Ford Motor Company, a Brief History
Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company in 1903. It is said that when he started out he invited a friend, to join him in the company to sell his new cars. The offer he made is understood to be as follows, if he sold 12 cars, Henry Ford would give him 25% of the company. His friend sold 4 and then went to Henry Ford and said "it's no good people aren't interested, they all want horse drawn carriages" and left the company.
Surely even Henry Ford, who once famously said "a customer can have his car painted in any colour he wants as long as its black", could never have imagined that one hundred years later, he would still be a household name throughout the world. It is reported that 1 in 20 cars sold in the UK is now a Ford Focus and it has become the UK's best selling car. Contract Hire and Leasing companies find that the most popular model for Ford Contract Hire and Personal Contract Hire is by far the Ford Focus, followed closely by the Ford Mondeo and then the Ford Fiesta.
Although Ford may be thought of by some as a company that produces cars that are perhaps a little boring one must not forget the spectacular Ford Mustang launched in 1964. The car took the market by storm; a million Ford Mustangs were sold in two years, millions of young Americans dreamt of owning one, it inspired the song Mustang Sally. It is now a collector's car.
Nor should one forget the sensational Ford Sierra RS Cosworth introduced in 1986. Who would have thought that something so outstanding could have emerged from a Ford Sierra. It was designed by Ford's Special Engineering group and was made in Belgium. The Cosworth name was made up from the surnames of two engineers Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth. It had a 2.0L engine with a Garret turbocharger and intercooler. It was instantly recognizable with its large whale-tail spoiler. The Sierra RS Cosworth was very successful in motor sport, rumour has it that Ford put the model into production so that they could race it; the cars being raced had to be production models.
More recently at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show, Ford launched the new Ford Mondeo a large and extremely stylish car described as the most elegant and technologically advanced car ever produced by Ford.
In the same year that the Ford Motor Company was founded, two cars were shipped to England, to be shown in an automotive show in London. A gentleman by the name of Aubrey Blakiston then set up a Ford agency in London. The agency employed a young man by the name of Percival Perry who eventually took over the agency and he also became a household name in Britain through his large chain of Ford dealerships, which are still running today. His first dealership opened in 1912.
Prior to 1897 all London Hackney Carriages were horse drawn. This changed when the electric carriage was introduced, although they were not popular with drivers; they were unreliable and expensive to run. Their popularity was not helped, when the first ever drunk driving conviction was handed out to the driver of one of these vehicles, 25 year old George Smith, he was fined £1. The first petrol London taxi was not a Ford as many believe but in fact a French built Prunel. However during 1905, three Model B Fords were introduced as Hackney carriages. This significantly raised the profile of Ford. By 1914 there were 8,397 motorised Hackney carriages on the roads of London.
Henry Ford's first factory in Britain started production in 1911; with the help of Percival Perry, who had in fact persuaded Ford to set up production in Britain. He found a disused tram works in Old Trafford Manchester and converted it into a factory. At this time there was no such thing as a moving production line; components were put together on benches. In 1913 Henry Ford created a revolutionary moving production line, producing over 20 chassis per hour, with a workforce of just 60. The reason Ford said the customer could have any colour as long as it was black, was because black was the fastest drying colour and time was of the essence. The model T Ford became the best selling car in Britain with an extraordinary 30% market share. It also became the best selling car in the world (16,500,000) until the Volkswagen Beetle overtook it.
The rest as they say is history. As for his friend, who felt the horse drawn carriage was a better bet; as at December 2007 a 25% stake in the Ford Motor Company would have been worth approximately $3.5 billion.
Should you have any questions or queries with regard to Ford Contract Hire, Personal Contract Hire or any other form of vehicle finance, please do not hesitate to contact us. Bowater Price plc 01494 536 536.
If you have any queries or questions regarding Ford Contract Hire, Personal Contract Hire, Vehicle Hire Purchase or any other aspect of vehicle funding, please do not hesitate to contact us. Bowater Price plc 01494 536 536.
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