Offering a complete range of FORD vehicles

Find out about Ford's History

If there is one company in the world that has dominated the automotive industry over the past 100 years, then that company is Ford. Founded in 1902 by Henry Ford in Detroit, Michigan, the first car to be produced by them was the Model A and the first vehicles they produced were seen as being high on the price scale, even during a time when only the wealthy owned automobiles.

It was in 1908 that Ford really came to the notice of the world though, as this was the year that the Model T was born. 1908 saw only a few cars every day built in the factory in Detroit, but the demand for them far outstripped the rate at which they could be built. To counter this, Ford became the first car manufacturers in the world to develop a production line for their cars – something that allowed them t0 produce over 1,000,000 Model T cars per year by 1920.

Even before this production line, Ford had started to expand away from the US market and into other areas of the world – most notably into Europe. With plants opening in a multitude of different countries they were starting exert control over the market throughout the world. Such was their grip that by 1919 Ford produced 50% of all cars in the United States and 40% in Great Britain; half the cars on the streets of the United States were also Model Ts as well by 1920.

During the Second World War, Ford switched their attention to the production of military vehicles – for both the Allies and the German army. This was because Henry Ford had worked closely with the German government prior to the War, creating a number of factories there. After Pearl Harbor though he was also forced to contribute to the American war effort, producing Jeeps for the American military, as well as aircraft in huge amounts.

Throughout the years after the War, Ford continued to expand, even after Henry Ford died in 1947. They were influential in the increase of safety in automobiles during the 1950s and also introduced the Ford Thunderbird – an icon to many Ford fanatics – during this century. This was followed up by the equally impressive Falcon in 1960 and revered Mustang in 1964.

From the 1960s to the present day there have been a slew of influential and memorable cars released by this bastion of the motor industry. The Ford Escort, Capri, Mondeo, Fiesta, Focus, Granada and Sierra are all cars that filled the roads in their eras and are still seen in numbers today. They also own the Lincoln company and have recently sold their interests in Land Rover, Jaguar and Volvo. Whether you love them or loath them, one thing can’t be disputed: Ford have contributed as much as anyone to the development of the automotive industry!