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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  Needs serious redesign of seats and interior space - 2016 Ford Explorer
  By Dan - September 20 - 7:02 pm

  I had a chance to drive 2016 Ford Explorer XLT 4WD for 9 days as a rental vehicle. Throughout the years I have owned, rented and test-driven almost all vehicle makes and models of cars from economy passenger cars to luxury sports sedans, SUVs and even pickup trucks. Unfortunately Im going to cross Ford Explorer off my shopping list and I cannot recommend it as a potential family vehicle even though I liked the previous Explorer I test-drove back in 2011-12. It seems there are two vehicles within the Explorer. On one hand you have a vehicle with a very nice drivetrain: a capable relatively apt and powerful engine (this is just a sub 300 HP V6 mind you in a heavy vehicle); an intelligent 6 speeds transmission; and a very comfortably tuned suspension. We drove on freeways, mountain highways, uphills, downhills and engine and the tranmission coupled with Sports mode and steering-wheel mounted shifters enabled you to accomplish all the feats without much problem. On the steeper hills though, regular Drive mode would behave more intelligently when going downhil, holding on the lesser gear and helping you brake with the engine. On the uphills, regular Drive mode would however tend to constantly upshift even when you would manually downshift. Once in the Sports mode, these problems would go away and the car would behave accordingly. However there is the other part of Explorer and that other part unfornuately makes the Explorer not so much attractive. The faults I will list out are not new, but as have been already been pointed out by others in the reviews here. Seat design/driver comfort 1) Terrible front seats with narrow hard bottoms, hard and high bottom bolsters. 2) Poor legroom area for the driver in width 3) The above 2 is accentuated with absolutely terribly designed foot rest area. The foot rest is very narrow, has a weird angle and also there is no space to rest your foot outward or stretch your foot outward. (And I was coming from just driving a Corolla and Camry). Many people here pointed out that these issues might be experienced partly because of the driver height. But Im a pretty short guy and Ive experienced all these issues to a such degree that after about 30 mins of renting the car, I was complaining non-stop and had to tell my wife that I could not bear to drive it any longer. Even after I switched to the passenger front seat, the 1st issue was still bothering me there as well. I was ready to ditch the car and the only thing that stopped me was that I couldnt reach the rental agency and we were already far away from the pickup location. My wife however was not bothered as much. This leads me to believe that this is not as much of the height issue as the female vs male issue. Females naturally dont mind seating with their legs close together whereas we males prefer to open our legs as wide as possible. Only after putting some bath towels, we luckily had, in the center of seat and thus leveling the surface I was able to somehow mitigate issue 1. Child seat OK, so you would think that given how large the Explorer is and its target audience it would do really well in child car seat accomodation department. I was really hoping that I could install my convertible seat in the most safe position possible - center seat facing rear. But I could not. I couldnt use the center position even for the front facing installation. 4) There is not that much space in the 2nd row seats as you would think, even with the short drivers and passengers 5) The mechanism for folding the seats in the center seat is so large and obstrusive that it conflicts with seat installation, both front and rear. 6) The same mechanism makes it hard to use latch installation even on the side seats especially in the rear installation. Minor things Now these things by themselves maybe minor but when coupled with the things above just add to the less the desirable portrait of the vehicle. 7) Car very loudly honks when you exit with the key and engine turned on and there is no way to turn the feature off. This proved extremely annoying and aggravating as you are trying to warm up the vehicle and its interior and need to exit in and out of the car. 8) Multimedia and instrument screen controls are needlessly complicated. It took me awhile to literally figure out how to do even the simplest things such as browing the folder structure on the MP3 CD or to reset the trip odometer. There were absolutely no hints or labels on the controls to suggest that they would accomplish this or that feature. 9) Locking the car. Till the last day I could not figure out exactly how to easily lock the car by using touch feature. Sometimes I would have to touch it twice, sometimes I would have to hold my hand there for a couple seconds, sometimes it would refuse to lock altogether no matter what I did and I would have to use the remote. 10) Only one charge port upfront ???!!

