Trevor Bayne's First NASCAR Nationwide Victory Gives Ford Manufacturer's Championship

JAMIE ALLISON, Director, Ford Racing -- "We're thrilled to win the NASCAR Nationwide Manufacturers' Championship. Not only is it our first since 2002, but, more importantly, it's the first championship for Mustang in NASCAR. Mustang - as it has for 47 years - continues to be a force in all forms of racing. This has been a great year for Ford and Roush Fenway in Nationwide, with Carl, Ricky and Trevor all providing some great moments and 13 victories. Now, it would be great to add the driver’s championship by Ricky to this special year for Mustang and Ford.”

BORN TO RACE – Mustang winning a championship in its first year of NASCAR competition won’t come as a surprise to Ford enthusiasts, who have known about the muscle car’s racing pedigree ever since it came off the assembly line for the first time in April of 1964. In fact, a little more than a month after its April 17 introduction, Mustang was on the race track as a pace car leading the 1964 Indianapolis 500. And before the year was out, it was a winner in competition, finishing first and second in class in the 1964 Tour de France international rally.

THE MOST SINCE – In addition to helping deliver a manufacturer’s championship, Mustang has been to victory lane more than any other model in 2011. Mustang has 13 wins so far this season, which represents the highest single-season win total in the NASCAR Nationwide Series for Ford Racing since 2002 when it won 16 races.

FEELS LIKE THE THIRD TIME – This marks the third time Ford has won the NASCAR Nationwide Series manufacturer’s title. The first time came in 1995 when Chad Little led the Ford contingent with six wins while Dale Jarrett and Mark Martin contributed three each. Kenny Wallace and Tim Fedewa also scored victories that year for Ford. The second title came courtesy of Greg Biffle, who won the driver’s championship and was a leader on the manufacturer side. Jeff Burton actually led the way with five wins that season while Biffle and Jason Keller registered four each, Scott Riggs two and Bobby Hamilton Jr. one.

Ford NASCAR Nationwide Manufacturer Championship Seasons: 1995, 2002, 2011

Ford NASCAR Nationwide Series Champions:

· Greg Biffle (2002)

· Carl Edwards (2007)

Ford Finishing Order:

1^st – Trevor Bayne

3^rd – Carl Edwards

6^th – Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

29^th – Joey Gase

33^rd – Timmy Hill

35^th – David Ragan

37^th – Carl Long

38^th – J.J. Yeley

40^th – Tim Andrews

BAYNE WINS FIRST NASCAR NATIONWIDE SERIES RACE

· Trevor Bayne registered his first NASCAR Nationwide Series win with today’s victory at Texas.

· The victory is the 13^th for Mustang in its inaugural season by three different drivers (Edwards, Bayne and Stenhouse Jr.) and is the most among all manufacturers.

· The win is also the 299^th all-time win for Roush Fenway Racing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup and NASCAR Nationwide Series combined.

TREVOR BAYNE – No. 16 Ford. Drive One. Ford Mustang – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – “This is just as surreal as the 500. That’s hard to say, but this has been so long. We’ve worked so hard to get our first Nationwide win and I wasn’t sure if it was ever gonna happen. I was thinking maybe the next Cup win would come first, but these guys worked their butts off to get us here and God pulled us through. Man, this is crazy. It doesn’t seem real again, just like the 500. The fashion we were able to win that race, going up and racing against one of the best in motorsport in Carl Edwards, to pass him for the win and get Ford this manufacturer championship and put our effort into it is great. Everybody has won races and leading the points and we were ready to get our first win. I’m glad we could do it here.” YOU DIDN’T HAVE A WINNING CAR UNTIL THE END. “That was a last-minute save by Chad Norris. I didn’t think this car had it in it. I thought it might all week, but with about 14 to go I didn’t know if we’d be able to get up there and get the win, but he dialed it in and the pit crew did a great job getting me back out and this thing was a beast at the end.” THIS PLACE MUST BE ON YOUR FAVORITE LIST. “It is. It’s one of the toughest to drive and that’s why I’ve always wanted to get a win at a place like this. Daytona is great, but that’s restrictor plate racing. I hate to say it but a lot of people could be in victory lane there, but to win at a mile-and-a-half that has been one of my dreams and Texas is by far one of the toughest places to drive, so I’m really excited about this victory.”

