Expedition at 30: A Ford Son Engineers the SUV That Shaped His Childhood

As the Ford Expedition hits its 30th anniversary, there is now an entire generational cohort that was raised with Ford’s enduring three-row family hauler. One of those is Ford Off-Road and Trailer Tow Engineer Joe Neme Jr., who along with his parents and three siblings, created lifelong memories on their numerous family trips — and everyday errand runs — with the SUV.

While the family of six has moved on from the days of double strollers, they all reunited for a road trip to Zion National Park in Utah last fall. Their choice of rental vehicle? An Expedition, of course. The new model had all the creature comforts they remembered from their past, but it has also evolved as they have, allowing them to have another epic family trip.

Five Generations of Ford Pride

Neme Jr., along with his father, a retired Ford engineer who also worked on Expedition, is featured in the reveal video for the new 30th Anniversary Appearance Package for the 2027 Expedition. The vehicle is highlighted by its available, exclusive Blue Ember metallic exterior, 22-inch high-gloss ebony wheels and special 30th Anniversary badging.

Joe Neme Sr. worked at Ford for more than 35 years, including 25-plus years in Vehicle Engineering, before retiring in 2022. The Nemes are fourth- and fifth-generation Ford employees, respectively.

“Ford is the family business,” Neme Sr. said, noting his father started as a technician at the Rouge and later served as chief program engineer of the Thunderbird and Lincoln Mark VIII during a 30-plus-year career. “It’s our family business. My father worked at Ford. He would bring cars home all the time, and we’d go out and he’d drive them, and we’d evaluate them, see what’s going on, and he would tell me what he was working on, which really got me interested in it.”

Neme Sr.’s grandfather and great-grandfather also both worked at the Rouge, as a tool and die maker and a welder, respectively, and there could be more Nemes working at Ford in a few years if Neme Jr.’s siblings end up in the automotive industry.

From Back Seats to Blueprints

Like his father, Neme Jr. earned his engineering degree from the University of Michigan-Dearborn. He was hired as a Ford College Graduate (FCG), and today he works in Vehicle Engineering (VE), just like his father. Neme Jr. helped launch the current generation of Expedition and Lincoln Navigator at Kentucky Truck Plant as the Vehicle Integration lead. After a couple more employment rotations in the FCG program, he joined the Off-Road and Trailer Tow team.

Neme Sr. worked on Expedition in various roles in the 2000s and 2010s, including Vehicle Energy Management, such as fuel economy, performance, and cooling. When it came time to raise his own children, he knew his company’s three-row SUV was perfect for the job.

“We had four young kids within four years, and the Expedition was the perfect vehicle for a big family,” he said. “Everybody had room, and we all had room for our gear, and it supported our lifestyle. We wanted a safe vehicle that can handle treacherous environment, terrain, and snow. And the Expedition was also refined — what really stands out for us is how quiet it was. When we went on family trips and such, we could all talk to each other and enjoy the ride.”

And that they did, bonding all the way throughout Michigan and the state’s picturesque Upper Peninsula, as well as Florida, Tennessee, Indiana, and Kentucky, among other adventures.

A New Way to Connect

The 2025 Expedition the family rented for their trek to Zion National Park took them from Las Vegas to Utah, tightening the family’s bond. For Neme Jr., the trip also served as an opportunity to show off his handiwork, the same way his father had done with him.

 “I’ve seen his flare he’s had on vehicles, and now I get to see my input and influence I have on vehicles,” Neme Jr. said. “It was nice to be able to show him everything I worked on with that Expedition and have him evaluate it from an engineering standpoint, because part of my main job was driving vehicles and evaluating across all attributes, and being able to see his brain work, evaluating things that I’ve evaluated as well was really cool. And I get to give them all the pointers on the vehicle.”

Having all of those years of experience as a passenger in an Expedition has helped to give Neme Jr. a unique insight into developing the family SUV. His work has taken him on cross-country drives, off-roading in some of the best locations, and even driving through a giant mud pass in Indiana.

“I felt like it’s brought me closer to Ford because I was doing development on parts of my childhood, so I had all those aspects of my life being around the Expedition and incorporated into my life, and now it’s my work objective to go and enhance all those experiences,” he said. “I’m living my dream, and I’ve gotten to do some really cool things with the Expedition.”

The SUV That Brings People Together

Bringing families together is what Expedition was made for, and for this father and son duo, working on the same SUV that brought their family together so many times in their lives has been a nice bonus.