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2005 sales numbers placed the Ford Motor Company as the third largest automaker
in the world, which means that the company's come a long way since the days of
Henry Ford telling people his cars came in "any color you want, as long as it's
black." Based in Dearborn, Michigan, the Ford Motor Company was incorporated in
1903 and since than has expanded to become one the ten largest corporations (by
revenue) in the world. Encompassing not just the original Ford brand, but also
Lincoln, Mercury, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo, as well as a one-third
controlling interest in Mazda, it was also one of the world's most profitable
corporations in 1999.
Fords success has diminished a little - since 1995 it has lost market share in
the US for eleven years in a row. In December of last year the company said that
it expects Toyota to surpass it as the number two car maker in the US, but
January 2007 sales numbers actually placed it third, behind not only Toyota, but
DaimlerChrysler as well. What has not diminished is Ford's contribution to the
auto industry. This is the company that invented methods for large-scale car
manufacturing, and equally large-scale management of an industrial workforce, as
well as pioneering automation and efficiency technology like moving assembly
lines.
The combination of efficient factories, well-paid workers, and low prices that
Henry Ford created - known as Fordism - revolutionized the manufacturing world.
Today, the Ford company still has family running the show - and they are still
being innovative - CEO Bill Ford was one of the first top industry executives to
make regular use of an electric car, the battery-electric powered Ford Ranger EV.
The company then contracted with the United States Postal Service to use the
Ranger EV platforms for a line of electric postal vans. In addition, Ford is
designing alternative fuel vehicles like some versions of the Crown Victoria,
which runs on CNG, or compressed natural gas.
With the Ford Escape Hybrid, Ford became the third car maker to offer a hybrid,
and the first to offer a hybrid electric SUV. In addition, the Escape Hybrid
will be the first such vehicle with a flexible fuel capability to run on E85.
While they had originally planned to manufacture 250,000 hybrids a year by 2010,
the company has had to back down from that commitment, instead channeling their
energies into accelerating the development of next-gen hybrid-electric power
plants in Britan, working, and it has already launched the production of
hydrogen-powered shuttle busses, which use hydrogen instead of gasoline, for use
at airports and convention centers. It is with forward-thinking like this that
Ford will remain an important player on the automotive industry field. |
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