Flood-damaged Mustangs are a nightmare for Ford, but make wishes come true for schools

No one can imagine celebrating the total loss of brand new 2024 Ford Mustangs damaged by floodwaters — vehicles that sell for $40,000 or more that never even make it to the showroom floor.

But sometimes, behind the scenes, people do celebrate what comes next.

Instead of sending new cars ruined by a storm to the scrapyard, Ford coordinated with metro Detroit Ford dealers to ship them for use in shop classes in southeast Michigan to train future auto technicians. This is all part of a bigger campaign to get newer cars into the hands of young students in what used to be called shop class.

"We got these Mustangs out of the New Boston railyard after it was flooded by a storm," said Mike McLean, 35, of Canton, the market area coordinator at Ford. "We had dealers all over the country ready to take delivery to help dry them out, clean them up and work with schools. Since September, we've donated more than 300 vehicles nationally."

This isn't a one-time deal.

It's part of a bigger program where Ford gets vehicles damaged by hurricanes, tornadoes, hailstorms and even theft recoveries. The company totals the vehicles as a loss and retitles them to the schools for teaching. Salvaged vehicles have included Ford F-150 pickups, Transit vans, Super Duty trucks, Escapes as well as Lincoln Aviators and Explorers.

"We work with the vehicle logistics team. Many of these are damaged in transit," McLean said. "Our legal team creates the paperwork to make sure the vehicles can never be put back on the road. They're titled to the schools as scrap."

The flooding in New Boston was ugly.

Overall, Ford cars, trucks, SUVs and vans have ended up at schools from Maine to Florida, and as far as California and Hawaii, McLean said. "Previously, we worked with LKQ, a scrap vehicle parts supplier, to dispose and dismantle the vehicles."

GM, others getting in on the action

Ford is not alone in providing vehicles to schools for teaching. General Motors and Stellantis, which builds Jeep, Ram, Dodge and Chrysler brands, also confirmed to the Detroit Free Press that they ship vehicles to schools, too. It's part of a national effort to find ways to improve teaching opportunities during a time when the demand for techs is higher than ever.

GM has donated more than 250 newer model vehicles along with engines, components and tools to schools, said GM spokesman Jim Cain. And Stellantis lends hundreds of its buyback vehicles to technical and community colleges each year to help train students, said Stellantis spokesman Dan Reid.

"The stars need to align"

Rocky Roberts, 41, of Whitmore Lake, teaches auto service repair classes at Washtenaw Community College in Ann Arbor as co-chair of the Transportation Technologies Department. And he said he used the new Mustangs to teach heating and air conditioning repair to students already this year.

"The No. 1 teaching tool is a car," Roberts said. "And it's so incredibly difficult to get cars from manufacturers. GM and Ford and Chrysler have these huge laundry lists of schools and programs that want vehicles. You can get on a list, but you might not see a vehicle for forever. The stars need to align."

Dozens of people throughout communities small and large all over America are working with automakers, schools and students to try and bring it all together.

The programs are targeted at students such as Dylan Spencer, 18, of Ypsilanti, who earned his credits needed to work as a tech at Gene Butman Ford after graduating Milan High School. His mother works for a vendor at Walmart and his father is a siding contractor. Spencer helped clean the damaged Mustangs to prep them for students.

"I went through two years of auto tech at Saline High School," he said. "I've grown up and lived on a farm all my life. I grew up helping my grandpa work on tractors. This program helps you get your foot in the door. I got my job through the auto program. After my internship, they hired me outright."

Farm kids play a key role now

Tom Butman, 37, general manager of Butman Ford in Ypsilanti, is the next family member running things since the operation started in 1957. The whole training program these days is collaborative, he said. Butman feels an especially strong connection to the program because he started in the service department while earning his degree at Northwood University in Midland.

"After work, I'd go to night classes at Washtenaw Community College," Butman said. "At that time, I learned how to work on engines, transmission, HVAC systems, braking and suspension components."

Kids from farm backgrounds are especially good at auto technician roles, he said, because they understand farm equipment, mowers, all of it. Few people realize that Henry Ford was once very big in tractor sales, so the alliance comes naturally, Butman said.

Dan Retherford, 49, of South Lyon, is the service manager at Butman Ford who has worked for decades to build and grow his team of mechanics and technicians with help from the community, the company and teachers.

"If you have these skill sets, you can have a very successful career and it can be very financially rewarding," he said. "I can go in to work at midnight and go home at 10 p.m. tomorrow and it won't make too much of a difference. But as an auto tech, based on how your compensation package works, if you get there early and stay late and bust your hump and you're good, you can have direct control of your income."

Getting rid of auto shop in high schools needs to be reconsidered, Retherford said. "Somewhere along the way, things changed and we just decided everyone was going to get a four-year college degree. These trades are such an opportunity for so many kids. We're at an inflection point."

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Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-618-1034 or phoward@freepress.com. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @phoebesaid. Read more on Ford and sign up for our autos newsletter.