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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  Worst car ever owned - 2014 Ford Fusion
  By bobkat64 - October 6 - 10:21 am

  The shifting is absolutely horrible. You will be coasting down a steep decline \ hill and it just down shifts automatically when your not expecting it and sometimes it doesnt shift at all pushing the RPMs to 4,000. Took it back to the dealer twice and they were not able to reproduce the problem. I emailed Ford and was first told that they were aware of the issue and that they are working on getting it resolved, but later I received another email telling me that the first email was a mistake. Its also really bad in Stop \ Go traffic.... it lurches between 1st and 2nd gears.

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  Do not Purchase - 2014 Ford Focus
  By colo4o - September 26 - 10:18 am

  The car has transmission problems and Ford will not stand behind them. Search the web and see the problems. As en engineer i am saying make another choice!!

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  Worst Ford I ever owned - 2004 Ford F-150
  By kinnstreet - September 21 - 10:19 am

  I have only 90 on this after buying it fresh off the showroom floor. I cant believe that Ford would allow such a mess. So many things have gone wrong and cost me money on a brand new truck even before 70k miles I cant even begin to list them all, however the other reviews pretty much say it all. My father and I have owned Ford trucks our whole lives.... My next truck will be a RAM, and my son will also be buying either RAM or foreign. Way to go Ford, you broke a family tradition of over 50 years of owning Ford Trucks.

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  Ford Focus NOT RECOMMENDED! - 2013 Ford Focus
  By franklo - September 19 - 10:11 am

  I disposed of my 2013 Ford Focus on 9-15-14 at a loss. I experienced all of the transmission issues already mentioned including almost getting struck when entering an intersection and the transmission simply stopped giving forward movement. I was always told it is suppose to run like that. At a 35000 mile oil change I was told a seal between the transmission and engine had failed an oil had leaked from the engine. It was repaired and I was then told about a surprise extended warranty on the part and associated parts from Ford only Ford did not say anything until a week after the repair. All of the shuddering eventually started back up again and on 9-14-14 I noticed a burnt rubber smell from

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  Worse car I ever owned - 2000 Ford Focus
  By ltc_phil - September 19 - 8:23 am

  Seriously has been the worse car I have ever owned. I bought this car as a salvage title (front end damage, but no engine damage). It had around 80,000 miles on it. At around 107,000 miles the timing belt snapped - its a zero tolerance engine - so the whole engine was destroyed. Mechanic says a new engine is around $1000 plus - with 30,000 mile warranty - well I wont get another used car with that, and I figure I should be able to get a 100,000 miles out of new engine - wrong. I hit about 70,000 miles and same thing - catostrophic damage to engine with the timing belt snapped again and put a rod through the engine block. I will never buy Ford again if they cant produce an engine

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  Friends dont let Friends buy a Ford - 2014 Ford Mustang
  By trebmann - September 17 - 9:44 pm

  Just purchased a new Mustang and already back for repairs. Needs New lower control arms and bushings. Noises coming from drive tran. Missing pieces that were left off. Costly junk..I ll never buy Ford again.. Corporate office of Ford is rude and could care less if they made junk. Local dealer not much better.

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  Lemon? - 2014 Ford Focus
  By jeff295 - September 14 - 12:35 pm

  After owning a Ford Focus EV for a year, I advise consumers to be very skeptical about them. I loved it at first, until the battery died several times at stop lights! We were told it needed a software update to fix the problem. That seemed to work for several months, until the battery died completely again. Having an almost brand new car and then having to deal with towing, figuring out how to get to work with out it, etc., is a tremendous hassle and downside. There are no substitute cars because substitutes wont be able to use the car pool lane. Dealers have very little knowledge about the Focus EV, which also is incredibly frustrating. Overall, a very bad experience with this car.

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  Would not recomend - 2005 Ford F-150
  By nick19d - September 14 - 10:38 am

  I have the short bed version of this package. First off the truck does its job as long as you dont abuse it. The clicking noise that is often heard is the cam phaser. It is a $2700.00 dollar repair and it will not stop the clicking noise (as admitted by Ford) the noise may stop for up to two weeks but will continue indefinitely after that. The only way to get it to stop is to purchase what is called the "Cam Phaser Lockout Kit" which is $700.00. I have put 80K miles on the truck and it has clicked since day one. have not had an issue with it truck runs good. Only other problems were the tensioner and the fuel pump module. which is a recall item no discount from ford $69.00 bad engineering.

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  Lemon, lemon, lemon - 2013 Ford Focus
  By sds5858 - September 2 - 2:22 pm

  I bought this brand new 2013 focus one year ago three months after I had it I had to put new tires on it because they were almost bald, then it started to shutter like my transmission was going out(they have finally recalled that part) terrible terrible terrible in the snow and now the air conditioning is out.. Mechanically This car is a piece of crap! DO NOT BUY THIS CAR RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN AWAY FROM IT!!!

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  Nice to look at, but thats it. - 2013 Ford Escape
  By ondemand26 - August 29 - 7:51 pm

  Bought this car in Oct 13. Very beautiful and a little out of my price range, but I decided to get it since it had every possible option on it. That was a mistake! This car has been out of service almost 2 weeks total and started having issues at 1,100 miles. Rattling in the front, wheel thumping and loud noise in strut sounds like its coming off after a sharp turn, hatch wont shut correctly, sync system randomly shuts off, blind spot monitoring system doesnt work sometimes or its incorrect. I have to second guess it constantly. The only nice thing is the way it looks inside and out. Interior storage space is virtually nonexistent and legroom up front isnt great.