Linda Zhang: Chief Engineer, Ford F150 Lightning

Here's something remarkable and not in a good way. Disengaged employees cost US companies almost $1.9 trillion a year. That's a lot of zeros. Why? Because when teams lack the right skills, productivity declines, turnover increases, and strategies stagnate. But it doesn't have to be that way. At Project Management Institute, home of the PMP and globally recognized certifications, your people can learn to collaborate, deliver on time, and actually get things the cost of not upskilling way higher than the investment Project Management Institute. Find the answers@pmi.org.

I'm Guy Kawasaki and this is remarkable people. First, let me digress. I love cars. This isn't a midlife crisis kind of thing for me. It's been true since I was growing up in a poor part of Hawaii and has never stopped. In fact, my love of cars has been a powerful motivational factor throughout my life. Today's guest has one of the most interesting jobs in the entire automotive industry. Her name is Linda Zhang. She is the chief engineer of the Ford 150 Lightning. In the 25 years that she has worked for Ford, she has served in engineering strategy, business development and manufacturing positions. Linda rightfully earned a spot on the Automotive News list of rising stars for 2021. She manages the engineering process of the electric version of the most popular truck in the United states, the Ford F150. In my humble opinion, when all the dust settles, the introduction of this version of the F150 is a pivotal moment in the automotive industry, tied with or at least second to only the introduction of the Tesla. Linda attended the University of Michigan, where she obtained a Bachelor's of Science in Engineering, a Master's in Computer Engineering, and and a Master's of Business Administration. Linda's accomplishments carry even greater weight. The first time Linda ever rode a car was leaving the Detroit airport after arriving from China at the age of 8. Only in America could a girl from China manage one of the most red blooded and macho vehicles made.

This episode of Remarkable People is brought to you by Remarkable the paper tablet company. The yes, you got that right. Remarkable is sponsored by Remarkable. I have version two in my hot.

Little hands and it's so good.

A very impressive upgrade. Here's how I use it. 1. Taking notes while I'm interviewing a podcast guest. 2. Taking notes while being brief about speaking gigs. 3. Drafting the structure of keynote speeches. 4. Storing manuals for the gizmos that I buy. 5. Roughing out drawings for things like surfboards, surfboard sheds and office layouts. 6. Wrapping my head around complex ideas with diagrams and flowcharts. This is a remarkably well thought out product. It doesn't try to be all things to all people, but it takes notes better than anything I've used. Check out the recent reviews of the latest version.

I'm Guy Kawasaki. This is remarkable. People forgive my fanboying because I love what Ford is doing. And here is Linda Zhang, a remarkable person from Detroit Motor City, Michigan.

Prior to this interview, I used the Mustang Mach E for a week and I was blown away by the quality. I hope you don't take this as an insult, because it is not meant as an insult. It's really the highest form of praise for me, which is it really felt like a German car.

Mach E is a great vehicle. I have it as well. To be able to experience it, you're. You're able to kind of witness what electrification can bring. I don't know in the German vehicles that you've driven if you've done a lot of the EVs, but the electric vehicles are great and I think Mach E is a great execution of that and it really shows where Ford is going.

My background is Apple, right? And so when you look at Apple, you say, well, Apple did Macintosh and they did ipod and iPhone and iPad and an Apple store. But that's over 20 years or 30 years. But it seems like just in the last year and a half or so, there's Bronco, mach E, Maverick, Ford150. You guys are on a roll there, so my hat's off to you. Anyway, this was not meant as a fanboy episode.

Ford's doing a lot in the space of electrification and we've started with a lot of our key products or ones that are recognizable for our customers. You know, whether it's Mustang for as a Mustang, Mach E is the performance vehicle, whether it's Bronco as the off roading vehicle. And then we've also got the commercial side cover too with E Transit, with electrification, and now with F150 Lightning. It is a great lineup and we've got a lot more to come. I know you've, you've probably heard that Ford has announced over $30 billion worth of investment in electrification and self driving. So, you know, there's still a lot of ways to go. But we're really excited about the lineup and we're excited to hit the market running on all of this because this is a really pivotal point, I think, in electrification and for us to bring out these key pillared products that our customers love will help that migration and adoption of EVs in the industry.

