Overview & Reviews

For more than 100 years now, Ford Motor Company has been selling mass-produced automobiles in the United States and around the globe. Known as one of the Big Three American manufacturers, Ford has attracted millions of loyal customers with a wide range of vehicles that offer considerable value. The automaker's trucks and SUVs have been especially popular. For decades, Ford's F-Series truck has been the best-selling vehicle in America.

The company was founded by Henry Ford in 1903. Ford dreamed of building a car for the masses, and that's precisely what he did, most notably with the immortal Model T of 1908-'27. The latter was bought by 16.5 million Americans during its 20-year lifespan and was affordable enough for Ford's own factory workers to purchase. Ford's early years were also distinguished by its introduction of the moving assembly line. It was the first to utilize this more cost-effective method of production, and its innovation became a mainstay of the manufacturing process.

Ford expanded into the luxury-car market with its purchase of Lincoln Motor Company in 1925. Over the next few years, the company broadened its focus even further by creating the Mercury division to produce mid-priced cars. By the late '30s, Ford had unveiled the stylish Lincoln Zephyr, introduced a low-priced V8 engine and built more than 25 million vehicles.

The 1950s saw the introduction of the legendary Thunderbird. Offering sleek styling and spirited performance wedded to available luxury features like power windows and a signal-seeking radio, the car was a huge hit. Another model of that decade, the Edsel, met with a somewhat less enthusiastic reception. In the wake of abysmal sales, the Edsel was discontinued just a few months into its third model year.

Ford regained its footing in the early 1960s with the introduction of the compact Falcon, a model that was warmly received by the public. By the middle of the decade the automaker had given enthusiasts something to cheer about with the launch of the sporty Mustang, a car that went on to become one of the biggest sellers of its day. Buyers adored the Mustang's low price, available powerful V8 engines and sporty styling. The Mustang even created a brand-new vehicle category: the pony car.

By the 1970s, Ford, like other domestic automakers, was starting to suffer the effects of changing consumer tastes and new government regulations. Many of its cars became shadows of their former selves. But the seeds of rebirth were planted in this decade. In 1979, the company acquired a stake in Mazda; this move would later aid Ford significantly in co-development projects. The company also emerged with a new mindset of global competitiveness.

By the mid-to-late '80s, Ford was showing new strength with its popular Escort and Taurus models while further expanding its empire with the purchase of the Aston Martin and Jaguar brands. Meanwhile, its full-size LTD sedan (later renamed the Crown Victoria) remained a staple of taxi companies and police forces throughout America.

Ford rode a wave of popularity in the 1990s, thanks in part to the huge success of its Explorer midsize SUV. The truck played a huge role in ushering in the era of the SUV. In 1999, Ford expanded its family yet again with the purchase of Volvo's car division, and, in 2000, it acquired Land Rover. For awhile, there was talk of Ford even taking General Motors' spot as the No. 1 automaker in the world.

But the new millennium initially saw a downturn for Ford. Increased competition, a continuing operating loss for Jaguar, legacy costs and a reliance on SUVs for profit took their toll. To compensate, the company sold Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover and Volvo and introduced a wave of successful new products. Models like the F-150, Fusion, Fiesta, Focus, Flex and Mustang have allowed Ford to regain its health and standing as a very competitive manufacturer.

User Reviews:

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  fun to drive - 2003 Ford Focus
  By Shane Paradis - September 24 - 9:54 pm

  fun to drive, just be sure to buy the one with the ztec engine. the spi is slow and unreliable

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  2015 Limited Expedition - 2015 Ford Expedition
  By Bruce Williams - September 23 - 5:30 pm

  This is my 3 rd Expedition. Previous two were both turned in at 200,000 miles with great reliability and no problems. So I went with another and I am extremely happy with the car. It has been on 2 trips 2 3 hr. drives and a 8 hr. drive to the Fla. Keys. Six passengers and luggage on the roof and the ride and mileage was still good. Gas mileage is great and the ride is quiet. The glove box and the fog lights are my only complaints. Fogs are dim and getting stuff out of the center box is hard and tight. Those being the only 2 is good. Ford could have done a better job with interior materials i.e. more leather. Seats are comfortable, ride is tight , quiet and smooth. Look into the Limited. It offers more features than XLT and a better ride on 20 inch tires compared to 18" The car is much faster than you think with the 3.5 V 6. I eco drive it when I drive and get exceptional mileage at around 45 to 50 mpg. I looked and compared it to other SUVs and came back to the Ford. Hope this was helpful.

