Ford Motor Company History



Address:
One American Road
Dearborn, Michigan 48126-2798
U.S.A.

Telephone: (313) 322-3000
Toll Free: 800-555-5259
Fax: (313) 845-6073

Website:
Public Company
Incorporated:1919
Employees:327,531
Sales:$164.1 billion (2003)
Stock Exchanges:New York Pacific Euronext Paris Swiss London
Ticker Symbol:F
NAIC: 336111 Automobile Manufacturing; 336112 Light Truck and Utility Vehicle Manufacturing; 33612 Heavy Duty Truck Manufacturing; 33621 Motor Vehicle Body Manufacturing; 532112 Passenger Car Leasing; 524126 Direct Property and Casualty Insurance Carriers

Company Perspectives:

Our vision is to become the world's leading consumer company for automotive products and services. We are a global family with a proud heritage passionately committed to providing personal mobility for people around the world.

Key Dates:

1903:
Henry Ford sets up shop in a converted wagon factory.
1908:
Ford's Model T is introduced.
1922:
Lincoln Motor Company is acquired.
1945:
Henry Ford II is appointed company president.
1963:
Ford Mustang is released.
1985:
Ford Taurus is introduced.
1989:
Jaguar Cars Ltd. is acquired.
1999:
Swedish automaker Volvo is acquired in a $6.45 billion deal.
2001:
The company takes a $2.1 billion charge to cover the cost of replacing Firestone tires on its vehicles; William Clay Ford, Jr., is named CEO.

Company History:

Further Reading:

  • Beynon, Huw, Working for Ford, London: Penguin, 1984.
  • "Carload of Trouble," Business Week, March 27, 2000, p. 56.
  • Connelly, Mary, "Ford's Biggest Job: Lift Lincoln," Automotive News, July 31, 2000, p. 23.
  • "A Crisis of Confidence," Business Week, September 18, 2000, p. 40.
  • Dubashi, Jagannath, "Ford: Looking Beyond the Shadows," FW, February 6, 1990, p. 23.
  • "Ford: Will Slow and Steady Win the Race?," Business Week, May 10, 2004, p. 43.
  • Gelderman, Barbara, Henry Ford: The Wayward Capitalist, New York: Dial Press, 1981.
  • Gross, Ken, "Ford: Big, Bigger, Biggest," Automotive Industries, July 2000, p. 64.
  • Keatley, Robert, "Ford Reorganizes to Stay Competitive and Reach New Markets in the World," Wall Street Journal, July 22, 1994, p. A4.
  • Kerwin, Kathleen, "One of Ford's Engines is Humming," Business Week, July 21, 2003, p. 26.
  • Kerwin, Kathleen, and Joann Muller, "Bill Takes the Wheel," Business Week, November 12, 2001, p. 50.
  • Lewis, David L., The Public Image of Henry Ford: An American Folk Hero and His Company, Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1976.
  • Meyer, Stephen, The Five Dollar Day: Labor Management and Social Control in the Ford Motor Company 1908-1921, Albany: State University of New York Press, 1981.
  • Moreau, Dan, "Instant Prosperity: Behind Ford's Fast Turnaround," Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine, July 1993, p. 28.
  • Morris, Betsy, "Can Ford Save Ford?," Fortune, November 18, 2002, p. 52.
  • "Nasser: Ford Be Nimble," Business Week, September 27, 1999, p. 42.
  • Nye, David E., Henry Ford: Ignorant Idealist, Port Washington: Kennikat Press, 1979.
  • Reiff, Rick, "Slowing Traffic Ahead," Forbes, April 30, 1990, p. 82.
  • "Remaking Ford," Business Week, October 11, 1999, p. 132.
  • Sorge, Marjorie, "1999 Executive of the Year," Automotive Industries, February 1999, p. 54.
  • Taylor III, Alex, "Getting Ford in Gear," Fortune, May 12, 2003, p. 102.
  • ------, "The Fiasco at Ford," Fortune, February 4, 2002, p. 111.
  • ------, "Why Ford's Chairman Has Kept Mostly Mum," Fortune, October 2, 2000, p. 43.
  • Thomas, Charles M., "Ford Loses a Record $2.3 Billion," Automotive News, February 17, 1992, p. 4.
  • Zesiger, Sue, "Ford's Hip Transplant," Fortune, May 10, 1999, p. 82.
  • ------, "Mr. Ford and Mr. Nasser Learn to Share: The Lords of Ford," Fortune, October 12, 1998, p. 34.

Source: International Directory of Company Histories, Vol.64. St. James Press, 2004.