Making Cars in the Great Lakes: Inside Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant

by Paul Brady on

Before I left Chicago for points east, I had a chance to tour Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant, a complex that finishes about 1160 vehicles a day. A great majority of those are Ford Explorers, pieced together by line workers wearing safety glasses and headphones, working pneumatic tools in a hypnotizing ballet of endless repetition. Whir, whir, whir.

Walking the floor, following pedestrian pathways marked by bright yellow paint, I watched linemen and women raise engine assemblies into vehicle bodies, hang doors and bolt wheels, as conveyor belts ceaselessly inched the unfinished machines ever forward. (A tip: When touring the plant, one steps over the drive-chains running through channels in the floor.)

My tour guide Larry, a dead ringer for Jesse Ventura, even let me jump in a just-finished Explorer the moment it rolled off the line. Videographer Stephen Greenwood, who’s riding along for this part of my ride, captured the mesmerizing shots after the break.

Traveling the American Road – Ford Assembly Plant Tour


Traveling the American Road Kicks off in Chicago

by Paul Brady on

It was a beer-and-snack-fueled kickoff for Traveling the American Road on Tuesday night at Chicago’s Hubbard Inn.

The launch party took over the top floor of the newish restaurant and bar, and the microbrews and conversation were flowing, with local bloggerati and bon vivants passing me tips and offering advice for the next couple of months. (I’m extra eager to check out some recommended roadside attractions that Val of Silly America sends my way.)

We raffled off some sweet swag including round-trip Virgin America flights-and got pumped for our next meet-up, which is TBA in an Eastern Seaboard city. Stay tuned in for announcements from Traveling the American Road on Twitter by following the #americanroad hashtag.

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VIDEO: 50 state stereotypes in 2 minutes

by Meg Nesterov on

Enjoy poking fun at other American states? You might enjoy this video posted by our friends at Huffington Post Comedy covering all 50 state stereotypes in 2 minutes and change. From Alabama ”

Our state bird is the NASCAR” to Wyoming ”

We don’t have any gay cowboys, alright? Okay, maybe a few gay cowboys…”, no state is left unparodied (read the video transcript here). Lest you think video creator Paul Jury is making snap judgements, you may want to read his new book States of Confusion, chronicling his post-college 48-state road trip.

Have a good sense of humor about how others see your state or country? You might also enjoy this map of US state stereotypes as well as maps from other countries. Follow Gadling and AOL Travel’s Road Trip Across America this summer and see how the states live up to their reputation.

Roller Coaster Tour attempts to ride every coaster in the U.S.

by Libby Zay on

Karol Gajda is on a solo mission to conquer every roller coaster in the United States – and he’s given himself just three months to do it.

Karol’s ambitious coast-to-coast roller coaster ride started last Saturday, and he’s already faced a few ups and downs. His dream was to travel cross-country in a hearse or similarly quirky car, but he had to settle for a more modest vehicle (although he hasn’t yet divulged any details for fear it might break down). He also ripped his shorts at his first stop, Michigan’s Adventure. Let’s hope he brought more than one pair for the trip!

Why is Karol on this mission? Because he wants to. “It’s that simple,” he writes on his blog, Roller Coaster Tour, where readers can keep track of his adventures as he circles the States.

Above, Karol talks more about his quest and encourages followers to meet up with him at parks. Luckily, the coaster enthusiast did have the foresight to get cool rock band-style t-shirts with tour dates on the back, which will make him easy to spot at theme parks during the busy summer season.

Traveling the American Road: introducing AOL Travel’s Road Trip Across America

by Eva Holland on

[Editor’s note: Paul Brady has replaced Eva Holland as the pilot of the 2011 Explorer due to technical constraints. You can read his intro to the series here!]

There’s something powerful about the American road trip. It’s a travel tradition that’s steeped in history but re-made fresh every summer by families across the country. And it’s a standby in literature and pop culture – from John Steinbeck’s classic Travels with Charley to Smokey and the Bandit through to the recent foul-mouthed buddy comedy, Sex Drive.

In 2011, it’s time to refresh that tradition once again.

Times have changed since Steinbeck and his dog Charley made their way across the country 51 years ago. The interstate system has spread its web across the Lower 48. The internet age has arrived, complete with in-car GPS systems, a blanket of wi-fi and hundreds of travel apps. Gas prices have skyrocketed, and the country is clawing its way out of a brutal recession. But one thing hasn’t changed: A cross-country road trip is still the best way to get into America’s backyard, see its natural wonders and – most importantly – meet its people and tell their stories.Traveling the American Road will take me across the country in a 2011 Ford Explorer. I’ll visit national parks, historic sites, big-name tourist attractions and quirky roadside Americana, and meet the people who make them work. I’ll profile small towns and big cities in recovery, and write about life as a blogger on the road. With blog posts, video, photos, Tweets, Gowalla check-ins and more, I’ll aim to share America as I see it from the driver’s seat.

This is a dream trip for me. Even living north of the border in Canada, I grew up on stories of Route 66, Yellowstone and Yosemite, the World’s Largest Ball of Twine. I’m looking forward to exploring the country by road, and I hope you’ll join me. Follow along on Twitter, Facebook and here on Gadling.

[Flickr photo via Wolfgang Staudt]