50 Fun Facts About Ford

In what year was the Ford Motor Company incorporated?

It launched in a converted factory with $28,000 in cash from twelve investors, including brothers John and Horace Dodge.

In which Michigan city is Ford Motor Company headquartered?

Its longtime headquarters building, the Henry Ford II World Center, is nicknamed the Glass House.

What was the Model T's famous nickname?

Its 20-horsepower four-cylinder engine gave it a top speed of about 42 mph.

In what year did production of the Model T begin?

The first one was built on August 12 at the Piquette Avenue Plant in Detroit, and the last rolled out in May 1927.

Roughly how many Model Ts were built in total?

Henry Ford personally watched the 15 millionth car roll off the Highland Park line on May 26, 1927.

In its first years, 1908 to 1913, which colour was the Model T famously NOT available in?

The 'any colour so long as it is black' policy was only actually implemented in 1914.

By 1925 the price of a Model T had fallen to about how much?

Ford was turning out 9,000 to 10,000 cars a day that year, about 2 million annually.

After the moving assembly line started in 1913, how long did it take to build a Model T?

The process was split into 45 steps and output rose roughly eight to one.

Ford's famous January 1914 wage announcement raised the minimum daily pay from $2.34 to what?

It more than doubled most workers' pay and business partner James Couzens may have talked Ford into it.

What did Henry Ford call the self-propelled vehicle he completed and test-drove in June 1896?

It ran on four bicycle wheels, was steered with a tiller and reached about 20 mph.

After Henry Ford left the Henry Ford Company in 1902, it was renamed and became which luxury marque?

So the founder of Ford is also, in a roundabout way, behind General Motors' luxury brand.

In 1915 Henry Ford funded a 'Peace Ship' to Europe at the urging of which pacifist?

The mission to end World War I was widely mocked and achieved nothing.

Charcoal briquettes made from Model T wood scraps, first sold as Ford Charcoal, became which brand?

The name honours E. G. Kingsford, Ford's cousin by marriage, who brokered the site of the sawmill and wood-distillation plant.

In the 1937 'Battle of the Overpass', Ford security men beat which future UAW president?

Photos of the injured organisers ran in newspapers the next day and became a turning point for the union.

When Henry Ford bought the future site of the River Rouge plant in 1915, what did he plan to build there?

Instead it became one of the largest factories in the world, completed in 1928 and a National Historic Landmark since 1978.

The 1927 Model A was the first production car with what feature in its windshield?

One million Model As had been sold by February 1929.

What was the nickname of the Ford Trimotor, the three-engined airliner that first flew in 1926?

Pan American used Trimotors on its first international scheduled flights, from Key West to Havana in 1927.

During World War II, which bomber did Ford mass-produce at its Willow Run plant?

Willow Run was thought to be the largest factory under one roof anywhere in the world.

Ford bought Lincoln in 1922 from which founder, who had earlier taken over Ford's second company?

Lincoln was founded in 1917 and named after Abraham Lincoln.

Which Ford brand, produced from the 1939 to 2011 model years, was named after a Roman god?

The company's then president chose the name personally from more than 100 options to fill the gap between Ford and Lincoln.

Which Ford brand, launched on 'E Day' in 1957 and dropped after 1960, became a byword for failure?

It arrived in a recession that hammered every medium-priced car, and its vertical grille was mocked as a horse collar.

Ford's ill-fated 1958 mid-price brand had Teletouch push-button transmission controls mounted where?

They were dropped after one year because of reliability problems.

Which poet suggested names like 'Utopian Turtletop' for Ford's doomed 1958 brand?

Her other suggestions included 'Pastelogram', 'Resilient Bullet' and 'Mongoose Civique'.

Which Ford model debuted for 1955 as a two-seater created to compete with the Chevrolet Corvette?

Adding a back seat for 1958 launched the 'personal luxury car' segment.

The first Ford Mustang was introduced on April 17, 1964 at what event?

It beat the Plymouth Barracuda to market by only 16 days.