RICKY STENHOUSE JR. – No. 6 Sam’s Club/Cargill Ford Mustang – “That was good. It’s awesome to see Trevor win. I think that wraps up the manufacturer’s championship for Ford Racing, so that was one goal that we wanted this year and we finally got that done. Our Sam’s Club Members Mark Angus Beef Mustang was really good at first and then it kind of backed up a little bit. We lost some track position and got a great restart there at the end. I thought we were gonna get home with a top five, but we’ll definitely take where we finished.” WHAT ABOUT THE LAST FEW LAPS? “That was fun. We were just a little bit too tight to keep in front of the 22 and run a couple more down, but it was awesome to see Trevor get a win this year in the Nationwide Series. This wraps up a Ford championship for manufacturers, so that’s awesome. It was a good day for the Sam’s Club Members Mark Angus Beef Ford.” YOU ARE 17 POINTS AHEAD OF ELLIOTT NOW. “That’s good. That’s better than where we were when we came in and that’s really all we can ask for.”

CARL EDWARDS – No. 60 Fastenal Ford Mustang – “He earned that one. He drove really well. That restart he did a really good job. I wasn’t worried about giving him the bottom because I thought I could hang on his door and beat him, but our Fastenal Mustang was really good for the majority of the day. At the end, once those guys got by they were able to drive away. That’s better than finishing right on their bumper because it’s tough to lead that much and not win the thing, but Trevor is a great guy and he deserves to win. I’m happy for him and for Ford.”

DAVID RAGAN – No. 08 Texas Tech Ford Mustang – “We were making a lot of progress. The car was driving as good as it had been all day, but my inexperience with these cars and a start-up team, we just didn’t start where we needed to. I’m proud of the guys. They were making some big adjustments and the car responded, but it just seemed it lost a cylinder going into one and it was something internally in the engine. We’ll chalk it up as a learning experience. It was fun until she blew.”

CARL EDWARDS PRESS CONFERENCE – “The restart I was really happy Trevor was behind me and then he wasn’t behind me anymore after that and I was really happy that he was able to hold off the 18. Our Fastenal Mustang was good all day. Towards the end we didn’t adjust our car as well, I don’t think, which is just as much my fault as anyone’s. We had such a dominant run all day. We were maybe a little lax on our last adjustment and Trevor got in there behind me. He pushed me out in front of the 18 and I wasn’t really worried about him going to the bottom because I thought if he went to the bottom I could hold him off and run on his door and make it hard on him, but I was wrong. He drove right by and then Denny drove by and they just drove away from us, which made me feel a little bit better that they drove away and I didn’t just give it up 100 percent on that pass. I’m just really glad he was able to hold off Denny. We did close one point on those guys in the owner’s championship, which is important to us right now, so I think it’s a two-point race there.”

WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO NASCAR PARKING KYLE BUSCH THE REST OF THIS WEEKEND? “I didn’t hear anything that Mike Helton said, so I don’t know the exact reason or anything like that. I’ll just let Denny talk about that.”

WILL YOU THINK TWICE ABOUT DUMPING SOMEONE IN THE FUTURE? “Like I said, I haven’t heard what Mike said yet and I haven’t had a chance to talk to him, so I don’t know yet.”

HOW BIG DO YOU THINK THIS IS FOR TREVOR TO WIN? “I think it’s huge for Trevor. I’m happy to see him have success, as happy as I can be as a competitor of his. I think that Trevor has been through a lot this year. I think he’s been through a lot that anybody in his position would consider that a big journey that he’s been on and to be as young as he is and to have so many changes in his life right now, and for him to handle everything as gracefully as he has, I think, says a lot about him. So it’s neat to see someone like that have some success. If it becomes a regular thing, I don’t know if I would be as happy for him, but I am happy for him today.”

