Ford Motor Company

History

Ford was launched from a converted wagon factory, with United States dollar|$28,000 cash from twelve investors. During its early years, the company produced just a few cars a day at the Ford factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit, Michigan|Detroit. Groups of two or three men worked on each car from components made to order by other companies. , Ford's first car built off a full production line.]] In 1908, the Ford company released the Ford Model T. The first Model Ts were built at the Piquette Plant. The company was forced to move production to the much larger Highland Park Ford Plant|Highland Park Plant to keep up with the demand for the Model T, and by 1913 had developed all of the basic techniques of the assembly line and mass production. Ford introduced the world's first moving assembly line on December 1 that year, which reduced chassis assembly time from 12½ hours in October to 2 hours, 40 minutes. However these innovations were not popular, and in order to stop the staff deserting the monotonous jobs, on January 5, 1914, Ford took the radical step of doubling pay to $5 a day, and cut shifts from nine hours to an eight hour day http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1111/j.1542-734X.1997.00047.x/pdf- moves that were not popular with rival companies, although seeing the increase in Ford's productivity, most soon followed suit. By the end of 1913, Ford was producing 50% of all cars in the United States, and by 1918 half of all cars in the country were Model Ts. Referring to the Model T, Henry Ford is reported to have said that "any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black." This was because black paint was quickest to dry; earlier models had been available in a variety of colors. On January 1, 1919, Edsel Ford succeeded his father as president of the company, although Henry Ford still kept a hand in management. The Ford company lost market share during the 1920s due to the rise of consumer credit. The company's goal was to produce an inexpensive automobile that any worker could afford. To keep prices low, Ford (at the behest of its owner, Henry Ford) offered few features. General Motors and other competitors began offering automobiles in more colors, and with more features and luxuries. They also extended credit so consumers could buy these more expensive automobiles. Ford resisted following suit, insisting that such credit would hurt the consumer and the economy. Due to market constraints, however, the company finally gave in and followed its competitors' lead when on December 2, 1927, Ford unveiled the redesigned Ford Model A and retired the Model T.

The Great Depression

Ford maintained production for nearly two years after the start of the Great Depression. However, the slump in sales led to Ford's closing the Ford Model A|Model A assembly line on August 1, 1931, with the loss of 60,000 jobs. The following year, five Ford workers were killed as unemployed workers marched to demand jobs. Henry Ford fortified his home and the factory. Only eight of 35 U.S. plants were in production in 1933 and it took until 1939 before sales returned to their 1929 levels.

World War II

After the outbreak of World War II, U.S. domestic automotive production ceased for the duration of the conflict, as the nation's industries were redirected to war production. Ford Motor Company was responsible for major contributions to the Allies' war effort. Of the companies contracted to produce the famous World War II "jeep" or truck, quarter-ton, 4x4, Ford produced the most (the other companies included Willys-Overland, which later adopted the name Jeep). The Ford version was called a GPW. Wartime production at Ford also included aircraft construction. Near its Detroit-area headquarters, Ford developed the Willow Run plant and its associated airfield, where the B-24 Liberator aircraft was produced. The Willow Run plant was a massive facility, and held the distinction at the time of being the world's largest enclosed "room;" at its peak, the plant was able to produce as many as one B-24 aircraft per hour of production. Willow Run, located near Ypsilanti, Michigan, still operates as an airfield today; today, Ford's rival General Motors owns part of the facility, where manufacturing continues. During the war, thousands of women found employment in manufacturing at Ford, many for the first time. These women became symbolized by the famous poster image of Rosie the Riveter. Ford's former manufacturing plant in Richmond, California, located near San Francisco, California|San Francisco, is under development by the National Parks Service as the Rosie the Riveter / World War II Home Front National Historical Park. Ford's plants in Germany and Vichy France, Fordwerke, produced many of the cars and trucks used by the Nazis in World War II. The Ford Motor Company has denied allegations that they profited by the use of forced labor to produce tanks for the Nazis during the war, saying that Ford had lost control of the German division by that point in the war and was not responsible for its activities (''see also: Strategic bombing survey (Europe)|Strategic bombing survey''). Similar charges have been made against other American firms which had European operations at the outbreak of hostilities. It must be remembered that all companies operating in Germany at that time had to use labor provided by the German government, and that the Nazi regime chose to provide forced and slave laborers to industry.

Post war developments

]] Ford became a publicly traded corporation in 1956; however, the Ford family still maintains a controlling interest in the company. Henry Ford's great-grandson, William Clay Ford Jr., is the company's current chairman and CEO.

