Sometimes, you have to be cruel to be kind. I have a feeling that that’s something Ford knows well. Its Allen Park climatic wind tunnel in Allen Park, Michigan is proof of that.
That’s where the Blue Oval torture-tests its vehicles in a variety of weather conditions in order to create cars, trucks, and SUVs that can be depended on in the punishing heat and cold that its customers may encounter. Ford says, “Engineers simulate conditions from extreme freezing to blistering desert temperatures, from as low as minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit to as high as 130 degrees Fahrenheit.”
These days, snow is around the corner in various parts of the country. To prepare its models for winter’s frigid temperatures, Ford fully loads them with passengers and cargo, then simulates blizzards by blowing snow at their front ends at speeds as high as 125 mph. Over the course of four hours, Ford monitors its test subjects to see where snow accumulates and how it affects engine airflow and checks whether or not shift linkages are operating properly.
Those metal guinea pigs are also taken out into the white stuff that covers the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and evaluated for two days.
To see the icy hell that Ford puts its vehicles through (and the world’s coolest Mustang), check out the video below.
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.
