By SARAH A. WEBSTER
Detroit Free Press
DEARBORN, Mich. -- Last fall, Tom Colaluca, a nimble 40-year-old auto worker, climbed high atop a scaffolding in the old Dearborn Glass Plant, one of the many historic buildings that dot the sprawling Rouge Complex in Dearborn.
Then, the skilled tradesman -- an expert in pipefitting, steamfitting, plumbing and the like -- began to paint, one truck after another, on a large expanse of white space.
Over the next seven or so weeks, Colaluca, a former student at Detroit's College for Creative Studies, painted a mural that celebrated the history of the F-Series truck and the many different models of the truck that have sustained Ford and its work force over the years.
His lithograph-like series ended with the new 2009 F-150, which Ford is to launch at the Dearborn Truck Plant later this year.
But Colaluca's mural wasn't just a tribute to Ford's truck.
In many ways, it was also a tribute to his family's long legacy at Ford, which has enabled four generations of his family, immigrants from Italy and Poland, to achieve the American Dream.
"I'm fourth generation here, from two separate sides of my family," explained Colaluca, a father of two himself.
"My great-grandfathers came from overseas, and that's how they made their living and were able to make their way, through their tough times, to prosper. ... I'm proud to be here."
At the Dearborn Truck Plant at the Rouge, auto workers like Colaluca, who measure their relationship at Ford in generations, are hunkering down and preparing to launch the new F-150, which is critical for the future of the company and the larger Ford family.
The F-Series truck is Ford's best-selling model -- representing more than a fourth of the company's total sales -- and it has also been the best-selling truck line in America for 31 years.
The redesigned F-150, the most popular F-Series model, will offer an all-new exterior and interior design, as well as industry-exclusive features such as a hideaway tailgate and side-box step.
Ford will also offer the truck with Sync, its wireless communications and entertainment technology, and Ford Works, an exclusive suite of software available on an in-dash computer that can track tools and equipment, other vehicles in a fleet and provide access to the Internet, among other features.
Still, the new F-150 comes to market at a time of great challenge.
Sales in the full-size pickup market are down 15 percent through March, a consequence of the sinking U.S. economy.
While consumers are on the hunt for fuel-efficient, affordable vehicles -- trading in their pickups and SUVs by the droves -- contractors who use pickups to build new homes are holding back on new purchases as housing starts plunge.
Meanwhile, competing automakers are making a play for Ford's share of the profitable U.S. truck market, which stands at 34 percent.
Toyota Motor Corp., for example, has picked up 3.6 percentage points of large pickup share, for a total of 9.3 percent of the market.
All of which seems to put the launch of the F-150 on shaky ground, along with Ford's future.
But Colaluca, whose family has ridden the waves of the U.S. auto industry for decades now, said he has no worries about the new F-150 or Ford's future.
"I have a ton of confidence," he said.
His faith in Ford isn't just rooted in family pride.
He said he believes in the company's North American restructuring plan, which has closed seven plants and shed 46,000 hourly and salaried workers since 2005.
"We're lean, and we have the right people in management," he said. "There's always naysayers, but I think everyone is pretty confident."
Colaluca, who grew up in Livonia and lives in Novi today, said he also has faith in the innovative Dearborn Truck Plant and its ability to turn out a high-quality product.
"I don't know of any other factories like it," said Colaluca, who grew up visiting the Rouge as a boy and has worked in seven Ford facilities during his 14 years with the company.
Dearborn Truck opened in 2004 and is regarded as the crown jewel within Ford's global manufacturing enterprise.
The $2-billion renovation of the complex, which included a 454,000-square-foot grass roof on the factory, was heralded as a flexible, modern facility when it opened.
It is capable of building nine models on three platforms.
All of the Ford workers at Dearborn Truck also came from other Ford facilities after volunteering to move to the new plant, filling the facility with accents from all across America, and in fact, many other parts of the world.
"It is a melting pot," Colaluca said. "It's kind of like we have all the best lumped into one building, and it's a fantastic place to work."
Many of those auto workers are like him, too, from a long line of Ford workers, and they all know what's at stake with the launch of the new F-150.
"I've got two cousins that are fourth-generation, too, working right across the street," Colaluca said. "We're woven well into Ford, and we represent it proud. There's a lot of us. From top to bottom, it's a family deal. Sometimes, you'll see a father talking with a son, so it's pretty special."