Some Ford History
| 01 January 2006
There are at least a million stories in the history of Ford Motor Co. All of the movers and shakers had significant influence, good or bad, over the companies direction, successes, and failures. Of course as Mustang enthusiasts, we focus on one of the major successes, the Ford Mustang pony car fathered by Lido Iaccoca. We point with pride to the fact that the Mustang marque has survived more that 40-years and we are quick to point out that over 8.4 million units of our favorite car were produced from 1964 through 2005. Certainly that’s an impressive statistic in its own right but compared to the Model-T with nearly double the production in less than half the time, it is but one of the many notable achievements of Mr. Ford’s automobile business.
We also point with pride to the success of the new S197 introduced in 2005, following successful design and development under the direction of chief engineer Hau Thai-Tang. But we should never forget that were it not for the vision of Henry Ford and the efforts of the many people who carried the company forward to that celebrated day in April 1964, our automotive allegiance could well be directed toward a different marque. As a case in point, there were at least two opportunities during the early Ford history where offers to buy the company could have made it part of General Motors.
There is little doubt that Henry Ford revolutionized manufacturing. By 1914, his Highland Park, Michigan plant, using innovative production techniques, could turn out a complete automobile chassis every 93 minutes. This was a stunning improvement because earlier production times were pegged at 728 minutes per unit. By using a constantly-moving assembly line, subdivision of labor, and careful coordination of operations, Ford realized huge gains in productivity. His mass-production techniques would eventually evolve to the extent that a Model T rolled off the assembly line very 24 seconds. And in another insightful move, Ford can be credited with cutting the workday form 9-hours to 8-hours to facilitate operating 3 full shifts during each 24-hour day. These and many other innovations made him an international celebrity.
Below, you will see some bullet-point historical facts about Henry Ford and the Ford Motor Company leading up to the announcement of the Mustang in 1964:
1863 Birth of Henry Ford July 30 on his father's farm in Springwells Township, near Dearborn, Michigan, west of Detroit.
1896 Runs Quadricycle experimental car on Detroit streets.
1899 Persuades investors to underwrite Detroit Auto Co. and quits Detroit Edison (of Thomas Edison fame). The venture fails.
1901 Jobless, moves his wife and son back into his father's home on Grand Boulevard in Detroit. Ford, driving his own car (Sweepstakes), beats Alexander Winton in automobile race. Attracts investors who form Henry Ford Co.
1902 Ford withdraws. The company becomes Cadillac.
1903 Ford Motor Co. founded by Malcomson group. Model A produced in rented Mack Ave. plant. Ford proclaimed, "I will build a car for the great multitude."
1904 Company builds Piquette Avenue plant at corner of Beaubien. It is still standing and being restored. (The Ford Motor Company Piquette Avenue plant, has been acquired by the MODEL T AUTOMOTIVE HERITAGE COMPLEX, INC. (T-Plex), a nonprofit 501 (c) 3 corporation formed for the purpose of restoring the historic building and establishing an automotive interpretative center [Ed.])
1904 Ford of Canada chartered in Windsor, Ontario.
1906 Ford overtakes Olds, Buick, and Cadillac combined to become No.1 auto maker in U.S. Henry Ford becomes company president and majority owner.
1907 Ford experiments with assembly line at Piquette Ave.
1908 Introduction of legendary Ford Model T on 10/01/1908.
1909 In January, an offer from Billy Durant to buy out Ford and fold it into nascent (emerging) General Motors fails when N.Y. bankers won't provide the up front cash that Henry demands.
1910 Highland Park plant opens, assembly of Model T transferred from Piquette, which closes.
1911 First overseas assembly plant in Manchester, England.
1911 Ford wins Selden patent suit. (In 1879, George Selden filed for a patent on the automobile. A 2-cycle Brayton engine was named in the patent. Henry Ford won because he used of a 4-cycle Otto engine. [Ed.])
1913 The moving assembly line was inaugurated at Highland Park.
1914 Announcement of $5 workday at Ford.
1915 Purchase of land for Rouge plant in Dearborn. 1-millionth Ford built.
1918 Henry Ford loses Senate race as a Democrat.
1919 Henry Ford buys out minority stockholders.
1921 5-millionth Ford built.
