Bill Ford, executive chairman, Ford Motor Company, was interviewed by Economic Club of Washington, D.C. president David Rubenstein on Wed., Oct. 5 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center.

"Ford is everything that should be celebrated about what's right in the country. We didn't go bankrupt, we paid back out loans, we did it the old-fashioned way, we pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps, " Ford said.

When Ford became CEO just prior to the recession of 2008 he borrowed $23B, which was very controversial. He felt tough times were coming and restructuring was needed.

Ford's major competitors, GM and Chrysler, eventually went bankrupt and were bailed out by the Obama administration. Ford said he advocated for this, even though it stung a bit, because if either collapsed the net effect would've taken down a number of auto suppliers as well as Ford itself.

The company has come under fire recently from Republican nominee Donald Trump for its plan to build a factory in Mexico.

Ford explained that his company is moving some small car production to a new plant in Mexico, but the net effect will be to increase jobs in Michigan because new vehicles are being put into plants in that state.

"What's so frustrating and infuriating is that I feel we've not only invested heavily in this country and are adding lots of new jobs in this country, but he [Trump] and others should look at us and say that's how you do business, you pay back your loans, and you hire people."

Ford said he has spoken directly with Trump, but did not say whether Trump has changed his mind.

"We've hired 26,000 in the U.S. since 2011 and made $12B in investments in the U.S. and Ford is currently the largest car and truck company in the U.S. making cars here although not the largest car and truck company. We make a disproportionate number of cars and trucks in the U.S," Ford explained.

Ford employees 199,000 employees, with about half in the U.S. and the majority are blue-collar workers.

Ford Smart Mobility

Ford is calling for a new approach to what it means to move people, goods and healthcare called Smart Mobility. He feels the notion that we can jam ever more cars and trucks into overcrowded cities makes no sense.

The mobility issue also expands outside of city centers.

There are $800M in the world without access to healthcare, Ford noted. He wondered if mobility could solve this problem. In India, Ford is using a connected-vehicle to go out to rural villages to transmit expectant mother's health back to hospitals in the cities so proper care can be provided.

Ford referenced a Harvard study which pointed out that the number one cause of poverty is people not being able to get to where the work is.

"What if we can enable mobility so that people can move freely, particularly around cities?" Ford asked.

View the complete interview on the Economic Club of Washington's website. For over 30 years the Club has provided a forum for prominent business and government leaders who have influenced economic and public policy.