Ford Maps the Entire TransAmerica Trail with Google’s Street View Camera

For the first time ever, a car company has partnered with Google Maps to use its new Street View camera. Working with creative agency Wieden+Kennedy New York, Ford loaned the technology to capture the 5,900 mile TransAmerica Trail for the first time.

For decades, America’s longest trail was hidden to all except a few expert off-roaders with specialised equipment and knowledge. But now, having visually mapped the route with Google’s Street View camera attached to a Ford Bronco, the trail from Oregon to Tennessee has been opened to any adventurous driver – or digital explorer on Google Maps.

Launching with an 80-second film directed by Farm League’s Nick Sokoloff, this marks the first time the camera has been loaned to an automaker. Ford took on the challenge to bring the full trail to Street View, driving coast to coast across 13 states and, along the way, brought its new platform ‘Ready Set Ford’ to life in a way that makes adventure accessible.

"Ready Set Ford is all about making people believe that they're more capable than they think,” said Jake Thompson, creative director at Wieden+Kennedy New York. “With this partnership, we're bringing that mission to life in a tangible way. By bringing the entire TransAmerica Trail to Google Street View, we’re proving that the only thing standing between Ford drivers and their ultimate adventures is the courage to start."

A group from the agency joined experts from Google Maps and Ford to traverse the entire trail, across deserts, mountains, wetlands, and dunes, capturing the incredible landscape of the trail and utilising several Ford vehicles’ capabilities.

This includes: The Bronco’s G.O.A.T. (Goes Over Any Type of Terrain) modes to navigate challenging boulders and sandy dunes, The Expedition Tremor’s Rock Crawl Mode and Split Gate feature, and the F-150 Ranger’s towing capacity to clear paths and open up routes for other off-roaders.

For those who can’t make it to the trail in person, the team has left an Easter Egg for the online adventurers on Google Maps - an appearance from YouTube creator GeoRainbolt, who also came along for the ride. Geo is known online as a savant on the game GeoGuesser, in which he can locate any Street View image around the world through clues like the angle of the sun and the visible flora and fauna.

Next week, GeoRainbolt will also be sharing content on his channels, guessing some of the locations the convoy travelled through.