Ford All Car History Volume 6
Ford is the world’s third largest carmaker when measured by vehicle sales. Other than Ford’s ownbranded businesses the company owns one other major brand Volvo though it also owns onethird interest in Mazda and a small holding share in the former subsidiary Aston Martin.
Its former UK subsidiaries Land Rover and Jaguar were bought by Tata Motors of India in March 2008. In 2007 Ford became the thirdranked carmaker in US sales being beaten by General Motors and Toyota. It was Fords first decline from second position in 56 years.
FORD HISTORY
Ford was launched in 1903. Henry Ford the company’s founder revolutionized mass production by introducing methods for manufacturing cars on a largescale using highly engineered manufacturing along travelling assembly lines.
In 1908 Ford introduced the legendary Model T and by 1920 production was over one million cars a year. In the 1950s Ford introduced the legendary Thunderbird and in 1955 the disastrous Edsel. But Ford bounced back introducing its compact Ford Falcon in 1960 and the Mustang in 1964. By 1967 Ford of Europe was established which builds some of the UK’s most popular cars.
FORD FACTS
- Type: Public company
- Founded: June 17 1903
- Headquarters: : Dearborn Michigan USA
- Key People: : Henry Ford Founder Alan Mulally President and CEO William Clay Ford Jr Chairman
- Industry: : Automotive
- Products: : Mainstream/performance vehicles automotive parts
- Subsidiaries: : Automotive Components Holdings Volvo cars only
FEATURED MODELS
- FORD ESCORT a small family car made by Ford from 1967 to 2003 the topselling Escort enjoyed seven different incarnations.
- FORD FIESTA a “supermini” the Ford Fiesta is one of Ford’s most successful cars. More than ten million have been sold in seven different marks since 1976.
- FORD FOCUS The Ford Focus is a small family car launched in 1998 since which time it has become the UK’s best selling car following in the steps of its predecessor the Escort.
- FORD FOCUS CMAX a compact MPV made since 2003 the CMax is based on the Focus Mk II platform and is the smallest multipurpose vehicle in the Ford range.
- FORD GALAXY a 5door MPV which entered production in 1995. The second generation Galaxy launched in 2006 is one of the UK’s favourites.
- FORD KA produced from 1996 to the present the Ka is a compact “city car” 3door hatchback with a 1.3litre engine. A 1.6litre engine is available in the Sport Ka.
- FORD MONDEO a large family car made from 1993 to the present over three generations.
- FORD MUSTANG a legendary sports car first introduced in 1964 the Mustang is still in production in its fifth generation.
- FORD PUMA a small 3door hatchback coup with 22 seating and a choice of three engines. The limited edition Racing Puma was hand built by Aston Martin coachbuilder Tickford.
DID YOU KNOW?
- The then recentlylaunched Ford Mustang made a debut film appearance in the James Bond film “Goldfinger” in September 1964.
- Ford employs around 245000 employees at 100 plants and facilities around the world.
- The Ford Company reported the largest annual loss in company history in 2006 of 12.7 billion!
- The famous Ford GT40 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times in the 1960s. It remains the only American car ever to win overall at Le Mans.
- When launching the Pinto Ford had a problem in Brazil as “Pinto” was Brazilian slang for “tiny male genitals”. Ford renamed the car Corcel meaning “horse!”
About the writer: Auto Trader World of Cars
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