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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  Love this car! - 2015 Ford Mustang
  By Gene Algarin - October 12 - 10:34 am

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  BRING ON YOUR BENZ, AUDI OR BMW - 2015 Ford Taurus
  By JOHN MCMAHAN - October 11 - 11:49 pm

  best performance sedan for the money by at least $20,000. This is my third Tarus SHO, 2010,2013,2015, if Ford keeps making them I will keep buying them. TwinTurbo, Direct Injected, all wheel Drive its a bundle of technology for the money, you could buy a Audi S6 but it has less horse power less technology and oh yea it cost $20,000 more.

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  Ford - First On Race Day - 2014 Ford Explorer
  By Shaun Drutar - October 11 - 11:02 pm

  Ok, I am in love with this 2014 Ford Explorer Sport. It rides quiet...almost too quiet...you can easily speed and not realize it... The twin turbo and great handling make this beast come alive..and 0-60 in 6 or so seconds is quite invigorating. Interior and ride comfort rival the Lexus LX 570, the explorer has a better third row than the Lexus LX 570 & Toyota Sequoia. Handling is great in the corners and smooth down the road. Body roll is almost non-existent especially compared to the Toyota Sequoia. Lets not overlook the sunroof and moonroof, rear climate controls and AIR CONDITIONED front seats! I do feel like the sound system needs a bit more power and the voice commands on SYNC are not as easy to use as I would have expected. Love that it seats 6-7 easily.

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  18,000 miles on 2014 Focus transmission shot - 2014 Ford Focus
  By Chad - October 11 - 2:09 pm

  Bought in June of 2014 and by September of 2015 and 18,000 mile automatic transmission is shot. Dealership said they will replace it but not happy my new car has big problems already. Makes me scared to keep it past warranty. Meanwhile my Nissan has 38,000 miles on it with not even a light bulb out. Very sad to see Ford quality go down tried to buy American to support the company. Buyers beware of Ford Focus.

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  230K - Best truck - 2010 Ford F-150
  By Gs1150adv - October 10 - 12:53 pm

  Transmission starting to slip. Truck dealer maintained. Overall, 5 stars. Still looks great, and no breakdowns. Getting Co. F-150 in near future...will miss all the extras of Platinum model. [contact info removed]

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  Not impressed - 2015 Ford Fiesta
  By lholzem@gmail.com - October 9 - 10:05 pm

  I drove a rental ford fiesta for a month after my 2004 Camry was declared a total loss. The first thing I noticed was the lack of power and poor transmission. The shift button on the automatic transmission seemed like a cool idea but it was hard to use and irradic. I used to drive a Honda Fit with paddle shifters, Hondas design is much better. My second big complaint is the turning radius is terrible. The car is approximately 2 feet shorter than my Camry, yet I could not make U turns that would have been easy in my Camry. The car also felt cheap and the radio/Aux input were not intuitive. Gas mileage was decent and its easy to park in the city. The ride is sort of jerky, similar to the Honda Fit. For me the compact size is the biggest plus. If I were looking for a car this size, I would not even consider the fiesta though, check out the Honda fit or smallest Prius.

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  POS - 2012 Ford Focus
  By peter - October 9 - 6:11 pm

  Beware of this car. 2012 model year has transmission problems. It has been in the shop five times for new transmission fixes...software, parts..etc. It has stalled while being driven 4 times. It is an absolute hazard. Ford customers service is the worst. They will absolutely not stand behind their products..especially a LEMON! The trade-in value is embarrassing low. Basically, I have lost the entire value of the car. It is worth more at the junk yard.

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  next time - 2014 Ford Fiesta
  By mike - October 9 - 12:42 pm

  mine is a 2014 fiesta with less than 10,000 miles automatic but drives like a standard . try to make a right or left turn from a stop and it shimeys so badly you have to almost stop .every time there will be no next time buying a ford

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  Wow - 2013 Ford F-150
  By Eric Latta - October 9 - 9:28 am

  The selector for this review didnt give the right option for my truck. I have a F-150 XLT Super Cab 2x4 eco boost engine, currently 36,000 miles, shorter cab and longer bed because I am using this truck to tow a light weight (7200 lb dry weight, 9500 lbs loaded) 34 fifth wheel RV. This truck pulls my RV with ease, so far I have towed about 9000 miles from the flat (and sometimes windy) lands of Kansas to the mountain passes of over 10 and 11,000 feet with absolutely no problems. I can tow as fast as I want 60-70 mph, even using cruise control. MPG highway 20-23, towing 8-11. This is working perfectly for our needs.

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  Great Car - 2014 Ford Fusion
  By Piotr - October 8 - 11:08 pm

  When writing a review you cannot select the 1.5 or 1.6 engines. Ive got the 1.6 ecoboost that comes with a manual transmission. I really like it, I rented the 2.0L ecoboost a couple of times and really like that engine too, I really wanted the manual transmission and its great. Very nice ride stays on the road and handles well. I got the sport appearance package and the MyFord Touch with SYNC. I had that before and I really like it. I have seen a couple of glitches with it but the PROs outweigh the cons. You can control almost anything with your voice, and once you learn all of the commands and features it works really well. The steering wheel buttons were designed with me in mind. they are perfect. I recently rented a 2015 escape and they messed them up, i hated those compared to my fusion. the volume up down, track forward back, sync command and cruise control are all right where they should be. I am 64" tall too and I fit better in the fusion than in the escape. the fusion has plenty of room. The odometer features where you can change how you see the info is awesome too. really cool options of viewing the tachtometer and live fuel economy as you drive. Plenty of leg room in the back. all 4 windows are one press and they fully open or close. keyless open all windows when its really hot you just hold the unlock feature after 5 seconds all the windows open. they just thought of all of these little things and I really appreciate them. Some reviews complain about the SYNC but i really like it, i dont use the touch part of it too often and the only glitches ive had was the temperature setting, neither the touchscreen nor the button below work sometimes. one time it seemed the button got stuck and bumped me down to min temp. Once i stopped and killed the engine and started it up again the glitch went away.