Ford Motor Company Essay, Research Paper

The Ford Motor Company

This is the story of the Ford Motor company. I am going to take you on a

journey through time to start us off on July 30, 1863 in Dearborn Michigan. That

is the date of the birth of one of the most well known men of all time, Henry Ford.

When Henry was sixteen he walked to detroit and apprenticed himself to a

mechanic for two dollars and fifty cents a week but his boarding cost three so he

worked nights for a watchmaker to make ends meet. Later in 1884 Henry took of

a little farm his father gave him. He got married and seemed settled down but

after two years Henry moved back to Detroit and worked as a night engineer for

the Detroit Edison Company.

In 1899 Ford helped organize the Detroit Automobile Company. Ford

wanted to build cars that didn’t cost a lot so many people could afford them but

Ford’s partner’s disagreed so Ford sold out and moved on. In 1903 Ford

developed the Ford Motor Company with only twenty eight thousand dollars. That

money came from eleven stockholders. Ford converted a small Detroit Wagon

Factory into an automotive plant and was staffed with ten people.

The first car Ford produced was the model A. Ford sold seventeen hundred

model A’s in the first fifteen months of production. Beetween 1903 and 1908 Ford

and his engineers used the first nineteen letters of the alphabet to name their

masterpieces but some were experimental and never made the line. In 1908 Ford

created the Model T, the car was a drastic improvement over all the previous cars

and became an instant success. By 1927 Ford had sold more than fifteen million

model T’s.

On May 31, 1927 All Ford plant’s shut down to retool and improve upon the

fifteen year old design of the model T. The result was the second Model A, it was

a vastly improved car in all respects. It came in many body styles and a wide

variety of colors. Beetween late 1927 and 1931 more than four million five

hundred model A’s rolled off the assembly line. But even the model A had to have

an end and it came in 1931 when consumers demanded more luxury and more

power out of their vehicles. This demand gave birth to the legendary Ford V-8.

The public saw the engine for the first time on April 1, 1932. Ford was the first

company in history to cast an eight cylinder engine in one engine block.

In 1938 Ford produced the Mercury which had the V-8 that was now eight

years old. The Mercury was Ford’s entry into the growing medium price range.

Sadly in 1942 all production on civilian driven cars came to a screeching halt.

Iniated by Edsel Ford the company converted to wartime and produced 8,600 four-

engined B-24 “liberator” bombers, 57,000 aircraft engines, over 250,000 jeeps,

tanks, tank destroyers, and other pieces of war machinery and all under three

years. Edsel Ford died in 1943 when his war program was at it’s peak. Henry

Ford took over as president again until, Henry Ford II, Ford’s oldest grandson could

take over on September 21, 1945.

In 1954 the Thunderbird, an American classic, joined the Ford team. The

1955 model was a two seater sports car. The Thunderbird’s introduction single-

handedly started the personal luxury car segment of the market in the United

States. The original Thunderbird came with the famous Ford V-8 engine that

produced one hundred and sixty horsepower and had a three speed manual

transmission. The thunderbird also came with a convertible option. The roof was

detachable and plastic.

On April 17, 1964 at the world’s fair in New York The Ford Motor Company

unveiled it’s new adddition. The Mustang with it’s long hood and short rear deck

had a sporty look and caused a craze. The Ford designers had predicted a sporty

car would appeal to the world war two baby boomers. The Mustang had all the

characteristics of a expensive sports car but along with Ford tradition was in the

mid price range. Dealer’s had twenty two thousand orders for the mustang in it’s

first day of production.

The mustang sported quite a few engines when first introduced in 1964 1/2

you had the option of five engines. A 170-6cyl was available. There was the 260-

2v which was still slow but getting there. There was the 289-2v and 4v the four

barrel was fast but no match for the 289 hi-po which had high compression heads,

performance cam shaft, and 3/4 stroke crank shaft. The 289 hi-po created 271

horsepower and wouldn’t die out until 1967. In 1965 no engine changes were

made because it had been only six months since the Mustang had been

introduced. Even in 1966 the only engine change that was made was to get rid of

the 260-2v. In1967 the 200-6cyl was introduced and the 170-6cyl was discarded.

In 1968 the 302 “big gun” came about. In 1968 1/2 Ford created the 428CJ and

also Ram air was invented

which is a process of running ducts from the cars air scoops to the carburater

which gives the car air easier so that in turn gives the car more horsepower. The

428 was only available in the convertible and fastback not the coupe model. In

1969 the 250 6cyl was created but that was nothing compared to what else was

made. Starting with the 302-2v which was the 5.0 liter that is so popular today in

the Thunderbird and the modern day Mustang. The boss 302 which was the fully

blown version of the 302-2v. The brother of the boss 302 was the boss 429. The

boss 302 was almost unbeatable on the oval track and the boss 429 couldn’t be

beat on the drag strip. The 351W 2v and 4v that is still around today in many ford

trucks. Also the 390 big block was invented and was going to be a key engine in

the galaxie and the mustang. In ‘69 another addition was the 428 super cobra jet,

this engine had ram air and Le Mans push rods that are next to impossible to to

find today. The 428 super cobra jet or 428SCJ as it was commonly called was

rated at about 350 horsepower but in reality produced well over 400. Hot Rod

magazine along with the SCCA or sports car club of america said,”the 428 super

cobra jet was the fastest pure running stock car in the History of man.”

Carrol Shelby throughout the 60’s was working at the same time with Ford

products to make them faster and more powerful. In 1962 The first Cobra rolled

off the line. The first fifty had the 289-4v which produced about 260 horsepower.

After the first fifty the cobra got the 289 hi-po. In 1965 the cobra improved a little it

got the 427 side oiler FE, which meant Ford Edsel. The 427FE produced over 600

horsepower. In 1965 Carrol Shelby started producing the GT-350 which had a

shelbyized 289 that unlike the Ford 289 hi-po

that produced 271 horsepower the Shelby 289 produced about 350 horsepower

hence the name GT-350. When Shelby created the GT-350, to be produced he

had to make 100 prototypes to be recognized by the SCCA. When the deadline

was up Shelby had only twelve done. He lined up the first twelve and the next 88

were just shells with no engines or suspension just a body and a chassis with

wheels welded to them and an interior. The SCCA officials never noticed.

In 1967 Shelby created a new GT model this one just a little bit bigger. The name

was the GT-500. The GT-500 came with a 427, 428cj, or a 428scj.

Ford now had become the first international automotive company in the

world. Ford built factories in Canada, Europe, Australia, South America, and

Japan. Ford’s slogan was build them where you sell them. Ford of Europe was

built in 1967, twenty years ahead of the European Ecenomic Community’s arrival.

Ford established the North American Automotive Operations consolidating the

U.S., Canada, and Mexico in 1972. In 1973 Ford made operations with Spain and

recieved fifty-five dealers in and around Madrid. In 1976 Ford built a

manufacturing plant near Valencia, Spain. There the festiva and Escort cars are

made along with manufacturing engines. In 1979 Ford bought twenty-five percent

of the Mazda motors corporation.

After 1970 The Mustang was still around as well as all the other models but

Ford made no performance cars until the mid eighties when they introduced the

5.0 302 to the Mustang again. In 1985 Ford introduced the Taurus that came with

a 3.0 liter four cylinder but in 1988 Ford introduced the 3.8 liter v-6 to the Taurus.

Ford is still running strong today and is the second largest automotive

company second only to General Motors. They keep producing newer and better

cars to keep we the public happy and will keep going strong until we quit driving

cars.