Ford Motor Company, known plainly as Ford, is an American multinational, dedicated to the manufacture of motor vehicles. It is one of the largest automotive manufacturers worldwide, and one of the 500 most powerful corporations around the world.
It is headquartered in the town of Dearborn, Michigan, United States.
It was founded in 1903 - with a capital of 28,000 dollars, by a group of twelve investors included John and Horace Dodge (who later founded their own car company) and above all Henry Ford, giving the name to the company.
In its first years of existence, a few cars were produced per day in Detroit factory. Little by little, grew up to become one of the largest and most robust of the developed world, being one of the companies that managed to survive the great depression of the 1930s.
Ford's first model: the Ford T
Ford's first model is considered the ancestor of all current cars: the legendary Ford T. It was released on 01 October 1908, built at the Piquette plant, although then the production moved to the Highland Park plant; greater capacity. The Ford T presented a large number of innovations. Had the steering wheel on the left, the engine and transmission were closed, the 4-cylinder engine were embedded in a solid block, and the suspension worked through two semi-elliptic springs.
This revolutionary car was easy to drive and to repair, while economic (initially had a price of $ 825 per coming down every year). In addition, Ford was a pioneer in the basic techniques of production line and mass production. Another historical milestone that marked was the development of simple, cheap and cars intended for the average family in the United States.UU, since before the cars were crafted and had a very high cost.
In case outside little, mark advertised massively to the T, and thanks to the dealers, the car was available in every corner of the country. As expected, sales were massive. In 1914, it reached 250,000 units sold. In 1916, with a price of 360 dollars for the basic version, it was (astronomical for those times) 472.000 units sold mark.
The total production of the Ford T, which continued until the end of 1927, was 15.007034 units, a record that stood for the next 45 years. The reduction of costs, thanks to Ford's important innovations in the production chain; It allowed to offer workers a salary quite greater than the average of the time, ensuring that the staff is satisfied and motivated.
Even in peaceful times, Henry Ford had been against the war, before the second world war his company provided closely to the nazi Germany, and their trucks played a crucial role in the course of the armed conflict.
Initially, the first models sold outside the U.S..UU. they were simply versions of the yankee market vehicles, but later they were developing specific models for Europe. The first of these was the Ford and 8 HP.
Henry Ford, who had resumed control of the company after the death of his son Edsel. He died in 1947 by a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 83. His grandson mayor Henry II took over the management of Ford Motor Company.
Ford also owns the brands Mercury and Lincoln, as well as having a small share of Mazda (Japanese) and Aston Martin (United Kingdom). The subsidiaries Jaguar and Land Rover were sold to Indian group Tata Motors in March 2008. Volvo also was a mark of ownership of Ford, but in 2010 it was sold to Geely Automobile.
To date, remains a family business, run by the descendants of the founder.