Talk:Ford Proving Grounds

Name Change Proposal

When I originally created this page, I neglected to imagine expanding on any other proving grounds in the Ford realm (to which there are more).

So on a recommendation, I was asked to discuss a name change on the Talk page of Ford Proving Grounds to discuss a general name change to the Arizona Proving Grounds (Ford) or Ford Motor Company - Arizona Proving Grounds. This would allow to keep a naming convention if the need or want ever to arise.

Ultimately they would in turn be linked to a master page, i.e. Ford Proving Grounds to provide a general overview and basic information about that company’s locations. If the reader would like more specific information about a particular site ? Then they would be able to click on a link to that specific site.--LSX 04:42, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

I think that's a good idea, but be sure to create a disambiguation page as you rename this page. But also consider that articles should be of a certain length in order to be justified. It depends on how much data there is for the Ford Proving Grounds. Since the article is relively small as of this moment it is probably best to keep the current title and add to the stub. As more and more data becomes available the Ford Proving Grounds article could be turned into a disambigation page linking to the article for each for the Ford Proving Grounds. Thanks. Regards, Signature^brendel 05:06, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

The official name of the place originally under the "Ford Proving Grounds" article banner is Arizona Proving Ground or "APG", in Yucca. But Ford acquired a second Arizona Proving Ground from Volvo, located northwest of Phoenix, referred to as "VAPG". In Michigan, there is a Michigan Proving Ground (MPG) in Romeo (north of Detroit), and Dearborn Proving Ground (DPG) which has since been renamed Dearborn Development Center (DDC). There was also a Florida Evaluation Center (FEC), and Ford operates test facilities near Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, Thompson, Manitoba, and other locations up north for cold weather testing. Some of these test sites have been officially "closed" in terms of full time operations, but may still get some testing traffic as needs arise. I'll assemble some more details on the separate sites when I get a chance. --T-dot 09:19, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

Rather than set up separate pages with short articles on each of Ford's several Proving Ground - I recommend leaving the Title of this page as is, and adding separate sections for each named facility. I have started to restructure the main article to reflect that. --T-dot 11:35, 6 April 2006 (UTC)

T-dot, the closest testing facility to Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, is in the town of Bemidji, Michigan. This facility is no longer owned by Ford. It was transferred to Smithers Scientific. Ford left that site due to inconsistences in the weather. LSX 00:38, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

I found a document on media.ford.com Link that gives preliminary information most of Ford's Testing facilities. It look to be a bit out of date (although no date information). I'll try to get some more information later tonight. LSX 01:12, 7 April 2006 (UTC)

Removed the link to Iowa State University Formula SAE team. Comes across as a shameless plug for Iowa State, when there are hundreds of other school participating in FSAE. -DivinityMachina

New Topic

Unless anyone disagress I think that there should be some organization to the article etiher by continent or by Sub Manufacturer (Ie. Volvo , Mazda ).

By continent I think would be easier. LSX 18:48, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

Media Release

Here's a PR summary of FPGs around the world: http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=834

Greglocock 22:58, 7 September 2006 (UTC)