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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  Problems Problems - 1999 Ford Expedition
  By pcof - March 31 - 10:59 am

  Tranny blow out at only 37,000 miles. Ford no help! This is the second Ford we have owned with this problem. 1st was a 95 3/4 ton turbo diesel. Tranny and torque converter blew at 8000 miles, under warranty, but nothing but problems after. Total lemon. Traded in in 1997, leased an Expedition for 2 years, multiple recalls then stupidly purchased this one in 1999. Nothing but recalls and problems again. Ford does not stand behind their cars! Will never purchase another Ford again. This car likes to float all over the road, unreliable, faulty parts etc. Never again!

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  Disappointed - 2004 Ford Focus
  By Tracey - March 25 - 8:20 am

  I was really looking forward to owning one of these cars, because all I had heard was positive feedback (car of the year, reliable etc.). I have had numerous problems with the car, first and foremost having to replace the transmission within the first week of ownership! Then before it turned 2 it overheated and had to be towed to the dealership. Also, the clutch to the a/c had to be replaced. I think I got a lemon and will replace as soon as possible! Dont take the chance on this car!

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  Transmission Issues on a 2003! - 2003 Ford Explorer
  By CW - March 22 - 5:06 am

  This will be the first and last American made car I ever buy. After 13 years of driving Japanese vehicles and having excellent performance and reliability I decided to buy an American made SUV. The Ford Explorer may be the #1 selling SUV but I have spent $4k in repairs after owning the car only 6 months. Besides having low quality rotors that were not able to be turned, the transmission had to be rebuilt. Ford would offer nothing to me even though the SUV is only 2 years old (barely out of warranty). From now on I will stick to Honda, Nissan, and Toyota.

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  Cant take it anymore! - 2004 Ford F-150
  By eddie - March 19 - 8:39 pm

  Ive owned Ford trucks since 1994 and have been happy with every design except this one. The seats are like sitting on a park bench the material will show something as small as a water stain. The 4.6 liter engine would have trouble pulling a dead snake out of a ditch. If you happen to get something stuck in the middle of the bed get ready to climb in the back. I just dont see how they can go from a truck as good as the 97-03 to this. By the time you read this it will be trade bait! What a shame!

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  Never Again! - 2006 Ford Expedition
  By Sad American - March 14 - 7:12 am

  The vehicle vibrates while in motion, from about 25 mph and up. You can really feel it in the steering wheel. The mechanic told me he didnt notice anything. That must be what they tell them to say. Steering is very unpredictable and at highway speeds is impossible to keep on a straight line. Hit a series of bumps and you feel as if the truck is going to go out of control. The one bright spot is the engine, very powerful. Interior is the usual cheap stuff found in American vehicles and it rattles. I bought a Ford because I wanted to help out an American Company in trouble. Now I know why theyre in trouble.

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  Ford=Fix Or Repair Daily - 1999 Ford Explorer
  By LBozeman - March 13 - 6:45 pm

  We bought the truck new. The check engine light has come on 7 times. Now the engine needs to be replaced. We have put close to a $500 in repairs into this truck every year for the last 7 years. We had to replace tires after the Firestone recall, the truck has had a shake in it ever since. When we go over a bump in the road or our driveway, the truck rocks so bad I feel like I have whiplash. I will NEVER buy another Explorer again. I begged my husband not to buy this one, now look where we are!

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  Junk - 2000 Ford Taurus
  By neveragainaTaurus - March 13 - 10:00 am

  Had nothing but trouble with this car. It was built at the Atlanta plant. I think Ford is trying to save money by doing away with Quality control at this factory. After looking at the NHTSA web site and seeing all the consumer complaints about the 2000 Taurus we decided that this car was unsafe for our family. I have never purchased a car that had so many problems. It was a relief to trade it in.

