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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  Im Jappy - 2003 Ford Expedition
  By David Hylton - October 14 - 8:12 am

  I bought a 2003 with 70,000 on it in 2014. I was going to get a brand new vehicle but this was to good of a deal to pass up because it was a 1 owner vehicle and was literally in new condition. I hadnt had the vehicle for 2 weeks when a drunk driver rear ended me while I was sitting at a red light with my 3 year old and 10 year old kids in the car. Drunk was doing 45mph and the impact was tremendous. He was driving a full size Chevy truck and it was completely totaled. Expedition had 1000 dollars in damage. Not only was I amazed but the police and firefighters couldnt believe it. This thing is a tank! Mpg is awful but I knew this before I bought it so no surprise there. It rides good and no problems at all. I did change the serpentine belt just as a precaution due to its age. Im very happy with this vehicle and the 3rd row seats that fold into the floor are a huge plus.

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  Stuck on 3 for air and heat. - 2011 Ford Explorer
  By Cindy - October 13 - 7:23 pm

  When the air/heat knob is on 1 or 2 no air flow, only on 3 is when it works

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  DO NOT GET ONE! - 2013 Ford Fusion
  By nichole - October 13 - 7:13 pm

  These are horrible cars. We have only had ours maybe 5 months, got it used. Has 45,000 miles on it. Has transmission issues which dealer has tired to "fix" twice. They reprogrammed the pcm and did not fix the problem. Now were back in the shop with same transmission issue and this time a coolant hose broke and vehicle over heated. Did I mention It only had 45,000? Definitely stick with a Honda or Toyota. I truly feel bad for anyone else who gets one of these they are very disposable, not made to last.

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  best car ford made - 1993 Ford Tempo
  By james bungarden - October 13 - 6:47 pm

  I bought this tempo new. took it to California when it had 188000 miles on it. round trip was 4000 miles. 35 mpg. wanted to trade for new 2013 fusion dealer said he give me 150 dollors for it I still have it now has 200700 miles will go anywhere I want. if the fusion lasts as long the tempo ill be happy.

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  Cramped left foot - 2015 Ford Taurus
  By Left leg - October 13 - 4:07 pm

  Left foot very uncomfortable. No space for someone 6 foot. Make sure you are aware of this during the test drive. Now Im stuck and cant stretch my left leg.

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  troublesome - 2013 Ford Fusion
  By terri - October 13 - 2:51 pm

  Terrible gas mileage in winter. At least 13 recalls. Still dont have the lane warning working all the time. only once in a while. terrible service from the dealer in champaign, il. they dont believe me and i have the videos to prove when things dont work. hard to take a trip when you dont know whats going to work and not work at any given time. theres a mold smell apparently my family is the only one that can smell it despite reports online. sometimes the phone doesnt connect. one time, the whole system just shut down and went black. sometimes the ignition acts like its not going to turn over. i could go on and on. after having a Bonneville for 13 years, i finally get a real lemon.

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  Ford Focus & Fiesta - JUST SAY NO! - 2014 Ford Focus
  By a76austin@gmail.com - October 13 - 12:59 pm

  First, I purchased the 2013 Ford Fiesta (Brand new). Went in for transmission repairs FIVE times. (Lurching, jerking, hesitation, failure to switch gears, and finally stalling out). The dealership kept telling me it was fixed each time. They gave me the run around until I was worried my warranty would run out before they actually got the problem fixed. So thinking I got a lemon, I traded it in for a new 2014 Ford Focus. This one is even worse. Same exact transmission problems. Shutters terribly when trying to switch gears, will stall out trying to upshift, and then suddenly LURCH forward with the RPMs going to 6,000 almost 7,000. Power will stall out when merging onto the highway. Has nearly caused numerous accidents. Not only are these cars poor quality, they are very dangerous and hazardous to drive. When the light turns green, and your car stops mid-intersection with oncoming traffic, and then suddenly lurches forward at top speed, thats a problem. I am currently waiting on my second repair for my Focus, and have been told by the dealership that the clutches for the transmissions are on 8-12 week backorder. Not sure if this transmission will even last that long. The car has 31,000 miles, issues started at 15,000. Have spoken with the class action attorney in California, and a lemon law attorney here in N.C. My advice if you get/have one of these cars, KEEP and collect ALL your repair records. The lemon law attorney here told me that Ford has been VERY slow, much more slow than other manufacturers to even respond to their lemon law complaints, because of the sheer number of them coming in. So in my opinion, stay away from Ford all together. I know I will from now on.

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  Runs and Drives well and still looks great! - 2006 Ford Freestar
  By Bill Adams - October 13 - 12:03 pm

