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    fnsfsnrHamilton Nolan
    6/30/14 10:54am

    Ford is undoubtedly not concerned about the environment and its mission, like that of every for-profit corporation, is to make money. But you know what - many of those people living in sub-standard conditions in Detroit would be thrilled if you bought a car from Ford and helped encourage job growth in their area. Even this conference, as lame as it may have been, brought money to the town, and Ford deserves at least some credit for not just moving it to Vegas. Shitting all over Ford is pretty much what I expect from Gawker, but how exactly does it help the average person trying to get by in Detroit?

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      Hamilton Nolanfnsfsnr
      6/30/14 10:58am

      I assure you that this conference had absolutely nothing to do with helping "the average person trying to get by in Detroit."

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      HiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiyahHamilton Nolan
      6/30/14 11:41am

      To be specific - the intent is not to help the average person in Detroit, but the result does help the average person in Detroit.

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    RussianistHamilton Nolan
    6/30/14 10:39am

    HamNo, I don't think this conference was for you or for any other Gawker writer. You guys know what BigData is, that there's a global water crisis, and (Kinja aside) what good design is. You also know that Ford is only interested in these things insofar as they can add to the company's bottom line.

    Just because you're invited to the rube-fest doesn't mean you have to accept. It's not like it was in Maui.

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      FirstTimeListnerRussianist
      6/30/14 10:42am

      Detroit is rebuilding itself though and has actually attracted some pretty good business lately

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      RussianistFirstTimeListner
      6/30/14 10:44am

      Detroit still isn't a major tourist destination — they're doing their best under extremely trying circumstances, but it's not going to attract conferences like Maui or another resort destination does. According to the article, though, the conference attendees didn't get to see much of the city in any case. Which is a shame, because there are interesting stories to be seen in the attempt to re-build what was once a major American urban centre.

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    UltrakillHamilton Nolan
    6/30/14 11:03am

    Hamilton Nolan, I don't know you, but you sound like a pussy. Ford is paying for your visit, your meals, your hotel etc. And you expect a free 2-days where you can do whatever the hell you want?

    Of course you have to attend conference sessions, FORD is not gonna pay you to take vacation. 7:30 AM is late for those of us who actually have real jobs.

    Get over yourself.

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      SoloburritoUltrakill
      6/30/14 11:13am

      When Jalopnik commenters and Gawker collide!

      GIF
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      Max CherryUltrakill
      6/30/14 2:11pm

      Yeah, you typically start your internet trolling at 6.

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    Hit Bull Win SteakHamilton Nolan
    6/30/14 12:12pm

    To be fair, you don't get the "real Detroit experience" until Bob Seger offers you sex for a low sum of money behind the American Coney Island.

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      Max CherryHit Bull Win Steak
      6/30/14 2:07pm

      We've got tonight.

      ...oh, come on. Seger's doing great. He toured as recently as last year.

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      Max CherryHit Bull Win Steak
      6/30/14 2:35pm

      Seger humming while holding a deep voice at the end of Against The Wind is one of Rock N Roll's greatest moments.

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    TypoTechHamilton Nolan
    6/30/14 11:16am

    The day before I went to Detroit, the city imposed a curfew due to fears of violence. The city was also in the process of shutting off water to thousands of its residents. It sounds bad. But as long as you stay inside a sealed corporate bubble the whole time, you'll never even know these problems exist.

    ...

    We were not required to set a single foot on the polluted Detroit earth.

    Were you ever actually in Detroit? You make it sound like you were going to get shot stepping outside your swank hotel in Romulus and feared for your life going to Dearborn via corporate buses.

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      cepalgTypoTech
      6/30/14 12:04pm

      the joke underlying the whole article is, in fact, that Ford was so afraid of what would happen if reporters left their hotels that they structured the schedule such that this could not happen.

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      fnsfsnrcepalg
      6/30/14 12:19pm

      Not really. I'm a former trade reporter who has gone to corporate events like this on a number of occasions. The company has paid a lot of money for the press to be there and wants them focused on soaking in "messaging" the whole time so it's completely commonplace for everyone to be sequestered in a remote hotel with zero time allotted for exploring the city. When I went to a Microsoft event, I never left Redmond (and barely stepped foot outside the Microsoft campus), and when I went to a conference in Beijing, I spent 90% of the time in a hotel near the airport that could have been in downtown LA. In Beijing particularly I definitely had that same feeling of being in a corporate "bubble" since I knew the city outside was very different than the one we are seeing, but this is the nature of business travel.

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    Turbolence88 Loves Spinning DoritosHamilton Nolan
    6/30/14 10:59am

    Held against your will, forced to listen to people babble about numbers and "trends," inside a walled garden that completely ignores the outside world or even its other departments, pushing products on you that you don't want nor care for...

    Glad to see the dealer experience is replicated even at HQ.

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      In a Mini; let them mock me as My Mini Countryman is higher than youHamilton Nolan
      6/30/14 10:33am

      I assume you rode your locally welded fixie unicycle to this event?

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        KinglyCitrusIn a Mini; let them mock me as My Mini Countryman is higher than you
        6/30/14 10:46am

        I assume you're a big fucking douchebag? Yes you are! Yes you are!

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        QuasistellarKinglyCitrus
        6/30/14 11:21am

        man, did someone put another gear on your fixie? You seem upset.

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      BrtStlndHamilton Nolan
      6/30/14 10:53am

      That's it, Trudy, we're moving to Detroit.

      GIF
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        TRUMP DELENDUS EST (fka Chatham Harrison)Hamilton Nolan
        6/30/14 6:00pm

        Welcome to auto journalism? Jalopnik is one of the few auto sites that fails to swallow this shit hook, line and sinker, but it's a totally normal event in this industry. It's nice to see an outsider give it some real criticism, as Jalopnik already pisses the industry off enough with things like its refusal to abide by embargoes.

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          $kaycogHamilton Nolan
          6/30/14 10:54am
          GIF

          To: Mr. Nolan

          From: Ford Fan

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            thisisamazonman$kaycog
            6/30/14 11:22am

            Ah $kay, never change.

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            $kaycogthisisamazonman
            6/30/14 11:28am

            I probably never will. ;D

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