Ford Motor Company Essay -- essays research papers

track Motor CompanyAddress The American RoadDearborn, Michigan 48121, the StatesPublic Company Incorporated July, 1918Employees 383,300Sales $62.17 billionStock Index New York, Boston, Pacific Midwest, Toronto, Montreal, LondonUntil recently, the Ford Motor Company has been one of the intimately dynastic of American enterprises, a factor which has both benefited the company and has brought it to the brink of disaster. Today Ford is the second largest manufacturer of automobiles and trucks in the world, and its operations are well diversified, both operationally and geographically. The company operates the worlds second largest finance company in the world, and is a major producer of tractors, glass and steel. It is most prominent in the US, but also has plants in Canada, Britain and Germany, and facilities in over 100 countries.Henry Ford I, the founder of Ford Motor Company, was born on a bring on near Dearborn, Mi in 1869. From boyhood, he had a talent for engineering, but it was not until 1890 that he commenced his engineering career as an employee of the Detroit Edison Company. Fords superiors at the electric company felt his hobby distracted him from his regular occupation, and despite his promotion to chief engineer, he was forced to quit in 1899.Shortly afterwards, with monetary backing from private investors, Ford established the Detroit Automobile Company. He later withdrew from the venture after a disagreement with business associates over numbers and prices of cars to be produced. Working independently in a small shed in Detroit, Henry Ford invented two four cylinder, 80-horsepower race cars called the 999 and the Arrow, with $28,000 of peachy raised from friends and neighbors. Henry Ford established a new shop on June 16, 1903. In this facility the Ford Motor Company began production of a two cylinder, eight-horsepower design called the Model A. The company produced 1,708 of these models in the first year of operation.Henry Ford and his engi neers designed several automobiles, each one designated by a letter of the alphabet these included the small, four cylinder Model N (which sold for $500), and the more luxurious six-cylinder Model K (which sold poorly for $2500). In October 1908, ... ...a 25% share of Toyo Kogyo in November 1979, when a Ford subsidiary merged with the company). Ford imported Mazda cars and trucks, and in many ways treated Toyo Kogyo as a small car division.In 1984, with costs reduced, Ford started to repurchase 30 million shares (about 10% of the companys stock). Its production of cars in Mexico change magnitude and output was stepped up in South Korea. The following year Ford introduced the Taurus, a modern full-size automobile which had taken 5 years to develop at a cost of $3 billion. The Taurus proved highly successful and won several design awards.Sales and profits reached record levels in 1984, and in 1986 Ford surpassed General Motors in income for the first time since 1924. In addition, Fo rds market share increased to just under 20%. Ford Motor purchased several companies in the mid 1980s, including the First Nationwide Financial Corporation, the New Holland tractor division of Sperry and 30% of Otosan, the automotive subsidiary of the Turkish Koc Group.The Ford Motors Company was, is, and will continue to be one of the greatest American enterprises.