  The van was purchased in 2011 at 94K miles, and now has 165K on it. It spent its first year as a Hertz rental unit in Hawaii, then as a privately owned vehicle in the Twin Cities area before we bought it. So far there is no body rust, and all features and functions work as they should. It is still almost completely squeak and rattle free, and has a good tight and solid feel overall. Wind noise is a bit below average. Engine, transmission, and exhaust appear to be original and unopened and are working well and not leaking. This is probably the quietest and smoothest shifting AT I have ever owned. The engine burns no oil. Service and Repairs so far: Routine oil & filter changes with Mobil-1 5W-20 every 6K miles. Had right front wheel bearing replaced at 145K. Pads & rotors (normal wear & tear at 155,000 - DIY). Spark plugs, coil pack, and wires (did it myself at 96K as a preventive measure). Problem with water in PCM connector causing misfiring and error codes (fixed myself by cleaning & sealing connector - no recurrence). New rear shocks at 155K (by myself - easy for a diy-er on this vehicle). New headlight bulbs twice (DIY - no tools needed except possibly a car key). New serpentine belt at 100K as a preventive measure. I have a complete ATF flush/change every 15-20K as a preventive measure - it has paid off in the form of NO transmission problems on 2 other minivans (98 Ford Windstar and 95 Plymouth Voyager) that were notorious for transmission problems. We use it for towing a small utility trailer with no problems, and a 1900 lb. boat plus trailer, which is the max I would want to tow with it. When towing the boat we run it in 3rd. gear if there are any hills at all, and try to run with the A/C off. Pros: Good crisp handling (for a mini-van), snappy performance w/good passing performance, 6-disc CD player & cornering lights (SEL and Limited only), good heating and A/C, which will freeze you out if you want it to, rear seat folds flat into floor, nice styling, comfortable front seats, good sound system. Cons: Blind spot to drivers left rear, so-so mileage (18-20 local driving, 21-24 highway), road noise (varies with pavement surface and type of tire, and as a fleet vehicle may not have had as much sound deadening material added when built fleet delete?), only one switch to operate both rear vent windows, middle seats are heavy and hard to take out or put back in, and middle and rear seats are too low - okay for children and short people, uncomfortable for tall people. IMO, Ford started out in the mini-van business with a great basic design that attracted many customers at first, and might have grabbed a larger share of that market segment. However, by cutting corners, letting customer care slide, and making ill-advised mechanical changes, they failed to attract and maintain a loyal customer base. Considering that they havent made Windstar, Freestar, or Mercury Monterey minivans since 2007, there are still quite a few of them on the road, and I know people who like them and who will hate to part with them when they finally wear out. However, early in the program and occasionally thereafter, there was in-the-field debugging that had to be done, and by failing to quickly address the weaknesses, Ford caused the line to die prematurely. IMO. But we really like ours and hope to get about 300K miles out of it, depending on how badly it rusts and future parts availability.

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  Junk. Should have bought the F-150. - 2012 Ford Edge
  By Miko - October 12 - 7:21 pm

  Im 57, 145 lbs. and way too small for this car. The seats were built for someone much fatter. I constantly have to fiddle with the seat position: fore, aft, up, down, nothing is comfortable. It might as well have bench seats when I take a corner at a bit of speed. The "bucket" seats dont hold you in place at all. And the repairs!!! The "door ajar" light kept coming on, even though the door was closed.The "place engine in park" light came on while driving 70 mph down the freeway. Those two repairs cost $1600. Thank goodness I purchased the extended warranty which covered electronics! The windshield wipers came on during broad daylight - no shade- even when the werent set to automatic. The sync is terrible with my iPhone. The sound doesnt always turn off when the button is pressed. The acceleration has a terrible lag. And now, during this autumn heat wave, my air conditioner has gone out. I have only put 15,000 freeway miles on the car and purchased it certified pre-owned 8 months ago. I tried to sell it, but now cant do that due to all the repairs this car has needed. I hate it.

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  Worst SUV on the Planet !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - 2013 Ford Escape
  By DM Piazza - October 12 - 4:19 pm

  Worst SUV ever!!!!!!!!!!! Bought my Escape SEL/AWD brand new push start technology package, rear hatch release sensor, auto start, ambient lighting, heated front seats pretty loaded. Let’s start with the obvious issue 1st it stalls when you are driving it. This happened 5 times in 2 years once pulling into the driveway (husband was driving) ok let’s chalk that up to a fluke. The 2nd time it stalled I was pulling into my work parking lot so far each time it was taken right back to dealership and left there for them to FIX every time within hours I was called to say they could not duplicate the problem so hence no found issue nothing done.. The 3rd time it stalled was on Highway Route 1 in stop and go traffic I almost got back ended so again right back to the dealership mind you this is all in the first year and a half of owning it. This time it stayed there for almost a week and the dealer said it had a recall so they would update the electronics (still however not able to duplicate the problem) and asked me if I was sure I was not turning it off while driving it??? REALLY??? REALLY??? YES I AM POSITIVE I AM NOT TURNING OFF MY CAR WHILE IN THE MIDDLE OF DRIVING IT !!!!!!!!!!! Received the call it was ready and to come get it. Ok off I go back to the dealership hopeful all will be fixed and I will have no more issues. Oh was I mistaken I left the dealership and headed down Route 295 to pick up a friend HUGE MISTAKE !!!!!! about 5 miles into my drive in stop and go traffic yep you guessed it STALLED AGAIN!!!!!!! At this point I am losing my mind and call to have them come pick up the death trap on the side of the road. Again no problem when they get it back to the dealership. Now I am still shaken up but willing to take it again. This time for a few months its ok I am optimistic that all is better and the issue is resolved. Oh how wrong I was……. The last time it decided it didn’t want to continue driving it stalled while I was making a left hand turn into a shopping center in the middle of a very busy 4 lane road I almost caused a several car accident thank goodness I was used to the stalling and threw it in neutral started in and floored it into the lot just missed getting t-boned but a second. This was it for me it took me over an hour to stop shaking, crying and being able to breathe again. The escape was traded by the end of the week. Since getting rid of it I have found out a lot of other people have had the same issue with accidents due to their escape stalling while driving it. I will never own another Ford product as long as I live. Ford is aware of the Issue and is being charged by the NHSA for not warning consumers of this huge problem with the Escape & Focus. There is a class action Law Suit also due to Ford not taking responsibility. So if you are looking into this SUV please do a lot of home work. I feel truly lucky that this suv did not kill me while I owned it.