Classroom on wheels comes to Ford

Ford of Canada is taking an inventive approach — a classroom on wheels.

In an effort to educate its employees on the ever-changing advances in vehicle technology, Ford of Canada is taking an inventive approach — a classroom on wheels. Until Nov. 3 14 tech-savvy trainers will take 14 all-new 2011 Ford Explorers to more than 400 Ford and Lincoln dealerships across the country to meet with the sales and service staff.

The program, known as techtrek, aims to equip dealers with in-depth product training to ensure top customer service and satisfaction for MyFord Touch. This interactive system makes information easily accessible to the driver through voice commands, steering wheel controls or with a tap of the touch screen.

As part of the program, the trainers will conduct the lessons in their own home provinces. The two from B.C. will be at Lake City Ford in Williams Lake on Oct. 25 and 26. The team consists of 14 facilitators with one alternate; five in Ontario, two in British Columbia and three in Quebec, two in Alberta, one in the Maritimes and one in Saskatchewan.

Techtrek takes place inside the Ford Explorer, where staff will receive up to two days of training.

MyFord Touch combines the connectivity of SYNC with more than 10,000 first-level voice commands, a full-colour eight-inch touch screen in the centre stack and two 4.2-inch LCD screens in the instrument cluster. Together, these MyFord Touch elements create an interactive, rich interface that makes vehicle functions, settings and information easily accessible to the driver through voice, by using steering wheel controls or with a simple tap of the centre stack touch screen.

Williams Lake Tribune