I feel so honored to be a part of Ford’s “What Women Want” Tech & Quality Event in Chicago on the day before BlogHer. During this event, myself and 50+ other women bloggers will get the chance to tour the Ford Chicago Assembly Plant, which is something I’ve never experienced. While there, we get to check out the building quality of the new 2010 Ford Taurus, test drive the 2010 Ford Fusion (go green!), as well as try out the Active Park Assist that allows you to parallel park with a push of a button. Radical!
Ford wants to know what women want in a vehicle, so I’ve been pondering what my priorities are. I honestly don’t care much about bells and whistles, or even the style of the body, because, well, I’m practical. Things like fuel efficiency, sticker price, and safety get me excited. I know, I sound like such a mom, but if you build me a vehicle that is safe for my whole family (including my toddler), easy on the gas tank, and something I can easily afford, I’m sold. Where do I sign? I’ll be able to share these “needs” to Ford while at the event, and I can also share your needs as well.
Being the savvy bloggers and social media gurus we women bloggers are, we’ll obviously be writing and tweeting our experience at Ford as it is happening. Follow us on Twitter using hastag #fordblogher, and check out these fabulous girlies below who will be joining me.
- Leighann (Multi-Minding Mom and The Full Mommy) @LeighannMMM
- Cathy (Mayberry Mom) @MayberryMom
- Christy (More than Mommy and Quirky Fushion) @morethanmommy
- Nicole (SAHM Reviews) @SahmReviews
- Karly (Wiping Up Snot) @karlyc
- Emily (DesignHER Momma) @designhermomma
- Casey (moosh in indy) @mooshinindy
Also make sure to leave a comment telling me what you want in an automobile, and I will make sure to share it with Ford. Let’s get some ideas flowing!
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About Mom Spark
genevieve le bel on 
Katy M on 
I want a handheld vacuum built in to the car (preferably in the back seat) with an accordian cord so that I can keep the stupid car neat. I would also like more hooks to hang bags from in the back seat (maybe on the door or on the back of the driver’s side). I’d also love to have a built in electric cooler so that I can get home from the grocery store with ice cream that is still frozen (would have been great when our twins were infants).
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momspark Reply:
July 13th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
Wow, those are all great ideas! Love the built-in vacuum, that would be sweet!
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So I am going to BlogHer but won’t be able to tell the car guys what I want because I won’t be there until the 23rd. So can you pass this along?
I would like to be able to fit 3 car seats or 3 booster seats across in the second row. A car seat or a booster is also the width of an average size person, so if the middle seat on a bench could be actually usable instead of 8 inches wide, it would work.
Same for a third row. I need tether straps and car seat hookups in every single seat position.
I need this because boosters are now mandatory up to age 8 in Ontario, and mandatory in most US states, so the imaginary middle seat in the second row that car companies always lie about has to end. You can force an adult to skinny up for a short ride, but plastic and metal will not bend, and I should not have to risk a ticket because companies don’t want to build them properly. And regardless of what car seat/booster laws say, most moms I know need to carpool or drive kids for playdates and we need to be able to fit boosters into cars for more kids than just the ones we have. Nuclear family size is irrelevant, it’s how many friends your kid has! Plus, many of us are now taking care of extended family, like grandparents etc. Some families may have fewer kids but they need to be able to fit more people in their cars.
And no, I don’t want captain chairs or bucket seats in the second row, I think minivans are absolutely useless because of this. Lots of times I need to fit two hockey bags and groceries in the back of our car, and if the third row has to be up because I can only fit two people in the second row, then I can’t fit anything else.
And why does the auto industry focus on minivans and SUVs? What’s wrong with a nice low station wagon that holds a lot and has a flip up back seat and won’t rollover if god forbid there is accident?
Second big thing? Gas mileage and emissions.
How come there are absolutely no family cars on the market today that are gas-electric hybrids? Does Ford thing money grows on trees?
I can’t fit my kids in a teeny weeny Prius, but I can’t afford the gas on any of the cars on the market that can fit my life. There is absolutely no excuse for the lack of green fuel-efficient cars in the family segment. They have the technology, they just refuse to manufacture them. But environmentalists slam families for driving gas-hog minivans and SUVs and yet, there is nothing we can buy that will satisfy their criteria.
So there we are.
Let me know if they have any response!
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I said this on Twitter, but I’ll repeat it here: It drives me no end of crazy that I can’t get three car seats or some combination of car seats and boosters into ANY back seat of ANY car on the market. All it would take is about 4-6″ more space in width. Without that, I can’t help out a friend when she is sick by picking up her daughter, because I can’t legally put another child in my backseat without a booster, and I can’t safely put a child into the front seat since mine are too young to withstand the airbag. It would seem to be such a simple thing to make a backseat that can actually hold three car seats. Of course, these seats can (uncomfortably) hold three passengers, as long as none of them is under the age of eight, but if you have to put even one in a car seat, it’s impossible. In fact, I actually think the width of many back seats would accommodate if the seats themselves weren’t designed as modified buckets, which force car seats away from the sides of the vehicle and towards the center. Even my 85 pound mother has a hard time fitting between the toddler car seat and preschooler booster in our car; there’s simply no way to wedge a normal size full-grown adult, or another child, in there.
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Um, those are all awesome suggestions! I love the idea of a vacuum. And YES to the third car seat issue! On twitter I said safety and space. I, personally, see no point in making a car or an SUV more fuel efficient if it means sacrificing the safety of my kids. Also, SPACE! But I guess that goes in line with what others were saying about being able to fit another car or booster seat in the back.
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Is there anyway to keep the grocery bags from sliding all over the trunk? Also, an easy way to put a 3yo in a car seat, I drive a Lincoln MKX and I seem to always bump his head when lifting him in his carseat!
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Can’t wait to join you at the event!
@mommyniri
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One MUST HAVE for me is adjustable pedals. I’m petite and don’t like having to sit up too close to the steering wheel. Wish this option was available on more cars.
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