This year will mark the fifth consecutive one Ford will attend the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. According to the Blue Oval, it’s “the world’s biggest mobile event, which last year attracted 94,000 attendees from 200 countries.” At this year’s meeting, attendees will hear about the automaker’s advancements in the field of in-car technology, its new vehicle for Europe (probably not the Prius-fighter we told you about yesterday), and the latest developments in its Smart Mobility initiative – straight from company president and CEO Mark Fields himself.
In addition to mobility, Fields will also discuss connectivity, the customer experience, autonomous vehicles, and data/analytics. Ford’s Vice President of Research and Advanced Engineering, Ken Washington, will announce the winners of the Ford Smart Mobility Game Challenge, a contest which has pushed developers to design games that could lead to real-world solutions to global mobility problems such as smog levels and route planning. The top team will walk away with more than $10,000 (€10,000) in prize money.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
