Henry Ford and Ford Motor Company

Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industryHP Pavilion dv7-4009tx Battery. As owner of the Ford Motor Company, he became one of the richest and best-known people in the world. He is credited with "Fordism": mass production of inexpensive goods coupled with high wages for workers. Ford had a global vision, with consumerism as the key to peace. His intense commitment to systematically lowering costs resulted in many technical and business innovations, HP Pavilion dv7-4010em Battery including a franchise system that put dealerships throughout most of North America and in major cities on six continents. Ford left most of his vast wealth to the Ford Foundation but arranged for his family to control the company permanently. Ford was also widely known for his pacifism during the first years of World War I, but also for being the publisher of antisemitic texts such as the book The International Jew.[1] HP Pavilion dv7-4010eq Battery Early years Ford was born July 30, 1863, on a farm in Greenfield Township (near Detroit, Michigan).[2] His father, William Ford (1826–1905), was born in County Cork, Ireland, of a family originally from western England, who were among migrants to Ireland as the English created plantations. HP Pavilion dv7-4010es Battery [citation needed] His mother, Mary Litogot Ford (1839–1876), was born in Michigan; she was the youngest child of Belgian immigrants; her parents died when Mary was a child and she was adopted by neighbors, the O'Herns. Henry Ford's siblings include Margaret Ford (1867–1938); Jane Ford (c. 1868–1945); William Ford (1871–1917) and Robert Ford (1873–1934). HP Pavilion dv7-4010ev Battery His father gave him a pocket watch in his early teens. At 15, Ford dismantled and reassembled the timepieces of friends and neighbors dozens of times, gaining the reputation of a watch repairman.[3] At twenty, Ford walked four miles to their Episcopal church every Sunday.[4] HP Pavilion dv7-4010sd Battery Ford was devastated when his mother died in 1876. His father expected him to eventually take over the family farm, but he despised farm work. He later wrote, "I never had any particular love for the farm—it was the mother on the farm I loved."[5] In 1879, HP Pavilion dv7-4010sg Battery he left home to work as an apprentice machinist in the city of Detroit, first with James F. Flower & Bros., and later with the Detroit Dry Dock Co. In 1882, he returned to Dearborn to work on the family farm, where he became adept at operating the Westinghouse portable steam engine. He was later hired by Westinghouse company to service their steam engines. During this period Ford also studied bookkeeping at Goldsmith, HP Pavilion dv7-4010sl BatteryBryant & Stratton Business College in Detroit.[6] Marriage and family Ford married Clara Ala Bryant (1866–1950) in 1888 and supported himself by farming and running a sawmill.[7] They had one child: Edsel Ford (1893–1943).[8] CareerHP Pavilion dv7-4010so Battery In 1891, Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company. After his promotion to Chief Engineer in 1893, he had enough time and money to devote attention to his personal experiments on gasoline engines. These experiments culminated in 1896 with the completion of a self-propelled vehicle which he named the Ford Quadricycle. He test-drove it on June 4. HP Pavilion dv7-4010sv Battery After various test-drives, Ford brainstormed ways to improve the Quadricycle.[9] Also in 1896, Ford attended a meeting of Edison executives, where he was introduced to Thomas Edison. Edison approved of Ford's automobile experimentation. Encouraged by Edison, Ford designed and built a second vehicle, HP Pavilion dv7-4010sw Battery completing it in 1898.[10] Backed by the capital of Detroit lumber baron William H. Murphy, Ford resigned from the Edison Company and founded the Detroit Automobile Company on August 5, 1899.[11] However, the automobiles produced were of a lower quality and higher price than Ford wanted. Ultimately, the company was not successful and was dissolved in January 1901.[11] HP Pavilion dv7-4010tx Battery With the help of C. Harold Wills, Ford designed, built, and successfully raced a 26-horsepower automobile in October 1901. With this success, Murphy and other stockholders in the Detroit Automobile Company formed the Henry Ford Company on November 30, 1901, with Ford as chief engineerHP Pavilion dv7-4011eg Battery.[12] In 1902, Murphy brought in Henry M. Leland as a consultant; Ford, in response, left the company bearing his name. With Ford gone, Murphy renamed the company the Cadillac Automobile Company.[12] Teaming up with former racing cyclist Tom Cooper, Ford also produced the 80+ horsepower racer "999" which Barney Oldfield was to drive to victory in a race in October 1902. HP Pavilion dv7-4011el BatteryFord received the backing of an old acquaintance, Alexander Y. Malcomson, a Detroit-area coal dealer.[12] They formed a partnership, "Ford & Malcomson, Ltd." to manufacture automobiles. Ford went to work designing an inexpensive automobile, and the duo leased a factory and contracted with a machine shop owned by John and Horace E. Dodge to supply over $160,000 in parts.[12] Sales were slow, HP Pavilion dv7-4011so Battery and a crisis arose when the Dodge brothers demanded payment for their first shipment. Ford Motor Company In response, Malcomson brought in another group of investors and convinced the Dodge Brothers to accept a portion of the new company.[13] Ford & Malcomson was reincorporated as the Ford Motor Company on June 16, 1903, HP Pavilion dv7-4012eg Battery [13] with $28,000 capital. The original investors included Ford and Malcomson, the Dodge brothers, Malcomson's uncle John S. Gray, Malcolmson's secretary James Couzens, and two of Malcomson's lawyers, John W. Anderson and Horace Rackham. Ford then demonstrated a newly-designed car on the ice of Lake St. Clair, driving 1 mile (1.6 km) in 39.4 seconds and setting a new land speed record at 91.3 miles per hour (147.0 km/h). HP Pavilion dv7-4012TX Battery Convinced by this success, the race driver Barney Oldfield, who named this new Ford model "999" in honor of the fastest locomotive of the day, took the car around the country, making the Ford brand known throughout the United States. Ford also was one of the early backers of the Indianapolis 500. Model THP Pavilion dv7-4013eg Battery The Model T was introduced on October 1, 1908. It had the steering wheel on the left, which every other company soon copied. The entire engine and transmission were enclosed; the four cylinders were cast in a solid block; the suspension used two semi-elliptic springs. HP Pavilion dv7-4013el Battery The car was very simple to drive, and easy and cheap to repair. It was so cheap at $825 in 1908 ($21,340 today) (the price fell every year) that by the 1920s, a majority of American drivers had learned to drive on the Model T.[14] Ford created a massive publicity machine in Detroit to ensure every newspaper carried stories and ads about the new product. HP Pavilion dv7-4013so BatteryFord's network of local dealers made the car ubiquitous in virtually every city in North America. As independent dealers, the franchises grew rich and publicized not just the Ford but the very concept of automobiling; local motor clubs sprang up to help new drivers and to encourage exploring the countryside. Ford was always eager to sell to farmers, HP Pavilion dv7-4013tx Battery who looked on the vehicle as a commercial device to help their business. Sales skyrocketed—several years posted 100% gains on the previous year. Always on the hunt for more efficiency and lower costs, in 1913 Ford introduced the moving assembly belts into his plants, which enabled an enormous increase in production. Although Ford is often credited with the idea, HP Pavilion dv7-4014eo Batterycontemporary sources indicate that the concept and its development came from employees Clarence Avery, Peter E. Martin, Charles E. Sorensen, and C. Harold Wills.[15] (See Piquette Plant) Sales passed 250,000 in 1914. By 1916, as the price dropped to $360 for the basic touring car, sales reached 472,000.[16] (Using the consumer price index, this price was equivalent to $7,020 in 2008 dollars.) HP Pavilion dv7-4015ew Battery By 1918, half of all cars in America were Model T's. However, it was a monolithic black; as Ford wrote in his autobiography, "Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black".[17] Until the development of the assembly line, which mandated black because of its quicker drying time, HP Pavilion dv7-4015ez Battery Model T's were available in other colors, including red. The design was fervently promoted and defended by Ford, and production continued as late as 1927; the final total production was 15,007,034. This record stood for the next 45 years. This record was achieved in just 19 years from the introduction of the first Model T (1908). HP Pavilion dv7-4015sa Battery President Woodrow Wilson asked Ford to run as a Democrat for the United States Senate from Michigan in 1918. Although the nation was at war, Ford ran as a peace candidate and a strong supporter of the proposed League of Nations.[18] Henry Ford turned the presidency of Ford Motor Company over to his son Edsel Ford in December 1918. Henry, however, HP Pavilion dv7-4015sg Battery retained final decision authority and sometimes reversed his son. Henry started another company, Henry Ford and Son, and made a show of taking himself and his best employees to the new company; the goal was to scare the remaining holdout stockholders of the Ford Motor Company to sell their stakes to him before they lost most of their value. HP Pavilion dv7-4015sl Battery (He was determined to have full control over strategic decisions.) The ruse worked, and Henry and Edsel purchased all remaining stock from the other investors, thus giving the family sole ownership of the company.[19] By the mid-1920s, HP Pavilion dv7-4015ss Batterysales of the Model T began to decline due to rising competition. Other auto makers offered payment plans through which consumers could buy their cars, which usually included more modern mechanical features and styling not available with the Model T. Despite urgings from Edsel, Henry steadfastly refused to incorporate new features into the Model T or to form a customer credit plan.[20] HP Pavilion dv7-4016eg Battery Model A and Ford's later career By 1926, flagging sales of the Model T finally convinced Henry to make a new model. He pursued the project with a great deal of technical expertise in design of the engine, chassis, and other mechanical necessities, HP Pavilion dv7-4017ez Batterywhile leaving the body design to his son. Edsel also managed to prevail over his father's initial objections in the inclusion of a sliding-shift transmission.