The Future of Ford

[313WX]

You... you realize Ford's stock price was less than seventy cents in the 80's right?

This isn't the 1980s.

Please join the rest of us in 2018.

[Bham1982]

MCS makes perfect sense, young ambitious educated people aren't exactly excited to work in an office park in Dearborn.

This is exactly what I'm talking about re. the Detroit koolaid. Makes no sense on any level.

East Dearborn and SW Detroit have basically the same level of density/urbanity. The main differences are the Detroit side has more Mexicans and the Dearborn side has more Arabs, and the Detroit side is crappier/less safe/more abandoned/worse pollution.

The idea that some "young ambitious person" is repelled by Ford in East Dearborn but chomping at the bit to work for Ford in SW Detroit, is obviously absurd. Why are home prices so dirt cheap in SW Detroit and the retail strips abandoned except for first gen Mexicans if the world's elite are all striving to live amidst the ruins of Dix, Fort, Jefferson, Michigan, Springwells, Vernor and the like?

Only reason people criticize it is that it's attached to Detroit [[oh no!), meanwhile the same thing is happening in every other city.

In what other city is an auto company proposing a taxpayer-subsidized $700 million research center in an abandoned railyard surrounded by urban prairie? This plan was obviously hatched by Ford's harebrained "leader" who isn't an auto guy and wouldn't know urbanity if it hit him in the face.

Have you actually been to MCS? There is nothing remotely walkable. Northville is more walkable. Ann Arbor is 10x more walkable.

If Ford thinks that the only way to attract talent is to give workers an urban environment, they should probably leave Michigan, because they're in the ultimate sprawltopia. 99.9% of the planet will offer greater organic urbanity,

[bust]

Bham, your brother may have lived in Brooklyn, and maybe you did too, but apparently your visits were not enough to get a sense for what attracts so many smart young professionals there. And I guess you don't understand what has been starting to attract them to Detroit.

Detroit will never be NYC and Corktown will never be Brooklyn, nor should they be. But Detroit would be wise to learn from those successes and adopt or adapt what makes sense. And if our industries want to attract the talent they need to stay relevant, they should be doing that too.

Corktown may never be Brooklyn, not even with its Brooklyn street, and despite its location on the other side of a river [[of cars) from downtown. But, like Brooklyn, as Detroit neighborhoods go it's held in high regard among the demographic Ford seeks to attract. They most certainly would much rather work there than in Dearborn. You're right, it's not yet particularly walkable, but it's doable, and it's certainly bikeable or scootable. And one can dream transit will improve. Those who prefer a life in the suburbs still can -- it's an extra 15 minutes by car, with lunch options. It takes almost as long to walk to your desk through the massive parking lot at Ford.

Corktown has a ton of potential. Even Ford can see that. It will become more vibrant as their presence expands. And just think how much better it would be if all those parking lots that today are choked full of Dan Gilbert's employees' cars are replaced with stores, homes, and services the neighborhood deserves. It's already a good place to live, and if you work at MCS it could be a great place to live, close to work. Notwithstanding the squeaky wheels. The area South of the tracks has great potential too.

Here's another thing I think you don't get: MCS is great for Ford's brand. Brands help sell, brands help recruit. And like Detroit, like MCS, Ford's history is long, and grand, and battered by storms. A strength and a liability it can't escape from. It must preserve and promote the best of it, all the while it's imperative it keeps reinventing itself new.

Besides, as I understand it the focus in Corktown will be future mobility. Ford's Dearborn campus is a vestige of the past. It's tough to design for a rain forest living a life in a desert.

[Worldsgreatest]

This isn't the 1980s.

Please join the rest of us in 2018.

lmfao no shit sherlock

If you don't get what attracts young ambitious people to a place like Corktown, which isn't urban prairie at all there's tons of new development and lots of old housing with charm, then you never will. Plus it's so much more than just MCS, it's going to be a gorgeous campus with buildings designed by great architects.

You're obviously not young and ambitious.

[Honky Tonk]

You're obviously not young and naïve.

There you go, carry on. [[and I'm sure you will)

[Honky Tonk]

This is exactly what I'm talking about re. the Detroit koolaid. Makes no sense on any level.

East Dearborn and SW Detroit have basically the same level of density/urbanity. The main differences are the Detroit side has more Mexicans and the Dearborn side has more Arabs, and the Detroit side is crappier/less safe/more abandoned/worse pollution.

