Ford & Maytag Bring the Conveniences of Home To Your Car
7 April 2000
Home is Where You Are - Ford & Maytag Bring the Conveniences of Home To Your Personal Transportation With a New Concept: Windstar Solutions
CHICAGO, April 7 Is your work schedule so tight that your
vehicle is often your office? Is it a miracle that your 3-year-old makes it
to Grandma's birthday party without wearing her juice? Need a solution?
Maytag Corporation and Ford Motor Company teamed up to
create the ultimate in a "personalized for your lifestyle" concept vehicle,
named Windstar Solutions. Windstar Solutions provides convenience and
timesaving appliances for on-the-go consumers and incorporates technology that
links consumers to their home via "Home Connection."
"By marrying our expertise, Ford and Maytag recognized that together we
could provide consumers personal, creative solutions for everyday living,"
said Lisa Buckley, Maytag Appliances vice president and general manager.
"The result is the newest concept vehicle -- the Windstar Solutions."
Why Windstar Solutions?
Research conducted by Ford and Maytag showed consumers are dealing with
many lifestyle demands, including longer commutes, record numbers of working
mothers and people's need to achieve home and work life balance.
Windstar Solutions was developed and designed by combining the ingenuity
of Ford's engineering, technology and safety teams and Maytag's innovative and
high performance appliances. The concept vehicle integrates custom-designed
Maytag appliances into the 2000 Windstar production minivan. From the Maytag
refrigerator to the Hoover vacuum, this vehicle gives you the conveniences of
home on the road.
"Listening to and observing the consumer led to the development of the
Windstar Solutions concept vehicle," said Jim Schroer, Ford Motor Company vice
president for global marketing. "It is Ford Motor Company's goal to be
responsive to our consumers by creating solutions which improve their quality
of life."
The Genesis
Understanding the importance of women and their lifestyles is a mission
for both companies through Maytag's women leadership team and the women's
marketing and product office at Ford Motor Company. Each company conducted
focus groups, compiled consumer research and used its historical knowledge and
observations of consumer needs in the real world.
Commonalities of the research pointed to the following trend: Consumers'
lives have become increasingly complicated and busy, and these hectic
lifestyles keep consumers in their vehicles for long periods of time. Maytag
and Ford Motor Company leveraged and combined their resources to create a
minivan that transforms conventional thinking about how a vehicle can
pragmatically synergize design, engineering, brand, marketing and logistics to
develop a concept that enhances individual lifestyles.
What's Inside
Maytag and Ford Motor Company co-designed Windstar Solutions to extend the
convenience of home to the vehicle. The appearance and placement of
appliances and entertainment options furnish consumers with the best in
flexible and smart transportation. The list includes:
Refrigerator: Maytag's exclusive ClimateZone(TM) technology food drawer
is featured in the cargo compartment. Consumers will be able to set the
proper temperature for certain foods especially meat, fruit and vegetables.
There is also a refrigerated compartment in the rear passenger area. These
built-in units provide convenient storage of perishable items purchased at the
grocery store, allowing for customers to continue their errands without
stopping at home.
Microwave: Placed in the left rear, it's perfect to heat up a baby
bottle, hot chocolate, tea, soup and even popcorn.
Cooler: Located behind the driver and front passenger seats, the cooler
stores easily accessible items such as bottled water, sodas and juice boxes.
It is also removable for use at a park or a football game.
Hot/cold cup holders: Located between the passenger and driver, the
hot/cold cup holders keep your milk cold and your coffee hot.
Trash compactor: Windstar Solutions has a trash compactor located between
the front seats and a trash bin in the vehicle cargo area. The mechanical
compactor can crush everything from apple cores to aluminum cans. Both trash
units have a washable liner, which can be removed for easy cleaning.
Wet/dry utility vacuum: The Hoover wet/dry utility vacuum is placed in
the side panel adjacent to the second-row passenger seating. Hoover, a Maytag
division, provides this dual-purpose appliance, which eliminates cracker
crumbs, beach sand and spilled juice.
Washer/dryer: Spills on clothing are common, especially with children in
the vehicle. A miniature Maytag combination washer/dryer is built into the
rear cargo area of Windstar Solutions. A shirt or party dress could be washed
and dried in 15 minutes.
Tray tables: Tray tables fold down from the seat backs of the front
captain's chairs, providing children and adults a great place to eat a snack,
complete a crossword puzzle, read or do homework.
Home Connection: Home Connection, a conceptual idea, adds a unique twist
to Ford Motor Company's Telematics system. Telematics brings voice
activation, automatic emergency notification into Ford Motor Company's Lincoln
LS and into Jaguar brands. The Home Connection concept could enable consumers
to remain connected to their home. Customers in the future could preheat the
oven, check home food inventories, and monitor home security and fire systems
while driving using voice-activation technology. In the park position,
consumers can choose to use a touch screen.
Entertainment package: Family members and friends can experience hours of
entertainment. Individuals can choose between viewing movies or playing CD-
ROM interactive electronic games. Game controllers and CD storage are built-
in.
Safety
Ford's 2000 Windstar is unparalleled for safety. It has earned the
federal government's double five-star frontal crash-test rating, the highest
possible, for driver and front passenger for five straight years. When
optional side-impact air bags were added, Windstar became the first minivan to
combine a double five-star frontal crash-test rating with a double five-star
side-impact rating.
The 2000 Windstar also has a child safety-seat anchoring system, front air
bags, the Belt Minder system that reminds drivers to buckle up and a passive
anti-theft system.
Comfort
Windstar Solutions seats six, a must for the family taking the kids and
their stuff to practice or the empty-nest couple heading out with friends.
Ford's adjustable pedal system allows the driver to better choose distance
from the instrument panel and steering wheel. The accelerator and brake
pedals adjust up to 3 inches horizontally, giving more comfort to drivers of
varying heights and sizes.
What's Next?
"We know that busy lives have led to the merging of many schedules in
today's families," Schroer said. "The next step, of course, is for consumers
to tell us whether this concept will meet their needs."
Windstar Solutions is debuting at the National Kitchen and Bath Industry
Show April 7 through April 9 in Chicago. The National Kitchen and Bath
Industry Show Trade Show is the world's largest kitchen and bath event.
The Companies:
Maytag Corporation
Maytag Corporation is a leading producer of home and commercial
appliances. Its products are sold to customers throughout North America and
in international markets. Maytag Corporation, based in Newton, Iowa, is a
leading producer of home and commercial appliances. The corporation's brands
include Maytag, Hoover, Jenn-Air, Blodgett, and Dixie-Narco.
Ford Division
Ford Division is the largest automotive marketing sales division in the
world and has been the top-selling U.S. car and truck brand for the past 13
years. Ford brand is a division of Ford Motor Company, the world's second-
largest auto company, headquartered in Dearborn, Mich., and selling vehicles
in more than 200 markets. Ford Motor Company employs nearly 400,000 people
worldwide. In calendar year 1999, Ford Division sold a record 3.4 million
vehicles. Ford Division is home to 13 product lines, including the Ford F-
Series pickup, the No. 1-selling pickup in the world, and Ford Explorer, the
top-selling sport utility vehicle.
