For the 2+ decades of my illustrious casual driving career, the single most important *thing* about a car has been the presence of, at the very least, a few drops of gas in the tank. The engine and its various parts, the tires (or is it wheels? is there really a difference?), and the other stuff that’s on and in a car? Yeah, I never paid THAT much mind. Got some gas? It starts? I fit? Good, I’m all set then.
But time changes any man and so it is also true with me. I still cannot tell you much about how or why a car, any car, works, but I now care about what’s under the hood, what comes out the tailpipe and how much of it, and if the interior is designed for comfort, economy of motion, and for an optimal driving experience. Shit, I almost sound intelligent there. Look at me! All grown up!!
Our fall Midwestern road trip briefly took us through the great state of Michigan, primarily so that I may once again bask in the red and white glow of Joe Louis Arena before, during and after a Detroit Red Wings hockey game. But before the hockey induced tears streamed down my face at The Joe, we luckily found a spat of time for the glorious Henry Ford Museum and the expansive-as-the-great-western-sky Ford Rouge Factory Tour, an impressive place I consider to be one of the man-made marvels of the modern world and a must visit destination for any American family, but especially for any American family that includes an automobile-crazed kid or adult. I know there are many families qualifying under that vehicular fanboy distinction — they all must someday find their way to Dearborn, Michigan and experience firsthand the Rouge Factory in all its assembly line glory.
Watch Ford unwrap the all new 2015 F-150 Lariat at the NAIAS:
I could take no pictures inside the Rouge Factory itself, but what you’ll witness inside the massive facility is every single F-150 truck that will be sold on American soil being assembled piece by piece on the line beneath you. You and your wide-eyed kids will walk the perimeter of the Rouge Factory (a good walk! wear sneakers!) and learn about what is happening down below at each station along the production line. You’ll hear, smell and watch the Ford workers build trucks in a sort of synchronicity that is subtly breathtaking. Fans of Toyota’s LEAN business practices and process maps, like my wife, will find even more to be agog about during the Rouge Factory Tour. Geeks. 😉 My ever-curious, science-loving daughters had to be dragged out of there!
Also inside the Rouge complex are a pair of theaters, one of the traditional variety giving you the surprising fair & balanced (including the unionization piece vs. Henry Ford himself) backstory of the legendary Rouge Factory and the other, a multi-sensory 360-degree film experience that’ll take you through the birth of an F-150 truck from iron ore to revving up the engine on the open road. IT. IS. AMAZING! All that is included with the ticket. You’ll spend hours inside the Rouge Factory complex, walking the factory itself at your leisure, watching the movies, soaking in the manufactoring history past present and future before your eyes, and checking out the green roof on top. There is so much value in the admission cost ($15 adults / $11 kids).
Plan your trip to the Henry Ford and the Ford Rouge Factory today.
*OWTK received tickets to the Rouge Factory Tour for review consideration. All opinions express above are honest and unbiased, as always.
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