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Ford CEO Jim Hackett talks about the future at North American International Auto Show

Posted at 5:39 PM, Jan 15, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-16 10:45:14-05

One of the largest, most expensive, and dynamic displays at this year’s North American International Auto Show can be found at Ford and the company’s CEO says he has big plans for the company’s future.

Ford is putting the show in auto show.

CEO Jim Hackett says autonomy is on the horizon, but it’ll be just one part of the ford brand.

“What I’m bringing is the understanding of the way the technology is going to change the use of the product,” Hackett says.

On the job less than a year, Hackett is keeping the company focused.

“I’m thinking about over the next four to five years what are the things we’ve got to get done,” he says. “Trying to get the company to be as fit as it can to compete in the categories it’s always competed in. We’re doing great at that. We kicked off a new winning aspiration, which is: smart vehicles for a smart world.”

Hackett says passion for Ford is at an all-time high. That sentiment might grow after the Detroit show and Ford’s highly interactive and huge display – 69,000 square feet where you can be a star in a movie trailer for the new Bullitt Mustang, or grind it out off road with the new Ranger, or peak into the future of Ford’s game-changing technological ambitions.

“This is what’s so exciting to us: I see a world where small businesses today, many of them going away, actually come back because the logistics systems, through autonomy, is going to make them competitive,” Hackett says.

There are 55 cars in total in the Ford display, but it might be the interactive displays that are the biggest hits.