WHEN MOTOR CITY MET ELECTRIC AVENUE

CALVIN FISHER VENTURED FROM THE ROADS OF MICHIGAN TO THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF THE NORTH AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL AUTO SHOW TO PURSUE WHAT'S CURRENT IN THE REALM OF THE AUTOMOBILE. EMPHASIS ON CURRENT.

IT WAS 11AM AND I WAS STANDING ON THE ASSEMBLY LINE at Ford's production plant. In Detroit, Michigan. Motor City itself, so imagine the irony that the vehicle I was witnessing being built was the F150 Lightning. In a country obsessed with V8 engines, I was at the centre of the nexus of the heart of it all, watching massive double cabs being born, but they were fully electric. Heresy!

AAG NOT REALLY-THE ENERGY off the factory staff and executives was equally electric, I attribute this to a phenomenal sense of pride. This wasn't an affront to the V8-this was an American mobility success story in the making and everyone at Ford was thrilled. We were introduced to the engineers tasked with fitting the front trunk (otherwise known as the Frunk). Their peers have dubbed them the Frunk Brothers, so naturally, I go "who's got the Frunk? You've got the Frunk!" Obviously they laugh, but then the one spins around and says "that's what Jimmy said!". And I go "who?" "Fallon!" they shout in reply. Sigh, he's always stealing my lines. Jokes aside, this factory matters to America, the Blue Oval matters-it's at the country's pulse. Above me is a bonnet lid signed by Joe Biden, and he'd be around two days later at the Detroit Motor Show to support this thriving car industry in the flesh. But not before I get the opportunity to drive a fully built F150 Lightning on the streets of Detroit.