The original Mustang was built on the platform of which compact Ford, the Big Three's first compact car?

Early cars even had the compact's logo on the horn ring, hidden under a Mustang trim ring.

Which Mustang champion was fired by Henry Ford II in 1978 and went on to run Chrysler?

He was fired despite Ford posting a $2 billion profit that year.

Which Ford model line was the best-selling US vehicle every year from 1981 to 2024?

It has been the best-selling pickup line since 1977 and Canada's best-selling truck for over 50 years.

Ford's GT40 won the 1966 24 Hours of Le Mans, ending a six-year winning streak by which manufacturer?

Ford had tried to simply buy the Italian firm in 1963, only for Enzo to walk away late in negotiations.

What does the '40' in GT40 refer to?

Measured at the top of the windscreen, that was the minimum height the rules allowed.

Which two drivers gave Ford its all-American 1967 Le Mans win in the GT40 Mk IV?

Drivers, team, chassis, engine and tyres were all American, the only such win in Le Mans history.

The 2005 Ford GT is 4 inches taller than the GT40, so what name was reportedly considered?

It was launched to mark Ford's 2003 centenary and looks like the original but shares nothing structurally.

Which was Ford's first SUV, sold from 1966 to 1996 and revived for the 2021 model year?

After it was dropped in 1996 the four-door Expedition took its place.

The Ford Explorer rollover controversy involved tread separation on which maker's tyres?

Ford responded by widening the axles and adding independent rear suspension on the third generation.

The Ford Taurus was America's best-selling car from 1992 to 1996. Which car took the title in 1997?

The Taurus was the first car to come out of Ford's new quality culture when it launched for 1986.

In 1998 Ford of Europe introduced the Focus as a replacement for which long-running model?

Ford had planned to keep the old nameplate for the new car until early 1998.

In 1998 a Cologne court ordered Ford to avoid the name 'Focus' in Germany because it was already used by what?

The dispute with publisher Burda was resolved and the car launched with the name anyway, going on to win 1999 European Car of the Year.

What was the nickname of Henry Ford II, who ran the company from 1945 to 1979?

His first act on taking over was firing his grandfather's enforcer Harry Bennett.

Ford went public in 1956, but via Class B shares the family keeps what share of voting rights?

That makes it one of the largest family-controlled companies in the world, with more than 100 years of continuous control.

How is Bill Ford, who became executive chair in 1999, related to founder Henry Ford?

His Princeton senior thesis was titled 'Henry Ford and Labor: A Reappraisal'.

Alan Mulally, Ford's CEO from 2006 to 2014, came from which company?

He had run its commercial airplanes division and worked on the 727, 737, 747, 757, 767 and 777.

What 2007 arrangement let Ford survive the 2008–09 crisis without bankruptcy or a bailout?

GM and Chrysler both took TARP money; Ford later accepted a $5.9 billion Energy Department retooling loan in 2009.

Criticised for flying a private jet to Washington in November 2008, what did Alan Mulally drive to the December hearing?

Chrysler's Bob Nardelli arrived in a Chrysler Aspen Hybrid.

Ford owned which Swedish car maker from 1999 to 2010?

It was sold to China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group.

In 2008 Ford sold Jaguar and Land Rover to which company?

The price was $2.3 billion, far less than Ford had paid for the two British brands.

Ford's 2021 electric crossover borrows the second half of its name from which classic Mustang performance variant?

It was even teased under that exact name before public opposition made Ford back off.

What is the name of the all-electric F-150 that entered production in April 2022?

Ford had over 200,000 reservations by the end of 2021, a projected three-year backlog.

Ford Field, which opened in 2002, is the home stadium of which NFL team?

The Ford family has owned the franchise since 1964, and Ford paid $40 million over 20 years for the naming rights.

Before Star Wars made him a star, what trade did Harrison Ford take up to support his family?

He was self-taught, and reportedly got the Han Solo audition after doing work at the studio.

Bonus (other Fords): President Gerald Ford was born under what name?

He remains the only person to serve as president without winning an election for president or vice president.