If I may back up a little, tell me about how you got to where you are starting in China.

I was born in China and I moved here when I was 8 years old with my parents who are here for school and grew up in Indiana and West Lafayette and then moved to Indianapolis and then Michigan and I went to U of M for University of Michigan. That is for my undergraduate and my graduate in engineering, my MBA degree as well. So I'm a big U of M fan. And then from, from that point too. I was also already at Ford Motor Company, been here for 25 years and work done a lot of really great things starting in manufacturing, then product development and finance and business development and then lately with a lot of products ranging from Explorer to the global escape to F150 and then now the F150 lightning.

What was it like for a 8 year old Chinese girl to grow up in Indiana and Michigan Back then?

It was great. I didn't know any better. For me it was just growing up with a lot of really great friends and getting to do a lot of fun things and some of them involved corn. My first job was actually a corn detassler. Actually it was like a co op with middle school. But it was a lot of fun. I learned a lot about hard work.

Were you a STEM girl?

Yes. Both my parents were engineers. So for me, engineering, science, math, they were all things that I basically grew up with. Learning how to question things and be curious about everything and trying to solve how things worked as well as how to make things possibly better.

Back then did a STEM girl stick out in school?

For me? I don't think so because I grew up in a university town at West Lafayette. So with Purdue University right there, we had, I had a lot of friends who also had at Purdue and I think from that you know a lot of science and math and engineering and I think a lot of that was helped by the college town and environment and really being able to leverage all of the university, all that the university had to offer.

Now here's the most important question. What was the first car that you owned?

My first vehicle was a Ford Probe. It was my first new vehicle and I got that when I started at Ford about 20, 24 years ago. I would say about a year after I started at Ford, I was able to get my new Ford Probe and it was a beautiful car. I loved it. The headlamps went up and down out of the hood and it was my first baby prior to all my just financial a I was, I always had reused vehicles and whatever hand me downs we could get.

All right, does Ford have a program where employees get a deal? I hope it does. Apple does.

We definitely do. We have an employee and family plan and friends and family plan as well.

Good to know. Now what do you think Henry Ford would say about electric cars?

I think he would be very excited. Right. One of the our first vehicles was electric. So I think from, from that perspective he started the company with an electric car and now we're just able to take the newest technology and being able to pack more power, more torque into the vehicle and really get it out there to provide that elevated product and actually services and experience for our customer as well. With that electrification, what do you think.

Is the weakest link in electric cars today?

Well, I think range anxiety is definitely something that our customers will initially struggle with trying to understand what it is that range does, what the vehicle can do for them from a range perspective. And that is one of the things that we've really focused on with our F150 lining is making sure that we have really great features around range, whether it's intelligent range or distance to empty or even being able to leverage the phone to help them plan out their trip with their trip planner. Being able to really use that and know that from that that they're going to get accurate range from their vehicles, I think will really help. In addition to that, Ford has access to the biggest charging network in North America with over 63,000 charge plugs. And I think that helps from an infrastructure perspective to really help that range. And then at home with our, with Our Charging Level 2 Charging on the extended range batteries, we're actually providing an 80amp wall box to help charge the vehicle at night so that every morning you can leave your home with a fully charged vehicle. That's one thing. I think from a just adoption perspective, people will see some of the benefits that the electric vehicle can offer. Right. Never having to go to a gas station, being able to wake up every, every morning with a full vehicle, full of energy to take you as far as you need to. I know for me, having had a Mach E for over a year now, I love being able to wake up in the morning and know that regardless where I'm needing to go, I'm starting out with a full range. I'm not having to stop at a gas station in the middle of the cold winter here in Michigan and having to charge up. So that's one thing that I would say is A positive on range that a lot of our customers won't know yet until they get into an electric vehicle and really be being able to experience it and getting kind of aware to the positives and the potential range anxiety that they might have thought there would have been.