The idea that some "young ambitious person" is repelled by Ford in East Dearborn but chomping at the bit to work for Ford in SW Detroit, is obviously absurd. Why are home prices so dirt cheap in SW Detroit and the retail strips abandoned except for first gen Mexicans if the world's elite are all striving to live amidst the ruins of Dix, Fort, Jefferson, Michigan, Springwells, Vernor and the like?



In what other city is an auto company proposing a taxpayer-subsidized $700 million research center in an abandoned railyard surrounded by urban prairie? This plan was obviously hatched by Ford's harebrained "leader" who isn't an auto guy and wouldn't know urbanity if it hit him in the face.

Have you actually been to MCS? There is nothing remotely walkable. Northville is more walkable. Ann Arbor is 10x more walkable.

If Ford thinks that the only way to attract talent is to give workers an urban environment, they should probably leave Michigan, because they're in the ultimate sprawltopia. 99.9% of the planet will offer greater organic urbanity,

You have no idea how much this pains me, but I agree with you.

[Smirnoff]

In what other city is an auto company proposing a taxpayer-subsidized $700 million research center in an abandoned railyard surrounded by urban prairie? This plan was obviously hatched by Ford's harebrained "leader" who isn't an auto guy and wouldn't know urbanity if it hit him in the face.

Thanks, many.....[[+ not a football guy).

[stasu1213]

Bham, your brother may have lived in Brooklyn, and maybe you did too, but apparently your visits were not enough to get a sense for what attracts so many smart young professionals there. And I guess you don't understand what has been starting to attract them to Detroit.

Detroit will never be NYC and Corktown will never be Brooklyn, nor should they be. But Detroit would be wise to learn from those successes and adopt or adapt what makes sense. And if our industries want to attract the talent they need to stay relevant, they should be doing that too.

Corktown may never be Brooklyn, not even with its Brooklyn street, and despite its location on the other side of a river [[of cars) from downtown. But, like Brooklyn, as Detroit neighborhoods go it's held in high regard among the demographic Ford seeks to attract. They most certainly would much rather work there than in Dearborn. You're right, it's not yet particularly walkable, but it's doable, and it's certainly bikeable or scootable. And one can dream transit will improve. Those who prefer a life in the suburbs still can -- it's an extra 15 minutes by car, with lunch options. It takes almost as long to walk to your desk through the massive parking lot at Ford.

Corktown has a ton of potential. Even Ford can see that. It will become more vibrant as their presence expands. And just think how much better it would be if all those parking lots that today are choked full of Dan Gilbert's employees' cars are replaced with stores, homes, and services the neighborhood deserves. It's already a good place to live, and if you work at MCS it could be a great place to live, close to work. Notwithstanding the squeaky wheels. The area South of the tracks has great potential too.

Here's another thing I think you don't get: MCS is great for Ford's brand. Brands help sell, brands help recruit. And like Detroit, like MCS, Ford's history is long, and grand, and battered by storms. A strength and a liability it can't escape from. It must preserve and promote the best of it, all the while it's imperative it keeps reinventing itself new.

Besides, as I understand it the focus in Corktown will be future mobility. Ford's Dearborn campus is a vestige of the past. It's tough to design for a rain forest living a life in a desert.

Great concept. Ford will bring out the great potential that Corktown has. While not as walklable has Brooklyn New York Corktown, with the help of Ford, could have it's own delis, bakeries, and neighborhood grocery stores. Many could line Trumbull or Michigan. Michigan Avenue is becoming more and more of a walkable destination with the businesses lining the strip on both sides. I think that Ford, unlike GM will have more of a "walkable community" concept in mind and will build on that such as Henry Ford had built Dearborn and some communities in Detroit and didn't think that mass transit was a threat to the Model T. He just wanted his employees to have a way to get to work. Gilbert had fixed downtown but the only hinderance that downtown has for it's shopping and entertainment is the high cost of parking and no reliable mass transportation bringing shoppers and entertainment goers from the surburbs or neighborhoods in Detroit into the downtown area. I really think that Ford will have a different concept when it comes to Corktown

[mwilbert]

Have you actually been to MCS? There is nothing remotely walkable.

You may be using some eccentric definition of walkability, but there are certainly places I might want to walk within a 5-10 minute walk of MCS. And presumably if there is significant development at MCS, there will be more.

The idea that some "young ambitious person" is repelled by Ford in East Dearborn but chomping at the bit to work for Ford in SW Detroit, is obviously absurd. Why are home prices so dirt cheap in SW Detroit and the retail strips abandoned except for first gen Mexicans if the world's elite are all striving to live amidst the ruins of Dix, Fort, Jefferson, Michigan, Springwells, Vernor and the like?

