Ford Motor Company is one of the world’s largest automotive manufacturers. Each year, Ford builds millions of cars and trucks throughout the world. It employs hundreds of thousands of people.
Ford produces cars under the brands Ford and Lincoln. For much of its history, Ford also produced cars under the Mercury brand. In addition, Ford owns shares in Aston Martin and in the Mazda Motor Corporation. Ford’s corporate headquarters are in Dearborn, Michigan.
The company has assembly and manufacturing plants worldwide. Ford’s Rouge Manufacturing Complex near Detroit is an important site in industrial history. At its peak in the 1930’s, the complex covered 1,100 acres (450 hectares) and employed 100,000 workers. In 2000, a restoration project began on the plant.
Henry Ford, an American machinist and engineer, organized the company in 1903. The success of the Ford Model N, brought out in 1906, led to the company’s introduction of its famous Model T in 1908. Affectionately known as the “Tin Lizzie,” this simple and inexpensive car outsold all other cars for almost 20 years. The model changed little from year to year, and from 1914 to 1925, it came in only one color, black.
The Ford company established the first moving assembly line at its factory in Highland Park, Michigan, in 1913. Using this method, all but the body of the Model T could be assembled in 93 minutes. The assembly line enabled Ford to cut prices, making cars affordable for average families. The Model T gave way to the Model A in 1927. In 1932, Ford mass-produced the V-8 engine, a powerful engine with eight cylinders arranged in a V.
Ford family interests controlled the company until 1956. That year, the Ford Foundation sold 10,200,000 shares of its Ford stock to the public in what was at the time the largest single stock issue ever offered to the public. With this sale, the Ford Motor Company became a publicly owned company.
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Famous Ford models include the Model T, Thunderbird, Mustang, and the Ford F-150 pickup truck. Famous models made under the Lincoln brand include the Continental and the Town Car. Well-known Mercury models include the Cougar, Grand Marquis, and Sable.