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  Flagship of the Junkyard - 2016 Ford F-150
  By Dan the former Ford owner - March 10 - 6:03 pm

  As the Flagship product for Ford, all I can say is: RUN AWAY! I have owned this truck for less than three months and have already seen my dealer service center more times than I have my barber, my grocer, and my reverend, combined! The truck is a mechanical and technological nightmare. Well start with the least-offensive items first and build from there. On day two, the tire monitor started going off. Seeing it down to 27 psi, I pulled in to the local tire store right off the road (later would find out that Ford would have preferred I drive it to a dealer--apparently they dont mind driving on rims and shredding tires). The teenager at the store told me that the tire simply hadnt been "sealed all the way around". 30 minutes and $22 later, back on the road. A week or so later, the dashboard console screens went out. After restarting the car, back on they came. So, I have the equivalent of Windows 10 in my truck--just reboot at the blue screen, I thought. Then, mid-May the same console issue happened again, except this time I also lost the engine gauges (oil pressure, trans. temp). While driving the car home (a Sunday), the radio came back on, but it was tuned to 87.5 (not a station in Minnesota) at about 28 out of 30 volume. None of the buttons work on the consoles, and none of the screens are available either. So, there I am driving down the highway with all of the windows down to drown out the white-noise of the radio. I proceed to log in to the SYNC website (thinking its a SYNC problem). The wonderful call center specialist actually had me call the SYNC 800-number and walked me through a manual update of the SYNC software from a USB drive. She was a delight to work with, and one of the few positive highlights through this process. The SYNC update worked...for about 4 weeks. Then, the F150 world went black again. The dealer tried to help and performed a software update. Ford has since claimed that they cannot replace any relays or controller modules because, "the systems are not throwing off codes. Well, go on Youtube and search around for F150 console issues, and youll find plenty of recent issues like this. The best part--Ford has claimed that the SYNC group is not really part of Ford, and they cant pull the records of my chat session or phone calls in May. Now, its no secret that Ford is running away from the SYNC platform as fast as it can, but its nice to see theyre tossing their customers into the tailwind too--no concern at all. At this stage, I get the equivalent of jingling a few wires together to reset things; Ford wont authorize any repairs because the Code Fairy has yet to swoop down and convince Ford corporate that there is a problem. The dealer even took pictures of the malfunctioning dashboard--Ford disregarded it; good to see they really believe their service teams! The icing on this junk cake? In the midst of all of this, the turbo charger relief valve on the Ecoboost charger went out in mid-June. No warning lights or anything, just a hissing/pop sound like an old steam vent. I find out after driving my car home that drivers shouldnt go over 50 miles an hour with the relief valve out because it can damage the turbo...and the fuel injectors! Glad to see the Ford engineers put all kinds of concerns into the tail pipe emissions (the dash goes off like a Christmas tree when theres condensation in the tailpipe), but problems with a major engine component--we dont need to warn drivers about that... I know that every manufacturer turns out the occasional dud. Issues can happen. What burns me about this is that Ford has over-engineered a vehicle platform to the point of being unusable. Then, they make no effort to actually REPAIR the problems (just unhooking the battery cables for 10 mins. is not a repair). Heck, the service managers told me they wouldnt tow anything with it because, if the console goes out, you lose the towing control functions and the gauges needed for towing. Its an FX4 off-road model for pitys sake--thats what it was built to do! Ford has walked away on a loyal customer (leasing Fords for over 20 years). I have already turned two potential customers away from Ford, and I will do so as long as I walk this earth. Next weekend Im leasing a Nissan and putting the F150 in my garage until my lease is up (in 33 mos.). Ive got two words for the folks at Ford: Pontiac & Oldsmobile; nobody thought theyd go away either.

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  Bad Ball Joints - 2001 Ford Explorer Sport
  By Kathy Hoppes - March 8 - 2:00 am

  This is my second Ford in 6.5 years. I have spent several thousands of dollars for repairs that are a direct result of poor engineering on the part of Ford the first was a 95 mustang convertable v-6. I had to replace the head gaskets 3 times before I bought this explorer now I have had tons of recalls,bad ball joints and the transmission is slipping.All together I have spent 50000.00$ plus all the repairs and the 89 nissan I traded for the first Ford is still on the road. I guess everyone knows what my next car will be. Not a ford.

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  dont make the mistake of buying a focus - 2004 Ford Focus
  By allgdgary - March 8 - 2:00 am

  i had one problem after another with the focus. after it got about 5000 miles the fuel economy was about 12mpg instead of 33mpg. I had to have brake work done 4 times while I had it. In the end I traded it in and only got $5800 while i still owed 14000. I would have to say that I would never buy another Ford Product.