Passion. Outstanding engineering. Sustainability.

Mmmmmm. I am in love.

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*Quite possibly one of my favorite places to visit.

They seem to be going in an interesting direction…

Not bad, for a start.

What do you think?

This fact becomes especially important if you have teen drivers.

April 30 is National No-Phone Zone Day, declared to raise awareness about the dangers of using a phone while driving.

I’m on board and signed the pledge. Will you?

http://static.oprah.com/npz/text_pledge_v1.swf

…in which I report back about my experience as one of 60 bloggers who spent about seven hours touring Ford’s Chicago Assembly plant and listening to Ford employees’ presentations about their company.

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When I walked into the hotel conference room to join the other bloggers for breakfast, I was greeted by some folks from Ford and Caitlyn and Karen from Ogilvy. Very soon afterward, I discovered that I was probably the most skeptical attendee. In fact, when Scott Monty, the Ford host, approached me, I sheepishly admitted that, if they were hoping we would leave singing Ford’s praises, I would most likely disappoint him. He emphatically insisted that he wanted to hear what I had to say. Good or bad.

In a nutshell? My perception of Ford vehicles was simply horrible.  Where I grew up in the midwest, people regularly referred to FORD as the cars you had to Fix Or Repair Daily.

And now? If you were to ask me to name one person I know who drives a Ford?  I couldn’t do it.  Okay, maybe one – and she drives an Expedition SUV.  Because she has a big family. My mom had a Lincoln, but I’ve never owned a Ford. In fact, I’ve only owned one domestic car.

Be honest.  When you think of Ford, what comes to mind?

For me it’s this:

Which, if you like trucks, isn’t such a bad thing.  I mean, they won Motor Trend’s Truck of the Year.  And hey, there’s a site devoted to Ford Truck Lovers!!  I kid you not! These folks love their trucks.

The thing is, I’m not a big truck fan.  Nothing against them, just not something I need in my life right now.

So, if you put aside the trucks, where does your mind go next? The Taurus, right?  Top selling car in the 80s, it competed head-to-head with Toyota’s Camry.

Remember this?

So what happened between 1986 and 2009? Plenty.

As Bill Vlasic reported today in the New York Times, the Taurus is back and better than ever.

Not only is it sleeker and updated for this millennium, it’s full of state of the art technology and high quality details.

But, could I imagine myself driving my family around my town in it?

As we entered the Ford assembly plant, I found that each Ford person I met reminded me of the people I grew up with — charming and industrious with midwestern sensibilities.  These people really seemed to be honest, straight forward, hard-working employees who are loyal to the company and care about the people with whom they work.  Frankly, I’m proud of my midwestern heritage and often miss the down-to-earth friendliness with which I was raised.  Indeed, as I met more and more people at the assembly plant, I felt as if I were breathing cleaner air. I appreciated their kindness, folksiness and candor. It felt a bit like taking off my pumps and pearls and putting on my favorite slippers and pajamas.

With that level of comfort, I kept an open mind about all the information the Ford crew conveyed to us.

And they conveyed a lot of information.  They dazzled us with their presentations about sustainability, quality, manufacturing processes and technology.

As the minutes ticked by, I grew more and more impressed by the innovations and attention to detail.  In particular, I loved the Blind Spot Information Mirror, adaptive cruise control, SYNC, MyKey and more.  Then we went inside to hear about the work that Ford puts in to designing the interiors of their vehicles.  Amazing information.  I had no idea.  Zen inspired cup holders (?!), seats that massage backs and rumps (not to relax, rather, to invigorate!!) and design input from Vera Wang, Michael Graves and others.

I was actually beginning to feel excited.

But…

Then, I sat in one of the cars and found that I still had trouble getting past my long held stigma of these cars being lower quality autos. Honestly?  I started to lose hope.

Why?

I was looking for something even more sexy, sleek and special.

