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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  Avoid The 2013 Focus Automatic At All Costs - 2013 Ford Focus
  By Realist - October 7 - 9:06 pm

  I almost lost count of the trips to the dealer for warranty work on the infamous dual-clutch transmission. After a recent update, the car stalled out while in slow-and-go traffic on I-95 in Virginia. I traded it two days later. Not safe, not reliable.

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  Beware of transmission - 2013 Ford Focus
  By John Murphy - October 7 - 1:53 am

  Ford admits to "shuddering" and "rough shifting" vehicle is not comfortable the head seats can not be removed to clean seat the gas mileage is around 19 city for me with 87 octane and around 15 with Ethanol. Dont believe me? Test drive today.

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  Big mistake! - 2013 Ford Escape
  By Angie - October 6 - 2:10 pm

  I traded in my 2012 ford escape for the 2013. When I got my 2013 ford escape sel I loved all the luxury items its loaded. I bought it used with 17,100 miles. From the first month I owned it until now (I only had the car 7 months so far) its been into 3 different garages 7 times due to a big list of problems. Now again its in the garage they informed me that the turbo needs replaced thank goodness I got an extended warranty or this car would be gone. And also 11 recalls have been done to this car. I use to love ford.

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  Watch out for DCT auto transmissions - 2014 Ford Focus
  By Unhappy Ford owner - October 6 - 7:26 am

  Had a 2014 Ford focus se hatchback with DCT auto transmission. This is a great vehicle other than the transmission. Transmission would at slow speeds hesitate, shudder, jerk back and forth, go in and out of gear, and had metal sounds ( like silverware clanging) coming from under car. When I would take off from a stop you never knew if you were going to go or shake and shudder for 2 to 4 seconds sometimes more and then go. Sometimes it felt it would stall but never did. When I bought this car it did none of this at first and it started to do this after 5 to 7 thousand miles and progressively got worse. Had it in shop at Ford to fix and it was much worse after reprogram. Talked to Ford about it again and was told that the shuddering could never be totally fixed and would always be there due to nature of transmission. I told them I had looked on the internet and saw that this was a common problem and that it doesnt seemed to be able to be fixed by Ford and that I wasnt happy about this. At this point they tried to get me into another Ford vehicle but did not give me a good trade in value for my 1 year old vehicle (I wonder why???). It was the one chance the Ford dealer had at keeping me and they screwed up so I traded my vehicle in somewhere else. All the money Ive spent on service visits repairs and new tires (4 sets) over the years on other fords I guess didnt mean much. I am now giving my business to a company that has very good reliability ratings for their vehicles so hopefully I dont run into this again. If looking at this vehicle for your next car do your homework first.

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  THE WORST FORD IVE EVER OWNED!!!! - 2012 Ford Focus
  By Phill O - October 5 - 8:28 pm

  1st let me say i was eagerly awaiting this car. i loved the styling, performance and economy of it. Now lemme tell ya, this car is a POS!!! the transmission is junk (look at Fords FSAs regarding this). the rear door latch broke, nobody uses this door so it should not have failed, the drivers window motor failed the day before a rain storm. and now, today the freaking drivers door will not latch closed!!! DO NOT BUY ONE OF THESE VEHICLES! YOU WILL REGRET IT!

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  ford focus misery - 2014 Ford Focus
  By Diana - October 5 - 8:07 pm

  Shutters at every acceleration from a stop has a hard time picking up speed entering freeway

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  Almost Killed Me! - 2014 Ford Focus
  By Mr.POD@Ford - October 5 - 7:11 pm

  I was driving an 08 Crown Vic was happy when I was given a new car. To be specific this car was driven 5 days a week about 5 hours in the city as an unmarked narcotics vehicle. I very rarely "dogged" this vehicle. It first gave me problems at 6,000 miles. It started to slip gears and make grinding noises. I got it towed to the city fleet lot and they took it to the Ford dealership. They replaced a module and I got it back after it was down for 2 weeks. The second time (15,000 miles) was when I was driving in an area of town that is not "officer friendly". It completely stalled in traffic and was towed to the dealership. It took 2 months to diagnose the problem and was fixed after 3 months. The third time was the icing on the cake. (40,000 miles) A shots call fire came out over the radio and PD said there was a victim. I was pretty close so I decided to pull and check either units that were dispatched. I hit the lights and the siren and started to head that way. When I came to a busy intersection (2highways) I cleared half of the intersection then the car stalled. I was left in the middle of the intersection with heave traffic coming right towards me. After this incident I told my supervisors that I would not be driving this vehicle and that they can put me in the oldest vehicle in the fleet but I am not driving that POS car. The city has auctioned it of and I feel sorry for whoever bought it. I hope they will be safe.

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  Do not buy a 2014 Ford Focus - 2014 Ford Focus
  By Christy - October 5 - 10:50 am

  I wish I wouldve read these reviews before I bought mine. I have a 2014 Ford Focus Titanium. It started shaking, grinding, all sorts of trouble around second gear. I have taken it in 3 times and Ford keeps giving me the run around. I cannot believe they are not making this right. I am in the process of a lemon law complaint. Take my advice - look elsewhere. I wish I would have.

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  I will never purchase a Ford - 2012 Ford Edge
  By Lynn - October 5 - 10:29 am

  We purchased a 2012 Edge Sport at 20k miles. We are now 1.5 years in and have taken the car to the dealer several times. Today, we are at 40k miles and have done and alignment, new tires, battery, throttle fuel line when the car stopped working, break booster when the breaks were not working properly, panoramic roof lining, led bulbs in taillight. Now, the dealer is asking us to pay $215 to update and clear code U0401. At this point, the only thing I want to do to get rid of my ford. We love the interior, features and look of the SUV but absolutely feel insecure of the stability. We are waiting for the next thing to break.

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  HEADACHE!!! - 2012 Ford Focus
  By Elizabeth - October 4 - 4:54 pm

  I purchased this vehicle in May of 2015 the first month I had it it was great then started shifting hard. On Saturday September 26 I was drving on i44 through springfield and my car slammed itself in to park while I was going 70. I drove my car 3 hours to get it fixed due to my town refused to fix it. The car has a recall on the tcm. I got my car back on october 1 the car was in for 4 days and my check engine light just came on saying " transmission malfunction service now" I have the biggest headache with this vehicle right now I hwve to get the rpms up to 4 grand just for it to shift out of 1st gear. I am so sick of Ford dealerships saying "thats just how the Focus is made" "its going to do that for the life of the vehicle"...... Love the gas millage just not the headache