What if you live in an apartment building? What if your house doesn't have a 220 line near where you need to be? What if you don't want to spend the money to put in level 2 charging and all you're doing is sticking it into a 110? My experience with the Mach E was overnight I would get about 50 or 60 miles.

Yeah, I mean, I think you have to have the right infrastructure to be able to adapt the ev. What we're trying to do is make it as easy as possible. But you're right, there are some things that the customer may have to do in terms of upgrades to be able to get there. I did mention earlier also that Ford has access to North America's largest public charging with over 63,000 charging plugs, whether it's level two or level three. So I think a lot of that will help as well. And I know, like around Michigan at least, there's been so much development in terms of charging. A lot of the garages that we have around here or parking structures, even at the movie theater, for example, there's free charging there. So in a way, I think if you really want an EV and you can't do it at your apartment, you can still do it elsewhere.

Until I had the Mach E, I'd never experienced this. I had no idea this is what happens. So maybe you can explain to my listeners why is it that the first 80% is easy and the last 20% is hard and long? What's the reason for that?

It's actually the same thing as your phone battery. Right. So you mentioned earlier that you're an Apple guy. The phone battery is kind of set up the same way where we want to slow down, like in the middle. Right. So even at the beginning, the 0 to 10, we want to slowly charge it for the health of the battery. And then in the middle, you can ramp up that charging speed quite a bit. And then toward the end, you want to taper it off again. All of it is to really protect the battery and to protect your vehicle, to make sure that the durability and the longevity and the reliability of the vehicle is maintained. Change. It's pretty much a battery industry kind of thing, even at the phone level.

What incentives have worked to get people to buy electric cars.

Well, you know, honestly, for us, a lot of what we've tried to do is provide an and solution for our customer, right? For F150, we know that our customers depend on it for productivity and its capability. So it was very important for us to make sure that we had that and provide our customers an and solution of that productivity and capability and other features and capabilities that electrification can bring. So really giving them that better product. And I think when you give customers a better product, a better solution, then it doesn't take a lot of incentives. It's just great business and it's great product. So that's what we've tried to do with both on the product side and the services side so that our customers can get more with this F150 Lightning.

So, speaking of and features. So just take me inside a manufacturer and how things like this come to be, I cite two things. So first of all, how did someone decide that we should be able to power your house from your truck when your house doesn't have power? That is, the power goes in the opposite direction. And a much simpler example is the console in the Ford 150 can convert to kind of a desk. So how do ideas like that percolate? Does Linda come up with an idea one day and go back into the engineering meeting and say, hey, you know what? We should make the console convert to a laptop desk. What do you think about that, guys?

It happens with a great team. We have a great team at Ford that thinks through a lot of these things and also asks a lot of the right questions. So some of it is talking to our customers and understanding some of their pain points, understanding what it is that they could that they imagine better with the product, and then taking some of those ideas as well as ideas that we get within the company to try to make those ideas come to real life and to get it to the point where we can get it to our customers to improve their lives, whether it's providing them backup power for their home or as you said, a desk for our commercial vehicle customers to be able to work. Or even any customers who's just waiting for their kid at a soccer game or soccer practice to be able to pick them up and want to get a little bit more done.

So is it conceivable that one clever person on the engineering team can say, you know, I have an idea. Why don't we convert the console to a desk? And the rest of you will say, oh yeah, good idea, and bada bing, bada Bang, four or five years later, it's in the truck.

Hopefully sooner than four or five years. But yes, we do that all the time.

Now, another example, because I just love getting into the mindset of how manufacturers work. So let's talk about your Frunk.

Yes, Mega Powerfront. One of my favorite things.

So your Frunk, I saw electric Ford 150 when it was here in Palo Alto, and I was told that two sets of golf clubs could fit in there. Tell me how the sequence works. Did your engineers design the Frunk and design the front end? And at the end, some marketer discovered, hey, two sets of golf clubs can fit in there. Or were the engineers at the start telling, listen, guys and gals, we want to be able to say that two sets of golf clubs can fit in here. So make the Frunk work that big. So which way does it go?

