U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx is the latest Washington official to pay a visit to Detroit.

Foxx toured facilities from all of the Big Three car makers last week and met with officials, the Detroit News reports.

In Dearborn Michigan, Foxx drove a blue Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid around a test track, and met with Ford president of the Americas John Hinrichs.

The Secretary also tried out Ford's MyKey, a safety system designed for young drivers that includes audio speed alerts, and can even mute the radio until a teenager buckles his or her seat belt.

Foxx also toured General Motors' Warren Transmission Plant, meeting with GM vice president for sustainability and global regulatory affairs, Mike Robinson.

The Secretary's third stop was at Chrysler's Jefferson North Assembly Plant, which builds the Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee.

The former mayor of Charlotte North Carolina, Foxx was sworn in as the 17th Secretary of Transportation this past July after his predecessor, Ray LaHood, stepped down.

This was Foxx's first visit to Detroit as Secretary. A spokeswoman for Foxx told the Detroit News that Foxx was interested in “seeing first-hand the new safety technologies they’ve developed and the new cars they’re building that are helping fuel the auto industry’s comeback.”

Foxx was accompanied by National Highway Traffic Safety Administrator David Strickland and U.S. Representative John Dingell, D-Michigan.

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