A Brief History of Dearborn Assembly Plant
| 01 September 2006
(This article is based on a Ford Press release datelined Dearborn, May 10, 2004. It’s a good summary of the plant’s highlights over the years, the plant where the first production Mustang came off the line on March 9, 1964. We’re familiar with much of the Mustang story but some of the other history is new information, at least to me. The photographs presented in conjunction with article were taken on April 4, 1964, less than a month after the first Mustang saw the light of day and then rolled into history.
The photos were uncaptioned but you’ll see Mustangs at several assembly line work stations. In two of the photos, you’ll also see 1964 Fairlanes, thus substantiating the timeframe. As you look at the photos, notice the confined work space in many of them. It doesn’t look like a very friendly place to work by today’s standards but that doesn’t diminish the love affair with first generation Mustangs.)
Dearborn Assembly Plant opened in 1918 as a three-story factory building. The plant, known at that time as B Building, made Eagle boats, AKA submarine chasers, for the U.S. government along with Torpedo boats and PT boats.
In 1921, assembly of the Fordson Tractor moved to B Building, and wooden body parts for the Model T were also manufactured there. In 1927, the Model A debuted at the plant. Replacing the Model A in 1932, production began on the Ford V8 automobile. In 1936, the V8 light truck was introduced and produced at B Building.
In 1939, a third assembly line was added with the introduction of Mercury division. For nearly 50 years, the plant built the following Mercury-brand models: Mercury (1939-1941, 1945-1950), Meteor (1962-1963), Cougar (1966-1973), Comet (1972-1973), Capri (1972-1985).
From 1941 through 1945, the plant was converted to build military vehicles: tanks, trucks, staff cars and jeep amphibians. Following the end of World War II, it returned to automobile production. From 1945 through 1961, all Ford-brand models including Deluxe Tudor, Galaxie, Fairlane, Thunderbird, Ranchero, Falcon and Maverick were assembled there. For one year, 1945, the plant also produced Lincolns.
In 1948, B Building was renamed Dearborn Assembly Plant (DAP).
In 1955, Thunderbird production began and in 1964, Mustang was born. In 1978, the plant added production of Mercury Capri and celebrated the company's 150 millionth vehicle, a Mustang. The first Fox Body Mustang convertible was introduced there in 1982.
Mustang won Car and Driver's Top Ten awards in 1987 and 1988. The 1994 Mustang won the Motor Trend Car of the Year award.
In September 1995, DAP received ISO-9001 certification for successfully implementing a standardized quality improvement process.
DAP was visited by Nelson Mandela in 1990 and by President Bill Clinton in 1994.
The last addition to the plant was in 2000, when a paint shop was added.
In 40 years of Mustang production, DAP built 6.7 million units. A combined production total of 1.6 million additional Mustangs was built at Metuchen, NJ and San José, CA during the same period, bringing the overall 40-year Mustang production to 8.3 million.
DAP built its last Mustang, a GT, on May 10, 2004. Production of the new 2005 S197 began at the AutoAlliance International (AAI) plant in Flat Rock, MI on September 7, 2004, where it remains.