Ford hopes car lovers catch Spirit

Science-tech center will let visitors enjoy the birth of a car

    DEARBORN -- Strap on the safety harness, it's going to be a bumpy ride.   Ford Motor Co. will unveil the Spirit of Ford, a rollicking science and technology center that provides a behind-the-scenes look at how the automaker designs, engineers, tests and manufactures vehicles.

    The $25-million attraction, located directly across Village Road from the Henry Ford Museum and the neighboring Greenfield Village, is highlighted by Turbo Tour, a virtual theater that allows visitors to share the experience of a vehicle moving through an assembly line.

    "You'll literally feel, see and smell the activity in an auto plant, with the seats moving back and forth and from side to side," Lydia M. Cisaruk, assistant manager of Ford's global news bureau, said during a tour this week of the 50,000-square-foot center, which opens May 28.

    "There are nozzles in the arm rests that provide the smells, plus they provide the experience of what it's like to be painted. Visitors just sit back, watch the screen and enjoy the ride. Each of the attractions lasts about eight minutes, and the average tour will take 2 1/2 hours."

    An earlier product-display center, the Ford Rotunda, was a popular tourist attraction from the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair. It was destroyed by fire in 1962.

    The new center, which kicks off the celebration of Ford's centennial on June 17, 2003, will soon be joined by two rivals.

    DaimlerChrysler AG plans to open the Walter P. Chrysler Museum at the automaker's North American headquarters in Auburn Hills in September. The facility will offer displays of cars and trucks as well as space for receptions and business meetings.

    General Motors Corp. plans to open GM World, an interactive attraction of vehicles at its world headquarters at the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit. The center is scheduled to open by the end of the year.

    "We are considered the motor capital, and these kinds of exhibits create excitement and make us a destination," said Linda Bade, president of Detroit Downtown Inc. "It's great for families, particularly for children who can begin to appreciate the science, math and physics that go into shaping today's vehicles."

    Spirit of Ford could be the most popular of the attractions. Planners project the center will draw between 300,000 and 400,000 visitors a year, which includes receptions, business meetings and banquets.

    Other highlights include:
   * A working stop where guests learn how to prep a Ford Thunderbird during a NASCAR race.
   * The Spirit of Ford Theater gives a glimpse into the life and times of auto pioneer Henry Ford.
   * A design studio provides visitors the opportunity to craft vehicles, which can be taken for a test run on a virtual proving grounds. Nearby, kids can build their own toy cars and trucks.
   * Guests can experiment with various fuels, emissions and materials to develop clean, efficient vehicles.

    Other offerings include a recycling station, night-vision station, an encounter with a retired crash test dummy and voice-activated radios, mirrors and wiper blades. A gift shop will offer apparel goods, model cars and other items from Ford's various divisions, including Jaguar, Lincoln and Volvo.

    "People will get a chance to tell us what they would like to drive in the future," said Mary Louise Majewski, Spirit of Ford's director. "We'll also start offering tours to area school children in the fall. Kids are pretty creative, and this will give them an understanding of why some parts are rigid or flexible."

About the center

    What: Science and technology center that offers tourists and school children a behind-the-scenes look at how Ford Motor Co. vehicles are designed, tested, engineered and manufactured.
    Where: 1151 Village Road, across from Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn
    Opens: May 28
    Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily
    Cost: Adults, $9; youths 5-12, $7; children 3-4, $6; Seniors 62 and older, $8. Ford employees receive $2 discount
    More information: (313) 317-7478

By R.J. King / The Detroit News