Ford Motor Company (or just Ford) is an American international automaker founded in 1903 by Henry Ford who started up a successful family business which is still afloat. More than that, as of 2012, Ford became the 5th world’s largest automaker with millions of automobiles manufactured annually and hundreds of thousands of employees working worldwide. One hundred years ago the Ford Motor company could daily manufacture just several vehicles a few men worked on.
Soon Ford realized that he needed to increase productivity of his business somehow. Henry Ford was the first to introduce the moving assembly line concept which enabled efficient large-scale car production and workforce management. As a result, an automobile turned from luxury to a means of transport the mid-class could afford.
Nowadays Ford produces different kinds of vehicles under two brands: the main Ford brand and the Lincoln brand Ford’s most luxury cars belong to. Ford is a real multinational company that owns stakes in such large companies as Japanese Mazda (2.1%), British Aston Martin (15%), and Chinese Jiangling (49%), and has a few joint ventures.
Apart from automobiles, Ford also produced trucks, buses and tractors. The company still manufactures F-650 and F-750 trucks whereas the majority of truck models were discontinued in different years of the 20th century. The same applies to buses, but F-650 is still used as a base for some modern buses.
As for motorsport, Ford is among the three American constructors (together with Chevrolet and Shelby) that win titles at the FIA World’s Championships. Ford GT40 is still considered to be one of the greatest racing cars ever.
The company has come up with a few environmental initiatives such as alternative fossil fuel vehicles (Crown Victoria versions) operating on CNG (compressed natural gas), flexible fuel vehicles operating using different ethanol fuel mixtures (E85, E100), hybrid electric vehicles (Ford Fusion Hybrid), all-electric vehicles (Transit Connect, Ford Focus EV), and hydrogen powered vehicles (Explorer SUV version).
Ford’s Most Notable Automobiles
Although the majority of Ford’s vehicles operate on gasoline, electric environment-friendly versions of many of them are also available. The most outstanding automobiles ever manufactured by Ford include such popular nameplates as Ford Focus, Ford Mustang, Ford F-150, Ford Explorer, and Ford Ranger. Presented below is general information on each of these series.
Since 1998 the Ford Focus has been manufactured as a compact, small family car that is on the list of the fifty greatest cars produced within the past fifty years, according to British magazine CAR. The 3d-generation Ford Focus (manufactured since 2011) is a five-door hatchback with enhanced materials and cutting-edge infotainment technologies. A constructively improved Focus version is expected at the first quarter of 2015.
The Ford Mustang is also known as a “pony car” – a coupe that resembles a sports car. Mustang is typically characterized with a long hood and a short rear deck. The 6th-generation Ford Mustang has undergone some construction and functional changes (a widened, lower body; a specially designed independent rear suspension system).
The Ford F series includes full-size pickup trucks with the F-150 model being the most popular version. The current 12th-generation Ford F-150 has been significantly improved (a new V6 engine, etc.). In the next-generation Ford F-150 model to be released in 2015 the emphasis is expected to be made on increased fuel economy at the expense of reduced weight.
The Ford Explorer once was a popular mid-size sports utility vehicle. In 2011 the car was turned into a full-size crossover, and since then on it has been produced as a crossover.
The Ford Ranger encompasses 3 lines of pickup trucks that should be considered separately. A popular North American Ford Ranger version, a compact pickup truck, had been manufactured up to 2012, and then the model was discontinued.