Known for the invention of assembly line, the American automobile manufacturer Ford, was founded by Henry Ford in Detroit in 1903. The “Ford Motor Company Ltd. (England) was established in London as early as 1909. In August 1925, the "Ford Motor Company Aktiengesellschaft" was registered in Berlin, making Ford the first real global player of the automobile industry. Ford England and Ford Deutschland merged into Ford Europe in 1967.
Which was the first newly developed vehicle by Ford Germany after World War 2 ?
The first vehicle developed by Ford Germany after the Second World War is the Taunus 12M with the famous globe in its nose. Almost 250,000 units were produced between 1952 and 1959. The design was inspired by the Studebaker Champion, the "12" in the name stands for the displacement of 1.2 litres and the "M" for the "Meisterstück" in german, masterpiece in english.
Ford in motorsport, asuccess story ?
The answer to this question is "Yes". Ford has been and is the very embodiment of success in several categories of motorsport. Today, Ford is still a major player in rallying. Countless successes and titles have been celebrated with legendary cars such as the Escort RS, the Escort RS Cosworth, the Focus WRC and the Fiesta RS WRC. But Ford also shone on circuits, notably with 4 victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, against renowned rivals such as Porsche and Ferrari, with the famous GT40. There are also international and national GT titles with the Cortina, the Capri, the Capri RS Turbo, the Escort RS 1800, the Sierra, the Mondeo and the Focus, without forget the most successful engine in Formula 1 history, the Ford Cosworth DFV, which won no less than 155 races, 10 manufacturer's world championships and 12 world drivers' championships between 1967 and 1982.
Pony Cars, a footnote in automotive history ?
Ford is regarded as the inventor of the so-called “Pony Cars”, small coupés with large 6- or 8-cylinder engines, by American standards. The term "Pony Car" is derived from the Ford Mustang, which also defined the essential design features of the entire vehicle class - "long hood, short deck". In contrast to the muscle cars popular at the same time, the Pony Cars were much cheaper, which made them particularly interesting for young customers. Beside their sporty appearance, very high engine performances of more than 400 HP made these vehicles extremely popular. In the late 1960s, the concept of small sports coupes spread to Europe, but the European vehicles were significantly reduced both in size and engine power. Typical representatives of European sports coupes were the Ford Capri and the Opel Manta. The Pony Car has found its firm place in the Ford model range. The Ford Mustang is built continuously since 1964, in contrast to most other vehicles of the same type, with a short life and which were stopped in the mid-1970s.