WHAT DID YOU LEARN TODAY FOR TOMORROW? “I think the track was a little different than it was in practice with the Cup cars and as the race went on I learned where some of the grip was and where it wasn’t. I was fortunate enough to be able to start first a couple times and try the inside and outside. That was pretty interesting and overall the way that the track changed throughout the day. Even though the timing is a little different for tomorrow’s race, I still think I learned a little bit about the way the track is gonna change.”

HOW WILL IT BE NOT HAVING KYLE IN THE RACE TOMORROW? “How many points back is he (57). I thought he was closer than that, but, like I said, I’d like to talk to Helton about it and understand exactly what the reasoning was and I haven’t talked to Kyle personally or anything, so I still don’t know enough about the situation, but, from a competitive standpoint, that’s one less guy out there that’s chasing you down for the championship. From a pure competition standpoint, that is simpler for us now.”

DANICA FINISHED 11^TH TODAY. DO YOU NOTICE THAT SHE’S LEARNING AND GETTING BETTER? “I came around and only lapped her, I think, one time and it took me a long time to get by her and, finally, when I did get up right to the outside of her coming off the corner I thought she did a great job of giving me just the right amount of room. She’s definitely come a long way in my book. Of course, I knew that when I bumped her out of the way at Montreal, she went in the next corner and bumped me right back out of the way, so she’s a good racer.”

TREVOR BAYNE PRESS CONFERENCE – YOU LED THE FEWEST LAPS FOR A WINNER AT TMS (6). “Normally, you don’t want a record for leading the least laps, but it’s okay when you have a win at the end of it, so I’ll take that. I think Chad will, too, and Jack and everybody else. We’re really excited with this win and the fashion we were able to do it there at the end, to race against Carl Edwards and Denny Hamlin – two of the best drivers and two of the best cars in the series – and be able to get them there. Carl drove me really, really clean there at the end. I was expecting a bit more from him actually, but he did all he could to hold us off, I guess, and still was clean. That was really fun at the end. I can’t describe how this feels to get a win in the Nationwide Series finally and to do it with these guys at a track like Texas, it means a lot to me and it’s my brother’s birthday. I forgot to talk about that earlier, so happy birthday to my little eight-year-old brother.”

JACK ROUSH, Owner – “I couldn’t be prouder. Texas has been real good to us. We won with Jeff Burton here in the inaugural race back in the nineties. That was a wonderful event. The thought that I had when I watched the checkered flag fall and Trevor I said, ‘It’s great to be there for his first win,’ but then I remembered his dad said he had taken him racing since he was five years old and he’d run thousands of races and I bet you obviously remember your two wins from this year with NASCAR, but I bet you don’t know how many times you’ve won in your life, have you?”

TREVOR BAYNE CONTINUED – “I don’t know. It’s somewhere over 400 or so with local events and all that, but I can promise you that these two are the most memorable.”

JACK ROUSH CONTINUED – “That’s great. I’m really proud of Trevor and proud of Chad and proud of the job that Mike Beam and all the guys did to get the cars to have all that speed in them. Doug Yates and the guys did a great job with the engine and, of course, I’m especially happy to be here with Ford Motor Company to win, I think, the first manufacturer’s title in 10 years or so – since 2002.”

CHAD NORRIS, Crew Chief – “We kind of struggled a little bit being tight in the center all day and we worked on the front end there a little bit and I knew it was gonna be a 20 or 30-lap run there, and our car was really good on about 20 laps. The caution that came out there with about seven to go really played in our hands. We tightened the thing up just a little bit, just so we could get going, and the thing really took off and he did a really nice job at the end of the race and just raced his butt off. I can’t be more proud for him and Jack and Ford Motor Company.”

