2018 Expedition is Driving Force in Detroit’s Turkey Day Parade

Blue Oval will lead annual celebration and its ‘Mobility One’ float will showcase Ford’s innovative future & legendary past, Nov. 23.

A new and expanded fleet of Ford SUVs will be doing the heavy hauling when the 91st edition of America’s Thanksgiving Parade — one of Ford Motor Company’s signature community events — rolls along Woodward Avenue in downtown Detroit. The parade on Nov. 23 will be led by a trio of Ford SUVs: the all-new Ford Expedition, the legendary Ford Explorer, and the all-new Ford EcoSport, the smallest of Ford’s sport utility vehicles.

As the official vehicle of America’s Thanksgiving Parade, more than 45 Ford cars, trucks, and SUVs will power the annual tradition by carrying celebrities and pulling the magnificent floats, including Ford’s Mobility One entry.

This year’s theme is “Woodward, Avenue of Dreams!” and is a celebration of Detroit’s main thoroughfare, a revitalized downtown, and completion of the city’s new streetcar system.

Woodward Avenue has served as the route of the holiday parade for generations, and Ford has been a driving force in the Motor City for 100-plus years. The Blue Oval’s Mobility One features a timeline view of the company’s rich history of innovation and its acceleration into the digital age of smart mobility and autonomous vehicles. Ford Volunteer Corps members will ride aboard Mobility One, while others will walk alongside the float dressed in futuristic costumes.

Singer/songwriter Big Sean will serve as grand marshal, along with fellow Detroiter and long-time broadcaster Carmen Harlan.

‘Ford is proud to support America’s Thanksgiving Parade and so many other social activities that enrich our community life and make us all Detroiters.’

“Generations of men, women and children have cherished memories of the parade and the joy and excitement they shared as a family,” says Jim Vella, president, Ford Motor Company Fund. “Ford is proud to support America’s Thanksgiving Parade and so many other social activities that enrich our community life and make us all Detroiters.”

Over the last 10 years, Ford and Ford Fund have made community investments totaling $166 million in southeast Michigan.

Support has also gone to the Motown Museum expansion and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.

The annual Thanksgiving Day parade in Detroit is one of the country’s largest and longest-running.

The parade begins at 8:50 a.m. at Woodward Avenue and Kirby Street near the Detroit Institute of Arts and will be broadcast live on WDIV-TV beginning at 10 a.m.