After reading and talking about Henry Ford this week, I thought it would be interesting to research where Ford is headed in the future. According to an article published on AutoNews.com, Ford has recently opened a research and development center in Palo Alto, California (closely neighbored to start up automotive company, Tesla Motors). Ford, like many other automotive companies, is pouring more and more money into their Silicon Valley operations in order to take advantage of the engineers of this technology hub. It seems that Ford’s CEO Mark Fields is extremely focused on the future of the automobile and making sure that Ford is continuing its innovations in order to keep up. As the article quotes Mr. Fields, Ford is “driving to be both a product and a mobility company.” Fields wants Ford to “ultimately change the way the world moves.” This move by Ford shows a changing atmosphere from the simplicity originally created by Henry Ford. As seen in his book, Mr. Ford wanted his company to offer a high quality yet simple product. That was his mission and he was very set in his ways to keep things as simple as possible in order to offer the best possible quality of product. While the culture of quality seems to still be an important factor to Ford as they are trying to develop the best products for their customers by establishing this research center, the simplicity idea appears to have permanently left. The importance placed by Ford CEO Mark Fields on the technology that is being developed at the Silicon Valley site shows that Ford wants to be a leading company of innovation. They aren’t focused on just providing a superior product at low cost. They want their product to cater to the tastes and preferences of their consumers. They want to meet the developing demands of the market. From this article it can be seen that Ford, while still holding onto their founding roots of quality and customer service, has adapted into a new style of company, focused on developing products that will meet the consumers needs and lead them into the future of the automobile industry.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20150121/OEM06/150129956/ford-to-open-rd-lab-in-teslas-backyard
Autos in American Life 
Abby,
Good post. I think this highlights the fact that automakers are now having to marry their vehicles more and more with the latest computer technology. So why not move operations to Silicon Valley? It just makes sense. Nice work.