TREVOR BAYNE CONTINUED – CAN YOU TALK ABOUT YOUR YEAR AND WHAT DOES THIS DO FOR YOU AFTER A ROUGH WEEK LIKE YOU HAD AT TALLADEGA? “I don’t know if you could script a story like the year I’ve had. It’s crazy to think only one year ago I was making my first Cup start and to come back here to Texas and get our first Nationwide win, this is a place I’m gonna love from now on. But this year has been a lot of ups and a lot of downs, but I think the people around me and myself, we’ve tried to stay right here the whole time. We’ve tried not to ride it to the top or ride it to the bottom and that’s been important for us – to be able to come back after bad things happen, just like after Talladega with all the negative things that were going on, that was fuel to our fire to be positive and to come out here and show everybody that we’re here to stay and that we can do this and that’s what Chad’s mindset was, that’s what my mindset was, Jack, and everybody around me. We try not to feed off the negative things and we know that we’re gonna be back to a positive day, so, with that said, when we do have good days we do ride that a little bit more. I’m pretty happy to be here and to be in the media center finally for a Nationwide win. It’s a dream come true.”

JACK ROUSH CONTINUED – DO YOU STILL USE THE AUDI WIND TUNNEL IN GERMANY? “We’ve got a moving-ground plane wind tunnel in Concord and we haven’t been to the Audi wind tunnel in two or three years. It helped us a lot until we got the resource close by, but it’s certainly something we look forward to going back and establishing a baseline if we lose our way.”

TREVOR BAYNE CONTINUED – WERE YOU THINKING ABOUT THIS WAS WHERE YOU GOT SICK LAST TIME OR MADE YOUR FIRST CUP START? “Honestly, I didn’t really think about anything except coming here off the momentum we had at Charlotte. We’ve learned so much about our mile-and-a-halfs and the Roush Fenway cars have been so strong, and our Wood Brothers car has been the same way at the mile-and-a-halfs lately, so I was kind of feeding off that coming here, trying to do the same thing that Chad has been working on me to do. He’s had me watching different films and things to work on my driving style a little bit. That’s been important and it’s been applicable to a bunch of mile-and-a-halfs and been able to gain advantages and really work that, so it’s been important to learn at Charlotte and bring that here. Obviously, the sickness does come to mind a little bit when you think about Texas and my first Cup start comes to mind, but I would say more the first Cup start than anything.”

JACK ROUSH CONTINUED – HAVE YOU HAD TIME TO HEAR ABOUT THE PENALTIES TO KYLE BUSCH? “I wasn’t at the truck race last night. I had an engagement that held me away from the race track, so I didn’t see it first-hand. I became aware of it this morning and the buzz in the garage after I had done one interview already. I really wouldn’t care to comment on what NASCAR has done. I think that anybody that wrecks one of these cars or creates a problem after a caution or after a checkered flag really does so at their own peril, and I’m sure NASCAR will do something that’s reasonable in the broad scheme of things.”

TREVOR BAYNE CONTINUED – IS THIS THE FIRST TIME YOU’VE EVER WORN A COWBOY HAT? “I’ve actually worn them before, probably like Halloween when I was five, and I wore one in this morning and they were making fun of it, so I think now I can actually wear it. I didn’t think it would ever look good with a race suit, but I think this one looks okay.”

JACK ROUSH CONTINUED – “Actually, I heard when they presented him with his hat in the winner’s circle that he had planned to buy one if he could, if they were available, but this way he saved that investment.”

TREVOR BAYNE CONTINUED – CAN YOU TAKE US THROUGH THE FINAL RESTART? “Going into the last restart, like Chad said, I knew that our car was gonna be really strong for a short run. We were able to gain three or four spots every single restart all day, and I knew at the end there with us being in fourth position, that was about the number of cars we could pass and we were just able to get a great restart, kind of like the one at Charlotte, where we were able to push Carl out front. And once he got out front, we actually cleared the 18. Had I not cleared the 18, I don’t know that we could have won the race, but, fortunately, we had enough power to get by him and was able to get to the bottom and get on Carl’s left-rear a little bit and get by him. But these kind of restart races, these are the kind of wins you’ve always wanted. As a driver, I remember at Myrtle Beach Speedway when I was probably 15 years old in the Hooters Pro Cup Series, there was a green-white-checker and I started fourth and ended up winning the race, kind of the same way, and that’s one that’s always stood out in my head, so that’s the driver I want everyone to know I can be – is a guy that can go get it done at the end. I’m glad that we were finally able to do that and I know that these guys have been pulling for me all along and it’s cool to finally see that pay off for them.”