A new direction for the 21st century

Under the leadership of the current chairman, William Clay Ford, the company (and Mr. Ford personally) stunned the industry and pleased environmentalists with an http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=105&STORY=/www/story/07-27-2000/0001276963of a planned 25 percent improvement in the average mileage of its light truck fleet — including its popular sport utility vehicle|SUVs — to be completed by the 2005 calendar year. William Ford was also one of the first top industry executives to make regular use of an battery electric vehicle, a Ford Ranger EV, while the company contracted with the United States Postal Service to deliver electric postal vans based on the Ranger EV platform. Many Ford vehicles now sport an emblem — a green leaf springing from a curving road-like twig — symbolic of the new "green" commitment to preserve the environment and reduce resource consumption while delivering safe, economical, and effective products to the motoring public. However, Ford has not made significant progress toward the goal as of early 2005. In 2003, the company announced that it would not try to achieve this goal. Ford has also terminated its electric vehicle program. In this period, the company introduced the Ford Excursion, an SUV larger than the Chevrolet Suburban. The Excursion is soon to be discontinued and replaced by an extended wheelbase version of the Ford Expedition. As with General Motor's Hummer H2, the Excursion is so large that its mileage does not count toward the manufacturer's Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) mileage.

2005 bond downgrade

In May 2005, several bond rating agencies downgraded the bonds of Ford Motor Company to below investment grade (so called "junk bonds"). These downgrades were a recognition of high health care costs for an aging workforce and of the dependence of the company on profits from the sales of sport utility vehicles. Due to higher fuel prices, there has been a decrease in the profits on these vehicles owing to "incentives" (in the form of rebates or low interest financing), which were needed due to declining sales. Foreign manufactures, not having the truck manufacturing capabilities to form a platform base for similar vehicles, have instead introduced so called Crossover SUV|"crossover" SUV's — vehicles built on an automobile or minivan platform rather than a truck chassis. These vehicles have proven to be popular in the market, while Ford had not developed such vehicles (with the exception of the Ford Escape|Escape light SUV). As far as the other non-truck models, most of these (with the notable exception of the 2005 Ford Mustang|Mustang) are disadvantaged in the marketplace owing to a perception by buyers that foreign manufactures (especially Toyota and Honda) deliver better value in terms of fuel economy, reliability, and build quality. These perceptions are reflected in the used car market by higher values for these foreign models. For owners who frequently trade in and for those who lease their vehicles, the resale values are reflected in substantial cost differences with domestic vehicles costing more in overall costs.

Response to the downgrade

The current strategy of Ford in response to the circumstances that lead to the bond downgrade is to reduce the company's reliance on a limited portion of their products for profit. To make good profits across their product line required that the company reduce the costs of development and production while introducing compelling products. This strategy is in contrast with that of GM, which has postponed development of a new rear wheel drive passenger car platform (called "GM Zeta platform|Zeta" internally) to free up resources for the next generation of their light truck and SUV lines, this in the stated belief that their core market for such vehicles is sufficiently prosperous as to be insensitive to fuel price increases (and implicitly, to low resale values). Chairman Ford asked Americans-division president Mark Fields to create a plan to save the company. Fields unveiled his plan, dubbed "Way Forward", at the December 7, 2005 board meeting of the company. It reportedly includes shutting down 10 factories and eliminating 30,000 jobs in North America.

Brands and marques

, one of Ford's most recognizable North American models.]] Today, Ford Motor Company manufactures automobiles under the highly-recognized Lincoln (automobile)|Lincoln and Mercury (automobile)|Mercury Brand management|brand names. In 1958, Ford introduced a new marque, the Edsel, but poor sales led to its discontinuation in 1960. Later, in 1985, the Merkur brand was released; it met a similar fate in 1989. Both the Edsel and Merkur brands are considered as List of commercial failures|commercial failures. Ford has major manufacturing operations in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and several other countries, including South Africa where, following divestment during apartheid, it once again has a wholly-owned subsidiary. It also has a joint venture with Mahindra in India. Ford also has a cooperative agreement with GAZ. In recent years Ford has acquired Aston Martin, Daimler, Jaguar (car)|Jaguar, Volvo Cars, and Land Rover, as well as a controlling share of Mazda, with which it operates an American joint venture plant called Auto Alliance. It has spun off its parts division under the name Visteon. Its prestige brands, with the exception of Lincoln, are managed through its Premier Automotive Group. Ford's non-manufacturing operations include organizations such as their credit department, Ford Motor Credit Company|Ford Credit.