[21] The result was the successful Ford Model A, introduced in December 1927 and produced through 1931, with a total output of more than 4 million. Subsequently, HP Pavilion dv7-4019sz Battery the Ford company adopted an annual model change system similar to that recently pioneered by its competitor General Motors (and still in use by automakers today). Not until the 1930s did Ford overcome his objection to finance companies, and the Ford-owned Universal Credit Corporation became a major car-financing operation.[22] HP Pavilion dv7-4020ec Battery Ford did not believe in accountants; he amassed one of the world's largest fortunes without ever having his company audited under his administration. Labor philosophy The five-dollar workdayHP Pavilion dv7-4020em Battery Ford was a pioneer of "welfare capitalism", designed to improve the lot of his workers and especially to reduce the heavy turnover that had many departments hiring 300 men per year to fill 100 slots. Efficiency meant hiring and keeping the best workers.[23] Ford astonished the world in 1914 by offering a $5 per day wage ($120 today), HP Pavilion dv7-4020eo Batterywhich more than doubled the rate of most of his workers.[24] A Cleveland, Ohio newspaper editorialized that the announcement "shot like a blinding rocket through the dark clouds of the present industrial depression."[25] The move proved extremely profitable; instead of constant turnover of employees, the best mechanics in Detroit flocked to Ford, bringing their human capital and expertise, HP Pavilion dv7-4020es Battery raising productivity, and lowering training costs.[26][27] Ford announced his $5-per-day program on January 5, 1914, raising the minimum daily pay from $2.34 to $5 for qualifying workers. It also set a new, reduced workweek, although the details vary in different accounts. Ford and Crowther in 1922 described it as six 8-hour days, HP Pavilion dv7-4020ew Battery giving a 48-hour week,[28] while in 1926 they described it as five 8-hour days, giving a 40-hour week.[29] (Apparently the program started with Saturdays as workdays and sometime later it was changed to a day off.) Detroit was already a high-wage city, but competitors were forced to raise wages or lose their best workers. HP Pavilion dv7-4020sa Battery [30] Ford's policy proved, however, that paying people more would enable Ford workers to afford the cars they were producing and be good for the economy. Ford explained the policy as profit-sharing rather than wages.[31] It may have been Couzens who convinced Ford to adopt the $5 day.[32] The profit-sharing was offered to employees who had worked at the company for six months or more, HP Pavilion dv7-4020sd Batteryand, importantly, conducted their lives in a manner of which Ford's "Social Department" approved. They frowned on heavy drinking, gambling, and what might today be called "deadbeat dads". The Social Department used 50 investigators, plus support staff, to maintain employee standards; a large percentage of workers were able to qualify for this "profit-sharing. HP Pavilion dv7-4020tx Battery" Ford's incursion into his employees' private lives was highly controversial, and he soon backed off from the most intrusive aspects. By the time he wrote his 1922 memoir, he spoke of the Social Department and of the private conditions for profit-sharing in the past tense, and admitted that "paternalism has no place in industry. HP Pavilion dv7-4021so Battery Welfare work that consists in prying into employees' private concerns is out of date. Men need counsel and men need help, oftentimes special help; and all this ought to be rendered for decency's sake. But the broad workable plan of investment and participation will do more to solidify industry and strengthen organization than will any social work on the outside. HP Pavilion dv7-4021tx BatteryWithout changing the principle we have changed the method of payment."[33] Labor unions Ford was adamantly against labor unions. He explained his views on unions in Chapter 18 of My Life and Work.[34] He thought they were too heavily influenced by some leaders who, despite their ostensible good motives, HP Pavilion dv7-4022ez Batterywould end up doing more harm than good for workers. Most wanted to restrict productivity as a means to foster employment, but Ford saw this as self-defeating because, in his view, productivity was necessary for any economic prosperity to exist. He believed that productivity gains that obviated certain jobs would nevertheless stimulate the larger economy and thus grow new jobs elsewhere, HP Pavilion dv7-4022so Batterywhether within the same corporation or in others. Ford also believed that union leaders had a perverse incentive to foment perpetual socio-economic crisis as a way to maintain their own power. Meanwhile, he believed that smart managers had an incentive to do right by their workers, because doing so would maximize their own profits. (Ford did acknowledge, HP Pavilion dv7-4022tx Battery however, that many managers were basically too bad at managing to understand this fact.) But Ford believed that eventually, if good managers such as he could fend off the attacks of misguided people from both left and right (i.e., both socialists and bad-manager reactionaries), the good managers would create a socio-economic system wherein neither bad management nor bad unions could find enough support to continue existingHP Pavilion dv7-4023so Battery. To forestall union activity, Ford promoted Harry Bennett, a former Navy boxer, to head the Service Department. Bennett employed various intimidation tactics to squash union organizing.[35] The most famous incident, on May 26, 1937, involved Bennett's security men beating with clubs UAW representatives, HP Pavilion dv7-4024so Battery including Walter Reuther.[36] While the Bennett's men were beating the UAW representatives, the supervising police chief on the scene was Carl Brooks, an alumnus of Bennett’s Service Department, and [Brooks] "did not give orders to intervene."[37] The incident became known as The Battle of the Overpass. HP Pavilion dv7-4024tx Battery In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Edsel (who was president of the company) thought Ford had to come to some sort of collective bargaining agreement with the unions because the violence, work disruptions, and bitter stalemates could not go on forever. But Henry (who still had the final veto in the company on a de facto basis even if not an official one) refused to cooperate. HP Pavilion dv7-4025eo Battery For several years, he kept Bennett in charge of talking to the unions that were trying to organize the Ford Motor Company. Sorensen's memoir[38] makes clear that Henry's purpose in putting Bennett in charge was to make sure no agreements were ever reached. The Ford Motor Company was the last Detroit automaker to recognize the United Auto Workers union (UAW). HP Pavilion dv7-4025ew BatteryA sit-down strike by the UAW union in April 1941 closed the River Rouge Plant. Sorensen recounted that a distraught Henry Ford was very close to following through with a threat to break up the company rather than cooperate but that his wife Clara told him she would leave him if he destroyed the family business. HP Pavilion dv7-4025ss Battery She wanted to see their son and grandsons lead it into the future.[39] Henry complied with his wife's ultimatum. Overnight, the Ford Motor Co. went from the most stubborn holdout among automakers to the one with the most favorable UAW contract terms.[citation needed] The contract was signed in June 1941. HP Pavilion dv7-4025tx Battery Ford Airplane Company Ford, like other automobile companies, entered the aviation business during World War I, building Liberty engines. After the war, it returned to auto manufacturing until 1925, when Ford acquired the Stout Metal Airplane Company. HP Pavilion dv7-4026eo Battery Ford's most successful aircraft was the Ford 4AT Trimotor, often called the "Tin Goose" because of its corrugated metal construction. It used a new alloy called Alclad that combined the corrosion resistance of aluminum with the strength of duralumin. The plane was similar to Fokker's V.VII-3m, HP Pavilion dv7-4026tx Batteryand some say that Ford's engineers surreptitiously measured the Fokker plane and then copied it. The Trimotor first flew on June 11, 1926, and was the first successful U.S. passenger airliner, accommodating about 12 passengers in a rather uncomfortable fashion. Several variants were also used by the U.S. Army. HP Pavilion dv7-4027so Battery Ford has been honored by the Smithsonian Institution for changing the aviation industry. 199 Trimotors were built before it was discontinued in 1933, when the Ford Airplane Division shut down because of poor sales during the Great Depression. Willow RunHP Pavilion dv7-4027tx Battery Main article: Willow Run Peace and war World War I era Ford opposed war, which he thought was a terrible waste.[40][41] Ford became highly critical of those who he felt financed war, and he tried to stop them. HP Pavilion dv7-4028eo Battery In 1915, the pacifist Rosika Schwimmer gained favor with Ford, who agreed to fund a peace ship to Europe, where World War I was raging. He and about 170 other prominent peace leaders traveled there. Ford's Episcopalian pastor, Reverend Samuel S. Marquis, accompanied him on the mission. Marquis headed Ford's Sociology Department from 1913 to 1921. HP Pavilion dv7-4028tx Battery Ford talked to President Wilson about the mission but had no government support. His group went to neutral Sweden and the Netherlands to meet with peace activists. A target of much ridicule, Ford left the ship as soon as it reached Sweden.[42] Ford plants in Britain produced tractors to increase the British food supply, HP Pavilion dv7-4029tx Batteryas well as trucks and aircraft engines. When the U.S. entered the war in 1917 the company became a major supplier of weapons, especially the Liberty engine for airplanes, and anti-submarine boats.[43] In 1918, with the war on and the League of Nations a growing issue in global politics, President Woodrow Wilson, HP Pavilion dv7-4030ed Battery a Democrat, encouraged Ford to run for a Michigan seat in the U.S. Senate. Wilson believed that Ford could tip the scales in Congress in favor of Wilson's proposed League. "You are the only man in Michigan who can be elected and help bring about the peace you so desire," the president wrote Ford. Ford wrote back: "If they want to elect me let them do so, HP Pavilion dv7-4030ek Battery but I won't make a penny's investment." Ford did run, however, and came within 4,500 votes of winning, out of more than 400,000 cast statewide.