JACK ROUSH CONTINUED – ANYMORE CLARITY ON WHAT RICKY AND TREVOR WILL BE DOING NEXT YEAR? “Our programs are not firmed up. We’re working with sponsors to try to make the best offering that we can or the best package that we can, but I really don’t have anything to announce on that. It was another win for the NextGen oil, Valvoline’s new oil, and we’re real excited about that, too. They’ve got an added package for the oil that’s real attractive for us with the NextGen, but Goodyear had a great tire. We had a great engine. The engineering support from Ford was good and without having all those things behind us, we couldn’t have realized the success that we had today.”

TREVOR BAYNE CONTINUED – DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY TO YOUR FANS FROM A SOCIAL MEDIA STANDPOINT? “Well, after Talladega I’m a little scared of Twitter. I got on there and saw what everybody was saying and kind of hurt my feeling a little bit, so I’ve been staying off a little bit. But I’m really excited to have the following that we do have. After Daytona it obviously skyrocketed from 6,000 to around 64,000 now on Facebook and everything, so I really do appreciate the true fans standing behind me all the time. They’re always there to lift me up and encourage me and just keep me going, so it’s great to have any fans and the social media ones are just as important as the people that are here, so it’s been cool to see that grow all year long through the ups and downs and seeing the support that unconditional. That means a lot to me.”

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The All New 2013 Ford Flex coming soon

More power, enhanced safety and better fuel economy best describe the new 2013 Ford Flex. Amy Marentic Group Marketing Manager for large cars and utilities at Ford Motor Company, says the new Flex has been upgraded with a sleek new look that appeals to women more than men.

	"So the majority of our owners are younger couples, in their 30’s and 40’s, but it is also a vehicle that is registered more to women, then it is to men. About 50-percent are registered to women versus the Ford brand that is about 35-percent….so a lot of women drive the vehicle, a lot of young couple and typically people with children." :18 sec
	Marentic says the Flex appeals to people who want to stand out from the crowd and in many ways replaces the mini-van.
	“It’s more of a highly stylized people mover….It does carry seven, there are two options, you can get a 6 passenger version and you can add a refrigerator between the second row seats, so captain chairs in the second row or you can get a seven pass..version, which in the second row is a three pass bench seat." :17 sec.
	It is the only Ford vehicle that offers a refrigerator and according to Marentic, it makes sense to offer it on the Flex….especially if you have a number of children.
	"You can put a water or milk or pop and it will cool it down very, very quickly and it is an option that people really like." :07 sec.
	When it comes to performance, the 2013 Ford Flex has taken it to the next level.
	"The Flex offers two engines. It offers naturally aspired V-6 and we’ve upped the horsepower to 285 and we’ve also increased the fuel economy to 25 mpg on the highway. So improvements in both Performance and fuel and then our 3.5 EcoBoost engine, which is our 355 horsepower is also available." :20 sec
	The new Flex is the second vehicle in Ford showrooms, after the Explorer, equipped with the rear inflatable belts to offer improved comfort and protection for rear seat passengers.
	"It’ll have the rear inflatable seat belt technology, so when you have younger children sitting in the second row in the event of an accident, those seatbelts actually deploy, and spread the forces out to make it safer for a child in the event of an accident and then also things like Blind Spot monitoring, we’ll have push button start, and little things like power fold mirrors, so we’re taking the Ford Flex, a vehicle customers absolutely love, adding more technology, freshening the exterior and improving the power train." :26 sec.
	The new 2013 Ford Flex will be showrooms in the spring of 2012.

This week's tip:

It's a given today that metalized film may interfere with AM radio reception in the event the antenna is located on the back glass. The phenomena of quasi-connecting the antenna to the defroster grid (which grounds the signal to the chassis) after installation of metalized film to the back glass is believed to be part of the problem. This tip is NOT for other electronics such as GPS, XM radio, Wi-Fi, Cell Phone, etc., which are affected by the RF shielding capacity of a metal film.

