Introduction

One of Detroit’s Big 3, Ford Motor Company was founded by the inimitable Henry Ford and incorporated in 1903. Ford not only owns Ford and Lincoln brands but also has minority stakes in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK. For some time, it owned the premium brands Jaguar and Land Rover as well, which it sold to Tata Motors in 2008. Ford also sold its stake in Volvo to Geely Automobile in 2010, while also discontinuing the Mercury brand in 2010.

Ford vehicle sales revenue at the end of 2010 was US$128.954 billion making it the fifth largest automobile manufacturer in the world and the second in the US.

From an initial capital of around US$28,000, Ford has grown into a billion dollar multi-national largely due to the pioneering efforts of Henry Ford. In 1903, the Model A "Fordmobile" was introduced in the market and in three years Ford became the largest selling brand in the US. In 1908, the cult Ford car, Model T was built and by 1916 almost 55% of all cars on the road were Model T’s.

Within a decade of introducing the first Ford car, Ford introduced the assembly line technique for production of Model T’s which increased production by 8 times. A mind-boggling 15 million Model T’s were produced by the end of 1927. Such innovations resulted in the reduction of the base price of the car from $850 in 1908 to $290 in 1924, ensuring that Ford became the most affordable car for everyone. In 1914, Ford also increased the minimum workday wage to $5, almost twice that of the prevalent standard and heralded a social revolution. Ford has continued to expand with acquisition of renowned brands like Lincoln, Land Rover, Jaguar, Mazda, Volvo, Aston Martin and develop a wide range of vehicles over the years so much so that in 1993, five of the eight best selling cars in the US were Fords.

Racing

Ford Fusion, Mustang and F-150 represented Ford in the Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and Camping World Truck Series respectively with 8 manufacturers’ championship wins in the Sprint Series. Ford engines have won 176 Grand Prix races between 1967 and 2003. Ford GT40 is counted among the greatest racing cars of all times and has won the 24 hours of Le Mans four times. The tradition of champagne spraying originated during the celebrations by the Ford team after the 1966 Le Mans wins. Ford formed the Jaguar Racing Formula One team in 1999 and sold it in 2004 to Red Bull GmbH. Ford sports cars like the GT40, Mustang and Mondeo have secured a permanent place in racing history for Ford.

Over the years, Ford cars have acquired a cult status among lovers of automobiles and proud owners think of it as “the car you always promised yourself”.