Detroit Auto Show shows how to back drivers wherever they go

By Dell Deaton
Contributing Writer
Discussion of “urgent care” for cars in need while out and about may initially strike many attendees as taboo for any Detroit Auto Show.
But Ford Motor Company has leaned into that reality with its “Mobile Service Units.” Ford’s Customer Service and Performance Director Todd Rabourn led with that offering during the first hours of media previews on Jan. 14.
“We’re competing with everybody’s last, best experience,” Rabourn told WJR.
It’s a sense reflected throughout the show.
Largely gone is the glitz and theater atmosphere from a bygone time when this expo building went by the name Cobo Center. “Prove yourself to me!” might better apply as catch-phrase presently.
For 2026, that means driving-track setups occupying a quarter of the main floor space.
Additionally, Jeep and Bronco models have returned with their own captive courses to challenge their metal in action with some attendees behind the wheels.
So — was it mere coincidence that access to the “Bronco: Built Wild Experience” attraction entry queued past a fully complemented Mobile Service van?
Experience Director Rabourn simply smiled at this opening question from the Independent for a one-on-one in the Ford booth.
“Mobile Service can extend the customer relationship to where the customer wants to go, as customers extend their reach in their vehicles,” he then said.
Service vans are currently priced somewhere between $110,000 and $140,000 for dealership purchase, complete. He added: “Sixty percent of what we do main-shop can be done by Mobile Service right now.” Notably, configurations do not differ by destination: Trucks out on calls in the Motor City in the wake of a five-inch snowfall between media preview days are effectively the same as those committed to the environmental (and regulatory) climate of Los Angeles.
Pilot program rollout began in 2019, then scaled-up the following year. Currently, 43,000 Mobile Service vehicles are deployed across the United States.
One of them has been operating in Van Buren Township for the past three years, at Atchinson Ford.
Dealership owner Craig Atchinson spoke separately with the Independent from a local perspective.
“Here in Michigan, it’s been building-up more quickly outside of Detroit. Growth came with awareness, and built on need for accessibility: In Brighton, Fenton –where the dealers are more spread-out. Now it’s what customers expect.”
He made a significant investment last year in ramping-up technicians. A degree of specialized training is needed to ensure consistency between the same repair and service work done on-location versus at any dealership.
“This is my breakout year” for Mobile Service, Atchinson said.
Regardless of any stated corporate intent, an increasingly dominant aspect of the annual ritual at Huntington Place clearly speaks to upping the ante for all drivers, and in particular a segment of owners who want to venture out less bridled. The market value of following them is being recognized.
The 2026 Detroit Auto Show is currently open to the public, and runs through this coming Sunday, Jan. 25. Tickets can be purchased online or on-site.