About Ford Cars
Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903 at the age of 39. During these early years, the factory in Michigan, USA, only produced a few cars.
The Ford Motor Company is one of the world's largest family-controlled automobile companies and has been so for over 100 years. In 1908 they introduced the Model T which featured the first engine to have a removable cylinder head. In 1930 the Model A was introduced and the windshield was made of safety glass. Ford introduced the revolutionary Lifeguard safety package in 1956, which included options such as rear seatbelts and a padded dash and in 1957 child proof door locks were introduced. In 1964 Ford produced its first six-seater car, the Ford Mustang and the following year saw the introduction of its new seat belt reminder light.
The 1980s saw the introduction of many successful Ford vehicles all around the world using as its advertising slogan, 'Have you driven a Ford, lately?' The 1990s saw Ford acquiring the British company Aston Martin, although they later sold them to Volvo Cars in 1999. Their car sales thrived in America. However, this good fortune did not continue and the twenty-first century saw a fall in their market shares and dwindling sales resulting in a loss of profits.
However by 2005, Ford devised a new plan to increase their profits and sales and this was led by Chairman Bill Ford who asked Mark Fields, the Ford Americas Division President to develop a new plan of action that was named, 'The Way Forward' which was finally unveiled on January 23, 2006. What this plan involved was resizing the company, stopping production of inefficient models and ultimately the closure of 14 factories resulting in 30,000 job losses. So with the new plan in place, Ford introduced its new range of vehicles that included the 'Crossover SUVs' as well as developing its hybrid electric technologies for the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV.
William Clay Ford Jr. who is the great-grandson of Henry Ford was appointed Executive Chairman in 1998 and became Chief Executive Officer in 2001. However in 2006, the company reported its largest annual loss in its entire history of $12.7 billion, what was most surprising though was that in 2007 the company made a profit of $750 million. June 2, 2000, saw Ford selling its Land Rover and Jaguar operations to Tata Motors for a reported $2.3 billion.
Since 2012 Ford Motor Company have sold automobiles worldwide under the Ford marque and has used the Lincoln marque in the United States to add a range of luxury cars. On November 1, 2012, Ford announced that CEO Alan Mulally would stay with Ford until 2014. Mark Fields was also named as the president of operations in America and was appointed its new chief operating officer.