Motor Press Guild Luncheon for March 2012


(Irvine, CA) – Do you like lunch? do you like Ford? Well if you answered yes to both of those you would have enjoyed the March 2012 Motor Press Guild (MPG) luncheon held at the Ford Motor Company Design Center Showroom in Irvine.

The topic was on the highly competitive midsize segment and the focus was on the 2013 Ford Fusion being the rising star. Erich Merkle, U.S. Sales Analyst for Ford Motor Company was the MPG guest speaker whose presentation provided a data-driven look at the midsize segment and a competitive analysis presenting Fusion’s position in the heart of the American marketplace.

In 2010 Fusion hybrid was named the North American Car of the Year. In 2011, Fusion had its best sales year ever. And the 2013 Ford Fusion, introduced at the North American International Auto Show will be the first midsize sedan to offer gasoline, hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions. We were in Detroit for the unveiling, so we are a little familiar with the car but here’s a walk around video of the 2013 Ford Fusion from the luncheon if you’ve never seen it before.

Also in attendance at the luncheon was Freeman Thomas, Director of Strategic Design of North America. He is responsible for developing product design strategies and concept vehicles for Ford. Freeman briefly described what goes into designing from the ground up and Erich chimed in on how the design and numbers guys work together. I would like to thank John Clinard at Ford Motor Company for inviting me to the MPG event as a guest. Below are a couple photos from the luncheon.

About the Motor Press Guild:

The Los Angeles-based Motor Press Guild (MPG) is the largest automotive media association in North America. This exclusive, non-profit organization is dedicated to upholding the highest ideals in automotive journalism and promoting education and information exchange within the motoring press. Members include print journalists, photographers, broadcasters and new media professionals, as well as public-relations representatives, consumer groups, and governmental bodies tied to the automotive industry http://www.motorpressguild.org

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