Global markets

Initially, Ford models sold outside the U.S. were essentially versions of those sold on the home market, but later on there were vast differences between those sold in the U.S. and those sold in Europe. The divergence in product tastes is such that European models like the Ford Mondeo have fared poorly in the United States, while U.S. models such as the Ford Taurus have fared poorly in Japan and Australia, even produced in right hand drive. The small European model Ford Ka|Ka, a hit in its home market, did not catch on in Japan, as it was not available as an automatic. The Mondeo was dropped by Ford Australia, because the segment of the market in which it competes had been in steady decline, with buyers preferring the larger local model, the Ford Falcon|Falcon. The Ford Focus|Focus has been one exception, which has sold strongly on both sides of the Atlantic, despite its European design.

Europe

Mark 2]] At first, Ford in Germany and the United Kingdom built different models from one another until the late 1960s, with the Ford Escort and then the Ford Capri being common to both companies. Later on, the Ford Taunus and Ford Cortina became identical, produced in left hand drive and right hand drive respectively. Rationalisation of model ranges meant that production of many models in the UK switched to elsewhere in Europe, including Belgium and Spain as well as Germany. The Ford Sierra replaced the Taunus and Cortina in 1982, drawing criticism for its radical aerodynamic styling, which was soon given nicknames such as "Jellymould" and "The Salesman's Spaceship". Increasingly, Ford Motor Company has looked to Ford of Europe for its "world cars," such as the Mondeo, Ford Focus|Focus, and Ford Fiesta|Fiesta, although sales of European-sourced Fords in the U.S. have been disappointing. In Asia, models from Europe are not as competitively priced as Japanese-built rivals, nor are they perceived as reliable. The Focus has been one exception to this, which has become America's best selling compact car since its launch in 2000. In 2001, Ford ended car production in the UK. It was the first time in more than eighty years that Ford cars had not been made in Britain, although production of the Ford Transit|Transit van continues at the company's Southampton facility, engines at Bridgend and Dagenham, and transmissions at Halewood. Development of European Ford is broadly split between Dunton in Essex (powertrain, Fiesta/Ka and commercial vehicles) and Cologne (body, chassis, electrical, Focus, Mondeo) in Germany. Ford also produced the Thames Trader|Thames range of commercial vehicles although the use of this brand name was discontinued circa 1965. It owns the Jaguar, Land Rover, and Aston Martin car plants in Britain which are still operational. Ford's Halewood Assembly Plant was converted to Jaguar production. Elsewhere in continental Europe, Ford assembles the Ford Mondeo|Mondeo range in Genk,Belgium, Fiesta in Valencia,Spain and Cologne,Germany, Ka in Valencia and Focus in Valencia, Saarlouis,Germany and St. Petersberg,Russia. Transit production is in Kocaeli,Turkey and Southampton,United Kingdom and Transit Connect in Kocaeli. Ford also owns a joint venture production plant in Turkey. Ford-Otosan, established in the 1970s, manufactures the Transit Connect compact panel van as well as the "Jumbo" and long wheelbase versions of the full-size Transit. This new production facility was set up near Kocaeli in 2002, and its opening marked the end of Transit assembly in Genk. Another joint venture plant near Setubal in Portugal, set up in collaboration with Volkswagen, assembles the Ford Galaxy|Galaxy people carrier as well as its sister ship, the VW Sharan.

Asia Pacific

In Australia and New Zealand, the popular Ford Falcon is considered the typical (if not particularly economical) family car, though it is considerably larger than the Mondeo sold in Europe. Between 1960 and 1972, the Falcon was based on a U.S. Ford of that name, but since then has been entirely designed and manufactured locally. Like its General Motors rival, the Holden Commodore, the 4.0 liter Falcon retains rear wheel drive. High performance variants of the Falcon running American Mustang V8 engines produce up to 390bhp. A pick-up version is also available with a similar range of drive trains. In both Australia and New Zealand, the Commodore and Falcon outsell all other cars. In Australia they comprise over 20% of the new car market. Ford's presence in Asia has traditionally been much smaller. However, with the acquisition of a stake in Japanese manufacturer Mazda in 1979, Ford began selling Mazda's Familia and Capella (also known as the Mazda 323|323 and Mazda 626|626) as the Ford Laser and Ford Telstar|Telstar. The Laser was one of the most successful models sold by Ford in Australia, and outsold the Mazda 323, despite being almost identical to it. The Laser was also built in Mexico and sold in the U.S. as the Mercury Tracer, while the 1989 American Ford Escort was based on the Laser/Mazda 323. The smaller Mazda 121 was also sold in the U.S. and Asia as the Ford Festiva. Through its relationship with Mazda, Ford also acquired a stake in South Korean manufacturer Kia, which later built the Ford Aspire for export to the United States, but later sold the company to Hyundai Motor Company|Hyundai. Ironically, Hyundai also manufactured the Ford Cortina until the 1980s. Ford also has a joint venture with Lio Ho in Taiwan, which assembled Ford models locally since the 1970s. Ford came to India in 1998 with its Ford Escort model, which was later replaced by locally produced Ford Ikon in 2001.

