I went to the LA auto show the other day to give Ford their award for the Raptor winning our 2010 4x4 of the Year award. Being a dirt head truck guy with grease under my nails you can probably imagine how uncomfortable I was decked out in my suit and special occasion shoes, but duty calls so I dug it out of the closet for the yearly donning of coat and tie.
Receiving the award was Jost Capito the Director of Global Performance Vehicles and Motorsports Business Development for Ford. As I expected he was also wearing a suit, but I quickly learned that though a man of importance over at the blue oval he is also an avid off roader. He has even raced a giant Unimog race truck in the Dakar desert race in Africa! On top of that his father co-raced with him so he's apparently from a family of off-roaders! It became apparent that the off road industry is alive and strong at Ford, and with guys like Jost leading the way it should only get better. We didn't discuss suits, but I'd wager he was just as uncomfortable as I was.