New Ford Rotunda going up

50,000-square-foot high-tech center in Dearborn to offer a 'virtual' auto plant tour to visitors

By R.J. King / The Detroit News

Ford Motor Co. will build a modern version of its famed Rotunda in hopes of creating a major attraction for automotive tourists, complete with a "virtual," seat-thumping ride through an assembly plant and on a test track.

Called Spirit of Ford, the 50,000-square-foot center in Dearborn will offer visitors a behind-the-scenes look at how the automaker designs, engineers, tests and produces its cars and trucks.Construction will begin in December of 1997, with an expected opening in the spring of 1999, Ford said. The cost will be under $25 million. It will become part of a growing tourism campus that includes Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village, Automotive Hall of Fame and Henry Ford's Fairlane Estate. Visitors will be able to buy a combination ticket to see all the attractions.

It's the first automotive exhibit of its kind since Ford's Rotunda, a popular product display center, burned down in 1962. "Spirit of Ford is the kickoff to our 100th anniversary (in 2003)," said Annette Wisne Green, Ford's corporate history manager. "This will be a high-tech, interactive attraction, which will tell the story of our past, present and future." Wisne Green, who researched several entertainment attractions for the new facility, including Disney World and Nike Town, likened the virtual plant tour to the Back to the Future ride at Universal Studios in Orlando. "After going into a theater and sitting down in front of a screen, you become an automobile going down the assembly line with sparks flying," she said. "Your seat moves as a robot works on the car, and when the car is done, you go out on a test track and feel the curves and bumps in the road. It will be great fun."

The center will be directly across Village Road from Henry Ford Museum. Spirit of Ford ticket prices are expected to cost between $5 and $6 for adults. No price has been set for the combination ticket. The building will resemble the Rotunda in its elliptic shape and will have Ford's blue logo painted on the roof.

Other features:

Design Studio: Designers will detail how cars and trucks are sculpted using clay models and computers. Guests will be able to design their own car model on a computer.

Engineering: Presentations will explain such issues as safety, environment and ergonomics, followed by a testing area with a wind tunnel.

Spirit of Ford Theater: A 105-seat theater will offer a 10-minute film presentation of the automaker's past, present and future.

Display Area: A range of Ford cars will be exhibited in the center of the complex, complemented by an 8-by-60-foot video screen.

"By designing the facility in a ellipse, people will be free to move around without waiting in long lines," said Richard Black, principal with Hobbs and Black Associates Inc. in Ann Arbor, which designed the Spirit of Ford and the newly opened Automotive Hall of Fame next to the Henry Ford Museum.

Ford also hired Busch Creative Services, which designed several Sea World venues and Busch Gardens in Tampa, Fla. "We feel the area will be one of the greatest and largest draws in the state," said Steve Hamp, president of Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Museum. "With all these venues, people will have what a I call a thickened experience of the entire history of Ford, the automobile industry and related industries." Dearborn hopes to eventually draw the Mustang Museum and is on the final list of 10 sites. An announcement is expected shortly.

"We're very excited about the Spirit of Ford," Dearborn Mayor Michael Guido said. "It reminds me of the days of the old Rotunda when Ford showcased their products in a neat, conceptual way. "It also positions Dearborn as one of Michigan's top tourist attractions." Dearborn officials expect the automotive theme of its attractions to attract visitors from around the world. Global tourism industry revenues are expected to skyrocket to $621 billion at century's end and $1.5 trillion in the year 2010 -- from $373 billion in 1995, according to the World Tourism Organization. "Henry Ford Museum and Greenfield Village are already a major anchor for tourism in Michigan," said Richard Czupa, Michigan's director of tourism. "Now you're seeing product develop around the anchor to further entice tourists. "We've been encouraging the automakers to offer more attractions because people have a fascination with the manufacturing process. Dearborn continues to be a place that gives families a fun way to enjoy themselves, and they will draw more people from outside of the state."

Plans for the auto-oriented tourist don't end with Ford. General Motors Corp. plans an interactive car museum at the Renaissance Center called GM Heritage while Chrysler Corp. is planning a historical museum at its headquarters in Auburn Hills.