By: Caden Ligman
The Ford Motor company is one of the biggest and most well known car manufacturers in history. Since being founded in 1903 by Henry Ford, the company has only grown in popularity. Today, the FMC is the top selling car manufacturer in the US.
In 1896, before the company was founded, Henry Ford had already started developing Ford cars. The first Ford car to be manufactured and sold to the public was the Model T. The Model T was revolutionary for the car industry’s time.
The car was in such high demand that the company was forced to build a mass production plant in Kansas City, Missouri in 1911. As the popularity of the car continued to grow, another mass production plant was built in Manchester, England to keep up with international demand.
As the company grew, Henry Ford developed the assembly line. This method of assembling cars significantly cut down on the amount of time it took to assemble Ford cars, allowing the company to sell many more cars. Because Ford was selling so many cars so quickly, Henry Ford was able to pay his factory worker a $5 daily wage, almost double the previous wage rates. This only made the company more popular, especially among middle and lower class families.
Ford kept expanding, and in 1927, they started manufacturing the Model A, which replaced the Model T.
In 1932, Ford introduced the first Ford V-8. Not only was it for diversifying their product, but they were also making big moves elsewhere in the auto industry.
Ford bought The Lincoln Motor Company In 1922. Lincoln produced Ford’s luxury cars, which still sell today. In addition, Ford started selling Mercury cars which were medium priced and targeted at the middle class.
Overall, the Ford Motor company revolutionized the auto industry and made cars accessible and affordable for the middle and lower class. Ford is still a major car manufacturer and is the highest selling car company in America.
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