[44] The coming of World War II and Ford's mental collapse Ford had opposed America's entry into World War II [36][45] and continued to believe that international business could generate the prosperity that would head off wars. HP Pavilion dv7-4030em Battery Ford "insisted that war was the product of greedy financiers who sought profit in human destruction"; in 1939 he went so far as to claim that the torpedoing of U.S. merchant ships by German submarines was the result of conspiratorial activities undertaken by financier war-makers.[46] The financiers to whom he was referring was Ford's code for Jews; HP Pavilion dv7-4030er Batteryhe had also accused Jews of fomenting the First World War (see the section on his anti-Semitism below).[47][36] In the run-up to World War II and when the war erupted in 1939, he reported that he did not want to trade with belligerents. Like many other businessmen of the Great Depression era, he never liked or entirely trusted the Franklin Roosevelt Administration, HP Pavilion dv7-4030ew Battery and thought Roosevelt was inching the U.S. closer to war. However, Ford continued to do business with Nazi Germany, including the manufacture of war materiel.[36] Beginning in 1940, with the requisitioning of between 100 and 200 French POWs to work as slave laborers, Ford-Werke contravened Article 31 of the 1929 Geneva Convention. HP Pavilion dv7-4030ss Battery[36] At that time, which was before the U.S. entered the War and still had full diplomatic relations with Nazi Germany, Ford-Werke was under the control of the Ford Motor Company. The number of slave laborers grew as the war expanded although Wallace made it clear that companies in Germany were not required by the Nazi authorities to use slave laborers. HP Pavilion dv7-4031eo Battery When Rolls-Royce sought a U.S. manufacturer as an alternative source for the Merlin engine (as fitted to Spitfire and Hurricane fighters), Ford first agreed to do so and then reneged. He "lined up behind the war effort" when the U.S. entered in late 1941."[48] His support of the American war effort, HP Pavilion dv7-4031sd Battery however, was problematic. Once the U.S. entered the war, Ford's Willow Run plant was converted into a B-24 factory. Production, however, was marred by incompetence and bungling.[36] Following a series of strokes in the late 1930s he became increasingly debilitated and was more of a figurehead; HP Pavilion dv7-4031tx Batteryother people made the decisions in his name.[49] After Edsel Ford's premature death, Henry Ford nominally resumed control of the company in 1943, but his mental ability was fading. In reality the company was controlled by a handful of senior executives led by Charles Sorensen, an important engineer and production executive at Ford, HP Pavilion dv7-4032eo Battery and Harry Bennett, the chief of Ford's Service Unit, Ford's paramilitary force that spied, and enforced discipline, on employees. As Ford became increasingly sidelined, he grew jealous of the publicity Sorensen received; Ford forced Sorensen out in 1944.[50] Henry Ford II (Ford's grandson), in a purge of the old guard, forced out Bennett in 1947. HP Pavilion dv7-4033tx Battery Ford's incompetence led to discussions in Washington about how to restore the company, whether by wartime government fiat or by instigating some sort of coup among executives and directors.[51] Nothing happened until 1945, with bankruptcy a serious risk. Edsel's widow led an ouster and installed her son, Henry Ford II, as president; the young man took full control.[52][53] HP Pavilion dv7-4034tx Battery The Dearborn Independent and anti-Semitism Ford in the early 1920s sponsored a weekly newspaper that published (among many non-controversial articles) strongly anti-Semitic views. At the same time Ford had a reputation as one of the few major corporations actively hiring black workers; HP Pavilion dv7-4035es Battery he was not accused of discrimination against Jewish workers or suppliers.[54] In 1918, Ford's closest aide and private secretary, Ernest G. Liebold, purchased an obscure weekly newspaper for Ford, The Dearborn Independent. The Independent ran for eight years, from 1920 until 1927, HP Pavilion dv7-4035sa Batteryduring which Liebold was editor. Every Ford franchise nation-wide had to carry the paper and distribute it to its customers. The newspaper published The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which was discredited by The Times of London as a forgery during the Independent's publishing run. HP Pavilion dv7-4035so BatteryThe American Jewish Historical Society described the ideas presented in the magazine as "anti-immigrant, anti-labor, anti-liquor, and anti-Semitic." In February 1921, the New York World published an interview with Ford, in which he said: "The only statement I care to make about the Protocols is that they fit in with what is going on." HP Pavilion dv7-4035tx Battery During this period, Ford emerged as "a respected spokesman for right-wing extremism and religious prejudice," reaching around 700,000 readers through his newspaper.[55] The 2010 documentary film Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story (written by Pulitzer Prize winner Ira Berkow) noted that Ford wrote on May 22, 1920: “If fans wish to know the trouble with American baseball they have it in three words—too much JewHP Pavilion dv7-4036tx Battery.”[56][57][58][59][60][61] In Germany, Ford's anti-Semitic articles from The Dearborn Independent were issued in four volumes, cumulatively titled The International Jew, the World's Foremost Problem published by Theodor Fritsch, founder of several anti-Semitic parties and a member of the Reichstag. In a letter written in 1924, HP Pavilion dv7-4038ca BatteryHeinrich Himmler described Ford as "one of our most valuable, important, and witty fighters."[62] Ford is the only American mentioned in Mein Kampf.[63][64] Adolf Hitler wrote, "only a single great man, Ford, [who], to [the Jews'] fury, still maintains full independence...[from] the controlling masters of the producers in a nation of one hundred and twenty millions." HP Pavilion dv7-4038tx BatterySpeaking in 1931 to a Detroit News reporter, Hitler said he regarded Ford as his "inspiration," explaining his reason for keeping Ford's life-size portrait next to his desk.[65] Steven Watts wrote that Hitler "revered" Ford, proclaiming that "I shall do my best to put his theories into practice in Germany," and modeling the Volkswagen, the people's car, HP Pavilion dv7-4039tx Battery on the Model T.[66] On February 1, 1924, Ford received Kurt Ludecke, a representative of Hitler, at home. Ludecke was introduced to Ford by Siegfried Wagner (son of the composer Richard Wagner) and his wife Winifred, both Nazi sympathizers and anti-Semites. Ludecke asked Ford for a contribution to the Nazi cause, but was apparently refused.[67] HP Pavilion dv7-4040ed Battery While Ford's articles were denounced by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the articles explicitly condemned pogroms and violence against Jews (Volume 4, Chapter 80), but blamed the Jews for provoking incidents of mass violence.[68] None of this work was written by Ford, HP Pavilion dv7-4040ek Battery but he allowed his name to be used as author. According to trial testimony, he wrote almost nothing. Friends and business associates have said they warned Ford about the contents of the Independent and that he probably never read the articles. (He claimed he only read the headlines.)[69] However, court testimony in a libel suit, brought by one of the targets of the newspaper, HP Pavilion dv7-4040sa Batteryalleged that Ford did know about the contents of the Independent in advance of publication.[36] The libel lawsuit, which was brought by San Francisco lawyer and Jewish farm cooperative organizer Aaron Sapiro in response to anti-Semitic remarks, led Ford to close the Independent in December 1927. News reports at the time quoted him as saying he was shocked by the content and unaware of its nature. HP Pavilion dv7-4040sb BatteryDuring the trial, the editor of Ford's "Own Page," William Cameron, testified that Ford had nothing to do with the editorials even though they were under his byline. Cameron testified at the libel trial that he never discussed the content of the pages or sent them to Ford for his approval. HP Pavilion dv7-4040sf Battery [70] Investigative journalist Max Wallace noted that "whatever credibility this absurd claim may have had was soon undermined when James M. Miller, a former Dearborn Independent employee, swore under oath that Ford had told him he intended to expose Sapiro."[71] Michael Barkun observed, HP Pavilion dv7-4040sp Battery That Cameron would have continued to publish such anti-Semitic material without Ford's explicit instructions seemed unthinkable to those who knew both men. Mrs. Stanley Ruddiman, a Ford family intimate, remarked that 'I don't think Mr. Cameron ever wrote anything for publication without Mr. Ford's approval. HP Pavilion dv7-4040ss Battery'[72] According to Spencer Blakeslee, The ADL mobilized prominent Jews and non-Jews to publicly oppose Ford's message. They formed a coalition of Jewish groups for the same purpose and raised constant objections in the Detroit press. HP Pavilion dv7-4040tx Battery Before leaving his presidency early in 1921, Woodrow Wilson joined other leading Americans in a statement that rebuked Ford and others for their anti-Semitic campaign. A boycott against Ford products by Jews and liberal Christians also had an impact, and Ford shut down the paper in 1927, HP Pavilion dv7-4045ea Batteryrecanting his views in a public letter to Sigmund Livingston, ADL.[73] Wallace also found that Ford's apology was likely, at least partly, motivated by a business that was slumping as result of his anti-Semitism repelling potential buyers of Ford cars.[36] Up until the apology, HP Pavilion dv7-4045eb Battery a considerable number of dealers, who had been required to make sure that buyers of Ford cars received the Independent, bought up and destroyed copies of the newspaper rather than alienate customers.[36] Ford's 1927 apology was well received. HP Pavilion dv7-4045er Battery "Four-Fifths of the hundreds of letters addressed to Ford in July 1927 were from Jews, and almost without exception they praised the Industrialist."[74] In January 1937, a Ford statement to the Detroit Jewish Chronicle disavowed "any connection whatsoever with the publication in Germany of a book known as the International Jew."[74] HP Pavilion dv7-4047ea Battery In July 1938, prior to the outbreak of war, the German consul at Cleveland gave Ford, on his 75th birthday, the award of the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, the highest medal Nazi Germany could bestow on a foreigner.[65] James D. Mooney, vice-president of overseas operations for General Motors, HP Pavilion dv7-4050ea Battery received a similar medal, the Merit Cross of the German Eagle, First Class.