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  Great Little Gas Saver - 1995 Ford Aspire
  By Phil Pankau - September 20 - 10:48 pm

  Bought mine for $800 with 72k miles on it, immediately got new tires and a tune up. Other than spending $100 on a reman fuel pump is been excellent however its not fast by any means and going up any hill is a challenge along with no power steering or AC but I average 40mpg and is great in the snow. Love the little guy.

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  Van has been in dealers repair shop 4x in 2 month - 2005 Ford Freestar
  By Bill Gould - September 18 - 12:07 am

  I bought this van used with 150xxx miles on it and was very, very happy with it. It is comfortable to ride in. I buy and sell used furniture and I removed the second row seats so that I can carry a lot of "cargo". It handles very well. Put on full set of new tires and the ride was improved, very smooth and quiet. BUT....out of the blue one day I lost power without warning (later found that this was fairly common on this model). Dealer replaced torque converter because it was a recall item. It has been back into the repair shop three other times since them, each time I was told it was one sensor or another, which were replaced. It is currently in the repair shop for the fourth time, has been there five days already and no word on what will make it work the way it is supposed to. Thankfully I have a free loaner car to use while waiting to hear. Great car, ..........until it breaks down.

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  I didnt want one, honestly! - 2015 Ford F-150
  By Dave - September 17 - 5:29 pm

  I loved the 2015 Tacoma TRD Pro w/ custom leather, my wife said it was too small. I liked the 2015 Tundra Limited - not enough / if any? features to warrant the cost. I loved the 2015 GMC denali exterior, bad ass! The GMC interior was like walking into a 70s house with shag carpet. The 2015 F-150 - I didnt like the exterior design and started to look for the 14s. I couldnt find what I was looking for, so I test drove a 2015. Once inside, I can honestly say I was in awe. The interior of this truck was without a doubt EXACTLY what I expected a truck of this caliber. Safety features galore, comfort above and beyond, technology that out weights competition 10:1. I have massaging seats, Lane assist that keeps me from swerving, Running boards that retract when I open and close the door, Heated rear seats, My headlights are on Auto Bright and detect on coming cars so I dont have to switch from dims to brights, Adaptive Cruise Control, Turbo Engine, LED lighting... OverHead Parking Assist as if a drone is above my cab showing the entire truck surroundings front, back, both sides!!! Please ask me what else, it goes on and on. Tundras back window goes down, cool. GMC? the interior looks like my buddies 97 Grand AM. The exterior redesign has grown on me, its starting to look more like a transformer - however Im not a comic book kind of guy. Truth be told, the interior sold me so much so that I could be in a bright pink school bus and not even care. I get compliments non stop on my truck, and people really do turn their heads (maybe because its ugly, or maybe because its nice). Im ending my review here because I personally wouldnt read past this point. Please trust me in that the 2015 F-150 Platinum is hands down the best truck in its class. If you dont believe me, just go test drive one and try to bash it agains competition without bias, its impossible. Expensive? Sure, but you wouldnt be reading a review about the Platinum Trim if you couldnt get one... go get one.

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  It just works - 1998 Ford F-150
  By BK - September 16 - 3:01 pm

  Got an XLT 4.6 rear wheel drive with the 3 doors as a hand me down from my dad and it has been good. I have had it for the last 15000 miles and it sits at 168000 on the odometer now. Works great for on road use, hauling stuff in the bed, and reliability. A testament to the quality of the drive train happened several months ago when merging onto the interstate and the accelerator stuck. I wasnt sure what was happening at the time but I flicked the gas pedal and it didnt help so I went to pop it into neutral going 80 and went to far and put it in reverse and locked the tires up for a second before putting it back in drive and turning off the engine and coasted to the shoulder. Turns out the floor mat, which has since been removed, stuck the gas pedal down and I should have messed with the pedal more before trying to put it in neutral. After getting my blood pressure to go down I started it up fearing it was done for, no problems at all! Made sure the tranny wasnt leaking for the next couple days and was surprised how well it held up for the abuse that surely put on it. This old truck is rusty, has a decent ding on the outside of the bed, and overall looks rough but it is a champ in terms of reliability. Recently it has had new rotors in the front from brake pads failing to give a screech indicating they needed replacing and has had a heater core replaced but the core components have been awesome for both of us. I am in the market for a new truck with 4x4 and a locking rear dif since I was stuck on the hill where I parked it overnight after a snow storm since the rear dif puts power to the wheel with less traction, but it has still made a true Ford believer out of me. You can bet my next truck will be an F150, dad got a used 2012 F150 after he handed this one down to me and it has been great for him too. Something is to be said about having a vehicle that can be depended on.

