History
The Ford Motor Company can be credited with revolutionising the automobile industry. Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903, shortly after separating from his previous endeavour – named the Henry Ford Company. Since Henry Ford still retained the rights to use his name for the newly founded Ford Motor Company, the Henry Ford Company became the Cadillac Motor Company. Henry could not venture out on his own without the help of investors. Along with Henry Ford came twelve additional investors, including the Dodge brothers.
Early on, Ford was only able to output several cars per day. The assembly of automobiles is where Henry Ford saw room for improvement. His concept of an assembly line for the manufacturing of cars would dramatically improve a factory’s capacity for producing cars. The assembly line would soon be adopted across a vast number of industries to increase efficiency. The introduction of an assembly not only increased the rate at which cars could be built, it lowered the final cost of automobiles. More families would now be able to purchase a new car. Over the decades, Ford would continue to institute new ideas, designs, and safety features; to stay ahead of the competition.
Major Events
Ford has always tried to lead the way, when it comes to vehicle safety. In 1930, the third year of production for the Model A, Ford introduced windshields made with safety glass. 1956 saw the first rear seat belts. The following year, childproof locks on the doors began being added to most of the vehicles in Ford’s lineup. Safety features have always been a fixture of Ford vehicles.
Less than a decade after the founding of the Ford Motor Company, Henry Ford began seeking expansion in foreign markets. The Ford Motor Company of England was created as a subsidiary of Ford Motor Company in 1909. There were also factories located in Hamburg, Germany as early as 1912. Eventually, the Ford Motor Company of England and the German branch of Ford would merge into Ford of Europe, in 1967.
The Ford Escort was the first model released after the formation of Ford of Europe. The Ford Escort was built in England and later throughout the rest of Europe. The engines were either a 950cc, 1100cc, or 1300cc engine. At first, the Escort was only available in a two-door model; though, Ford soon launched a four door Escort and a van model.
During the1960s and the 1970s, Ford led the European automobile market. The MK2 Escort was launched in 1975 to immediate success; however, the MK3 Escort in 1980 became one of the most widely popular vehicles released by the Ford Motor Company. The MK3 Escort featured front wheel drive and was available in several models. These models included family sedans, the MK3 Sport,the RSMexico, and the RS2000. The MK3 would remain in production, in Europe, throughout the rest on of the decade. Not only was the Escort a commercial success, a rally version of the MK2 Escort, the RS1800, won several RAC Rally championships in a row – from 1975 to 1979. In 1979, the winner and the runner up of the World Rally Championship where driving RS1800s.
Going Forward
Ford continues to show positive strides in the industry without any signs of letting up, and plans to have 25% of its fleet electrified by 2020. They are predicting that the technology they are developing now will be able to harness greater efficiency and cleaner burning power to set the next generation of performance and economy standards.
2020 is still a long shot away, and much more current developments are happening in the concept and plan phase with a new Atlas Truck coming out in 2015, as well as the 2015 Ford Mustang, which is sure to give Mustang lovers plenty of delight, especially here in Australia where rumours are flying that Ford is moving the product from the states overseas. It still remains a question of how soon Ford will make its expansion moves, as well as how they plan to roll out these vehicles, but one thing you can be sure of is that they have probably have a long-term plan!
