100 Great Years, 10 Amazing Fords

November 04,2003

Every car company has its good and bad patches in terms of product. Some end up as miserable failures, most are judged adequate, while a handful are stunningly brilliant in both concept and execution. As one of the oldest and most diverse car companies, Ford Motor Company certainly had moments of genius. The history of the company can be narrated in terms of historical events and personal milestones of its people, but we thought we’d let the company’s products do the talking.

Ford is now the owner of half a dozen companies, including Mazda, Range Rover, Volvo and Aston Martin, each with its own historically significant vehicles. Including any of those would be like thinking of Arnold Schwarzenegger as a native American. We thus decided to limit our list to only those that wear the blue oval.

01. 1914 Model T. This is the car that put Ford Motor Company in the history books, and America on wheels. Henry Ford adapted the moving assembly line used in other industries to automotive assembly, first using a lashed up rope and windlass, then using a conveyor recessed into the floor. The Model T was powered by a 2.9 liter inline-4 with 20 bhp. The T was produced so efficiently that its price was affordable: it cost USD825 in 1908, or about USD16,200 in 2003 dollars. That was a bargain compared to other cars on the market, but after mass production began in 1914, the price steadily went down, to below USD259 in 1922. Indeed from 1914 to 1925, it was “painted in any color, as long as it was black,” because that was the only paint that dried quickly enough for the assembly line. More than 15 million Model Ts were sold.

02. 1928 Model A. Despite the enormous success of the T, car buyers demanded more features from automobiles. The car was more luxurious, more powerful and with better equipment than its predecessors, including a 40-bhp 3.2-liter inline-4, four-wheel brakes, improved steering, hydraulic shock absorbers and safety glass windshields. Top speed was 100 km/h. Its lines were styled after the luxury cars of the day, and that included a choice of several colors. The model A sold 5 million units and allowed Ford to recapture sales leadership from Chevrolet. The A was the first car build at the mighty Rouge industrial complex, where coal and iron arrived at one end and a finished automobile came out the other. It’s the first car to carry the now famous blue oval Ford badge.

03. 1955 Thunderbird. The Thunderbird was first unveiled in 1954, with a two-seat body and a 4.8 liter V8 engine good for 198 bhp. Bristling with fins and a low silhouette, the Thunderbird was inspired by European sports cars and emerged as an American version of the personal car, rather than a true sports car. It was relatively affordable, because it shared many parts with other models. The Thunderbird lived on in more luxurious iterations until the 1990s. An all-new Thunderbird was launched in 2003, and a coral-pink example got to hug Halle Berry’s butt in the James Bond film Die Another Day.

04. 1964 ½ Mustang. The stunningly-styled Mustang, with its long hood, chrome wraparound bumpers, and short rear deck created a sensation for Ford. The sporty interior featured bucket seats, “sports” steering wheel and a floor shifter. The Mustang was affordable, selling for about half the price of the Chevrolet Corvette. The car was highly customizable, including its choice of engines, from a 101-bhp inline-6 to a 271-horsepower, 4.7-liter V8. More than 500,000 cars had been sold in less than a year and demand was so high that several plants were converted to Mustang production. The 2004 Mustang GT concept heralds a return to the original styling concept while providing thundering performance from a new V8.

05. 1960 Falcon. Credit the folks Down Under for this branch of the family tree. While Stateside full-sized Ford sedans have gone the way of yellow, or black-and-white Crown Victorias, a riotous little clan family lives on in Australia. Aussie Falcons developed a fierce rivalry with their Holden (GM) counterparts. Falcons developed their own iterations such as the sedan-front, pickup-rear “utes.” The latest Australian-designed Falcon comes with a world-class interior and chassis, and performance engines start with a 4.0-liter inline-6, go up through a turbo version of that engine, and up to a V8 appropriately called the Boss.