Yeah, it's the ladder. We had a target to be able to fit two golf clubs in there. Again, this was a really great feature, great content in the vehicle that we did a lot of research work on with our customers, trying to understand what it is that they would want to fit in here and then making sure that we could fit it in there and designed the vehicle to ensure that it did that. So in that case, the two golf clubs was very important. In addition to that, our customers told us they wanted as much space as we could get them. And they said, we don't even need it to be symmetrical. We just want as much space as you can give us. And that's what we did. We made sure that we can fit as much as possible, 400 liters. And then not only that, because it's a truck, they told us, don't just give us the space, give us the payload to be able to put heavier items in there too. Right. We can't just put. Just put balloons in there. So we worked very hard to make sure we could get 400 pounds of payload in there as well. And then also from that, they said, hey, can you get me some power up here? This is a great potential space for tailgating now in the Frunk in the front of the vehicle. So we did that. And then we also added a bin for ice and a drain. And, you know, the ideas just kept flowing. This space is just so magnificent.

The lighting has a 0 to 60 speed of mid 4 seconds.

That's right. Right.

Which is remarkable.

Yes, that's a lot of fun. And those numbers are interesting, right? Because you think about it and you're like, oh, wow, that's a really low number. But when you experience the weight of this truck and being in it and the size of it and how fast it goes, that experience is something that has, for anybody that's been in it, they've told me that's such a surprising feel. And then not only that, the nimbleness of the vehicle, the response time of being able to accelerate, decelerate, passing all of those elements, we've really made sure we built in. In addition to that, the drive experience is awesome because we've made sure that from a weight distribution perspective with the battery down low in the vehicle, that low center of gravity, with a balanced approach with the batteries and dual motors, and then all our all new rear independent suspension giving it that again, even more elevated ride and handling really just helps tremendously. So it's just a fun vehicle to ride in and drive in.

Okay, Linda, you don't have to sell every minute.

I'm not selling, I'm just telling you how awesome it is. I tell.

Let me be a bit of a devil's advocate. Okay, so like in the real world, does truly 0 to 60 in 4 1/2 seconds matter? Not really. Not for a contractor, not somebody pulling a boat, et cetera, et cetera. But is there a trade off? Is there? If I said to you, okay, make it zero to 60 in six seconds, could I gain something else? Some distance, some cost effectiveness, or what did I, what did I trade off for being as fast as a Porsche 0 to 60?

Well, you know, the 06 to 60 is great, but in addition to that, you're also getting that near instant torque. So you mentioned the towing. Towing is great in this vehicle too. Because of that near instant torque, you're basically towing asap. But a lot of that that you're mentioning is just in the architecture of our vehicle. There's no downside to it. It's not like it's a trade off in too many ways. For us, it was just the way that our battery set up, the way that our motor set up. It just provides you with that and we've tuned it to be the best that with this architecture. And that's how we got to the mid 4 seconds. We're really very excited about it. And again, it's one of those things that, you know, you, you get in the vehicle and that experience, just something that you, it's, it's almost not natural.

I'd say zero to 60 in four and a half seconds, completely quiet in a truck is not a natural experience. Yes, so.

But it's a great experience.

Now. Now, do you consider a plug in, is that an on ramp to total electrification or is that a cop out?

I think there's trade offs to all of it. Right. The nice thing with the hybrid, it does provide a really good, great vehicle. Also, we actually have it for the F150, so it just gives our customers that range of whatever they might be comfortable with. You mentioned earlier the range anxiety. If you're really that worried about range anxiety or if you're needing to tow more, haul more, a gas or a hybrid is a great solution too. Part of what we're trying to do with the F150 Lightning is to provide our customers with more landscape, more array for them to be able to choose from. And if the battery electric works for our customers because they love what electrification has to offer for them, then we want them to take that. If hybrid is what they want because they want to be able to kind of benefit both from the gas and the electric and use both, then that's a middle ground. And then gas is also great too for a lot of other reasons. We even have a diesel. So, you know, really trying to give our customers that range of choice so they can pick, you know, whatever best suits their lives.

