So on Friday, April 10, my son, my husband and I flew out to Detroit in the wee hours of the morning to pick up our Ford Flex.  What started out as a simple blog post last summer grew into a word-of-mouth marketing campaign resulting in my being tapped as the spokesmom for the Ford Flex for the remainder of 2009.

Scott Monty capturing our reaction to his arrival

After arriving at the Detroit Metro airport we were greeted by Scott Monty, with Flip camera in hand, as he pulled up to the curb in the Ford Flex. My son talks about Scott all the time and was excited to finally meet the man that had sent him a toy Ford Flex for the holidays this past year.  And even better, was handing over the keys to his mommy!  Scott also scored bonus points with my son (as if he need any more) by stocking the fridge in the center console of the second row with lots of healthy snacks!

Scott and my son (you can see my son already broke into the snacks!)

Within minutes of dropping Scott off at his own car (he's driving a sa-weet Ford Mustang these days!  Last time he picked me up at the airport in October to meet with the Flex marketing team he was driving the Taurus X) we were on our way.

I started off driving and after trying unsuccessfully to get the navigation system to work, my husband called Scott to let him know.   Scott informed us that we couldn't set up the navigation system to give us directions unless we're in "park" for safety reasons.  So while we had been frustrated, that reasoning made complete sense.  It was time to stop for some lunch anyway, so we took a pit stop and then input our address as the final destination.

With my iPhone charging via the USB port in the console between the front seats and my son's portable DVD player plugged into the outlet, everyone was "connected".  I also put the lumbar support on to the max and adjusted the seat to optimum comfort level.  It was cold in Michigan that day so the heated seats kept me toasty warm as well.

The navigation system is awesome.  I've been in some cars where the navigation system takes you in roundabout ways or treats one way streets like a freak of nature.  Not the Microsoft Sync system.  Not only did we get clear directions for where we were going, but we were alerted to traffic accidents and road work, too.  My only gripe is that those alerts are delivered in the form of horns honking...and since I was driving in unfamiliar territory, I kept thinking people were honking at me!  My husband thought it was funny, I thought a different sound effect would be more effective and less panic-inducing.

My son is three and just like many three year olds, is prone to meltdowns at times.  After flying to Detroit and then being in the car...there were still no meltdowns.  Now it might be a coincidence, but I can't help but credit the huge vista windows, the access to cold juice boxes from the fridge, and the non-stop movies.

Either way, while it was a long day, we were glad to be home and the time flew...it helps when you have leather seats, the ability to plug in all of your gadgets and no one feels cramped.

I'll be reporting back my experiences with the Ford Flex as the year goes by and sharing the travels and events that the Ford Flex takes me to this year.

In the meantime, we decided on a name for our Flex and I'll be contacting those that submitted the winning name to get them a special reward.

My son reveals the name of the Ford Flex this morning, watch the video to find out.

Related articles by Zemanta

• CES: Ford Sync, a Ford feature with lots of local hands involved (Benjamin J. Romano/Microsoft Pri0) (techmeme.com)


• Driving the Ford Flex (businessweek.com)


• Ford Fiesta Movement Chat With Scott Monty (video) (centernetworks.com)


• Review: 2010 Ford Mustang GT - A full week changes attitudes (autoblog.com)


• Fours Reign At Ford; 4-Cyl Production Doubles With EcoBoost (blogs.thecarconnection.com)