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124-619: The Ford World Rally Team , also known as the Ford Motor Co. Team prior to 2005, is Ford Motor Company 's full factory World Rally Championship team. In its current form, it has been a competitor since the 1997 season , when Ford Motor Company 's motorsport arm selected the Malcolm Wilson Motorsport company to run its factory team, entering the Ford Escort World Rally Car . The new team took their first victory in

248-596: A "vote of confidence" because of the pro-business climate being fostered in part by President-elect Donald Trump , Ford had canceled plans to invest $ 1.6 billion in a new plant in Mexico to manufacture the Ford Focus ; instead, the company would invest $ 700 million in Michigan , which it planned to use to create 700 new jobs. The Focus would now be manufactured in the existing plant in Mexico. Also in 2017, Ford began development of

372-503: A $ 2.7 billion profit in fiscal year 2009, the company's first full-year profit in four years. In 2012, Ford's corporate bonds were upgraded from junk to investment grade again, citing sustainable, lasting improvements. On October 29, 2012, Ford announced the sale of its climate control components business, its last remaining automotive components operation, to Detroit Thermal Systems LLC for an undisclosed price. On November 1, 2012, Ford announced that CEO Alan Mulally would stay with

496-663: A 32% stake in China's Jiangling Motors . The Henry Ford Company was Henry Ford's first attempt at a car manufacturing company and was established on November 3, 1901. This became the Cadillac Motor Company on August 22, 1902, after Ford left with the rights to his name. In 1903, the Ford Motor Company was launched in a converted factory, with $ 28,000, equivalent to $ 950,000 in 2023, in cash from twelve investors, most notably John and Horace Dodge , who later founded

620-402: A decade the company led the world in the expansion and refinement of the assembly line concept, and Ford soon brought much of the part production in-house, via vertical integration . Henry Ford was 39 years old when he founded the Ford Motor Company, which became one of the world's largest and most profitable companies. It has been in continuous family control for over 100 years, and is one of

744-893: A driver that killed two men while using BlueCruise. In November 2024, Ford announced that it would cut 800 jobs in the UK and 2,900 in Germany to try and reduce costs. The key trends for the Ford Motor Company are (as of the financial year ending December 31): Members of the Ford board as of March 2023 are: William Clay Ford Jr. (executive chairman), Jim Farley (president and CEO), Kimberly Casiano , Alexandra Ford English (daughter of William Clay Ford Jr.), Henry Ford III (son of Edsel Ford II ), William W. Helman IV, Jon Huntsman Jr. , William E. Kennard , John C. May, Beth E. Mooney , John L. Thornton , John Veihmeyer , Lynn Vojvodich Radakovich, and John S. Weinberg. Jim Farley succeeded Jim Hackett as

868-745: A lowly 7th position in the drivers championship, whilst Ford could only manage to finish 5th in the manufacturers championship. Ford entered the 1988 World Rally Championship season using both the XR4x4 and the Sierra RS Cosworth models, the Texaco sponsorship had gone, and the cars now featured a corporate blue and white striped Ford colour scheme, similar to that seen on the Ford RS200 in 1986 . The services of Stig Blomqvist , Carlos Sainz and Didier Auriol were retained from 1987 , each driver being entered on

992-539: A misfire, Baroni would retire after an accident, and Cunico would go on to finish 7th overall. The Italian driver would suffer the misfortune of retiring after an accident on his second Ford outing in Great Britain. Ford would finish 13th in the Manufacturers standings after scoring just six points for the season. Results over the past few seasons had proved one thing; in order to return to winning ways Ford would need

1116-773: A new car was required to compete with Group B rivals like the Audi Quattro S1 and Peugeot 205 T16 . Lessons learned from the RS 1700T programme were being used in the development of Ford's new rally weapon, the RS200 , which would not hit the stages until 1986 . Having spent time away from the sport developing the Ghia styled RS200 , Ford made a return to the World Rallying stage at the second round in Sweden. Ford's new RS200 featured four-wheel drive ,

1240-474: A new mixed-use urban campus in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit , with its purchase, renovation, and occupation of The Factory at Michigan and Rosa Parks. The new site was expected to have a major focus on the development of autonomous vehicle and electric vehicle technology. Ford later began buying up other parcels of land in Corktown including a very high-profile purchase of Michigan Central Station which

