American Center for Mobility

The **American Center for Mobility** (ACM) is a 500-acre automotive and mobility research center and federally designated proving ground located at the historic Willow Run site in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan. The facility provides a dedicated environment for the testing, validation, and demonstration of automated, connected, alternative, and conventional vehicles.^[1] Established as a nonprofit organization in partnership with the State of Michigan, ACM has grown over its first decade into what regional economic development organizations describe as the Midwest's primary hub for mobility technology research and validation.^[2]

History

The American Center for Mobility originated as a joint initiative with the State of Michigan, founded in partnership with the Michigan Department of Transportation.^[3] Groundbreaking for the facility took place in November 2016, with Governor Rick Snyder presiding over the ceremony at the Willow Run site.^[4] The project drew on a reported investment of approximately $110 million in combined public and private funding, reflecting the state's commitment to retaining and expanding its position in the next generation of transportation technology.

The site's history runs deep in American industrial memory. During World War II, Ford Motor Company operated the Willow Run plant as one of the largest manufacturing facilities in the world, producing B-24 Liberator bombers at a rate that astonished military planners and earned it the nickname "the miracle of Willow Run."^[5] After the war, the site transitioned to civilian automobile production, operated at various points by Kaiser-Frazer and later General Motors, before eventually closing. The Yankee Air Museum, which preserves WWII aviation history, occupies a portion of the original Willow Run complex adjacent to the ACM site, maintaining a physical connection to that wartime legacy.

ACM officially opened in December 2017^[6] and was designated by the U.S. Department of Transportation as one of ten national automated vehicle proving grounds under the DOT's AV proving ground program — a federal initiative intended to coordinate testing infrastructure and accelerate the development of voluntary safety standards for autonomous vehicles.^[7] The designation brought with it a mandate to collaborate with federal regulators, standards bodies, and private industry to develop testing protocols and performance benchmarks that could inform national safety policy.

By 2026, ACM had reached its tenth year of operation. A press release issued that year noted the center's evolution from a construction site into a functioning research ecosystem, with dozens of member organizations and a broadening scope of activity that extended beyond traditional passenger vehicle testing.^[8]

Federal Designation

ACM's designation as a national automated vehicle proving ground, conferred by the U.S. Department of Transportation, is not merely honorary. The designation places ACM within a coordinated national network of test facilities tasked with generating real-world data on AV performance, advancing interoperability between vehicles and infrastructure, and informing the development of voluntary technical standards. ACM works with organizations including SAE International on standards relevant to automated driving systems, contributing to the broader regulatory and technical framework that governs how autonomous vehicles are tested and eventually deployed on public roads.^[9]

The center was established explicitly to enable technology development and accelerate the creation of voluntary standards to improve the safety and reliability of automated vehicles. This standards-development mission distinguishes ACM from a purely commercial test facility — it operates with a public interest mandate alongside its private-sector service offerings.

Facilities and Infrastructure

The 500-acre site contains a substantial array of test environments designed to replicate conditions that automated and connected vehicles encounter in real-world operation. The facility includes simulated urban street grids, highway segments, intersections with configurable signal infrastructure, tunnels, and roadway surfaces engineered to represent different pavement conditions. These environments allow engineers to expose vehicles to edge cases and complex traffic scenarios in a controlled setting before public road deployment.^[10]

ACM also provides garage laboratory space available on short- and long-term lease terms, which can be configured for both mechanical work and office functions. Ground leases, build-to-suit construction options, and co-location arrangements are available for organizations seeking a permanent or semi-permanent presence on site. This real estate infrastructure is designed to let companies embed directly within the proving ground rather than commute to it, reducing friction in the test-and-iterate cycle that advanced vehicle development requires.^[11]

The facility's layout also includes spaces configured for product demonstrations, press events, and video production. Automotive manufacturers and technology suppliers regularly use the site for vehicle launches and media shoots, taking advantage of controlled road environments that would be difficult to secure on public infrastructure.

Programs and Tenants

ACM hosts a growing roster of member organizations and resident companies drawn from automotive manufacturing, technology development, and adjacent industries. The center's scope expanded notably in 2025 when Motmot, a company developing autonomous underwater robots (AURs), established a presence at ACM to conduct validation work on its platform.^[12] Motmot's presence signals that ACM's identity is shifting beyond conventional automotive testing toward a broader robotics and mobility validation mandate — one that encompasses any autonomous system requiring rigorous real-world performance verification.

This expansion of scope is consistent with ACM's positioning as the Midwest's mobility hub, a framing that regional economic development organizations have adopted to describe the center's role in anchoring Southeast Michigan's transition from legacy auto manufacturing toward next-generation transportation technology.^[13] The center offers marketing, event hosting, and demonstration services that allow resident and visiting companies to showcase their technologies to potential partners, customers, and investors in a setting that carries the credibility of a federally designated proving ground.

Geography

The American Center for Mobility is situated on 500 acres at the historic Willow Run site in Ypsilanti Township, Michigan, at coordinates 42°14′17.5″N 83°33′15.8″W, with a mailing address of 2701 Airport Drive, Ypsilanti Township, Michigan 48198.^[14] The site sits within Southeast Michigan's automotive corridor, a region that remains the organizational center of the American auto industry despite significant industrial restructuring over the past four decades.

The surrounding area provides practical advantages for a mobility research operation. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) lies immediately adjacent to the ACM site, offering direct air access for out-of-state and international visitors and clients. Interstate 94 runs near the site, connecting it to Detroit to the east and to Ann Arbor — home to the University of Michigan and a large concentration of engineering talent — to the west. The proximity to the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and other research institutions supports workforce recruitment and creates natural pathways for academic-industry collaboration.

The Yankee Air Museum, which occupies part of the original Willow Run complex, is located on the same general site, giving the area a dual identity as both a working research facility and a place of historical significance connected to American wartime industrial production.

Economy

ACM contributes to the regional economy by concentrating mobility technology investment in a part of Michigan that experienced significant industrial decline following the contraction of traditional auto manufacturing. The center's real estate offerings — ranging from short-term garage laboratory leases to long-term ground leases and build-to-suit development — create a physical anchor for companies that might otherwise locate testing and validation operations outside the state.^[15]

By providing a dedicated proving ground, ACM reduces the time and cost that companies would otherwise spend securing permits, liability coverage, and suitable road environments for testing on public infrastructure. That reduction in friction matters. Early-stage mobility technology companies in particular benefit from access to a fully instrumented test environment without the capital expense of building one independently. The center's event and demonstration capabilities add another commercial dimension, letting companies generate marketing content and host stakeholder meetings in an environment that reinforces the technical credibility of their products.

Ann Arbor SPARK, the regional economic development organization for Washtenaw County, has cited ACM as a central element of the region's strategy to retain engineering talent and attract investment in automated and connected mobility technology.^[16]

Getting There

The American Center for Mobility is located at 2701 Airport Drive, Ypsilanti Township, Michigan 48198.^[17] Access is primarily by personal vehicle or ride-sharing service. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport sits adjacent to the facility, making it straightforward for visitors arriving by air to reach the site without entering Detroit or Ann Arbor proper. Interstate 94 provides the main highway connection, with local roads including Airport Drive running directly to the facility entrance. Public transit options to the site are limited.