I looked at the cars on the assembly line and noticed that some of them were Lincolns.  I thought, “Oh, right, the Lincolns are their higher end autos. Maybe they’ve improved the quality there, too.” But I soon remembered that the most well known Lincoln was the Navigator, with a horrible reputation as a gas guzzling tank.  Bad for the environment.  “Besides the Navigator,” I remembered, “there’s always the Town Car.  But I can’t imagine myself driving a Lincoln Town Car.  I mean, aren’t those the cars that pick up people at the airport?”

So, in all honesty, I started thinking that I would not find anything that appealed to me in this automaker’s lineup.  I wanted to like something, I really did.  Of all the domestic automakers, Ford is the one that stands above the others in terms of its P&L statement.  It’s the only company that refused federal aid.  That’s respectable.  Frankly, I’d love to support our country by buying American.  Now’s the time.  So, doggone it, I wanted to like one of these cars. But it just wasn’t happening.

Then I saw the Lincoln MKT.

Sexy (yes, really!!), sleek, enticing.  I was intrigued but still a wee bit doubtful.  “I have to see the interior,” I mumbled. When Kate Pearce, the marketing manager responsible for the MKT, signaled that it was time for us to test drive the vehicles, I quickly made my way over to the MKT and sat in the driver’s seat.  I looked down and around, almost looking for faults.  Steering wheel? Substantial, real wood inserts, nice thick leather, very nice. Gear shift? Same.

How about the seating? I love being able to carpool my kids and their friends.  How many can I transport? Just one?  Nope!  Look at this:

Configurable seating means I can make that middle row into a bench seat to fit three kids or keep the second row bucket seats because, get this, then I can have the built-in refrigerated compartment in the “flow-through” console! Check this out:

No more worries about bringing home ice cream from the grocery store.  Just stash it in there.  Kids complain about their drinks being hot during summer sports?  This compartment holds seven full size cans!

What about the quality of the seats? Stitched, hand-wrapped leather with sustainable padding. Gorgeous. Wait, what? Sustainable padding?  Surprisingly, the website doesn’t make a big deal out of this, but Ford employs a team of women who continually search for sustainable materials from which to make the interior components of their cars.  Funky sources like hemp, soy and corn.  These folks really care about the environment and really care about their people.

In the early 1900s, Henry Ford introduced and developed the assembly line to build the Model T and his company continues to improve it.  We saw impressive aspects of their line that demonstrated a concern for the men and women building these vehicles:  things like power lifts which raise up the suspension to make it lighter for the people attaching it to the underside of the car so that “at the end of the day when these workers go home, they won’t be hurting.”  We also saw moving platforms and portable drills to make the work environment safer for the employees.

I digress.

Back to the seating capacity.  I wondered whether the passengers would feel cramped, so I looked in back.

Plenty of legroom and, what’s this, OMG, look at that power sunroof!  Fills almost the entire roof – and – there’s another window above the rear passengers.  The kids will love that! “Oh, I’m liking this,” I started to think.

This photo doesn’t do it justice. You have to see it.

Then it just kept getting better.

For example, I loved the ECO-Boost engine which drives like a V-8 but boasts the fuel economy of a V-6, the THX sound system with its ability to play my iPod through it, the more-than-sufficient air vents in the back seat, the standard sunshades, and the tri-zone temperature controls. The ambient lighting was a bonus that I knew would go over big with the kids.

Bottom line? The state-of-the-art technology that goes into Ford/Lincoln vehicles is undeniably impressive. My heart started to beat a bit faster. I actually would love to drive my family around in this car.

I rushed over to Kate Pearce, the MKT marketing manager, to return the favor of candor. “I have to tell you, I was beginning to believe that I wouldn’t find a car that I could imagine driving for my family. But this Lincoln MKT is gorgeous!”

In her humble midwestern way, she just smiled and agreed.

That smile seemed to be saying (and I have to agree), “You’re going to see a lot more people driving Fords and Lincolns real soon.”

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*Full disclosure: No, we didn’t all get free cars as swag, but Ford did cover the cost of our hotel room the night before the event (so we could be up bright and early to get started with the activities). They also provided breakfast and lunch, a notepad and pen, and a flip drive.

