Ford Motor Company essays

Ford Motor Company essays Up until he was 40 years old, Henry Ford had been acquiring valuable knowledge about business, engines, management, and most importantly cars. In 1903 he created the Ford Motor Company. Along with other investors such as John and Horace Dodge, he raised $28,000 and produced 1,700 Model A cars in the first 15 months. Over the next 5 years Ford and his engineers produced models with the letter B through S. the most successful of these was the Model N, priced at $500, and the least successful was the Model K, priced at $2500. After the Model N it became obvious that the company's success lay in inexpensive cars for a mass market. In 1908, Ford introduced the Model T, a small four-cylinder car with an attractive design and a top speed of 45mph. It's success came from it's low price, at $850, and more than 10,000 were sold in the first year alone. Along with the Ford company's success, came expansion, and in 1910 a new assembly plant was established in Highland Park, Michigan. In 1913, the demand for the Model T increased greatly and Ford introduced the assembly line, which changed our economy forever. By the end of the year, ford had established plants in Canada, Europe, Australia, South America, and Japan. At this point, the Ford Motor Company was the largest manufacturer of cars in the world. In 1918, Henry Ford unsuccessfully ran for senate, and one year later, he named his son, Edsel Ford, the president of the Ford Motor Company. As the popularity shifted from the Model T to larger, more luxurious cars, production of the Model T was stopped, and six months later the Model A was introduced. It featured such improvements as hydraulic shock absorbers, automatic windshield wipers, a gas guage, and a speedometer. About 5 million of these were sold, compared to the Model T selling 15 million. By 1937, Ford was the only major car manufacturer which had not recognized a labor union. A group of union supporters were beaten near a Ford plant ...