You may perceive this as a real softball question.

Okay.

So I want you to control yourself and not go too crazy. Okay? You promised me.

Me, I promise.

Because this is a serious question. I'm almost afraid to ask you this question, but do you think that when all the dust settles that the F150 Lightning will be considered more important than the Tesla for the electrification of cars?

I mean, for me, I love my F150 Lightning. It's a great product. We're taking something that has been cherished by Americans and Canadians as well, North America as a whole, and taking that best selling product, that's that product that our customers are so passionate about and really putting evidence behind it that it can be tough and it can do what a truck is meant to do. So I think it's going to do a lot for electrification location. It's gonna help with the pivotal point that we're at in terms of EV adoption and trying to really get the core customer, American customers into and maybe even considering an ev, whereas they might not have been able to consider it before. And what Ford's doing with the Mach E, the commercial vehicle with E Transit and with Lightning and then down the road it's Explorer and you know, Aviator, that's all going to be helping the industry as a whole. Really kind of adopt EV and transition. And in a way, that inflection point for the industry.

I'll take that as a yes. I'll put my Linda hat on for a while. Okay. But I think that to this day, when you think of Tesla and electric cars, you think west coast liberal male venture capitalists, and I think that electric Ford 150 is going to make people's heads explode in the rest of the country at different levels of income, because it is so, so remarkable. Zero to 64 and a half seconds, 300 miles frunk. That holds two golf clubs, sets of clubs and. Okay, any. So I just fanboy there a little bit. Now I have to ask you this question, kind of the opposite question I asked before about great features. So one of the things that I notice in the Mustang, the Mach E, is that it has a wireless charger. Right. You just throw your phone in. In that console there, right?

Yeah.

Now I. I have an iPhone Pro Max. I have the biggest iPhone with a case on it, and it just barely can fit in that and make contact and charge wirelessly. So I want to know why something like that would occur, because it seems to me people knew the dimensions of an iPhone Pro Max, so why didn't they just make it a little bit bigger? Why did that get through all the QC and all the testing and then comes the guy and guy can't barely put my iPhone 12 there, there.

You got to get a smaller phone.

I knew I shouldn't ask that. Okay, okay. You getting all this, Bodie, like, holy cow. I mean, you have her so well trained. My God. I don't think she got a degree in engineering. I think she got a degree in marketing. But anyway, I digress. My last question about the 150, and this is a delicate qu. How tall are you?

I'm five three.

Okay. So pretty.

Pretty short.

Yeah. So I don't know. I might get in trouble for asking this question, but what are they gonna do, not listen to the podcast? One of the reasons why, when I met your PR people in Menlo park, that I was interested in interviewing you because I. I said to them, false. You got anybody at Ford? That's really interesting. Be a great story to interview. And your name was the first one. And what interested me is. So you're telling me that.

That.

A woman who came From China at 8 years old, Chinese, obviously, 5 foot 3, is the engineering manager of the Ford 150. That just did not compute in my brain. It's supposed to be 6 foot 4, 250 pound x tight end from the University of Michigan who's white and he's got a shotgun rack and he's towed his boat. And then here comes Linda, five foot three, Chinese. So you ever think about that?

I think that's what's great about Ford, right, Is that they didn't think about that when they put me in the job because I think they felt that I was the best candidate for the job. Whether it's the engineering or the management skills or the finance skills or whatever it is. And how I try to think of it myself is that I am just a, you know, an engineer and a management member that's trying to do something the best for our customers. And I have a great team behind me too that provides very different points of views and a lot of different lenses in terms of their background as well. Being able to take all of that and really apply that toward our product and really understand where our different customers could be coming from. Right. We have a very diverse set of customers as well. I actually drive an F150, so for me it's, it's, you know, I want to make sure whoever's designing it is taking my points into account too, not just the 6265 guy. So in a way we try to make sure we do that and whoever's in, you know, the different roles, we all work together to make sure that we're providing our customers with the best product ever, regardless of what we look like or who we might be.

