Ford employees head for the test track

DEARBORN, Mich., Aug. 20 (UPI) -- Michigan automaker Ford Motor Co. is driving its own employees to the track -- offering them a chance to test drive unreleased cars, the company said.

The company initiated the "Drive One" program and has allowed 4,000 of its staff to head to its testing facility to take a spin in next year's Mustangs and Fusions, as well as electric-powered Rangers and hybrids without release dates, the Detroit Free Press reported.

Some employees have tested future Lincoln MKS cars with EcoBoost engines that combine gasoline injection and turbocharging. Ford has said the new engines provide 20 percent better fuel efficiency, the newspaper reported.

Layout engineer Jason Wesolowski told the Free Press he believed Michigan was "in a depression."

"I think people need to get excited about the future," he said.