The success of The Ford Motor Company in America shows how innovation helped the company find a place in our nation’s history books.  With a $28,000 cash investment to get started, The Ford Motor Company successfully “changed how the world moved.”

It all began with a man named Henry Ford who had a way with anything mechanical.  In the late 1800’s he built his first car, which was more of a “concept” vehicle than the car he eventually mass produced.  That two cylinder experimental engine could propel the vehicle to top speeds of 20 miles per hour.  The success with this vehicle drove him to quit his 9:00 to 5:00 job and start the Detroit Automobile Company.  Their first production was the famous Model A which grossed 1,708 in sales at $850.00 apiece.

In the early 1900’s Henry Ford focused on developing cars for racing.  His 999 racing engine could reach 91.4 miles per hour.  Then in 1904 he built the Model B and Model C (just an upgraded and improved Model B).  After that, in an effort to compete with rival Oldsmobile, the Model N was introduced with a price tag of $500.00 which effectively eliminated Oldsmobile as a competitor.  Subsequently, in 1909 the iconic Model T was brought to the mass market.

The “Tin Lizzie” was their bread and butter for many years.  From 1908 to 1927 they made over 15 million automobiles, thereby cementing their place in history as America’s car company.  In 1922 alone they made a million cars.  After the Model T, the Model A was next to be successful. This success marked the beginning of the time of innovation at Ford.  With the Model A you could order a more powerful V8 engine or even buy a station wagon model.  Following this, over the next few years Ford created better suspension and braking systems which helped drive the company’s popularity with families.

World War II brought production lines to a crawl, but behind the scenes, innovations were coming in fast and furious.  After 1950 Ford introduced the sporty and powerful Thunderbird which could reach top speeds of 113 miles per hour.  The “T-Bird” was especially popular once the convertible was presented to consumers.  But it was the Ford Mustang that helped Ford retain it’s status as a top automobile maker.  It’s 4.7 liter V-8 engine and $2,480 price tag made it an instant best-seller.  It was so popular that they sold over a half a million cars during the first two years of production.

Now there was no stopping Ford. They continued to lead the way in innovations when they hired the world’s best designers.  They realized how powerful body styles and colors were in a consumer’s decision to buy so the designers aimed to address these interests.  And eventually trucks even took their place as a member of Ford Motor Company’s most loved vehicles. Today the company remains just as popular as “baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and Chevrolet.”

Be sure to head out to the next Pomona Swap Meet and Classic Car Show held Sunday, June 2nd to actually see these historical Fords on display, many for sale.  Parts for these beauties are also found in Pomona.  For more information, please Contact us today.