[65][75] Distribution of International Jew was halted in 1942 through legal action by Ford, despite complications from a lack of copyright.[74] It is still banned in Germany. Extremist groups often recycle the material; HP Pavilion dv7-4050eb Battery it still appears on antisemitic and neo-Nazi websites. One Jewish public figure who was said to have been friendly with Ford was Detroit Judge Harry Keidan. When asked about this connection, Ford replied that Keidan was only half-Jewish.[citation needed] A close collaborator of Ford during World War II reported that Ford, HP Pavilion dv7-4050ec Batteryat the time over 80 years old, was shown a movie of the Nazi concentration camps and was horrified by the atrocities documented in it.[76] The damage, however, had been done. Testifying at Nuremberg, convicted Hitler Youth leader Baldur von Schirach who, in his role as military governor of Vienna deported 65,000 Jews to camps in Poland, stated, HP Pavilion dv7-4050ed Battery The decisive anti-Semitic book I was reading and the book that influenced my comrades was [...] that book by Henry Ford, "The International Jew." I read it and became anti-Semitic. The book made a great influence on myself and my friends because we saw in Henry Ford the representative of success and also the representative of a progressive social policyHP Pavilion dv7-4050ei Battery.[77][78] International business Ford's philosophy was one of economic independence for the United States. His River Rouge Plant became the world's largest industrial complex, pursuing vertical integration to such an extent that it could produce its own steelHP Pavilion dv7-4050em Battery. Ford's goal was to produce a vehicle from scratch without reliance on foreign trade. He believed in the global expansion of his company. He believed that international trade and cooperation led to international peace, and he used the assembly line process and production of the Model T to demonstrate it.[79] HP Pavilion dv7-4050eo Battery He opened Ford assembly plants in Britain and Canada in 1911, and soon became the biggest automotive producer in those countries. In 1912, Ford cooperated with Giovanni Agnelli of Fiat to launch the first Italian automotive assembly plants. HP Pavilion dv7-4050er Battery The first plants in Germany were built in the 1920s with the encouragement of Herbert Hoover and the Commerce Department, which agreed with Ford's theory that international trade was essential to world peace.[80] In the 1920s, Ford also opened plants in Australia, India, and France, and by 1929, he had successful dealerships on six continents. HP Pavilion dv7-4050ev Battery Ford experimented with a commercial rubber plantation in the Amazon jungle called Fordlândia; it was one of his few failures. In 1929, Ford accepted Joseph Stalin's invitation to build a model plant (NNAZ, today GAZ) at Gorky, a city now known under its historical name Nizhny Novgorod. He sent American engineers and technicians to the Soviet Union to help set it up,[81] including future labor leader Walter Reuther.[82] HP Pavilion dv7-4050ez Battery The Ford Motor Company had the policy of doing business in any nation where the United States had diplomatic relations. It set up numerous subsidiaries that sold cars and trucks and sometimes assembled them: Ford of Australia Ford of Britain Ford of Argentina Ford of Brazil Ford of Canada Ford of EuropeHP Pavilion dv7-4050sg Battery Ford India Ford South Africa Ford Mexico Ford Philippines By 1932, Ford was manufacturing one third of all the world’s automobiles. Ford's image transfixed Europeans, especially the Germans, HP Pavilion dv7-4050sy Batteryarousing the "fear of some, the infatuation of others, and the fascination among all".[83] Germans who discussed "Fordism" often believed that it represented something quintessentially American. They saw the size, tempo, standardization, and philosophy of production demonstrated at the Ford Works as a national service—an "American thing" that represented the culture of United States. HP Pavilion dv7-4051nr Battery Both supporters and critics insisted that Fordism epitomized American capitalist development, and that the auto industry was the key to understanding economic and social relations in the United States. As one German explained, "Automobiles have so completely changed the American's mode of life that today one can hardly imagine being without a car. HP Pavilion dv7-4051sg Battery It is difficult to remember what life was like before Mr. Ford began preaching his doctrine of salvation".[84] For many Germans, Ford embodied the essence of successful Americanism. In My Life and Work, Ford predicted that if greed, racism, and short-sightedness could be overcome, HP Pavilion dv7-4052sg Batterythen economic and technological development throughout the world would progress to the point that international trade would no longer be based on (what today would be called) colonial or neocolonial models and would truly benefit all peoples.[85] His ideas in this passage were vague, but they were idealistic. RacingHP Pavilion dv7-4053cl Battery Ford maintained an interest in auto racing from 1901 to 1913 and began his involvement in the sport as both a builder and a driver, later turning the wheel over to hired drivers. He entered stripped-down Model Ts in races, finishing first (although later disqualified) in an "ocean-to-ocean" (across the United States) race in 1909, HP Pavilion dv7-4053eg Battery and setting a one-mile (1.6 km) oval speed record at Detroit Fairgrounds in 1911 with driver Frank Kulick. In 1913, Ford attempted to enter a reworked Model T in the Indianapolis 500 but was told rules required the addition of another 1,000 pounds (450 kg) to the car before it could qualify. Ford dropped out of the race and soon thereafter dropped out of racing permanently, HP Pavilion dv7-4054ca Battery citing dissatisfaction with the sport's rules, demands on his time by the booming production of the Model Ts, and his low opinion of racing as a worthwhile activity. In My Life and Work Ford speaks (briefly) of racing in a rather dismissive tone, as something that is not at all a good measure of automobiles in general. HP Pavilion dv7-4054eg Battery He describes himself as someone who raced only because in the 1890s through 1910s, one had to race because prevailing ignorance held that racing was the way to prove the worth of an automobile. Ford did not agree. But he was determined that as long as this was the definition of success (flawed though the definition was), then his cars would be the best that there were at racing. HP Pavilion dv7-4055sf Battery [86] Throughout the book, he continually returns to ideals such as transportation, production efficiency, affordability, reliability, fuel efficiency, economic prosperity, and the automation of drudgery in farming and industry, but rarely mentions, and rather belittles, the idea of merely going fast from point A to point B. HP Pavilion dv7-4055sg Battery Nevertheless, Ford did make quite an impact on auto racing during his racing years, and he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1996. Later career When Edsel, president of Ford Motor Company, died of cancer in May 1943, HP Pavilion dv7-4057ca Battery the elderly and ailing Henry Ford decided to assume the presidency. By this point in his life, he had had several cardiovascular events (variously cited as heart attack or stroke) and was mentally inconsistent, suspicious, and generally no longer fit for such a job.[87] Most of the directors did not want to see him as president. HP Pavilion dv7-4057sf Battery But for the previous 20 years, though he had long been without any official executive title, he had always had de facto control over the company; the board and the management had never seriously defied him, and this moment was not different. The directors elected him,[88] and he served until the end of the war. HP Pavilion dv7-4058ca BatteryDuring this period the company began to decline, losing more than $10 million a month ($134,310,000 a month today). The administration of President Franklin Roosevelt had been considering a government takeover of the company in order to ensure continued war production,[51] but the idea never progressed. HP Pavilion dv7-4060eb Battery Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. HP Pavilion dv7-4060em Battery In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK. Ford's former UK subsidiaries Jaguar and Land Rover were sold to Tata Motors of India in March 2008. In 2010 Ford sold Volvo to Geely Automobile.[2] Ford discontinued the Mercury brand after the 2011 model year. HP Pavilion dv7-4060si Battery The company is controlled by the Ford family, which owns a controlling stake in Ford Motor.[3] Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines. HP Pavilion dv7-4060us BatteryHenry Ford's methods came to be known around the world as Fordism by 1914. Ford is the second-largest U.S.-based automaker and the fifth-largest in the world based on annual vehicle sales in 2010 (after Toyota, General Motors, Volkswagen AG, and Hyundai Motor Group).[4] At the end of 2010, HP Pavilion dv7-4061nr BatteryFord was the fifth largest automaker in Europe.[5] Ford is the eighth-ranked overall American-based company in the 2010 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues in 2009 of $118.3 billion.[6] In 2008, Ford produced 5.532 million automobiles[7] and employed about 213,000 employees at around 90 plants and facilities worldwide. HP Pavilion dv7-4063ca BatteryDuring the automotive crisis, Ford's worldwide unit volume dropped to 4.817 million in 2009. In 2010, Ford earned a net profit of $6.6 billion and reduced its debt from $33.6 billion to $14.5 billion lowering interest payments by $1 billion following its 2009 net profit of $2.7 billion.[8][9] HistoryHP Pavilion dv7-4065dx Battery 20th century Henry's first attempt at a car company under his own name was the Henry Ford Company on November 3, 1901, which became the Cadillac Motor Company on August 22, 1902 after Ford left with the rights to his name. HP Pavilion dv7-4065ei BatteryThe Ford Motor Company was launched in a converted factory in 1903 with $28,000 in cash from twelve investors, most notably John and Horace Dodge (who would later found their own car company). During its early years, the company produced just a few cars a day at its factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. HP Pavilion dv7-4065ez Battery Groups of two or three men worked on each car, assembling it from parts made mostly by supplier companies contracting for Ford. Within a decade the company would lead the world in the expansion and refinement of the assembly line concept; and Ford soon brought much of the part production in-house in a vertical integration that seemed a better path for the era. HP Pavilion dv7-4065sf Battery Henry Ford was 40 years old when he founded the Ford Motor Company, which would go on to become one of the world's largest and most profitable companies, as well as being one to survive the Great Depression. As one of the largest family-controlled companies in the world, HP Pavilion dv7-4065si Batterythe Ford Motor Company has been in continuous family control for over 100 years. In 1908 Ford introdcuded the first engine with a removable cylinder head (in the Model T). In 1930 Ford introduced the first car with safety glass in the windshield (the Model A).