Ford builds life-size Lego Explorer to promote new partnership with LEGOLAND Florida 10/04/2011
Ford recently decided to partner with LEGOLAND Florida as a marketing tool for their products as well as a way to teach driver safety. To generate interest and draw in visitors, Ford built a life-size Explorer entirely out of Legos that will be on display in front of the brand-new Ford Driving School for kids.
"Ford is excited to support the alliance between LEGOLAND Florida and the Southeast Ford dealers," said Tracy Magee, Ford's experimental marketing manager. "The LEGOLAND Florida Explorer and the Ford Driving School attraction are great opportunities to showcase our products and safety messages to families and visitors in a unique way."
The model of the new car took 22 designers more than 2,500 hours to complete using about 380,000 Legos, and it weights 2,654 pounds. The sculpture is based on the 2012 Explorer, which is one of the more fuel efficient new cars in its class, getting about 28 miles per gallon on the highway.
The model was unveiled at Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant and is traveling to the Florida theme park in a transparent trailer so people can catch a glimpse of the life-size model on the highway.
LEGOLAND is meant for kids, but now it offers something new and unique for them to do. The Ford Driving School teaches kids as young as three years old the basics of driving and safety before letting them tool around slow electric vehicles (the cars max out at 3 mph) on a closed and carefully monitored course. When they complete the course they get a special Ford Driving School certificate to take home.