You know, I’ve been openly accused of being extremely biased when it comes to my choice in auto brand loyalty, but I believe it to be with good reason.
The one thing during this whole shitacular economic struggle that really captured my attention is the seemingly dire situation of the Big 3- Ford, GM, and Chrysler. The entirety of our auto industry is falling to shambles? WHAT?!? As a racer, you can see where this is a mighty bit unsettling. (Well, unless you happen to be in the faded craze and downward spiraling world of sport compact racing, and then its probably cool for you).
Now, I’m not AT ALL educated enough to speak on the who and why and what of the auto industry’s ailments. I have my guesses which I’ll keep to myself this time, but one thing I really respect, is Ford’s commitment to keep the public involved and informed.
http://www.thefordstory.com/ — Say hello to Ford’s take on the current situation. A video answering the common questions, the plan, the progress, and even a detailed look at Ford’s economic footprint.
Now all of that is great and all– and I’m not even going to pretend like I understand the whole bailout or any of the business talk, but what I CAN speak to, is that its very evident that the engineers, the designers, and all the other Ford employees have a passion for what they do. Spending 2 days with the people behind the oval, seeing first hand the pride that each of the engineers and designers had for the product that was born there, and tested all across our great country.
Somewhere along the lines, people began to associate Foreign Cars as better quality, better produced. Why? Perhaps the Big 3 did go through a learning curve where they fell behind the 8 ball. But those who tout the foreign quality…. when was the last time you objectively drove an American Made car?
And there is one BIG thing that should be applauded here…. with GM and Chrysler in this situation, Ford really does deserve some big props for properly planning for this Recession and NOT needing the bailout.
In fact, I challenge ALL of you who currently swear by your foreign brands to take a ride in a Ford. We should reward and be PROUD of what our American company has done, and not lump them into this hand-out group. Operation Ford Motor is a movement covering the twitter and the rest of the web world right now to get the word out about what Ford has done to AVOID this whole situation and why they deserve our respect.
Thanksgiving 2008