Difference between revisions of "Ford Motor Company"

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Ford Motor Company or Ford is a major American automobile manufacturer based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company was founded by the brilliant entrepreneur Henry Ford in 1903. It introduced many notable world beating models including the Model T, which sold 15 million cars between 1908-27, about half of all the cars in the world at that time, the Ford Mustang which was the original pony car and the Ford GT which is quite possibly the worlds finest automobile.

Ford is the second largest of the North American automobile manufacturers, and has a significant international presence as well. Ford makes 6.6 million vehicles a year under several brands including Lincoln and Mercury. Ford also owns a one-third controlling interest in the Japanese manufacturer Mazda.

Though initially joining the other "Big Three" American auto manufactures (GM and Chrysler being the other two) in requesting US government-backed loans in 2008, Ford Motor Company did not request government aid in 2009 when GM and Chrysler were bailed out. Ford, being the strongest of the American auto manufacturers going into the 2008 financial crisis, now has to compete with the unfairly advantaged, mostly government-owned, GM and Fiat-owned Chrysler, both of which have had their past debts resolved during their respective 2009 bankruptcy and restructuring. Despite this disadvantage Ford continues to lead the world automotive market producing outstanding cars which destroy their European and Japanese (read rice rocket) competition.

Models of Car Ford Has Produced

1900s

• Ford Model A
• Ford Model B
• Ford Model C
• Ford Model F
• Ford Model K
• Ford Model N
• Ford Model R
• Ford Model S
• Ford Model T, 15 million produced 1908-1927

1920s

• Model A, 4 million produced 1927-31
• Model TT

1950s

• Ford Consul
• Ford Country Sedan
• Ford Courier
• Ford Del Rio
• Ford Fairlane
• Ford Galaxy
• Ford Thunderbird

1960s

• Ford Mustang The "Original Pony Car" produced 1964-Present
• Ford Falcon

1970s

• Ford Fairmont
• Ford Pinto

1980s

• Ford Probe
• Ford Laser
• Ford Festiva
• Ford Escort
• Ford Taurus

1990s

• Ford Contour
• Ford ZX2
• Ford Focus

2000s

• Ford GT Reincarnation of the classic Ford GT40 racecar. One of the finest motor vehicles ever built.
• Ford Five Hundred

Crossover Vehicles Ford Has Produced

• Edge
• Flex
• Freestyle

Models of Trucks Ford Has Produced

• Ranger
• F-Series (the most popular vehicle in America for 23 years)
• E-Series
• Super Duty

Models of Sport Utility Vehicles Ford Has Produced

• Escape
• Explorer
• Expedition
• Excursion
• Sport Trac

Ford is active in NASCAR racing, rally racing and building sports cars.

Boycott

A boycott of Ford products is currently in place. It was organized by the conservative American Family Association as a reaction to Ford's active promotion of homosexuality. Since the AFA's boycott drew national media attention to Ford's aggressive promotion of the homosexual agenda, sale of Ford products have declined dramatically, though this decline coincides with the sharp decline of automotive sales in general during the financial crisis of the late 2000s; similar declines in sales were observed in non-boycotted companies like GM and Chrysler during this time.^[1][2] Though some of the bean counters at Ford might support the gay agenda, the real engineers at Ford continue to produce masculine vehicles like the Ford GT and Ford Mustang.

Bibliography

• Bak, Richard. Henry and Edsel: The Creation of the Ford Empire (2003) excerpt and text search
• Batchelor, Ray. Henry Ford: Mass Production, Modernism and Design (1994).
• Bonin, Huber et al. Ford, 1902-2003: The European History 2 vol Paris 2003. ISBN 2-914369-06-9 scholarly essays in English; reviewed in Len Holden, "Fording the Atlantic: Ford and Fordism in Europe" in Business History Volume 47, #1 Jan 2005 pp 122-127
• Brinkley, Douglas. "Prime Mover". American Heritage 2003 54(3): 44-53. on Model T
• Brinkley, Douglas G. Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His Company, and a Century of Progress (2003) excerpt and text search
• Ford, Henry and Samuel Crowther. My Life and Work, (1922), autobiography
• Lewis, David I. The Public Image of Henry Ford: An American Folk Hero and His Company (1976), much broader than title suggests
• Nevins, Allan and Frank Ernest Hill. Ford: The Times, The Man, The Company (vol 1, 1954); Ford: Expansion and Challenge, 1915-1933 (1957); Ford: Decline and Rebirth, 1933-1962 (1962), the standard history of the company and biography of Ford; ACLS E-book vol 1; ACLS E-book vol 2; ACLS E-book for vol 3 the major scholarly history
• Sorensen, Charles E., with Samuel T. Williamson. My Forty Years with Ford, 1956; autobiography
• Tedlow, Richard S. "The Struggle for Dominance in the Automobile Market: the Early Years of Ford and General Motors" Business and Economic History 1988 17: 49-62. Ford stressed low price based on efficient factories but GM did better in oligopolistic competition by including investment in manufacturing, marketing, and management.
• Watts, Steven. The People's Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century (2005), major biography
• Wilkins, Mira and Frank Ernest Hill, American Business Abroad: Ford on Six Continents (1964)
• Williams, Karel, Colin Haslam and John Williams, "Ford versus `Fordism': The Beginning of Mass Production?" Work, Employment & Society, Vol. 6, No. 4, 517-555 (1992), stress on Ford's flexibility and commitment to continuous improvements

References

1. ↑ http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/01/group_says_boycott_adding_to_f.php
2. ↑ http://www.boycottford.com/