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Ever since my dad gave a speech to hundreds of people about women drivers* years before I could legally drive, I have been determined to be a good driver. For many years, I was a bit too caught up in the notion and took myself too seriously. I even called myself a “serious driver” — whatever that means.

Over the years, I’ve rid myself of that old baggage and tried to lighten up when driving, but I am still fascinated and dazzled by outstanding, high quality automobiles. In other words, I’m still basically a car nut. Always have been, really.

My hometown was filled with car fanatics. In fact, when I was growing up, kids took pride in their abilities to identify cars by the sound of the engine or the taillights or other identifying characteristics. I could easily tell you which car was a Ford, Chevy, or Chrysler (we only played this game with domestic vehicles) by the style of the car, though I never mastered the art of engine identification.

Later in life, particularly after becoming a mom, my perspective changed somewhat. These days, I don’t spend much time identifying cars while sitting in traffic but I am certainly at a point in my life when I sometimes spend (what feels like) a majority of my day driving the kids and their friends to various activities and events.  So the quality of my car contributes to my quality of life.  You know what I mean?

If I enjoy my car and the time I spend in it, I’m likely to have a lot more fun with my kids (and be a more pleasant person).  If I’m driving a high quality automobile, chances are good that I’m going to enjoy (better still, love) the car. So the higher the quality of the car, the greater the enjoyment factor. And to take that one step further, the happier the mom then, naturally, the happier the family. Ah yes, so the happiness of my family all comes back to the quality of the car I’m driving.

Really? 

Well, maybe not.

But have you ever had a car that you can’t wait to get into and drive?  I’m happy to say that I’ve been the proud owner of several cars that I have truly adored.  When I sold my Honda (the car that took me through college and grad school graduations), I actually cried. I still think about that car every once in a while.

Anyway…

My point is that I love cars.  I really do.

So when I first heard about the Ford BlogHer** event, I jumped at the opportunity to participate.  We will be taking a tour of a Ford assembly plant, test driving some new Ford models and engaging in what will likely be a lively discussion of women’s thoughts on quality in automobiles.

In preparation for this event, the folks at Ford have asked us to consider what quality means to us and to ask our readers to weigh in as well.  What do you think is important for you and your family when you buy a car?  What makes a car a “quality automobile” in your eyes? Let me know by leaving a comment or sending me an email.

For me, the car has to feel solid.  Have you ever sat in a car, closed the door and heard what sounded like a piece of tin hitting an empty frame? Sort of like a “clink” rather than the “boom” heard when you close a heavier, solid-sounding door?  I like the doors of my car to sound like the doors that Maxwell Smart walked through in Get Smart when he approached the phone booth.  Solid, strong, dependable.  It makes me feel safe. It’s part of what represents quality.

In addition, I like good pick up in a car. I don’t necessarily need a V8 engine (nor do I like its gas guzzling nature) but I want a respectable amount of horsepower. Let me pass when I need to – as quickly as possible.  My car should turn on a dime, too.  I like a responsive steering mechanism and good handling.  These are more aspects of quality.

With respect to the interior, it’s all about the details.  For this one, I could make a list that would bore the heck out of you, so I’ll just say that it’s important that the interior makes life as easy as reasonably possible without feeling cheap.  Give me cup holders (durable enough for kids) and more-than-adequate ventilation so the kids can sit comfortably back there.  Don’t scrimp on legroom and headroom (they will be growing, after all).  Leather is better because it’s so much easier to clean.  My kids said they would love to have their own visors for the back and power outlets to charge their many electronic devices. Forget the DVD player, just give them the ability to power up and recharge. Make the armrests functional (think more cup holders and organizing compartments), but thick and substantial (like the doors noted above, it’s nicer when they feel solid).

Finally, invest in some good designers with respect to the aesthetic.  All of the above won’t matter at all if it doesn’t look fabulous on the outside. Elegant, sleek and stylish is always best. Clean, simple lines without any macho.

For me, that’s just a start.

How about you. What do you think?

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*In case you’re wondering…sadly, the speech was not favorable toward women drivers.

**Not officially deemed a BlogHer event, just conveniently timed to coincide with the conference. I use it only for ease of reference.