PHOTOS: Employee Pride Shines at WHQ Cars and Coffee

The chilly, mid-40s weather didn’t stop Ron Gosciniak and other Mustang owners from dropping the top for Cars and Coffee at Ford’s World Headquarters on Saturday, May 3. Gosciniak, who works in prototype parts management, was one of more than 300 people who brought vehicles to display for the more than 1,500 event attendees.

Mustangs, including Gosciniak’s heavily modified Chrome Yellow 1998 Mustang Cobra convertible, were the predominate vehicle on display, though Broncos, Thunderbirds, and other Ford-built classics were accounted for in the aisles. 

“I’m honored that Ford put this on, and if they do it again, I’ll have my Mustang club down here,” Gosciniak said. “A lot of cars I’ve seen before at different events, but not all collectively in one place like this.” 

Not far from Gosciniak’s parking space was an exhibit featuring a selection of vehicles from the recently announced Ford Heritage Fleet, a curated collection of nearly 500 vehicles globally  showcasing the company’s legacy. Gosciniak enjoyed seeing the Ford GTs that were part of the display – he worked on the HVAC vents for the prototype program. He said Ford can use learnings from vehicles in the fleet to help track customer trends. 

Jeff Waraniak, from strategic communications, called the event, which was also open to the public, “fantastic.” 

“It’s super cool to see so many folks of all kinds of different ages coming out, showcasing our products, and it’s super cool to see new and old coming together,” he said. “Ford does a great job of embracing the car community.”

Ford Heritage and Brand Manager Ted Ryan also saw the event as a way to get more employees and the public to engage with the Heritage Fleet. 

“The thing I’ve loved is inside the garage where people are seeing the concepts,” he said. “Just everybody's stopping and taking pictures. That's why we do this – we’re car people.”