Re: will ford first do it again
 

From what I know of Ford and GM teams, I would imagine that they would have an advantage over others. To the best of my knowledge, both have a very strong stance that their teams will have their engineers. On HOT, we had over 10 GM engineers. Obviously, having that kind of engineering knowledge contributing to a team will give them competitive advantage.

And that's why FIRST, in my mind, is so much better than other science programs. When highschoolers get a chance to work with professional engineers, who knows what could happen!?

Re: will ford first do it again
 

Not to nitpick (All right, ONLY to nitpick), but 217 isn't as much a "Ford FIRST" team as a collaborative team. Of the main mentors on the team, there is 1 Ford (Retired) Engineer, 1 Visteon (Retired) Engineer, 3 FANUC Robotics Engineers, 1 college student, 1 Ambulance Medic, and 3 UCS teachers. This is why the name is "Ford/FANUC/UCS The ThunderChickens"

Having said that, 60, 247 and 217 are all strong contenders this year. 1718 (Armada Acadamy) should also do very well.

Re: will ford first do it again
 

There are MANY companies, aside from Ford and GM, that offer great mentor support to a number of teams. Off the top of my head: P&G, Delphi, DaimlerChrysler, GE, etc... Our team has a gaggle of P&G engineers, a GE guy, a GM guy and a number of other mentors. Any team with multiple experienced mentors will have a leg up on teams without that knowledge base, the trick - in my opinion - is keeping the mentors over time to ensure continuity year to year.

Re: will ford first do it again
 

Thanks, but unfortunately, 1718 will not be there. Hopefully next year.