Bill Ford knocks 'technology for technology's sake'

Summer Ballentine, The Detroit News on Sep 30, 2026

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DETROIT — Martha Firestone Ford, 101, isn't looking for much more than an AM radio in her vehicle, her son Bill Ford said during a panel Tuesday with executives from Google, Time magazine and United Airlines.

"I don't have a lot of 101-year-old customers," said Ford Motor Co.'s executive chair, joking during the panel at Michigan Central in Detroit.

But as vehicles increasingly are viewed as moving computers, Ford said the automaker is catering to customers who range from the tech-averse "all the way to people who are very early adopters of technology and want all the technology we can possibly put in our vehicles."

"We have to make sure we're not doing technology for technology's sake," Ford said. "We're actually doing technology in a way that benefits the customer."

Ford's comments come as the U.S. auto industry faces pressure to make vehicles less expensive while dealing with steep competition from Chinese automakers, which have managed to make cheap electric vehicles that still brim with new tech.

Ford's answer to those pressures includes "skunkworks:" a small team of engineers and designers who created the automaker's Universal Electric Vehicle Platform. The Fathom is the first vehicle off the platform that's expected to hit the market next year with a sub-$30,000 starting price.

On pricier models, Ford teams are working on augmented reality infotainment displays on windshields after launching a panoramic screen in Lincoln SUVs.