1364-505: A number of other drivers including future champion Tommi Makinen . The Finnish driver would only drive the Escort RS Cosworth on his home rally that year, but he would secure a second win for the Ford team. Thiry would finish the season with two more points than his more illustrious teammate Biasion, but the team's combined performance would leave them third in the championship behind Japanese rivals, Toyota and Subaru. Commitments in

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1488-454: A number of unfortunate shunts which eventually left himself holding on to a mere sixth place overall, and the two factory Peugeots as 1–2 finishers on this event. After Sainz's perhaps fortuitous Argentinian win, McRae resumed his role as rally winner on the Acropolis and Safari rallies. The first success came despite initially being unexpectedly led on the stages by an imperious Märtin, while

1612-443: A plan to return the company to profitability. Fields previewed the plan, named The Way Forward , at the board meeting of the company on December 7, 2005, and it was unveiled to the public on January 23, 2006. "The Way Forward" included resizing the company to match market realities, dropping some unprofitable and inefficient models, consolidating production lines, closing 14 factories and cutting 30,000 jobs. Ford moved to introduce

1736-418: A plurality of the voting power. Ford introduced methods for large-scale manufacturing of cars and large-scale management of an industrial workforce using elaborately engineered manufacturing sequences typified by moving assembly lines . By 1914, these methods were known around the world as Fordism . Ford's former UK subsidiaries Jaguar and Land Rover , acquired in 1989 and 2000, respectively, were sold to

1860-455: A powerful, turbocharged car with 4WD capabilities. The 3-door Sierra RS Cosworth was no longer being sold by Ford, so they instead utilised the new Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4 4-door saloon model, which went on sale in 1990. The new car was still powered by a Cosworth developed turbocharged engine, but delays sourcing a suitable gearbox meant that it would not be used until the end of the 1990 World Rally Championship season . The team retained

1984-498: A range of new vehicles, including " Crossover SUVs " built on unibody car platforms, rather than more body-on-frame chassis. In developing the hybrid electric powertrain technologies for the Ford Escape Hybrid SUV, the company licensed similar Toyota hybrid technologies in order to avoid patent infringements. Ford announced that it would team up with electricity supply company Southern California Edison (SCE) to examine

2108-440: A result of high U.S. health care costs for an aging workforce , soaring gasoline prices, eroding market share, and an overdependence on declining SUV sales. Profit margins decreased on large vehicles due to increased "incentives" (in the form of rebates or low-interest financing) to offset declining demand. In the latter half of 2005, Chairman Bill Ford asked newly appointed Ford Americas Division President Mark Fields to develop

2232-487: A self-driving car startup. In May 2017, Ford announced cuts to its global workforce amid efforts to address the company's declining share price and to improve profits. The company is targeting $ 3 billion in cost reduction and a nearly 10% reduction in the salaried workforce in Asia and North America to enhance earnings in 2018. Jim Hackett was announced to replace Mark Fields as CEO of Ford Motor. Mr. Hackett most recently oversaw

2356-456: A standard deep-dish steering wheel, optional front, and, for the first time in a car, rear seatbelts, and an optional padded dash. Ford introduced child-proof door locks into its products in 1957, and, in the same year, offered the first retractable hardtop on a mass-produced six-seater car. In late 1955, Ford established the Continental division as a separate luxury car division. This division

2480-491: A ten-year building project. The result would see the number of Ford employees working in these areas doubling, to 24,000. During construction, some 2000 of the employees were relocated out of the campus to a temporary location in a disused section of the local shopping mall. Facilities would also be altered to allow ride-sharing and electric and self-driving vehicles. Estimates of the construction cost were $ 1.2 billion. On January 3, 2017, Ford CEO Mark Fields announced that in

2604-573: A turbocharged Cosworth BDT engine generating 450 bhp and a new blue and white Ford Motorsport livery. Ford employed the services of Swedish drivers Stig Blomqvist and Kalle Grundel, but they would each only be entered on four rallies, in a season overshadowed with tragedy. Grundel achieved a podium finish on the RS200's debut in Sweden, a result that would not be bettered all season, the following round in Portugal saw an RS200 driven by Joaquim Santos leave

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2728-500: A victory at the next round in Portugal , the Scot's title chances faded amid reliability problems with the new car and a series of costly shunts. McRae finished sixth in the drivers' standings. During this debut season, many drivers drove the second Focus of the team – France's Simon Jean-Joseph for some tarmac events, 2003 World Rally champion Petter Solberg of Norway (who replaced Rådström in

