I am Jackie DiMarco, Chief Engineer for the Ford F-150 -- America's best-selling vehicle for 36 years -- AMA

Ford killed the Ranger claiming the small truck market dried up, but Toyota continues to sell buttloads of Tacomas. Why not try to push to innovate in the market yourselves? I think you'd be surprised how much demand there is out there for the first company that makes a compelling smaller truck with a diesel engine that gets 30mpg highway. I'd sell my GTI for that, no joke.

We’re investing in F-Series because the small truck segment has steadily shrunk from almost 8 percent of total industry sales in 1994 to 1.9 percent of industry sales in 2012, plus F-150 3.7-liter V6 gets better fuel economy than today’s midsize V6 trucks.

Why do you people keep asking her questions? I can literally answer questions for her - just copy and paste from Ford marketing material, word for word.

Edit: Sorry, I meant her.

Just FYI, I'm a her.

tall person here: Why the hell doesnt the driver's seat go further back in all vehicles?

EDIT: I am 6'8" and i drive a 2003 Ford Expedition, and I wish the seat in that went back another 3-4 inches.

We design our cars to be comfortable for everyone from a 5th percentile female to a 95th percentile male. Unfortunately, you're above the 95th... I wish I had a better answer for you.

Jackie, I am a student in automotive engineering. I have wanted to work for Ford since I was 8 years old.

What advice do you have to help me get my foot in the door as far as working for Ford once I graduate? Any inside secrets to give me an advantage over others?

Thanks for the AMA!

I'm so glad to hear you're passionate about automotive engineering! My advice to you: keep your grades up, get involved in student projects like Formula SAE, and pursue internships to get some real world experience. These are all things I did when I was a student that helped me get my foot in the door at Ford.

The Ford Careers site has information about internships and our Ford College Graduates program: http://corporate.ford.com/careers/careers-news-detail/careers-ford-college-graduate-programs?&ccode=US

Do you work in Dearborn? If so, favorite place to get Schawarma?

Yes - usually LaPita.

[deleted]

Mine was my grandmother's hand-me-down 1976 Buick LeSabre -- it was yellow and we called it the Banana Boat.

When can we expect a TRULY revolutionize vehicle? When can we start buying levitating Fords?:?

I have seen a Raptor go airborne.

Die hard Ford fan here. I think you and the rest of your design team are doing an awesome job!

What made you got with a turbocharged, DI, gas-powered engine over a small diesel engine in the F-150? A lot of my fellow diesel enthusiasts were hoping for a diesel engine but are VERY impressed with the Eco-Boost

Thanks! The EcoBoost allows you to get many of the attributes that diesels provide such as 90% of peak torque over a broad range (1700-5000 RPM). This allows customers who like gas engines to stick with gas engines and doesn't require the heavy and expensive diesel after-treatment technologies.

Big Ford fan here, I love my 03 F150!

Now, my question. The Raptor has been out for a few years now, why haven't GM or Chrysler come up with anything similar? And will there be a second generation Raptor?

Glad to hear you love your F-150! The Raptor has been a great success for us and our customers love it too -- we can't speak to our competitors' choices. The Raptor's segment is really important to us so we will remain committed to delivering the best for those customers.

Do you personally own an F-150? Own any cars other than Fords?

I've only owned Fords. I've owned several F-150s in the past, but the nice thing about my job is I can take one home whenever I want. Right now I'm driving a new 2013 Fusion Titanium.

Thanks for doing this AMA. How are things with the Ford Atlas coming along? I do hope the concept and released version design does not change much. I was very impressed with the new updated look.

I had a Ford Expedition for 10 years and drove it 288,000 miles before I got a newer Ford Expedition.

We're thrilled with the response to the Atlas concept and our product team continues to listen to the feedback from people like you. Thanks so much for being a Ford Expedition owner - I work on that one too! Hope you'll get 300,000 miles out of the new one as well.

Thanks for keeping Dennis Leary employed, but I have to ask: why do your commercials all pretend that the people who buy trucks are all construction workers, when in reality most truck drivers are just buying into the "truck driver lifestyle"?

We have a wide range of customers and a wide range of vehicles to meet their needs from a base XL work truck to a premium Limited offering. Although not all of our customers are construction workers, they appreciate the "built Ford tough" capability of the truck and the fact that it can handle anything the construction worker throws at it.

This gives any customer confidence that their truck has capability for personal use (towing boats, motorcycles, etc).

What's your favorite vehicle to drive?

Depends if I'm in the mood for a Raptor or a Boss 302!

A topic I can get behind! How much creative direction do you have with new models (from the past, too)? I understand size and weight specs must remain similar, but as far as aesthetics, is it a small/large team that create the majority of the vehicle design and as the chief engineer is your input necessary before or after conceptual ideas?

Thanks again for doing this AMA!

Edit: Speeling

Thanks for your question. We have a very talented design studio team who is the brains and creativity behind the vehicle aesthetics. The team is quite large and my job is to integrate the vision of the designers with the functional requirements of the vehicle (size, weight, aerodynamics, driving dynamics, etc).

Where did you go to school, and what did you take in high school if you can remember. Love the truck

I grew up in Youngstown and I went to Ohio State for college. As far as high school courses, I definitely took the highest level math I could as well as physics, chemistry, etc. I also did speech team (similar to debate) and I think it's great for anyone pursuing a professional career to have that experience.

Hey, thanks for doing this AMA! What are your opinions on the suicide doors in older models?

Our customers tell us they love the rear opening doors on F-150 because they provide unobstructed access when loading items in the back of the cab.

Awesome AMA!

As an engineer, how do you prioritize certain vehicle features over others? For example, horsepower versus fuel economy? Do you have outside sources tell the engineering team what the marketplace has the highest demand for?

It's a combination of things: we take tons of data from our customers and run face to face research clinics on a regular basis, we also look at external publications like JD Power, Consumer Reports, and Truck Trend. In addition, we benchmark competition, and we use a little bit of gut feeling.

How did you get to where you are professionally? Have you worked for Ford since graduating?

I gave a little background earlier: http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1cxt54/i_am_jackie_dimarco_chief_engineer_for_the_ford/c9kzu93

But yes, I've been at Ford since I graduated in 1996.