FORD CHIEF ENGINEER IS FIRST TO WIN COVETED PRIZE TWICE
As a child growing up in England, Andrew Kernahan learned his alphabet reading license plates.
That’s how his parents told it over the years, anyway
That little boy, fascinated with vehicles, noticed all the changes between makes and models. He eventually went to work for Ford Motor Co. at age 18 while earning his electrical engineering degree. Now Kernahan, 52, of Canton, is celebrating a significant milestone at Ford as the chief engineer is now twice recognized for winning the best truck award bestowed by the jurors of the North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year.
This time he wins for the 2023 Ford Super Duty, a product essential to the company’s financial strength.
“I celebrated a little bit with the team and brought the trophy back to the office space back in Dearborn,” he said. “I celebrated with the family. They were very aware of me spending long hours over the last couple of years getting this product launched, being away from home. They were very pleased with the recognition. We were high-fiving, celebrating.”
Ford combed its records to review all the names of its award-winning engineers and thinks Kernahan is the only chief engineer to win the coveted truck award for two different vehicle lines on behalf of the 120-year-old automaker, Ford spokeswoman Elizabeth Kraft told the Detroit Free Press. His previous win for the Lincoln Navigator in 2018 spotlighted a luxury SUV that sits on a truck chassis.
“It obviously shows this is a person with great skill and great leadership talents,” said Jeff Gilbert, president of the NACTOY jury and automotive reporter for WWJ-AM news radio 950 in Detroit.
Yet Kernahan, who was appointed to his role
in October 2019, deflects attention and points to his teammates who number in the several thousands over the course of the development cycle. The Super Duty started shipping in March 2023. Nothing happens overnight or in the spotlight.
“Everybody plays a part in delivering the program,” he said. “We wouldn’t have been able to win this award without ... collaboration.”
Ford has said orders for the 2023 Super Duty poured at an “insane” rate of nearly 152,000 in the first five weeks.
Like winning the Super Bowl
Still, underestimating the importance of the chief engineer would be a huge mistake, said Eric Noble, professor of vehicle technology at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California, who also consults with top auto companies.
“Typically, there isn’t a more thankless job in automotive than that of chief engineer. It’s a miserable job,” Noble told the Free Press. “Any possible thing that could go wrong on one of the most complex products humans make, the blame for that lies at their feet. They work around the clock.”
Kernahan is unusual for these reasons: Winning NACTOY twice, and for both a truck and an SUV.
“Winning as chief engineer is one of those rare things, like winning the Super Bowl. And he’s just done it twice,” Noble said.
From a farming village to Detroit
Kernahan grew up in a farming village in Northumberland, England, called Heddon-onthe-Wall, about 300 miles north of London. The town is on Hadrian’s Wall, which was built in AD 122 and designed to protect the Roman Empire from the barbarians, according to English heritage. It’s often described as having been built to keep out the Scottish, Kernahan said.
“We used to run around the countryside playing on this ancient piece of history,” said Kernahan, the son of a pediatrician and a mechanical engineer who helped build power stations.
His early career began with the Ford Fiesta and Focus and other European programs, then evolved into SUVs and trucks. After earning his bachelor’s degree at the Imperial College of London, he earned a master’s degree in product development at the University of Detroit Mercy.
“I thought I was destined to have a career in small cars,” Kernahan said. “Never did I think I would have the Navigator and the King of all, the Super Duty.”
Priorities: Towing, payload, horsepower
When asked to describe his role, Kernahan said it feels like he’s spinning a flywheel that’s going faster and faster, and once it reaches a rhythm he can go off and strategically think about what’s next.
“The customer that I think about the most would be somebody who uses their pickup for work during the week, maybe a landscaper or a builder, and then on the weekend they take that same truck and convert it for recreation,” he said. “What we have to focus on is making the truck equally effective at work and at play.”
During this time of dynamic transition in the auto industry, with the evolution of electric vehicles, the Super Duty with its traditional internal combustion engine (ICE) is not going away anytime soon.
“It’s becoming clear that there’s plenty of space for EVs as well as the need for vehicles like Super Duty that have the towing and hauling capability that’s enabled by an ICE power pack,” Kernahan said. “If you’re focused on what the customer needs, technology is not available yet for this type of vehicle to be an EV.”
Super Duty had a checklist of priorities that included towing capability, truck bed access, tech ease and unsurpassed luxury. A 40-yearold woman needed to be able to hitch an F-350 to a trailer alone with ease.
Jack Nerad, one of 50 journalists from the U.S. and Canada who test vehicles throughout the year, said with the NACTOY awards announcement Thursday, “The Ford Super Duty retains its leadership in the heavy-duty pickup truck category with its impressive towing, payload, torque and horsepower figures. Its four engine choices are highlighted by the new standard 6.8-liter gasoline V8 and 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel V8. And the big Super Duty is remarkably comfortable and easy to drive.”
Kernahan is already focusing on tomorrow, he said. “The Super Duty ethos is, we get back to work on the next one. It comes back to relentless focus.”