This latest update concerns Ford’s facilities closer to the U.S.’s northern border – but still inside of it. The manufacturer will be putting $1.4 billion into its Livonia Transmission Plant in Michigan, which currently builds the six-speed automatic currently used in the F-150 and several other models, and will start manufacturing the 10-speed auto that will find its way into the 2017 Raptor and other F-150s. Ford’s Ohio Assembly Plant, the facility which cranks out the F-650 and F-750, and began constructing F-350, F-450, and F-550 Super Duty chassis cabs earlier this year, will benefit from a $200 million influx of cash. Between the two locations, the automaker will be creating or retaining 650 hourly jobs.
These amounts are part of the $9 billion commitment to investing in U.S. plants that Ford made in its collective bargaining agreement with the United Automobile Workers (UAW) last year. Since 2011, the Blue Oval has invested $12 billion in its U.S. facilities and created almost 28,000 U.S. jobs. According to the manufacturer, it has “committed to a total of 8,500 hourly jobs in the U.S. during the next four years in communities across Michigan, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, New York and Ohio.”
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.