I gotta tell you, so I've interviewed a hundred people for this podcast. I've interviewed, wearing other hats, hundreds of marketing people. But Linda is the person I say stays on message better than anybody I have ever met in my career. So you could not have higher form of praise about somebody staying on message. So now we're going to switch gears, we're going to talk about careers. Okay, so I, I, I may have to cut this answer too because I know what's going to come. But what is it like being a woman of color heading engineering for a truck of a company in Detroit? Is it no difference? Doesn't make a difference. You're just the kick ass person you are.

I'm not kick ass, but I try to do the best I can and honestly I just view myself as an engineer. I want to do the best we can for our customers. I really try not to think too much about all of my background that comes with me, but really trying to look forward and making sure that we provide the best solutions and the best product for our Customers. Because I know a lot of people depend on our products for their livelihoods and also just for their transportation as well as their recreation. So really trying to think about that, understanding our customers and providing them with that kind of customer focus that they really deserve.

Oh my God. Talk about on message.

Okay, that's just how I feel, Guy.

Okay. No, no, no, I appreciate even, even if you were lying, I appreciate it, but okay, so definitely not.

I grew up in Indiana. We don't lie.

Oh, yeah, about, about pants. Never mind. I won't go down that path. Okay.

I wear pants. I like pants.

No, not pants. Pence. P E, N, C E. You telling me he never lied in four years?

Oh, I don'. Not go down.

So what is your advice if there are parents or the person herself listening to this? So, you know, this is a young Linda Zhang sitting out there listening, say, God, she's so inspiring. What is your advice about STEM working in what I used to think of as a male dominated industry? What's your advice to the future Linda Zhangs of the world? World?

I think my advice to any young person is really just, you know, and actually anybody in general is just pursue what you love. If you love something and if you're passionate about that, then that's what you should pursue. Because at the end of the day, we spend a lot of time at work, so you should love it. And we have an infinite, we have a finite amount of time in this world. So you really want to spend that time doing something that you want to do and challenging yourself to be really the best you, whatever that you is.

And what happens if something you love is not economically viable?

I think there's, there's always ways to getting your dream, whatever it is. So there's, there's scholarships, there's lots of opportunities. But if you apply yourself and do the best that you can, I think the opportunities will present themselves.

And do you have any advice about girls in particular interested in Stan?

I have a daughter and I have a son. I treat them equally and that never really comes into play. I just tell them to do the best that they can and do things that they love. I think from that perspective, I try to really just treat them equally. I don't think of anyone as a girl or a boy and trying to define that because it doesn't matter. At the end of the day, we can all do really great things if we put our minds to it. And a lot of it is just focusing on what that is and not, not worrying so much about the noise around it.

How old are they?

Mine are 17 and 15. Yeah, they're. They're getting older. My. I've got a senior that's about to graduate and a sophomore in high school as well, so they're doing great. And I've tried to raise them the same way, and they both do a really great job.

And. Are you a tiger Mom? Were they taking violin at 3 and calculus at 5 and physics AP at pen and.

No. They were taking piano at one point, but they didn't love it, so we moved on. My daughter actually plays it now again. She kind of re. Re. Found a love for it, and then my kids do sports and a bunch of things, but they are. They are up in math and science for the most part, but that's because they're just kind of good at it, so. And they've done well in school and they've applied themselves there because I think, like me, they're curious about things and they're always trying to research things. My. My son's always got YouTube up. I'm. I'm sure you'll listen to this episode, too, so I hope so.

If you had a choice between the current mach E or 66 Mustang, which one would you take?

I would still take the Mach E. I love it. It just provides that new driving experience that's so much fun. That. That. That acceleration very similar to the lightning, as well as that quiet ride. And just the technology in it is great. I love my phone as a key. Being able to not worry about where my. Where my keys. Being able to get in my vehicle with my phone and take off. One last thing for me to carry.