[10] Ford launched the first low priced V8 engine powered car in 1932. HP Pavilion dv7-4066sf Battery Ford offered the Lifeguard safety package from 1956, which included such innovations as a standard deep-dish steering wheel, optional front, and, for the first time in a car, rear seatbelts, and an optional padded dash.[11] Ford introduced child-proof door locks into its products in 1957, HP Pavilion dv7-4067sf Battery and in the same year offered the first retractable hardtop on a mass-produced six-seater car. The Ford Mustang was introduced in 1964. In 1965 Ford introduced the seat belt reminder light. During the mid to late 1990s, Ford sold large numbers of vehicles, in a booming American economy with soaring stock market and low fuel prices. HP Pavilion dv7-4069wm Battery With the dawn of the new century, legacy healthcare costs, higher fuel prices, and a faltering economy led to falling market shares, declining sales, and sliding profit margins. Most of the corporate profits came from financing consumer automobile loans through Ford Motor Credit Company.[12] 21st centuryHP Pavilion dv7-4070eb Battery By 2005, corporate bond rating agencies had downgraded the bonds of both Ford and GM to junk status,[13] citing high U.S. health care costs for an aging workforce, soaring gasoline prices, eroding market share, and dependence on declining SUV sales for revenues. HP Pavilion dv7-4070eo Battery Profit margins decreased on large vehicles due to increased "incentives" (in the form of rebates or low interest financing) to offset declining demand.[14] In the latter half of 2005, Chairman Bill Ford asked newly appointed Ford Americas Division President Mark Fields to develop a plan to return the company to profitability. HP Pavilion dv7-4070er BatteryFields previewed the Plan, named The Way Forward, at the December 7, 2005 board meeting of the company and it was unveiled to the public on January 23, 2006. "The Way Forward" included resizing the company to match market realities, dropping some unprofitable and inefficient models, consolidating production lines, closing 14 factories and cutting 30,000 jobs. HP Pavilion dv7-4070ez Battery [15] These cutbacks are consistent with Ford's roughly 25% decline in U.S. automotive market share since the mid-late 1990s. In the face of demand for higher fuel efficiency and falling sales of minivans, Ford moved to introduce a range of new vehicles, including "Crossover SUVs" built on unibody car platforms, HP Pavilion dv7-4070sf Batteryrather than more body-on-frame chassis. In developing the hybrid electric powertrain technologies for the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV, Ford licensed similar Toyota hybrid technologies[16] to avoid patent infringements.[17] Ford announced that it will team up with electricity supply company Southern California Edison (SCE) to examine the future of plug-in hybrids in terms of how home and vehicle energy systems will work with the electrical grid. HP Pavilion dv7-4070us BatteryUnder the multi-million-dollar, multi-year project, Ford will convert a demonstration fleet of Ford Escape Hybrids into plug-in hybrids, and SCE will evaluate how the vehicles might interact with the home and the utility's electrical grid. Some of the vehicles will be evaluated "in typical customer settings", according to Ford.[18][19] HP Pavilion dv7-4071nr Battery Bill Ford became President of the company in April 2006, with the retirement of Jim Padilla. Five months later, in September, he stepped down as President and CEO, naming Alan Mulally as his successor, and becoming Executive Chairman. In December 2006, the company raised its borrowing capacity to about $25 billion, HP Pavilion dv7-4073ca Batteryplacing substantially all corporate assets as collateral to secure the line of credit.[20] Chairman Bill Ford has stated that "bankruptcy is not an option".[21] Ford and the United Auto Workers, representing approximately 46,000 hourly workers in North America, agreed to a historic contract settlement in November 2007 giving the company a substantial break in terms of its ongoing retiree health care costs and other economic issues. HP Pavilion dv7-4073nr Battery The agreement included the establishment of a company-funded, independently run Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA) trust to shift the burden of retiree health care from the company's books, thereby improving its balance sheet. This arrangement took effect on January 1, 2010. As a sign of its currently strong cash position, HP Pavilion dv7-4074ca Battery Ford contributed its entire current liability (estimated at approximately US$5.5 billion as of December 31, 2009) to the VEBA in cash, and also pre-paid US$500 million of its future liabilities to the fund. The agreement also gives hourly workers the job security they were seeking by having the company commit to substantial investments in most of its factories. The automaker reported the largest annual loss in company history in 2006 of $12.7 billion, HP Pavilion dv7-4075sb Battery [22] and estimated that it would not return to profitability until 2009.[23] However, Ford surprised Wall Street in the second quarter of 2007 by posting a $750 million profit. Despite the gains, the company finished the year with a $2.7 billion loss, largely attributed to finance restructuring at Volvo.[24] On June 2, 2008, Ford sold its Jaguar and Land Rover operations to Tata Motors for $2.3 billion.[25][26] HP Pavilion dv7-4075sf Battery During November 2008, Ford, together with Chrysler and General Motors, sought financial aid at Congressional hearings in Washington, D.C. in the face of worsening conditions caused by the automotive industry crisis. The three companies presented action plans for the sustainability of the industry. HP Pavilion dv7-4077cl BatteryFord opted not to seek government assistance.[27] GM and Chrysler received assistance through the Executive Branch from the T.A.R.P. legislation funding provisions.[28] On December 19, the cost of credit default swaps to insure the debt of Ford was 68 percent the sum insured for five years in addition to annual payments of 5 percent. HP Pavilion dv7-4078ca BatteryThat meant $6.8 million paid upfront to insure $10 million in debt, in addition to payments of $500,000 per year.[29] In January 2009, Ford reported a $14.6 billion loss in the preceding year, a record for the company. The company retained sufficient liquidity to fund its operations. Through April 2009, Ford's strategy of debt for equity exchanges, erased $9.9 B in liabilities (28% of its total), HP Pavilion dv7-4080er Battery in order to leverage its cash position.[30] These actions yielded Ford a $2.7 billion profit in fiscal year 2009, the company's first full-year profit in four years.[31] Corporate affairs Executive managementHP Pavilion dv7-4080sb Battery Members of the board as of early 2011 are: Richard A. Gephardt, Stephen Butler, Ellen Marram, Kimberly Casiano, Alan Mulally (President and CEO), Edsel Ford II, Homer Neal, William Clay Ford Jr. (Executive Chairman), Jorma Ollila, Irvine Hockaday Jr., John L. Thornton, and William Clay Ford, Sr. (Director Emeritus).[32] HP Pavilion dv7-4080ss Battery The main corporate officers are: Lewis Booth (Executive Vice President, Chairman (PAG) and Ford of Europe), Mark Fields (Executive Vice President, President of The Americas), Donat Leclair (Executive Vice President and CFO), Mark A. Schulz (Executive Vice President, President of International Operations), and Michael E. Bannister (Group Vice President; HP Pavilion dv7-4080us BatteryChairman & CEO Ford Motor Credit).[32] Paul Mascarenas (Vice President of Engineering, The Americas Product Development) Financial results In 2010, Ford earned a net profit of $6.6 billion and reduced its debt from $33.6 billion to $14.5 billion lowering interest payments by $1 billion following its 2009 net profit of $2.7 billionHP Pavilion dv7-4083cl Battery.[8][9] In the U.S., the F-Series is the best-selling vehicle for 2010. Ford sold 528,349 F-Series trucks during the year, a 27.7% increase over 2009, out of a total sales of 1.9 million vehicles, or every one out of four vehicles Ford sold. Trucks sales accounts for a big slice of Ford's profits, according to USA Today.[33] Ford's realignment also included the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary, HP Pavilion dv7-4085eb BatteryHertz Rent-a-Car to a private equity group for $15 billion in cash and debt acquisition. The sale was completed on December 22, 2005. A 50–50 joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra of India, called Mahindra Ford India, Limited (MIFL), ended with Ford buying out Mahindra's remaining stake in the company in 2005.[34] Ford had previously upped its stake to 72% in 1998.[35] HP Pavilion dv7-4085es Battery Operations Ford has manufacturing operations worldwide, including in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, Australia and South Africa. Ford also has a cooperative agreement with Russian automaker GAZ. North AmericaHP Pavilion dv7-4085sf Battery In the first five months of 2010, auto sales in the U.S. rose to 4.6 million cars and light trucks, an increase of 17% from a year earlier. The rise was mainly caused by the return of commercial customers that had all but stopped buying in 2009 during the recession. Sales to individual customers at dealerships have increased 13%,HP Pavilion dv7-4087cl Battery while fleet sales have jumped 32%.[44] Ford reported that 37% of its sales in May came from fleet sales when it announced its sales for the month increased 23%.[45] In the first seven months of 2010, vehicle sales of Ford increased 24%, including retail and fleet sales. Fleet sales of Ford for the same period rose 35% to 386,000 units while retail sales increase 19%. HP Pavilion dv7-4090ca BatteryFleet sales account for 39 percent of Chrysler's sales and 31 percent for GM's.