06. 1966 GT. In 1963, Enzo Ferrari had begun sounding out Ford about selling his business, and Ford was indeed interested. But the deal fell through and Ford’s response was to challenge Ferrari at its home racing turf, at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Two years of quick development work followed, with the new GTs achieving consistently fast speeds and increasingly reliable performance. They soon picked up the nickname “GT40,” the number signifying the vehicles height in inches (barely more than a meter high). On 19 June 1966 three V8-powered Ford GTs crossed the rain-soaked finish line only feet apart. Bruce McLaren took the checkered flag, proving that 12 cylinders and scarlet paint were not essential to victory. The 2004 GT is once again a rejoinder to the Italian rival, with a 500-bhp supercharged mid-mounted V8 and lines strikingly similar to its famous forebear.

07. 1991 Explorer. The Explorer made the SUV a household name in the early 1990s. The original 1991 model was the most spacious and comfortable vehicle in its class. It featured low step-in height and large doors to ease entry and exit. Powered by a 4-liter, 155 bhp V6, it offered four-wheel drive as an option. Switching from two- to four-wheel drive was done simply by a push button on the dash. The Explorer helped the SUV become the new station wagon in American garages, becoming the USA’s best-selling SUV for 11 Years.

08. 1948 F-Series. Ford originally envisioned motor vehicles to help plow farmland, and indeed many of the early Ford cars were converted for hauling cargo. The F-series began production after World War II, when Americans started demanding more variety in their automobiles. The F-1 had a “Million Dollar Cab,” so called because Ford spent such an amount to redesign the cab for increased roominess and comfort. This was the beginning of a truck dynasty for Ford. In the 1980s they became the bestselling vehicles in America, and in 1995 the F-Series overtook the VW Beetle as the best-selling vehicle in history. The model has been completely changed over once again for 2003, merging a near-luxurious cabin with undaunted hauling abilities. Over Ford’s 100 years, one out of every ten vehicles produced by the company has been an F-series truck.

09. 1968 Escort. Europe demanded small, efficient cars, and the British-German developed Escort was Ford’s weapon of choice. The car’s 79 cu in inline 4 incorporated a Weber carburetor to develop 63 hp. Escorts are tough critters, with several examples still spotted running on Manila streets. Their rugged, fast nature also made the Escort Ford’s most successful entries in rallies and achieving success in saloon races as well. In 1968, 1969 and 1979, various Escorts took the Manufacturers’ World Rally Championship, winning literally hundreds of WRC rounds until 1999. The Escort also enjoyed celebrity status on and off screen. Prince Charles gave a silver Ghia hatchback to the then Lady Diana Spencer as an engagement present in 1981. A white RS2000 was used by the crime-fighting duo The Professionals and a black RS2000 by two bungling villains in 1998’s Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Its biggest screen moment was probably in 1969, where 12 Escorts took part in an ice race sequence in the Alps with James Bond On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Britain’s best-selling car of all time, the Escort was phased out in 2000, with its successor also destined for success.

10. 2003 Focus RS. Replacing the venerable Escort nameplate with a completely new one was a risky move, but the Focus was so radically different that the change was justified. It brought cutting edge styling to mainstream hatches, and, more importantly, a sharp chassis that offered both a pleasing ride and responsive handling. Chuck the Focus into a corner and you’ll understand what all the fuss is about. Its dynamics gave its competitors nightmares when it first came out and they still struggle to match it. The RS brings the Focus and the Rallye Sport badge, signifying affordable sporting Fords, to new heights. This Focus packs a turbocharged inline-4 good for 212 bhp and 229 lb ft. Mad pace (including 0-100 km/h in 6.7 seconds, 0-160 km/h in 15.5 seconds and a top speed of 232 km/h), attention-grabbing brakes and tenacious roadholding are all standard equipment.

Think Ford, and we’re sure that one of these ten would have sprung to mind. These are cars that brought glory to the blue oval, and in turn achieving success because they stood on the shoulders of the giant that is Ford. We can’t wait for what’s in store for the company’s second century.

By Jason Ang | Photos Courtesy of Ford Motor Company

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