Locate the uppermost defroster line (this would be the last of many that travels completely across the back glass with no breaks in its line). Carefully cut a seam into the film, either before or after installation, running above, parallel and adjacent to the uppermost defroster line (not the antenna line). This breaks the quasi-connection and grounding effect between the film, antenna and defroster grid.

If this does not work, you may have to resort to extreme measures: 1) Cut another seam BELOW parallel and adjacent to the uppermost defroster line and remove the sliver of film from that particular defrost line. 2) R & R with a non-conductive film construction such as straight-dyed, pigmented polyester, IR absorbing film or a combination of these.

I have even had a consumer ask me to remove a sliver of film over the entire antenna line, which for that vehicle was an upside down T and easily done. Other more elaborate antenna grids would be most difficult and time consuming.

Of course, the consumer should be consulted and advised as to the trade off between radio reception, film performance, and 'possibly' looks (In this day and age of one-piece installs).

MSRP announced on long-awaited Ford Focus Electric

Pricing has been announced for the all-new 2012 Ford Focus Electric, which starts at $39,995 before state and federal incentives. That's $4,795 more than the 2011 Nissan Leaf's MSRP of $35,200, though it will charge up in half the time needed by a Leaf at a 240-volt station.

 

                

 

No one, not the powerful Volkswagen GTI, the meaty John Works Mini Cooper or the swift Honda Civic SI can match the savage Mazdaspeed3. It cranks out 263 horsepower and 280 lbs-feet of torque - through the front wheels. It is the mightiest of all performance front-wheel drive cars.

Ford is on a performance freak-out and is ready to take the fight to Mazda. Witness the introduction of the 2012 Ford Focus ST. This is a full blown performance version of the already excellent Ford Focus. Judging by Fords FWD performance past, they are ready to take on Mazda.

       

Ford is hush-hush about the actual output of the EcoBoost (turbocharged) 2.0 liter, direct injected powerplant. They say it will be over 250 hp, 250 lb-ft of torque. I would hazard a guess that the overall power numbers are damn close to Mazda’s AND Ford’s torque vectoring technology will fight the torque steering demons of overpowered front-drivers.

Here’s Ford’s take on torque vectoring:

“Through the corners, ETVC is an essential aid for Focus ST drivers, a tuned version of the Torque Vectoring Control found on the base-model Focus. The standard system uses torque vectoring by braking, in which brake torque is applied to the inner wheel of the Focus through a corner, reducing understeer and allowing for more traction, much like a traditional limited-slip differential.

The Focus ST’s ETVC applies steering pressure more aggressively and also adds cornering control, which applies torque to create a yaw effect based on the car’s understeer, both in power-on and power-off conditions. Combined, they ensure ETVC is a crucial element in helping make the front-wheel-drive Focus ST a true driver’s machine, able to tackle any corner with confidence.” - - Ford Press Release

Ford was drinking some funky jungle-juice when it came to interior design. The regular Focus has one of the best interiors in its segment. The prototype of the Focus ST has a Disney-on-acid interior trim that match the exterior. There is a hint of Pep-Boys accessorizing to boot. The whole interior is too wanna-be racer and takes away from the sophistication of the normal interior.

It’s like Ford is trying to get its freak-on with Scion.

As for the exterior, it ticks all the funky boxes that hot-hatch lovers dig, and it makes the handsome Focus look aggressive. The side sills and big rear spoiler are rally-like cool and lower the average age of the driver to the low 20s – regardless of the driver’s actual age. Great… bankers will be rockin’ the ST with lots of big daddy Beiber.

William Clay Ford Jr.

