Born in [[San Francisco]], McNamara attended the [[University of California at Berkeley]] and [[Harvard University]]. After serving in World War II McNamara joined [[Ford Motor Company]], which he would eventually lead. He is credited with overseeing the design and production of the very successful ''[[Ford Falcon]]'' (1961), which was an affordable, plain-looking vehicle having terrific gas mileage a decade before that became an issue. The Falcon sold more than 1.5 million vehicles in merely its first two years,<ref>https://www.falconforsale.com/history/</ref> but critics complained that it was a "granny" car designed by a guy who wears "granny" glasses (McNamara). | Born in [[San Francisco]], McNamara attended the [[University of California at Berkeley]] and [[Harvard University]]. After serving in World War II McNamara joined [[Ford Motor Company]], which he would eventually lead. He is credited with overseeing the design and production of the very successful ''[[Ford Falcon]]'' (1961), which was an affordable, plain-looking vehicle having terrific gas mileage a decade before that became an issue. The Falcon sold more than 1.5 million vehicles in merely its first two years,<ref>https://www.falconforsale.com/history/</ref> but critics complained that it was a "granny" car designed by a guy who wears "granny" glasses (McNamara). |