It’s no secret that FCA is a massive company with a lot of employees, vehicles, and facilities on their hands. Their U.S. Toledo facility contains a sizeable off-road track in the back, which is used for the “Toledo Way” employee training program. The track is comprised of three courses: Street, Trail Rated, and Rubicon. It was built in 340 working hours over an 11-day period. The employees who work inside this complex building the Jeep Wrangler got the opportunity, thanks to FCA, to drive the Wrangler on this course. Most of these employees had never even driven a Wrangler of any kind!

The experience began with employees riding with a professional driver on the most challenging of the three courses, the Rubicon Course. After experiencing just how gnarly the Rubicon trail is, they switched seats, and the employees got to drive on the intermediate Trail Rated course, carefully driving across 85 tons of rock and over 3,000 tons of dirt.

“We wanted each and every employee, every time they contributed an element to the Wrangler, to know that they are part of the Jeep history,” said Adam Hillock, Human Resources Manager at the Toledo Assembly Complex. “They’re part of that legend. And that adds to the overall focus on safety and quality.”

It’s cool that FCA is willing to train their employees in such a fun and hands-on manner, really letting them get to know the products they build. Driving on the off-road course is just the first part of the three-part training program for employees. This event took place while the facility was being “retooled” for the JL Wrangler.