Henry Ford - Automobile Pioneers - Cars

Manufacturer Spotlight


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Cars Home

History of Cars

Section 1.1

Section 1.2

Section 1.3

Section 1.4

Section 1.5

Section 1.6

Section 1.7

Section 1.8

Section 1.9

Section 1.10

Section 1.11

Section 1.12

Section 1.13

Section 1.14

Section 1.15

Manufacturer Spotlight

Ferrari

Ford

Rolls Royce

Section 2.4

Section 2.5

Section 2.6

Section 2.7

Section 2.8

Section 2.9

Section 2.10

Section 2.11

Section 2.12

Section 2.13

Section 2.14

Section 2.15

Automobile Pioneers

Nikolaus August Otto

Gottlieb Daimler

Rudolph Diesel

Henry Ford

Charles Franklin Kettering

Section 3.6

Section 3.7

Section 3.8

Section 3.9

Section 3.10

Section 3.11

Section 3.12

Section 3.13

Section 3.14

Section 3.15

Now and Next

Custom Cars

Environmental Cars

Concept Cars

Section 4.4

Section 4.5

Section 4.6

Section 4.7

Section 4.8

Section 4.9

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Section 4.11

Section 4.12

Section 4.13

Section 4.14

Section 4.15

Cars on Screen

Section 5.1

Section 5.2

Section 5.3

Section 5.4

Section 5.5

Section 5.6

Section 5.7

Section 5.8

Section 5.9

Section 5.10

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Section 5.15

Engineering the World Rally

Episode Guide

Meet Petter Solberg

Gallery

Section 6.4

Section 6.5

Section 6.6

Section 6.7

Section 6.8

Section 6.9

Section 6.10

Section 6.11

Section 6.12

Section 6.13

Section 6.14

Section 6.15

Play: Rides

Section 7.1

Section 7.2

Section 7.3

Section 7.4

Section 7.5

Section 7.6

Section 7.7

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Section 7.9

Section 7.10

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Section 7.12

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Section 7.15

Play: Crash Classic

Section 8.1

Section 8.2

Section 8.3

Section 8.4

Section 8.5

Section 8.6

Section 8.7

Section 8.8

Section 8.9

Section 8.10

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Section 8.12

Section 8.13

Section 8.14

Section 8.15

Play: Vroom

Section 9.1

Section 9.2

Section 9.3

Section 9.4

Section 9.5

Section 9.6

Section 9.7

Section 9.8

Section 9.9

Section 9.10

Section 9.11

Section 9.12

Section 9.13

Section 9.14

Section 9.15

Section 10

Section 10.1

Section 10.2

Section 10.3

Section 10.4

Section 10.5

Section 10.6

Section 10.7

Section 10.8

Section 10.9

Section 10.10

Section 10.11

Section 10.12

Section 10.13

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Section 11

Section 11.1

Section 11.2

Section 11.3

Section 11.4

Section 11.5

Section 11.6

Section 11.7

Section 11.8

Section 11.9

Section 11.10

Section 11.11

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Section 11.13

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Section 11.15

Section 12

Section 12.1

Section 12.2

Section 12.3

Section 12.4

Section 12.5

Section 12.6

Section 12.7

Section 12.8

Section 12.9

Section 12.10

Section 12.11

Section 12.12

Section 12.13

Section 12.14

Section 12.15

Section 13

Section 13.1

Section 13.2

Section 13.3

Section 13.4

Section 13.5

Section 13.6

Section 13.7

Section 13.8

Section 13.9

Section 13.10

Section 13.11

Section 13.12

Section 13.13

Section 13.14

Section 13.15

Section 14

Section 14.1

Section 14.2

Section 14.3

Section 14.4

Section 14.5

Section 14.6

Section 14.7

Section 14.8

Section 14.9

Section 14.10

Section 14.11

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Section 14.13

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Section 14.15

Section 15

Section 15.1

Section 15.2

Section 15.3

Section 15.4

Section 15.5

Section 15.6

Section 15.7

Section 15.8

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Section 15.15

Automobile pioneers

Henry Ford, USA, 1836-1947

Henry Ford

Henry Ford was born into a wealthy farming family in Michigan in 1863. Interested in engineering from an early age, his ultimate aim was to democratise the motorcar. Ford believed every American should own one.

The way to achieve this - he figured - was to produce the largest number of cars, to the simplest design, for the lowest possible cost. With the help of investors, he set up the Ford Motor Company in 1903. Ford slashed production costs by adapting the conveyor belt and assembly line to build simple, standardised cars. The finest example was Ford's Model T, which sold in excess of 15 million units.

Within five years Ford was soon able to outdistance all his competitors and become the largest automobile producer in the world. He also paid his employees $5 for an eight hour day - way over the going rate. He also organised a profit-share plan, distributing $30 million a year amongst his workers.

Image: National Motor Museum