 

Title: Executive Chairman
As Executive Chairman of Ford Motor Company, William Clay Ford, Jr. is leading the company that put the world on wheels into the 21st century.
“The ongoing success of Ford Motor Company is my life’s work,” he says. “We want to have an even greater impact in our next 100 years than we did in our first 100.”
Mr. Ford joined the Board of Directors in 1988 and has been its chairman since January 1999. He serves as chairman of the board's Finance Committee and as a member of the Sustainability Committee. He also served as chief executive officer of the company from October 2001 to September 2006, when he was named executive chairman.
As CEO, Mr. Ford improved quality, lowered costs and delivered exciting new products. During his time in that position he took the company from a $5.5 billion loss in 2001 to three straight years of profitability. Through the years, his vision for the company has remained unchanged.
“I want us to be a company that makes a difference in people's lives; one that delights its customers, rewards its shareholders and makes the world a better place,” he says. “To do that we are focused on delivering desirable products, a competitive cost structure and a sustainable business model.”
Mr. Ford joined Ford Motor Company in 1979 as a product planning analyst. He subsequently held a variety of positions in manufacturing, sales, marketing, product development and finance. During the breakthrough 1982 Ford-United Auto Workers labor talks, which launched the employee involvement movement that revolutionized the industry, he served on the company’s National Bargaining Team.
In 1983 he began a 12-month course of study as an Alfred P. Sloan fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was elected chairman and managing director of Ford Switzerland in 1987. As head of Business Strategy for the Ford Automotive Group in 1990, Mr. Ford helped develop guidelines for establishing low-volume manufacturing plants in emerging markets.
After being appointed general manager of Climate Control Division in 1992, he led a profit turnaround and a major improvement in product quality. He also established the company’s first wildlife habitat at a plant location and the first automotive plant in the world to use 25 percent post-consumer materials in all of its plastic parts. While he was general manager the division won the President's Commission on Environmental Quality Award for replacing a hazardous chemical in a production process with water.
Mr. Ford was elected a company vice president and head of the company’s Commercial Truck Vehicle Center in 1994. He left that position in order to assume the chairmanship of the Board of Directors’ Finance Committee in 1995.
A lifelong environmentalist, Mr. Ford is committed to increasing shareholder value by developing products that please customers and benefit society. Under his leadership, in 2000 Ford Motor Company published its first corporate citizenship report outlining the economic, environmental and social impact of company products and operations around the world. In 2004, the company completed the world’s largest brownfield reclamation project, the restoration of its Ford Rouge Center in metropolitan Detroit. Mr. Ford also championed the Ford Escape Hybrid, the world’s first hybrid-electric sport utility vehicle, which was named North American Truck of the Year in 2005.
“We want to be green, global and high-tech,” he says. “We are using our global resources to produce innovative technology for safer, cleaner, more fuel-efficient vehicles.”
Ford Motor Company’s current vehicle line-up has received widespread recognition for its unsurpassed quality and safety and innovative fuel-saving technologies such as six-speed transmissions and EcoBoost direct-injection turbocharged engines. In 2010 the company also launched the first of a series of five advanced new electric- and hybrid-powered vehicles that it will bring to market over a three-year period. Looking further into the future of transportation, the company recently doubled its investment in wirelessly connected intelligent vehicles, also known as vehicle-to-vehicle communications. In 2011 the company formed a task force to explore this technology, which has the potential to increase safety and reduce traffic congestion, and became the first automaker to build prototype vehicles for demonstrations across the U.S.

Mr. Ford’s charitable, volunteer and business efforts are highlighted by his commitment to the city of Detroit. As vice chairman of the Detroit Lions professional football team, Mr. Ford led efforts to build a new, environmentally friendly stadium in Detroit that was the site of Super Bowl XL. Through Detroit Lions Charities, he helped develop the Detroit Police Athletic League youth football program into one of the largest in the country.
Mr. Ford is Chairman of the Board of the Detroit Economic Club, a member of the Board of Trustees of The Henry Ford and the Board of Directors of eBay Inc., and Chairman of the New Michigan Initiative of Business Leaders for Michigan. He also is a founding partner of Fontinalis Partners, LLC, a Michigan-based investment firm that acts as a strategic operating partner to transportation infrastructure technology companies around the world.
Mr. Ford was born in Detroit in 1957. He is an avid fly fisherman and car enthusiast, enjoys playing hockey and tennis, and is a black belt in the martial art of Tae Kwon Do. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Princeton University and a master of science degree in management from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).