[46] Europe At first, Ford in Germany and Ford in Britain built different models from one another until the late 1960s, HP Pavilion dv7-4090eb Battery with the Ford Escort and then the Ford Capri being common to both companies. Later on, the Ford Taunus and Ford Cortina became identical, produced in left hand drive and right hand drive respectively. Rationalisation of model ranges meant that production of many models in the UK switched to elsewhere in Europe, HP Pavilion dv7-4090es Battery including Belgium and Spain as well as Germany. The Ford Sierra replaced the Taunus and Cortina in 1982, drawing criticism for its radical aerodynamic styling, which was soon given nicknames such as "Jellymould" and "The Salesman's Spaceship." Increasingly, the Ford Motor Company has looked to Ford of Europe for its "world cars", such as the Mondeo, HP Pavilion dv7-4090sf Battery Focus, and Fiesta, although sales of European-sourced Fords in the U.S. have been disappointing. The Focus has been one exception to this, which has become America's best selling compact car since its launch in 2000.[citation needed] In February 2002, Ford ended car production in the UK. It was the first time in 90 years that Ford cars had not been made in Britain, HP Pavilion dv7-4091sf Battery although production of the Transit van continues at the company's Southampton facility, engines at Bridgend and Dagenham, and transmissions at Halewood. Development of European Ford is broadly split between Dunton in Essex (powertrain, Fiesta/Ka, and commercial vehicles) and Cologne (body, chassis, electrical, HP Pavilion dv7-4095eb BatteryFocus, Mondeo) in Germany. Ford also produced the Thames range of commercial vehicles, although the use of this brand name was discontinued circa 1965. Elsewhere in continental Europe, Ford assembles the Mondeo range in Genk (Belgium), Fiesta in Valencia (Spain) and Cologne (Germany), Ka in Valencia, HP Pavilion dv7-4100 Battery and Focus in Valencia, Saarlouis (Germany) and Vsevolozhsk (Russia). Transit production is in Kocaeli (Turkey), Southampton (UK), and Transit Connect in Kocaeli. Ford also owns a joint-venture production plant in Turkey. Ford-Otosan, established in the 1970s, HP Pavilion dv7-4105TX Battery manufactures the Transit Connect compact panel van as well as the "Jumbo" and long-wheelbase versions of the full-size Transit. This new production facility was set up near Kocaeli in 2002, and its opening marked the end of Transit assembly in Genk. Another joint venture plant near Setúbal in Portugal, set up in collaboration with VolkswagenHP Pavilion dv7-4106TX Battery, formerly assembled the Galaxy people-carrier as well as its sister ships, the VW Sharan and SEAT Alhambra. With the introduction of the third generation of the Galaxy, Ford has moved the production of the people-carrier to the Genk plant, with Volkswagen taking over sole ownership of the Setúbal facility. In 2008, Ford acquired a majority stake in Automobile Craiova, HP Pavilion dv7-4130sa BatteryRomania. Starting 2009, the Ford Transit Connect was Ford's first model produced in Craiova, followed, in 2012, by low-capacity car engines and a new small class car, the B-Max.[48] Ford Europe has broken new ground with a number of relatively futuristic car launches over the last 50 years. HP Pavilion dv7-4131sa Battery Its 1959 Anglia two-door saloon was one of the most quirky-looking small family cars in Europe at the time of its launch, but buyers soon became accustomed to its looks and it was hugely popular with British buyers in particular. It was still selling well when replaced by the more practical Escort in 1967. HP Pavilion dv7-4140ea Battery The third incarnation of the Ford Escort was launched in 1980 and marked the company's move from rear-wheel drive saloons to front-wheel drive hatchbacks in the small family car sector. The fourth generation Escort was produced from 1990 until 2000, HP Pavilion dv7-4142eo Battery although its successor – the Focus – had been on sale since 1998. On its launch, the Focus was arguably the most dramatic-looking and fine-handling small family cars on sale, and sold in huge volumes right up to the launch of the next generation Focus at the end of 2004. The 1982 Ford Sierra – replacement for the long-running and massively popular Cortina and Taunus models – was a style-setter at the time of its launch. HP Pavilion dv7-4150ea Battery Its ultramodern aerodynamic design was a world away from a boxy, sharp-edged Cortina, and it was massively popular just about everywhere it was sold. A series of updates kept it looking relatively fresh until it was replaced by the front-wheel drive Mondeo at the start of 1993. The rise in popularity of small cars during the 1970s saw Ford enter the mini-car market in 1976 with its Fiesta hatchback. HP Pavilion dv7-4170eo BatteryMost of its production was concentrated at Valencia in Spain, and the Fiesta sold in huge figures from the very start. An update in 1983 and the launch of an all-new model in 1989 strengthened its position in the small car market. Asia PacificHP Pavilion dv7-4180ea Battery In Australia and New Zealand, the popular Ford Falcon has long been considered the average family car and is considerably larger than the Mondeo, Ford's largest car sold in Europe. Between 1960 and 1972, the Falcon was based on a U.S. model of the same name, but since then has been entirely designed and manufactured in Australia, HP Pavilion dv7-6000 Batteryoccasionlly being manufactured in New Zealand. Like its General Motors rival, the Holden Commodore, the Falcon uses a rear wheel drive layout. High performance variants of the Falcon running locally built engines produce up to 362 hp (270 kW). A ute (short for "utility", known in the US as pickup truck) version is also available with the same range of drivetrains. In addition, Ford Australia sells highly tuned limited-production Falcon sedans and utes through its performance car division, HP Pavilion dv7-6000sg Battery Ford Performance Vehicles. In Australia, the Commodore and Falcon have traditionally outsold all other cars and comprise over 20% of the new car market. In New Zealand, Ford was second in market share in the first eight months of 2006 with 14.4 per cent.[49] More recently Ford has axed its Falcon-based LWB variant of its lineup – the Fairlane and LTD ranges, HP Pavilion dv7-6001sg Batteryand announced that their Geelong engine manufacturing plant may be shut down from 2013. They have also announced local manufacturing of the Focus small car starting from 2011. However, with the acquisition of a stake in Japanese manufacturer Mazda in 1979, Ford began selling Mazda's Familia and Capella (also known as the 323 and 626) as the Ford Laser and Telstar, HP Pavilion dv7-6001xx Battery replacing the European-sourced Escort and Cortina. In Australia, the Laser was one of Ford Australia's most successful models, and was manufactured in Ford's Homebush plant from 1981 until the plant's closure in September 1994. It outsold the Mazda 323, HP Pavilion dv7-6002sa Battery despite being almost identical to it, due to the fact the Laser was manufactured in Australia and Ford was perceived as a local brand. In New Zealand, the Ford Laser and Telstar were assembled alongside the Mazda 323 and 626 until 1997, at the Vehicle Assemblers of New Zealand (VANZ) plant in Wiri, Auckland. The Sierra wagon was also assembled in New Zealand, HP Pavilion dv7-6004ea Batteryowing to the popularity of station wagons in that market. Through its relationship with Mazda, Ford also acquired a stake in South Korean manufacturer Kia, which built the (Mazda-based) Ford Festiva from 1988–1993, and the Ford Aspire from 1994–1997 for export to the United States, but later sold their interest to Hyundai (which also manufactured the Ford Cortina until the 1980s). Kia continued to market the Aspire as the Kia Avella, HP Pavilion dv7-6004tx Battery later replaced by the Rio and once again sold in the US. Ford's presence in Asia has traditionally been much smaller, confined to Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Taiwan, where Ford has had a joint venture with Lio Ho since the 1970s. HP Pavilion dv7-6005sg Battery Ford began assembly of cars in Thailand in 1960, but withdrew from the country in 1976, and did not return until 1995, when it formed a joint venture with Mazda called Auto Alliance.[50] Ford India began production in 1998 with its Ford Escort model, which was later replaced by locally produced Ford Ikon in 2001. It has since added Fusion, Fiesta, Mondeo and Endeavour to its product line. HP Pavilion dv7-6005tx Battery On March 9, 2010, Ford Motor Co. launched its first made-for-India compact car. Starting at 349,900 ($7,690), the Figo is Ford's first car designed and priced for the mass Indian market.[51] On July 28, 2011 Ford India signs MoU with the State of Gujarat to build assembly and engine plant in Sanand and will invest approximately US$1 billion on a 460-acre site. HP Pavilion dv7-6006sg Battery [52] South America During much of the 20th century, Ford faced protectionist government measures in South America, with the result that it built different models in different countries, without particular regard to rationalization or economy of scale inherent to producing and sharing similar vehicles between the nations. HP Pavilion dv7-6007sg Battery In many cases, new vehicles in a country were based on those of the other manufacturers it had entered into production agreements with, or whose factories it had acquired. For example, the Corcel and Del Rey in Brazil were originally based on Renault vehicles. In 1987, HP Pavilion dv7-6008eg Battery Ford of Brasil and Ford of Argentina merged their operations with the Brazilian and Argentinan operations of Volkswagen Group, forming a new joint-venture company called Autolatina with a shared model range. Sales figures and profitability were disappointing, and Autolatina was dissolved in 1995. With the advent of Mercosur, HP Pavilion dv7-6008sg Battery the regional common market, Ford was finally able to rationalize its product line-ups in those countries. Consequently, the Ford Fiesta and Ford EcoSport are only built in Brazil, and the Ford Focus only built in Argentina, with each plant exporting in large volumes to the neighboring countries. Models like the Ford Mondeo from Europe could now be imported completely built up. HP Pavilion dv7-6011sg Battery Ford of Brazil produces a pick-up truck version of the Fiesta, the Courier, which is also produced in South Africa as the Ford Bantam in right hand drive versions. Africa and Middle East In Africa, Ford's market presence has traditionally been strongest in South Africa and neighbouring countries, HP Pavilion dv7-6011tx Battery with only trucks being sold elsewhere on the continent. Ford in South Africa began by importing kits from Canada to be assembled at its Port Elizabeth facility. Later Ford sourced its models from the UK and Australia, with local versions of the Ford Cortina including the XR6, with a 3.0 V6 engine, and a Cortina-based 'bakkie' or pick-up, HP Pavilion dv7-6012eg Battery which was exported to the UK. In the mid-1980s Ford merged with a rival company, owned by Anglo American, to form the South African Motor Corporation (Samcor). Following international condemnation of apartheid, Ford divested from South Africa in 1988, and sold its stake in Samcor, HP Pavilion dv7-6012sg Battery although it licensed the use of its brand name to the company. Samcor began to assemble Mazdas as well, which affected its product line-up, and saw the European Fords like the Escort and Sierra replaced by the Mazda-based Laser and Telstar. Ford bought a 45 per cent stake in Samcor following the demise of apartheid in 1994, HP Pavilion dv7-6012tx Battery and this later became, once again, a wholly owned subsidiary, the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa. Ford now sells a local sedan version of the Fiesta (also built in India and Mexico), and the Focus. The Falcon model from Australia was also sold in South Africa, but was dropped in 2003, while the Mondeo, after briefly being assembled locally, HP Pavilion dv7-6013eg Battery was dropped in 2005. Ford's market presence in the Middle East has traditionally been even smaller, partly due to previous Arab boycotts of companies dealing with Israel. Ford and Lincoln vehicles are currently marketed in ten countries in the region.