I must say that with the Mach E, you kind of have three keys, Right? You have your phone, you have your key, and then you have the combination.

Yes.

So you.

You really got to be an idiot to get locked out of your car and not be able to use it.

Yeah, the backup code's really awesome. Definitely. For sure. And then the backup code to being able to start the vehicle is really cool, too. My daughter, for some reason, likes to use that a lot because, like, so her phone tends to die pretty often and because she's probably too connected in the world sometimes, but she often. I'll get the signal on my phone going, oh, your. Your backup code has been activated. I'm like, oh, somebody's coming home.

Two more questions. I know you. Why don't you just stick it to Germany and Italy and do a electric GT GT just go for it. Zero to 60 in two seconds.

Electric GT we're actually getting. We're getting that for Mach E. I think that's been announced.

No, no. GT like GT40. Not. Not.

Oh, go for it.

Go all the way. Just go for it. Okay.

Well Guy, you know what? Remember I said we. We're always open to new ideas. I will definitely take that back the team and get that on the list of things that we should look at for Guy. Just for Guy.

You might have thought that this episode is sponsored by Ford, but it's not. It's sponsored by the Remarkable tablet company.

The Remarkable Tablet company is all about helping you focus to do your best and deepest thinking. So Linda, how do you do do your best and deepest thinking and do not say it's by opening the console in the Ford 150. That's off the table. How do you do your best and deepest thinking?

I do my best and deepest thinking when I am relaxing with my family. Sometimes they're really great to bounce ideas off of. We do a lot of fun, fun things together. We travel, we play golf with COVID Recently we all really enjoyed being able to go out and get into the outside and still do something active with golf. So I find that that's a great opportunity for us as a family to connect and actually a great opportunity for me to kind of think through things and bounce ideas off of them. Whether it's personal or even work related. Like I bounce a lot of ideas off my family and that's not a bad way to go. We do a lot of that at work as bouncing ideas off each other and I feel that that common bond between our teams as well as our families really help us with again, provide the best self for our best self for. For the company as well as ourselves and our families.

So now I know why the franc holds two sets of clubs. It's because your family goes truth finally comes out.

Well, that doesn't definitely helps.

Yeah, but if either of your kids are a hockey goalie, then that would you have to put the hockey goalie bag in the front. That would be the test, right?

My son does play H and it fits, so.

Plus you want to keep all that stink stuff.

Oh my goodness. You are exactly right on that. And that frunk is so helpful when you want to keep those sports bags away from your nose. It definitely keeps it out of there. I completely agree.

I may have to reach out back to you for the Friends of Linda discount on a 4 to 150. It just boggles my mind and I know I argued against it in a sense, but zero to 60 in four and a half seconds in a truck, that just appeals to my stick it to the man kind of personality. So congratulations on such a great product and I hope this is one of the milestone events in the battle against climate change, because I really think it could be so.

Well, thank you, Guy. And yes, you can definitely reach out. I'm happy to give you a friends and family pen and hopefully you've got one of your. One of the reservations in already because I think you've probably heard our reservations are skyright high right now. So make sure you get your reservation.

And if you don't already, what, wait, friend of Linda? Doesn't move me up the list.

There's only so much I can do. We want to be fair to everyone.

Yeah, well, just be more fair to me. All right, Linda, I'll let you go. Thank you. I hope you I asked you questions that Car and Driver and Motor Trend and Road and Track doesn't ask you.

Let me say that as a marketer, I truly appreciate Linda's ability to take almost any question and any issue and spin it into something that's positive about Ford. That is a valuable skill. I'm Guy Kawasaki. This is remarkable, people. I want to thank Jeff Smith and Peg Fitzpatrick for another remarkable episode. I want to thank Alexis Nishimura for transcribing this episode and Allison Nismer for background research. And finally, I want to thank Jason Camp of Ford for getting me a Mustang Mach E to try before the interview. And Deborah Hoteling, also of Ford, for making the whole thing possible.

Until next time. Time.

Wear a mask, get vaccinated, wash your hands, Mahalo and aloha. This is remarkable, people.