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  Chose Explorer over Toyota 4 runner - 2003 Ford Explorer
  By Joe - September 16 - 1:53 pm

  Chose this Explorer over Toyota 4 runner at the time.... The wider stance and the look of Explorer won over Toyotas reliability and much better interior material. Bought mine in April 2005 with 33K miles. Currently it has 108K miles. I like its size and its handling no matter what weather throws at it. Never had any engine or transmission problems. Had the dealer do fuel filter, transmission service and transfer case /rear axle fluid changes. Have done belt, oil/filter, coolant, brake pads/rotors myself. With 55K miles on second set of tires, they look great and alignment holds well. Problem areas... Leather is super cheap. It folded, creased and aged very quickly on driver side seat very quickly. The seat frames anchored to floor had no coating and are rusted. When you open the back doors you can see the rust sear frames for front and back seats. No real heat directed to foot well. Some cold air is leaking in the front behind glove compartment. The recirc flap closes but there is still cold air coming in. The heater air blender actuator assembly broke last winter. Figured how to change the air to hot for winter so I was fine. Bought the piece and planning to replace it before winter. Noticed snapped rear coil spring on both sides ( one two inches from bottom and the other one about in the middle of the coil) when replacing rear rotors. The coil spring is part of rear shock assembly. Monroe brand cost about $100 each. Rear axle has the famous whine that affects all these Explorers. Paid to have it fixed and it is back again. Planning on selling this Explorer and my 2003 Ford Ranger and buy an Extended cab 2006 Toyota Tacoma. This Explore is 12 years old and I still like its look and its shape as much as I did 10 years ago when I bought it.

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  nothing to write home about - 2013 Ford Focus
  By vince smyth - September 14 - 4:45 pm

  Ive owned this for about 4 months and I was having difficulty with the auto transmission. I looked up some reviews/ technical information and found that Ford has a fix for the transmission issue and has even extended the warranty on these to 100,000 miles. Since buying it Ive learned to get around the transmission problem that I was having by feathering the accelerator or hammering it (heavy footed). This vehicle has adaptive learning and it takes a while for it to understand the way you drive (1500 miles) no matter if youre the first owner or the tenth. Overall the cars fit and finish is just ok, nothing to write home about. This is my first automatic tranny small car and I just had to figure it out. Check out that warranty, no BS on that.

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  Almost perfect - 2015 Ford Edge
  By Mike - September 13 - 11:59 pm

  So I traded in a Focus Titanium for an Edge SEL with all of the extra options. Ill start off by saying I absolutely love the look, the ride quality is great, and the 2.0 has great power. Ill start out listing the pros the hands free lift gate is a really nice feature to have and my wife loves the panoramic sun roof. The Edge drives really well and the base EcoBoost motor has plenty of pickup. The leather inside feels high quality and my wife and I have I issues with the seats as some other owners were saying. Now for some of the cons the Edge has some noises inside. I have not yet gone to the dealership to ask them to fix the issues but the biggest one is the drivers side door has an air leak somewhere up by the drivers left ear. Its a squeak once you are driving a certain speed. Another noise inside the vehicle is the back seat. The bottom bench cushion has two clips that rattle non stop even when the vehicle is just idling and not moving. I luckily did not have the water leaking like some other owners but I have noticed the hood moves and shimmies sometimes while driving. The only other issue I am having is with a bubble in the drivers side door in the paint. Again, I have not gone back to the service department yet so I cannot comment on how quick ford will help with the issue. Overall I am pleased with the purchase and will be extatic if the issues get resolved through the dealer.

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  satisfaction - 2015 Ford Fusion
  By Tom Mlinar - September 11 - 3:42 pm

  I am very happy with my Fusion, only several minor complaints. One the information on the dash are very hard to see, too small of lettering, all though when dash lights are on and bright they are ok. But some of these electronics are hard to understand, but my main disappointment is with all these super electronics and safety features, why didnt Ford put rear windshield wipers as standard equipment.