
Oh my goodness! That sounds like an absolutely wonderful experience. That power wheel is too adorable. A lot of children are going to be happy around Christmas.
I want a Ford Raptor Power Wheels, but I am over the weight limit and at the moment they don't make them. But it was a great trip packed with tons of information and a little fun behind the wheel.