Modern Cars

Since leaving Nice, France last September, Lexie and the new all-electric Ford Explorer have crossed six continents, driven through 27 countries and totalled more than 30,000 kilometres. The final passage through France is short, yet ever hour on the road feels twice as long as the finish line is so close. On March 26 th , 2024, with spring in the air, the Explorer finally heads towards Nice once again. As they get closer, iconic Fords from the past are in place to join in convoy. At one point, Jim Farley, Ford’s CEO joins Lexie in the Explorer to talk about her amazing adventures, before she finally crosses the finish line flanked by some of Ford’s latest exciting models. It’s an emotional moment, but Lexie has little time to dwell. She soon finds herself on stage accepting the certificate from RecordSetter that confirms her as the first person to circumnavigate the globe in an electric vehicle. The monumental moment is also witnessed by media from across Europe who are keen to get a ...

With Africa, Australia, Asia, South America and North America complete, Lexie returns to Europe for the final leg, starting in Norway with Nice, France the final destination. Before the driving even starts though, Lexie visits ice swimming expert Anne Möller for a dip in the icy waters of Oslo. It’s the coldest water she has even been in and faces it with trepidation, yet she takes to it like a pro… and quickly realises what a great cure for jet lag it is. Once warmed up, Lexie and the Explorer head south, leaving Norway and then making the significant drive down the Swedish coastline. This culminates with a trip across the incredible Øresund Bridge, an almost 8km passage between Sweden and Denmark and the second longest bridge in Europe. The crossing is actually completed by the 4km Drogden Tunnel, used instead of a bridge to avoid interfering with air traffic from nearby Copenhagen Airport. In Denmark, there’s the first opportunity to try out the Explorer’s roof tent. With a crew in ...

One of the great things about travelling the globe is trying out the many different foods, and as Chicago is famous for its deep dish pizza Lexie wasted no time in trying it out. Was it as good as the pizza she had near the beginning of this world trip in Naples, Italy though? It was certainly better than the tarantula she ate in Cambodia. Chicago comes and goes all too soon, with Lexie keen to head back to the Windy City to explore more in the future. For now, a 480 km journey awaits the Explorer as they point east to the hometown of Ford, Detroit. Detroit is famous for its strong automotive history, hence its nickname of Motor City, but it’s a different type of garage that gets her attention. The Detroit Body Garage in east Detroit is a garage and car showroom that has now been converted into a community gym where founder Terra welcomes Lexie for a look around and a chance to have a workout. Terra, a former triathlete, traded her car for a van to offer pop-up gyms when she was in...

After Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia and South America, Lexie is finally back on her home soil of the United States of America. From the familiarity of Los Angeles, where Lexie worked as an airport chauffeur when she was still a teenager, she points the Explorer towards the glitz of Las Vegas, passing iconic scenery along the way. While the comfort of familiarity and excitement of exploring more of her home country are setting up the US leg to be a memorable one, there are also the challenges of ice-cold conditions and huge climbs into mountains ahead to contend with.  There’s also an unexpected challenge. The unmodified pre-production Ford Explorer is unable to DC fast charge properly on the whole of the US network, meaning charges that should have taken around 30 minutes end up being several hours on AC charging. The delays caused by longer charging slow her journey down and add another element of concern as she travels onwards, following the Colorado river and into the Rocky M...