Corktown was already gentrifying significantly before this announcement, which isn't really true of Mexicantown and really, really isn't true of Springwells, so I don't think your approach to evaluating the desirability of neighborhoods is particularly accurate either.

[archfan]

This is exactly what I'm talking about re. the Detroit koolaid. Makes no sense on any level...

You have no idea how much this pains me, but I agree with you.

Did the Earth just wobble on its axis?

[313WX]

Did the Earth just wobble on its axis?

A broken clock is right twice a day.

[Richard]

I think Ford is looking at 10 20 30 years down the road.

The bright side is if MTS is surrounded by urban prairie,is that not more desirable then say for instance,what happened in poletown?

Minimum impact of displacement,less time spent on permitting and somewhat of a blank slate.

It kinda looks like the old days,a collection of walkable sections within themselves that when combined make up the city as a whole.

Outside of the tax credits,what is the negative impact on the city as a whole?

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Excuse me me for my naiveness, but what is MCS ?

[313WX]

Excuse me me for my naiveness, but what is MCS ?

Michigan Central Station [[what Ford purchased).

[poobert]

Well Cadillac moving to NYC was certainly just what GM needed so hey doing random things for unknown reasons should definitely work amazingly for Ford.

My last car was a Ford and it SUCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKED. Hecho en Mexico piece of trash. I wonder if they've considered making non-shitty cars for a change?

[Worldsgreatest]

Well Cadillac moving to NYC was certainly just what GM needed so hey doing random things for unknown reasons should definitely work amazingly for Ford.

How are these two things at all related? What does Ford's strategic investment in self-driving and electric cars have to do with some charlatan idiot CEO who convinced GM to let him run things in NYC?

[Richard]

How are these two things at all related? What does Ford's strategic investment in self-driving and electric cars have to do with some charlatan idiot CEO who convinced GM to let him run things in NYC?

The context of the entire post verses one part portrays perceptions and a valid concern for Ford,one would hope.

Given the choice of unreliability which would you perfer.

A car that you can control.
A car that you cannot control.

Its no difference then if you eat at a restaurant,do not like the service you are not going back,but it is a long term outlook for Ford as there are plenty still around that got burned in the 80s mix of over regulation and just plain crap cars that they all produced.

Maybe that is why they picked the worst cities to do the test runs in,if they can work there they can work anywhere,and they will find out in short notice verses long drawn out money sucking testing.

Got to hand it to them jumping in neck deep out of the gate,it’s a bold move and maybe worth looking at thier stock again,long term.

[drjeff]

Well Cadillac moving to NYC was certainly just what GM needed so hey doing random things for unknown reasons should definitely work amazingly for Ford.

My last car was a Ford and it SUCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKED. Hecho en Mexico piece of trash. I wonder if they've considered making non-shitty cars for a change?

My 2014 Mustang has been the best car I've ever owned. 108,000 miles and never been in the shop for anything [[I do my own maintenance.) Maybe they are getting out of the other car business for a good reason...

[313WX]

How are these two things at all related? What does Ford's strategic investment in self-driving and electric cars have to do with some charlatan idiot CEO who convinced GM to let him run things in NYC?

Worldsgreatest must be a Ford employee.

No wonder they're so caught up in their feelings over some of these responses, lol.

[313WX]

My 2014 Mustang has been the best car I've ever owned. 108,000 miles and never been in the shop for anything [[I do my own maintenance.)...

Agreed.

I'm a LFAT to Ford and I've also never had any issues with their cars beyond regular maintenance.

[Smirnoff]

Somebody "bet-the-farm" on.....

Attachment 37001

[NewportNic]

If you think about great urban centers with well developed mass transit, why wouldn't Detroit be a great place for a 21st century transportation experiment?
P.S. I don't think the "Q" line is the solution.

[Cincinnati_Kid]

Michigan Central Station [[what Ford purchased).

Thanks, 313..

[beachboy]

Richard wrote: "The Finiance part being a big part of thier revenue is a bit scary,it has brought many down,look at what happened to GE."

Actually, what severely injured GE was CEO Jeff Immelt's many, many bad decisions re: purchasing other companies that didn't perform well; also, he did not maintain GE's cash position or forward vision left to him by his predecessor former CEO Jack Welch:

http://fortune.com/longform/ge-decline-what-the-hell-happened/

This does not seem to be the case at FoMoCo ...

https://nypost.com/2018/11/28/ford-will-reshuffle-us-factory-workers-to-make-more-trucks-suvs/

[Worldsgreatest]

Ford bringing 500 jobs to Livonia

https://www.omaha.com/money/business...72fffcb32.html