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  Exploder is what it should be called! - 2000 Ford Explorer
  By Exploder2000 - September 19 - 2:00 am

  I traded in my 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder so I could get a dependable SUV...what a mistake I made. I have only had this car for 11 months and have had nothing but problems. Timing chain (3 times), transmission (3 times), stalls out when you shift into gear, EGR Valve, and countless others. I hate this car!

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  truck had more problems then a used car - 2004 Ford Escape
  By flyersfan007 - September 19 - 2:00 am

  transmission went with 12000 miles,airbags went off for not reason when parked,frontend snapped twice and lost controll for truck,i can go on for hours. if you want to know more email me,and ill show you all the repair invoices. kenzothug007@aol.com

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  Ford 500 - 2005 Ford Five Hundred
  By Sue - September 16 - 1:20 am

  I regret buying this car. There is no pick up, the quality of the interior is very poor, the gas mileage is horrible. I could hear and feel the brakes each time I pressed them. I could feel the axles moving in my car when I turned the steering wheel. In the 2 years that I have had this car, I have had to have the power steering pump replaced and the air conditioner fixed twice.

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  Absolute Garbage - 2004 Ford Focus
  By sforsyth101 - September 13 - 2:00 am

  I have had my ZX5 for less than 1 year and I have gone through 4 sets of brakes and 2 sets of rotors and drums. I have had it in for repairs more than I have actually had the vehicle in my possession. It has been in to have the brakes fixed 5 times, and they still have not found what the problem is. Now, on top of that, the transmission is starting to slip gears and shift extremely hard (it is an automatic, there just isnt an option for that in the choices). Now they are telling me that they have to completely rebuild my transmission. I would not recommend this car to anyone due to the poor quality and that Ford refuses to make any needed repairs.

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  A Real Junker - 2000 Ford Focus
  By EICAS - September 12 - 10:00 am

  Just had the Focus in for its 5th or 6th recall. As usual, the mechanics found a lot broken and were almost too embarrassed to talk to me. The brakes are shot...again and the tires are worn out again too. The front end shimmy Ford "fixed" is back too. The new problems are leaking transmission coolant lines and the passenger floor gets submerged under at least an inch of water when it rains. All Ford has ever done is blow me off so now its my turn. Ford can kiss my butt goodbye forever! Im trading this junker in for a Mazda.

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  Steer Clear - 1996 Ford Contour
  By odie561 - September 11 - 2:00 am

  Steer clear of this Ford contraption. It was nothing but trouble since we bought it. We had to replace two alternators, a power steering pump, and would have had to replace a transmission if we had kept it about 5 minutes more.

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  DO NOT BUY THIS CAR - 2012 Ford Focus
  By kc - September 8 - 2:42 am

  First of all the transmission is terrible. my 2012 hatchback has had me stranded many times. On top of that the whole fuel system malfunctioned an had to be replaced. Ford should take these cars off the streets an give the people who have them something else something SAFE to drive.

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  3000 MILES / 3 NEW TOPS - 2006 Ford Mustang
  By mjbeamer - September 4 - 9:13 pm

  My top was torn on delivery; it is having its 3rd new top installed (the installer messed up). Most of the miles to date are going back and forth to the dealer. The interior styling is kind of stone-age, but it looks nice from the outside. Gas mileage isnt as good as I hoped. (21-22 mpg) Suggestion: Wait for the Camaro.

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  GL = Good Luck! - 1996 Ford Windstar
  By mtalk - September 4 - 2:00 am

  No wonder its got a good safety ratin: it never leaves the driveway. Check engine light goes on, only to go off a month later with no explanation from Ford. Door ajar bell keeps ringing and interior light stays on until 20 mph, so replaced the sensor. Then the big stuff. Cylinder went down at 100,000 ($1200). New engine at 112,000 ($3000). Just waiting for the tranny to drop now. We will be getting rid of this soon for something better and will never buy a Ford again.