Ford shows off a treasure trove of rarely seen vehicles to a select few at its Michigan headquarters

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — A select few are getting the chance to set their gaze on a slew of rarely seen Ford vehicles at the automaker's Michigan headquarters.

About 50 cars and trucks that are part of Ford Motor Co.'s Heritage Fleet are on display in Dearborn. Some employees checked them out Tuesday, and the media got a look Wednesday. And next month, they'll be available for viewing as part of "Bring Your Child to Work Day."

“I’m so excited to be able to share these vehicles, because every one of these vehicles throughout this room are here because somebody, a passionate Ford employee, worked to have it preserved, worked to have it saved,” said Ted Ryan, Ford’s Heritage brand manager.

Ford has existing Heritage Fleets in the U.K., Germany and Australia. Over a year ago, company CEO Jim Farley charged Ryan with curating a U.S.-based collection. The American fleet now is 175 vehicles strong, with about 30% of it on display at the world headquarters.

Some highlights include a series of Mustang performance vehicles, a 1938 V-8 Ambulance and a 2003 Model T-100 that is a replica of a 1914 Model T.

“This is the first time all of these vehicles have been assembled and shown like that,” Ryan said.

But he said there's a rationale to showing off the historic vehicles that goes beyond the “wow” factor.

“These vehicles aren’t here just to be a museum. These vehicles have a business purpose. They’re used by engineers. They’re used by our product development team. They’re used by our communications group. And every one of them has to have a reason that drives the business forward,” Ryan said.

“Because we’re looking forward by looking back.”