South America

In South America, Ford has had to face protectionist government measures in each country, with the result that it built different models in different countries with no rationalisation or economies of scale. In some cases, it based its models on those of other manufacturers whose plants it had taken over. For example, the Ford Corcel|Corcel and Ford Del Rey|Del Rey in Brazil were originally based on Renaults. In the 1980s, Ford merged its operations in Brazil and Argentina with those of Volkswagen to form a company called Autolatina, with which it shared models. Autolatina was dissolved in the 1990s. With the advent of Mercosur, the regional common market, Ford was able to rationalise its product line-ups in those countries. Consequently, the Ford Fiesta is only built in Brazil, and the Ford Focus only built in Argentina, with each plant exporting in large volumes to the neighbouring country. Models like the Ford Mondeo from Europe could now be imported completely built up. Ford in Brazil produces a pick-up version of the Fiesta, which is also produced in South Africa, in right hand drive as the Ford Bantam.

Africa and Middle East

In Africa and the Middle East, Ford's market presence has traditionally been strongest in South Africa and neighbouring countries, with only trucks being sold elsewhere on the continent. Ford in South Africa began by importing kits from Canada to be assembled at its Port Elizabeth facility. Later Ford sourced its models from the UK and Australia, with local versions of the Ford Cortina including the XR6, with a 3.0 V6 engine, and a Cortina 'bakkie' or pick-up, which was exported to the UK. In the mid-1980s Ford merged with a rival company, owned by Anglo American plc|Anglo American, to form the South African Motor Corporation (Samcor). Following international condemnation of apartheid, Ford divested from South Africa in 1988, and sold its stake in Samcor, although it licensed the use of its brand name to the company. Samcor began to assemble Mazdas as well, which affected its product line-up, which saw the European Fords like the Escort and Sierra replaced by the Mazda-based Laser and Telstar. Ford bought a 45 per cent stake in Samcor following the demise of apartheid in 1994, and this later became, once again, a wholly owned subsidiary, the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa. Ford now sells a local sedan version of the Fiesta (also built in India and Mexico), and the Focus and Mondeo Europe. The Falcon model from Australia was also sold in South Africa, but was dropped in 2003. Ford's market presence in the Middle East has traditionally been even smaller, partly due to the Arab boycott of companies dealing with Israel, although US Fords are now sold in Saudi Arabia.

Motorsport

Ford has been active in a number of forms of motorsport. It was heavily involved in Formula One for many years, and supplied engines to a large number of constructors from 1967 until 2004. These engines were designed and manufactured by Cosworth, the racing division of which was owned by Ford from 1998 to 2004. Ford entered Formula One as a constructor in 2000 under the Jaguar Racing name, after buying out the Stewart Grand Prix team it had become increasingly involved in. The team achieved little success, and after a turbulent four seasons, Ford pulled out of F1 after the 2004 Formula One season|2004 season, selling both Jaguar Racing (which became Red Bull Racing) and Cosworth.http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport/formula_one/default.stm Ford has also been active for several years in the World Rally Championship, and has used various versions of the Ford Focus WRC since 1999.

References

Ford Motor Company. ''2003 Annual Report''. Rochester, New York:St Ives Inc Case-Hoyt. http://www.ford.com/en/company/investorInformation/companyReports/annualReports/

See also

List of Ford vehicles

List of Ford factories

List of Ford engines

List of Ford platforms

List of Ford VIN codes

EPA 2004 fuel economy report appendix M2#Ford|EPA 2004 fuel economy report (Ford)

Firestone vs Ford Motor Company controversy

External links

http://www.ford.com/

http://www.fordvehicles.com/

http://www.forddirect.fordvehicles.com/- Get A Free Price Quote, Build Your Vehicle, Search Dealer Inventory, View Pricing Details, Compare Trims, See Latest Incentives And Offers

http://www.fordmuscle.com- Webmagazine. High Performance Technical Content]

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http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Holocaust/ford.html

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=105&STORY=/www/story/07-27-2000/0001276963

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=105&STORY=/www/story/04-07-2004/0002147628

http://www.fordforums.com- a fan forum enthusiast page

http://www.ford-trucks.com- a truck, suv and van fan forum enthusiast page

http://www.ford-forums.com

http://www.blueovalnews.com

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