FORD - All Car History Volume 6

Ford is the world's third largest car maker when measured by vehicle sales. Other than Ford's own-branded businesses, the company owns one other major brand - Volvo, though it also owns one-third 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 third-ranked car-maker in US sales (being beaten by General Motors and Toyota). It was Ford's 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 large-scale 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 top-selling 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 C-MAX - a compact MPV made since 2003, the C-Max is based on the Focus Mk II platform and is the smallest multi-purpose vehicle in the Ford range.
• FORD GALAXY - a 5-door 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" 3-door hatchback with a 1.3-litre engine. A 1.6-litre 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 3-door hatchback coupé with 2+2 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 recently-launched Ford Mustang made a debut film appearance in the James Bond film "Goldfinger" in September 1964.
• Ford employs around 245,000 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!"