1922 Ford Motor Co. acquires Lincoln Motor Co.
1925 First pickup introduced. Ford of Germany established.
1927 Model T production ends after 18 years; 15,007,033 units had been manufactured since 1908.
1927 Model A introduced after 6-month shutdown for retooling. First Model A produced Oct. 20, 1927 but not sold until December 2.
1932 Introduction of Ford V-8 and English Ford Model Y.
1933 Ford falls to third place behind GM and Chrysler..
1935 Lincoln-Zephyr introduced, 1st medium-priced Ford
1937 25-Millionth Ford built.
1938-'39 Mercury introduced as 2nd medium-price entry.
1939 Edsel Ford impresses friends with custom-built Lincoln-Zephyr Continental and production begins.
1941 War production begins with quarter-ton GPs (GP was origin of Jeep name) at Dearborn and B-24 bombers at Willow Run (8,485 are built by war's end in 1945). First UAW contract signed.
1943 Death of Edsel Ford. Henry Ford elected president. Henry Ford II released from Navy to help run company.
1945 Civilian production resumes. Henry Ford II elected president.
1946 Henry Ford II begins restructuring company with former GM executives under Ernest Breech, "Whiz Kids" from Army Air Corps, and college graduate trainees.
1947 Death of Henry Ford on April 7.
1948 Introduction of 1949-models, company's first all-new post-war cars.
1950 Ford overtakes Chrysler to regain 2nd place.
1954 Introduction of '55 Thunderbird.
1955 Introduction of '56 Continental Mark II.
1956 Sale of Ford Motor Co. common stock begins. New Central Office Building opened (later World Headquarters and now Henry Ford II World Center) in Dearborn.
1957 Introduction of '58 Edsel.
1958 Late introduction of 4-seat '58 Thunderbird.
1959 50-millionth car, a Ford Galaxie. Ill-fated Edsel discontinued.
1960 Introduction of '60 1/2 Mercury Comet "luxury compact," '61 Econoline "compact truck". Henry Ford II elected chairman of the board, replacing retiring Breech. Robert McNamara becomes president but resigns to join Kennedy Administration as Secretary of Defense.
1962 Lee Iacocca convinced Henry Ford II that the Mustang (called Cougar, at the time) should be built. $40 million was allocated, initial production was set for 150,000 units, and Job 1 was set for March 9, 1964.
1963 Mustang I concept car shown in at Watkins Glen in October. “Mustang” was selected as the name for the new car in November. Other names in the running included Cougar, Puma, Cheetah, and Colt.
1962 "Intermediate" Ford Fairlane and Mercury Meteor introduced. Ford acquires Philco Corp.
1963 Mustang II experimental car shown at Watkins Glen in October. Not widely known at the time, the car was made mostly of production parts that would comprise the 64-½ Mustang 6-months later.
1964 Introduction of Mustang "pony car" on April 17, 1964.
A short bio of Lee Iacocca :
Born Lido Anthony Iacocca in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in 1924, Iacocca earned an engineering degree from Lehigh University and a masters degree from Princeton University before joining Ford Motor Company as a student engineer in 1946. After less than a year he talked his way into a sales job and, at the age of thirty-three, became the head of all national car marketing at the company's Detroit headquarters. He became vice president and general manager of the Ford Division in 1960.
In his new position, Iacocca recognized the growing power of the youth market and organized a team to design a car for it. Iacocca repackaged the driveline and platform from the moderately successful Ford Falcon and placed it within a European-inspired, stylish shell. The result was the Mustang, a small car that seated four people, weighed less than most cars on the road, and sold for a base price slightly over $2,300. The car's styling captured the excitement of youth. The average age of the car’s buyers was thirty-one. Soon Mustang clubs sprang up around the country and Mustang paraphernalia such as key chains and hats were suddenly available everywhere. A picture of the Mustang ran simultaneously on the covers of both Time and Newsweek; Lee Iacocca also appeared in it.
See a thumb nail bio of our latest Mustang hero, Hau Thai-Tang, in the December 2004 issue of Pony Express.