[53] Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE are the biggest markets. HP Pavilion dv7-6013tx Battery Ford also established itself in Egypt in 1926, but faced an uphill battle during the 1950s due to the hostile nationalist business environment.[54] Ford's distributor in Saudi Arabia announced in February 2003 that it had sold 100,000 Ford and Lincoln vehicles since commencing sales in November 1986. Half of the Ford/Lincoln vehicles sold in that country were Ford Crown VictoriasHP Pavilion dv7-6014tx Battery.[55] In 2004, Ford sold 30,000 units in the region, falling far short of General Motors' 88,852 units and Nissan Motors' 75,000 units. Products and services Automobiles As of 2012 Ford Motor Company sells a broad range of automobiles under the Ford marque worldwide, HP Pavilion dv7-6015eg Battery and an additional range of luxury automobiles under the Lincoln marque in the United States. The company has sold vehicles under a number of other marques during its history. The Mercury brand was introduced by Ford in 1939, continuing in production until 2011 when poor sales led to its discontinuation.[56] In 1958HP Pavilion dv7-6015sg Battery, Ford introduced the Edsel brand, but poor sales led to its discontinuation in 1960. In 1985, the Merkur brand was introduced in the United States to market products produced by Ford of Europe; it was discontinued in 1989. In 2007, Ford received more initial quality survey awards from J. D. Power and Associates than any other automaker. HP Pavilion dv7-6025eg BatteryFive of Ford's vehicles ranked at the top of their categories[57] and 14 ranked in the top three.[58] Ford acquired the British sports car maker Aston Martin in 1989, later selling it on March 12, 2007,[59] retaining a small minority stakeHP Pavilion dv7-6055ef Battery,[60] and bought Volvo Cars of Sweden in 1999,[61] selling it to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in 2010. In November 2008 it reduced its 33.4% controlling interest in Mazda of Japan, to a 13.4% non-controlling interest.[62][63] On November 18, 2010, Ford reduced their stake further to just 3%,HP Pavilion dv7-6055sf Battery citing the reduction of ownership would allow greater flexibility to pursue growth in emerging markets. Ford and Mazda remain strategic partners through joint ventures and exchanges of technological information.[64] It shares an American joint venture plant in Flat Rock, Michigan called Auto Alliance with Mazda. Ford sold the United Kingdom-based Jaguar and Land Rover companies and brands to Tata Motors of India in March 2008. HP Pavilion dv7-6065ef Battery Marque  Country of origin  Years used/owned        Markets Ford         United States         1903 to present     Global Lincoln   United States         1922 to present     North America, Middle East Mercury United States         1939 to 2011  North America Edsel       United States         1958 to 1960  North AmericaHP Pavilion dv7-6065sf Battery Merkur   United States         1985 to 1989  North America Jaguar     United Kingdom   1989 to 2008          Global Aston Martin United Kingdom   1989 to 2007 Global Volvo       Sweden   1999 to 2010 Global Land Rover    United Kingdom   2000 to 2008        GlobalHP Pavilion dv7-6070sf Battery Trucks Ford has produced trucks since 1908. Countries where Ford commercial vehicles are or were made include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada (badged Mercury too), France, Germany, India, Netherlands, Philippines, HP Pavilion dv7-6081eg Battery Spain (badged Ebro too), Turkey, UK (badged also Fordson and Thames) and USA. From the 1940s to late 1970s Ford's Ford F-Series were used as the base for light trucks for the North American market. Most of these ventures are now extinct. The European one that lasted longest was the lorries arm of Ford of Britain, HP Pavilion dv7-6090sf Battery which was eventually sold to Iveco group in 1986, and whose last significant models were the Transcontinental and the Cargo. In the United States, Ford's heavy trucks division (Classes 7 and 8) was sold in 1997 to Freightliner Trucks, which rebranded the lineup as Sterling.[65] Freightliner is in the process of discontinuing this line. HP Pavilion dv7-6097ef Battery Line of heavy trucks made by Ford for the North American market: Ford F-650 – joint venture model from 2000 to present Ford L9000 – last model year 1999 Ford LNT9000 – short nose tandem axle from 1970s to 1997HP G72-100 Battery Ford LT9000 – tandem axle with last model year 1997 Ford FT900 – until 1998 Ford LT8000 – last model year 1998 Ford L7000 – last model year 1996 Ford continues to manufacture medium duty trucks under the F-650 and F-750 badges. HP G72-101SA Battery In 2001, the company entered into a joint venture with Navistar International to produce medium duty commercial trucks.[66] The first new model from the new corporation, known as Blue Diamond Truck Company LLC,[66] was the 2006 model year LCF,[67] the first Ford branded cab-over-engine design in the United States since Freightliner's acquisition of the Cargo in the mid-1990sHP G72-102SA Battery.[citation needed]. The LCF was discontinued in 2009[68] and Ford's 2011 medium-duty commercial offerings are limited to the two F-Series.[69] In 1999 the end of the F800 meant Ford was not producing in any F-series heavy truck chassis. In Europe, HP G72-105SA BatteryFord manufactures the Ford Transit jumbo van which is classed as a Large Goods Vehicle and has a payload of up to 2,265 kg, there are options of a panel van, pickup or chassis cab. The Ford Transit is also available as a light van called the Ford Transit Connect and the Ford Ranger pickup is available.[70] BusesHP G72-110EL Battery Ford manufactured complete buses in the company's early history, but today the role of the company has changed to that of a second stage manufacturer. In North America, the E-Series is still used as a chassis for small school buses and the F-650 is used in commercial bus markets. HP G72-110EV Battery In the 1980s and 1990s, the medium-duty B700 was a popular chassis used by school bus body manufacturers including Thomas Built, Ward and Blue Bird, but Ford lost its market share due to industry contraction and agreements between body manufacturers. Older bus models included: Prior to 1939, For buses were based on truck bodies: HP G72-110SA Battery Model B – 1930s Model T – 1920s F-105 school bus During World War II Ford manufactured Ford Transit bus, HP G72-110SD Batterya series of small transit buses with bodies built by second party:[71] 09-B/19-B City transit bus – 1939–1941 19-B/29-B City transit bus – 1941–1942 49-B/79-B City transit bus – 1944–1947 69-B City transit bus – 1946–1947 29-B City transit bus – 1946–1947 72-T transit bus – 1944–1945HP G72-110SO Battery After 1946 the Transit City bus was sold as Universal Bus with the roof changed from fabric/wood to all metal: 79-B Universal transit bus – 1946–1947 Succeeding the Ford Transit bus was the Ford 8M buses: 8MB transit bus – with Wayne Works 1948–? HP G72-110SW Battery Following World War II and from 1950s onwards Ford lost out to General Motors.[71] This led to the end of transit buses for Ford in North America. B500 or B-series – 1950-1990s based on Ford F-series truck chassis used by school bus body manufacturersHP G72-120EG Battery In Europe, Ford manufactures the Ford Transit Minibus which is classed in Europe as a Passenger Carrying Vehicle and there are options of 12, 15 or 17 seaters.[72] In the past European models included: EM N-138HP G72-120EP Battery D series buses (Australia) Tractors The "Henry Ford and Son Company" began making Fordson tractors in Henry's hometown of Springwells (later part of Dearborn, Michigan from 1907 to 1928, from 1919 to 1932, at Cork, Ireland and 1933–1964 at Dagenham, England, HP G72-120EV Battery later transferred to Basildon. They were also produced in Leningrad beginning in 1924. In 1986, Ford expanded its tractor business when it purchased the Sperry-New Holland skid-steer loader and hay baler, hay tools and implement company from Sperry Corporation and formed Ford-New Holland which bought out Versatile tractors in 1988. HP G72-120EW Battery This company was bought by Fiat in 1993 and the name changed from Ford New Holland to New Holland. New Holland is now part of CNH Global. Financial services Ford offers automotive finance through Ford Motor Credit Company. Automotive componentsHP G72-120SD Battery Ford's FoMoCo parts division sells aftermarket parts under the Motorcraft brand name. It has spun off its parts division under the name Visteon. Motorsport Ford is one of four manufacturers in NASCAR's three major series: Sprint Cup Series, HP G72-120SG BatteryNationwide Series, and Camping World Truck Series. Major teams include Roush Fenway Racing and Yates Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports. Ford is represented by the mid-size Fusion in the Sprint Cup, the Mustang in the Nationwide Series, and by the F-150 in the Camping World Truck Series. Some of the most successful NASCAR Fords were the aerodynamic fastback Ford Torino, HP G72-120SO BatteryFord Torino Talladega, Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II, and Mercury Montegos, and the aero-era Ford Thunderbirds. The Ford nameplate has won eight manufacturer's championships in Sprint Cup, while Mercury has won one. The Ford Fusion is also used in the ARCA Remax Series. HP G72-130 Battery Formula One Ford was heavily involved in Formula One for many years, and supplied engines to a large number of teams from 1967 until 2004. These engines were designed and manufactured by Cosworth, HP G72-130ED Battery the racing division that was owned by Ford from 1998 to 2004. Ford-badged engines won 176 Grands Prix between 1967 and 2003 for teams such as Team Lotus and McLaren. Ford entered Formula One as a constructor in 2000 under the Jaguar Racing name, after buying the Stewart Grand Prix team which had been its primary 'works' team in the series since 1997. HP G72-130EG Battery Jaguar achieved little success in Formula One, and after a turbulent five seasons, Ford withdrew from the category after the 2004 season, selling both Jaguar Racing (which became Red Bull Racing) and Cosworth (to Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven).[73] RallyHP G72-130EV Battery Ford has a long history in rallying and has been active in the World Rally Championship since the beginning of the world championship, the 1973 season. Ford took the 1979 manufacturers' title with Hannu Mikkola, Björn Waldegård and Ari Vatanen driving the Ford Escort RS1800. In the Group B era, HP G72-130SA Battery Ford achieved success with Ford RS200. Since the 1999 season, Ford has used various versions of the Ford Focus WRC to much success. In the 2006 season, BP-Ford World Rally Team secured Ford its second manufacturers' title, with the Focus RS WRC 06 built by M-Sport and driven by Flying Finns Marcus Grönholm and Mikko Hirvonen. HP G72-130SF Battery [74] Continuing with Grönholm and Hirvonen, Ford successfully defended the manufacturers' world championship in the 2007 season. Ford is the only manufacturer to score in the points for 92 consecutive races; since the 2002 season opener Monte Carlo Rally.[75] Sports cars Main article: Ford GT#RacingHP G72-140ED Battery Ford sports cars have been visible in the world of sports car racing since 1964. Most notably the GT40 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times in the 1960s and is the only American car to ever win overall at this prestigious event. Ford also won the 1968 International Championship for Makes with the GT40, HP G72-150EF Battery which still stands today as one of the all-time greatest racing cars. Swiss team Matech GT Racing, in collaboration with Ford Racing, opened a new chapter with the Ford GT, winning the Teams title in the 2008 FIA GT3 European Championship. The Ford Mustang has arguably been Ford's most successful sports car. HP G72-251XX Battery Jerry Titus won the 1965 SCCA Pro B National Championship with a Mustang and the model went on to earn Ford the SCCA Trans-Am Championship title in both 1966 and 1967. Ford won the Trans-Am Championship again in 1970 with Parnelli Jones and George Folmer driving Boss 302 Mustangs for Bud Moore Engineering. HP G72-260US BatteryFord took the 1985 and 1986 IMSA GTO Championship with Mustangs driven by John Jones and Scott Pruett before returning to Trans-Am glory with a championship in 1989 with Dorsey Schroeder. Ford dominated Trans-Am in the 1990s with Tommy Kendal winning championships in 1993, 1995, 1996, and 1997 with Paul Gentilozi adding yet another title in 1999. HP G72-a10SA BatteryIn 2005 the Ford Mustang FR500C took the championship in the Rolex Koni Challenge Series in its first year on the circuit. In 2007 Ford added a victory in the GT4 European Championship. 2008 was the first year of the Mustang Challenge for the Miller Cup, a series which pits a full field of identical factory built Ford Mustang race cars against each other. HP G72-a20SA Battery Also in 2008, Ford won the manufacturers championship in the Koni Challenge Series and HyperSport drivers Joe Foster and Steve Maxwell won the drivers title in a Mustang GT. Touring cars Ford has campaigned touring cars such as the Focus, HP G72-a30SA Battery Falcon, and Contour/Mondeo and the Sierra Cosworth in many different series throughout the years. Notably, Mondeo drivers finished 1,2,3 in the 2000 British Touring Car Championship and Falcon drivers placed 1,2,3 in the 2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series. OtherHP G72-a40SA Battery In the Indianapolis 500, Ford powered IndyCars won 17 times between 1965 and 1996[citation needed]. Ford has also branched out into drifting with the introduction of the new model Mustang. Most noticeable is the Turquoise and Blue Falken Tires Mustang driven by Vaughn Gittin Jr, A.K.A. HP G72-b01EA Battery "JR". with 750 RWHP (Rear Wheel Horsepower). In drag racing, John Force Racing drivers John Force, Tony Pedregon, and Robert Hight have piloted Ford Mustang Funny Cars to several NHRA titles in recent seasons. Teammates Tim Wilkerson and Bob Tasca III also drive Mustangs in Funny Car. HP G72-b01SA BatteryFormula Ford, a formula for single-seater cars without wings and originally on road tires were conceived in 1966 in the UK as an entry-level formula for racing drivers. Many of today's racing drivers started their car racing careers in this category. Environmental initiativesHP G72-b02SA Battery Ford announced in late 2008 July that it will bring six of its more fuel-efficient European models to the U.S.[76] Compressed natural gas The alternative fossil fuel vehicles, such as some versions of the Crown Victoria especially in fleet and taxi service, operate on compressed natural gas—or CNG. Some CNG vehicles have dual fuel tanks – one for gasolineHP G72-b10SA Battery, the other for CNG – the same engine can operate on either fuel via a selector switch. Flexible fuel vehicles Flexible fuel vehicles are designed to operate smoothly using a wide range of available ethanol fuel mixtures—from pure gasoline, HP G72-b15SA Batteryto bioethanol-gasoline blends such as E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline) or E100 (neat hydrous ethanol) in Brazil. Part of the challenge of successful marketing alternative and flexible fuel vehicles in the U.S., is the general lack of establishment of sufficient fueling stations, which would be essential for these vehicles to be attractive to a wide range of consumers. HP G72-b20SA BatterySignificant efforts to ramp up production and distribution of E85 fuels are underway and expanding.[77] Ford is also planning to produce 250,000 E85-capable vehicles a year in the US, adding to some 1.6 million already sold in the last 10 years.[78] Current Ford E85 Flexible Fuel Vehicles sold in North America and Europe are:[79] Ford F-150HP G72 Battery Ford Crown Victoria Ford Focus Ford C-MAX Ford Mondeo Ford S-MAX Ford Galaxy Ford Taurus Ford Ranger Ford ExplorerHP G72 Notebook PC Series Battery Ford Expedition and EL/Max Mercury Grand Marquis Lincoln Town Car Ford Fusion Current Ford E100 Flex sold in the Brazilian market are: Courier Ford EcoSportHP G72T-200 CTO Battery Ford Fiesta Ford Focus Ford Ka Electric vehicles Ford Motor Co. expects electric vehicles will represent a "major portion" of its lineup a decade from now as the automaker breaks away from a recent reliance on pickup trucks and SUVs. HP G72t BatteryThe stakes are high because Ford's stepped-up investment is coming at a time when the U.S. government is demanding steep increases in fuel economy and has put money forward to help automakers adopt new fuel-saving technologies.[80] Ford Motor Co. will partner with Coulomb Technologies to provide nearly 5,000 free in-home charging stations for some of the automaker's first electric vehicle customersHP G62-110EY Battery, under the Ford Blue Oval ChargePoint Program.[81] Hybrid electric vehicles Main article: Hybrid electric vehicle In 2004 both Ford and Toyota agreed on a patent sharing accord which granted Ford access to certain hybrid technology patented by Toyota, HP G62-110SA Battery in exchange Ford licensed Toyota some of their own patents.[82][83][84] Ford did improve fuel efficiency during 2005, with the introduction of the Hybrid-Electric Escape. With this vehicle, Ford was third to the automotive market with a hybrid electric vehicle and the first hybrid electric SUV to market. HP G62-110SO Battery This was also the first hybrid electric vehicle with a flexible fuel capability to run on E85.[85] The Escape's platform mate Mercury Mariner was also available with the hybrid-electric system in the 2006 model year—a full year ahead of schedule. The similar Mazda Tribute will also receive a hybrid-electric powertrain option, HP G62-110SS Battery along with many other vehicles in the Ford vehicle line. In 2005 Ford announced its goal to make 250,000 hybrids a year by 2010, but by mid-2006 announced that it would not meet that goal, due to excessively high costs and the lack of sufficient supplies of the hybrid-electric batteries and drivetrain system componentsHP G62-110SW Battery.[86] Instead, Ford has committed to accelerating development of next-generation hybrid-electric power plants in Britain, in collaboration with Volvo. This engineering study is expected to yield more than 100 new hybrid-electric vehicle models and derivatives. There are also plans for hybrid versions of the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX. HP G62-111EE Battery Ford announced on 2007-07-09 that it will team up with Southern California Edison (SCE) to examine the future of plug-in hybrids in terms of how home and vehicle energy systems will work with the electrical grid. Under the multi-million-dollar, multi-year project, HP G62-112EE BatteryFord will convert a demonstration fleet of Ford Escape Hybrids into plug-in hybrids, and SCE will evaluate how the vehicles might interact with the home and the utility's electrical grid. Some of the vehicles will be evaluated "in typical customer settings", according to Ford.[18][19] On June 12, 2008 USDOE expanded its own fleet of alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles with the addition of a Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid Flex-Fuel Vehicle. HP G62-112SO Battery The vehicle is equipped with a 10-kilowatt (13 hp) lithium-ion battery supplied by Johnson Controls-Saft that stores enough electric energy to drive up to 30 miles (48 km) at speeds of up to 40 mph (64 km/h).[87] In March 2009 Ford launched to the U.S. market the Ford Fusion Hybrid and the Mercury Milan Hybrid, both as 2010 models.[88] HP G62-113SO Battery Ford is going to introduce a plug-in hybrid to challenge the Chevy Volt by 2012[80][89] and more charge-maintaining hybrids (traditional gas-electric hybrids), beginning with one in 2011. Current and planned Ford hybrid electric vehicles: 2004– Ford Escape HybridHP G62-115SE Battery 2006– Mercury Mariner 2009– Ford Fusion Hybrid/Mercury Milan 2009/10– Ford Edge/Lincoln MKX