Whatever you’ve heard about Detroit, there’s plenty there, worth visiting Motor City for. Thanks to Ford Canada, I had an opportunity to get a glimpse last week.
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I’m not denying the eye-opening presence of homelessness and dilapidated abandoned homes. If more of us took the time to really appreciate what Detroit has to offer, we might find the state of their economy improving though.
Not surprisingly, Ford has a large presence in Motor City. During the Ford Digital Summit (#FordNAIAS) we were treated to the experience and story of the Ford Motor Company. I’ve had the good fortune of being at Ford events in the past. True to form, Ford did not disappoint. They pulled out all the stops, with detailed info/welcome packages, greeters that met us exactly where we’d been told to expect them and secure escorts (in Ford vehicles, of course) to our hotel – driven by local active and retired police and firefighters.
My flight left Halifax at 10:50am, gaining an hour and connecting in Toronto over lunch, with a stopover just long enough to get through U.S. Customs and airport security – no real meal to be had. After arriving at the Westin, and checking in at the FordNAIAS registration room, we had a fantastic buffet of food waiting for us < for which *I* was ecstatic! > and a little time to freshen up before boarding our bus for the first big event of the Ford Digital Summit. Something about the atmosphere of this event made it impossible to meet fellow “online influencers” and not become fast friends. By the end of day 1, I’d already befriended 4 other Canadian bloggers (among several others on day 2) with whom the remainder of the trip was spent. Connect with them on twitter: @wedding_crasher @paulletourneau @misteryyc @scalazormo
This evening was the highlight of my trip: The Henry Ford museum. I would have made the journey just for this, and likely will again someday because we didn’t have nearly enough time for the one small section that we saw. The Henry Ford is a museum of innovation. With collections of cars through the century, farming and industry machinery, home and office furniture, lego architecture, telephones… I was in my glory. The most exciting finds for me, were the bus Rosa Parks was arrested on < I sat in the seat she refused to give up, while listening to her story retold in her own voice! I felt chills and was rather uncomfortable in that seat – being a white woman who was appalled by the sight of the black and white waiting rooms also displayed > and the 1962 Mustang concept!
We were treated to a fantastic meal and plentiful libations, while we were introduced to Ford’s creative team and direction.
After returning to the hotel, my FordNAIAS “BFF” and I relaxed while we took in the end of the Golden Globes, tweeting about our night, including the hideous dresses we saw on the awards show.
My travel and expenses to the Ford Digital Summit were covered by Ford, however I was not compensated in anyway for my time or this post. Opinions expressed are my own.
For the Ford Rouge Factory Tour, click here
A recap of the rest of Day 2 can be found here
To read about the unveiling of the Ford Atlas at the Ford NAIAS click here
To read the FordNAIAS Wrapup click here
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