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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  great car - 2004 Ford Crown Victoria
  By val clayton - October 15 - 10:53 am

  What a great car! If more people would drive the Crown Vic more would love it! Good mileage great seats and control placement. Lots of power and oh so quiet.

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  ford good truck - 2003 Ford F-150
  By mark s - October 15 - 2:00 am

  This ford with the 5.4 liter will run over my old 2001 dodge ram with the 318 engine. This truck is much better built all around. Yes the new dodge has more torque then my truck but only by 9 foot lbs. "yeah but it takes 2,000 more r.p.m.s. to get there. just wait for the new 2004 ford engine. and chevy well i would not even go there. I get sick and tired of hearing about there engine problems. the heads warp and more. when you hit the side of there body its sounds like an echo.

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  Fixed or Repaired Daily - 2001 Ford Ranger
  By killerspeed - October 15 - 2:00 am

  So far I am on my 3rd set of tires in 30K miles. Bad egr, both window motors went bad, tranny bolts fell out, power steering leaking all over the place, now there is oil in the antifreeze-BAD HEAD!

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  Performance - 2004 Ford F-150
  By Michael - October 14 - 5:06 pm

  My FX4 has the 5.4 motor and 373 rear end. Its a real slug from a standing start. Does anyone else have a similar complaint? I have a 1998 F-150 with the 5.4 motor (2 wheel drive) and it has much better pick up. I only have 400 miles on the truck. Im going to go by and talk to the service dept where I purchsed it to see if there is something wrong with my truck.

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  Quality? Yeah Right - 2004 Ford F-150
  By Hugo - October 14 - 3:10 am

  My truck only has 8,000 miles and Ive had nothing but problems with it. Where do I start? It all started when the rear power-sliding window stopped working. It took 4 months for the dealership to get the part because it was on back order. That should have been the first clue that more problems were soon to come. Then power steering fluid started leaking from who knows where. After getting that fixed, the brake lights went out completely and the steering wheel started to shimmy when the brakes were applied. Turns out there was an electrical problem and the rotors needed to be resurfaced. If thats not enough, now the transmission is shifting rough. Ill never buy another Ford again.

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  WALLET - 2007 Ford F-150
  By jks - October 13 - 8:53 pm

  Now that I own the 5.4 liter, FLEX FUEL VEHICLE, F-150 4x4, I am realizing a very poor "gasoline" fuel economy of about 10 MPG highway which is much less than the 18 MPG that was posted on the window sticker. E85 is much worse. The non-adjustable seat bottom revealed itself as a rear end problem after the first 200 miles. I am not sure what the engineers at Ford were thinking when an adjustable seat bottom was not added to the lower lines of pickups. I would have been happy with even a manual adjustment. I dont think that these problems are going to disappear as my wallet gets much thinner.

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  The Reason I went to Ford and they went Bankrupt - 2007 Ford Focus
  By T. E. Garrison - October 13 - 1:53 pm

  If you have the opportunity to buy a 2007 Ford Focus 5 Door Hatchback, do it. Now to expand on this a little, and explain the title, there are literally a million Ford Focuses from the Generation I of the Focus running around the United States, and almost every last one of them looks prettier and is nicer than the hideous monstrosity that followed it in the United States, you see Ford decided that the Europeans deserved a different Focus, they also apparently deserved to keep the Hatchback, thanks to this policy, the 08-11 Focus was essentially costing Ford extra money, something that cost them far more than their buyers when the recession hit. Now about my car, Ford went out with Gen I by making a superb model year, it even in my mind compares favorably in some aspects with the 2012 Focus, for example, the seats are more comfortable, theyre easier to slide out of and into, the cushioning is more substantial or at least better distributed and the cars lines in certain areas are ever so slightly smoother. The car on its own merits has the traditional hatchback arguments going for it, the hatch is decently sized, the interior is roomy for a small car, and despite it having a hatch, the rear window to me seems superior to even large sedans due to it being essentially vertical and giving you a clear rear view. Other pluses for this car come from it being in the small car category, good MPG for its age, though the EPA folks do like to revise that, the tires arent huge but not so small a bump in the road would ruin them. On Electronics, this is one area where the Focus showed its age, on my model for example, the car does not even have a rev counter, only a speedometer, many normal gauges on cars from the period, such as battery voltage are not on this model, but it does come with cruise control on several models which for that year is actually still a plus for the segment and for Ford. The stereo system is ancient and the fact that most of their original owners decided the original stereo was terrible and replaced it, mine for example has a Pioneer Stereo which allows me a USB port or Aux Cable should inform you about a stock stereo. The only serious issue I can have with this car are things well beyond my control, the transmission is a miserable 4 speed automatic transmission, overwhelmed under any reasonable acceleration by an engine with some 30 less horsepower than its modern descendant from the 2012 Generation of Focuses, the first and third gears are so long you could fit two more in them, which is exactly what Ford did in 2012. The engine is only about 138 horses, or less, it has changed three times since I bought the car, that was in 2014, not terrible, but considering what they could have gotten out of her with only a little trickery with the engine, at least 160 horses, believe it or not that would make a difference. The steering makes me feel like I am in a Formula 1 Car, not a hatchback and is worthy of cars more agile and more powerful, a definite plus for me. Thats the car itself, the only other issue is resale value, if you buy this car, keep it, it wont be worth the effort to negotiate giving it to a dealership and if you are a young driver, its good to have a car around when you buy a new car to keep the miles down on that car. If well kept and not abused, the car will last well into the 150k or 200k mile range. Its more than paid for itself by this point as well.

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  GREAT CONCEPT - 2001 Ford Explorer Sport Trac
  By RFK - October 13 - 7:43 am

  LOVE THE CONCEPT OF SUV WITH FOUR DOORS, FULL BACK SEAT AND PICKUP BED. HAVE HAD NO PROBLEMS WITH THE VEHICLE. GET A LOT OF LOOKS FROM OTHER DRIVERS.

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  Cant beat it - 2005 Ford Focus
  By oopy493 - October 12 - 2:00 am

  If you want high gas mileage, lots of space, decent quality and a reasonable price, theres nothing like a focus wagon. Fully decked out its selling for under $19K TMV. Materials are really nice and it rides well. The four cylinder has pep, gets a bit noisy if you push it. Everything inside feels comfy and theres tons of space.

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  Ford is at the top with the new mustang - 2005 Ford Mustang
  By mike burke - October 12 - 2:00 am

  everyone is looking at my new 05 mustang and just like me there loven it, ford "wow" so much better quaity in this car than my old 03GT. you give it the gas and hang on because you think you are in a 67 fast back that you just stuck every thing you owned in to the motor and exhaust and the factory is giving you all this at a great price on the 2005 mustang GT