An online troll seems to have inspired a Pride tradition at Ford Motor Co.
Rather than recoil from comments intended to blast Ford while demeaning the LGBTQ community, the automaker has instead gone all-in to show the world that not only are slurs not going to be tolerated but the company will aggressively work to show it’s supportive of all people regardless of sexual orientation or identity.
As a result, Ford has created a one-of-a-kind Ford Pride Bronco Wildtrak with rainbow colors and a unique exterior gold glitter wrap in honor of Pride Month. It was completed in time to join the Memphis Pride Fest 2022 in Tennessee on Saturday afternoon and the Motor City Pride Parade in Detroit on Sunday, June 12.
The Free Press was told the vehicle is not for sale.
Why Tennessee
Ford announced its plans last year to build electric trucks and batteries in Tennessee, and the company has worked to engage the region in various local projects since then.
“Bronco is bold, proud and tough, and it’s built for everyone,” Bill Peters, Ford Pride chair and Ford integration product lead, said in a statement. “With BlueOval City just an hour away, Memphis is the perfect place to debut this Bronco and show folks in Tennessee that Ford is an inclusive company that strives to make sure everyone feels welcome.”
This latest Pride endeavor comes on the heels of last year’s “Very Gay Ranger Raptor” in Europe and was “developed to showcase the automaker’s culture of inclusiveness and continued support of the LGBTQ+ community,” Ford said.
In fact, it was created in response to a troll.
Ford Europe tweeted a video, after unveiling its blue Ford Ranger Raptor, that one online comment “stopped us in our tracks.” And the company bristled with the social media poster wrote, “Well, that’s a cool car! — But that blue color is very Gay!! Hey Ford! Paint it in BlackNGold or camo!”
The company offered an alternative but it wasn’t BackNGold or camo.
“What happened next was a masterclass in shutting down homophobic trolls,” wrote The Advocate in August 2021.
Ford of Europe instead tweeted a video of a “Very Gay Raptor” with rainbows and gold glitter, making clear Ford stands up to discriminatory speech as an LGBTQ ally.
This year, the Ford Pride team in Dearborn felt it needed to step up and created the Ford Pride Bronco.
Eric Mutrynowski, 38, a global market retail strategist from Ann Arbor and member of the Ford Pride team, told the Free Press on Friday that the company sent three people from Dearborn to support the Ford team in Tennessee.
Having Ford participate in the parade, he said, is creative representation of the community. “It’s celebrating how far we have come … it’s also recognizing all of the hate and discrimination that’s still out there that we still have to overcome.”
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It’s important for companies to show up to show support for LGBTQ customers and employees, said Mutrynowski, who has worked at Ford for seven years. “One of Ford’s truths is, ‘Treat customers like family.’ … We are here and supportive.”
Even just having a Pride Team at Ford has created a safe working space that allows people to focus on their job and not stress about conflict despite where they are on their personal journey, he said. “We want to make sure everyone can bring their true and authentic selves to work.”
While Mutrynowski doesn’t cannot attend the Memphis event, he does plan to participate in the Detroit event, which will begin downtown at Griswold and Fort streets and travel down Griswold to Jefferson and end at the Hart Plaza festival site.
As a gay man, he said he feels Pride events publicly reinforce support for people in our workplaces and throughout our communities. “It’s really just being authentic to who you are.”
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Contact Phoebe Wall Howard at313-618-1034 orphoward@freepress.com.Follow her on Twitter@phoebesaid. Read more on Ford and sign up for our autos newsletter.