2852-499: A winless but not wholly uncompetitive season, even remaining an outsider for the title entering the final event. A crash of his own put paid to such ambitions, with the Spaniard slumping to sixth place in the points standings, with 33 points. McRae and Sainz regrouped for both drivers' final seasons with Ford in 2002 . Simultaneously, youngster Markko Märtin replaced Delecour as the team's third driver, having found himself crowded out by

2976-413: Is 129 km/h (80 mph). BlueCruise uses sensors and cameras to regulate the car's speed and to keep track of speed limits and road signs. It also monitors and keeps a safe distance from other vehicles. It also comes equipped with an eye-tracking system. If the driver stops looking at the road then the car will gradually reduce its speed. This technology will initially be offered in Ford's 2023 model of

3100-586: Is a driver safety program aimed at teens that were developed together with the Governors Highway Safety Association and safety experts. The Ford Volunteer Corps allows Ford employees and retirees to sign up for volunteering work on local projects in more than 40 countries. The organization invests $ 18 million annually in education in the United States and around the world, but accepts applications only from nonprofit organizations registered in

3224-584: Is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan , United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand, and luxury cars under its Lincoln brand. The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Ford family . They have minority ownership but

3348-611: Is not an option". Ford and the United Auto Workers , representing approximately 46,000 hourly workers in North America, agreed to a historic contract settlement in November 2007 giving the company a substantial break in terms of its ongoing retiree health care costs and other economic issues. The agreement included the establishment of a company-funded, independently run Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA) trust to shift

3472-507: Is planned to become the hub of their Corktown campus, and the adjacent Roosevelt Warehouse . Ford expects to move 2,500 of its employees, roughly 5 percent of its southeast Michigan workforce, to the campus with space for an additional 2,500 entrepreneurs, technology companies and partners. Bill Ford envisioned the first-floor concourse of the train station to be a public gathering place with retail outlets and restaurants. In February 2017, Ford Motor Co. acquired majority ownership of Argo AI ,

3596-477: Is to be rebranded as Ford Pro, to focus on vehicle distribution and service. In August 2022, Ford announced it planned layoffs of roughly 3,000 employees and contract workers, confirming earlier reporting. The cuts would mostly affect divisions in the US, Canada, and India, which Jim Farley said would allow the company to prepare for the future of electric, software-heavy vehicles. In February 2023, Ford announced that it

3720-504: The 1979 World Rally Championship season , they instead concentrated on development of the stillborn Ford Escort RS 1700T . However, Ari Vatanen did win the 1981 drivers championship in a Rothmans liveried Ford Escort RS, this was run by David Sutton Cars, and not an official works Ford World Rally team. The Boreham-based team were again missing from the 1985 season; the Ford Escort RS 1700T programme had been cancelled in 1983, and

3844-521: The 1992 World Rally Championship season at the Boreham based Ford squad, the most obvious being the new driver line-up. Francois Delecour remained at the team, but he was now joined by double World Champion Miki Biasion , who Ford hoped would add the final ingredients for a championship push. Q8 no longer sponsored the Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4 cars, which were now painted with a white and blue Mobil 1 livery. New technical rules were in place which reduced

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3968-502: The 4WD Ford, and something that would not be bettered. The Ford Sierra RS Cosworth would return for Round 3 in Portugal, and Blomqvist would use it to finish in 5th place, but only after Sainz and Auriol had both retired from the event. Ford would return to winning ways in Corsica; Didier Auriol steering his green and white Panach' sponsored Sierra around the island ahead of opposition from Lancia , for his first victory, and Ford's 23rd in

4092-673: The Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicle Company . The first president was not Ford, but local banker John S. Gray , who was chosen in order to assuage investors' fears that Ford would leave the new company the way he had left its predecessor. During its early years, the company produced just a few cars a day at its factory on Mack Avenue and later at its factory on Piquette Avenue in Detroit , Michigan . Groups of two or three men worked on each car, assembling it from parts made mostly by supplier companies contracting for Ford. Within

4216-525: The Ford Foundation ), based in Dearborn, Michigan, is the philanthropic arm of the Ford Motor Company. Established in 1949 by Henry Ford II , the organization is a nonprofit corporate foundation financed by contributions from Ford Motor Company. In 2017, it contributed $ 63 million to various causes with a focus on education, driving safely and community building. The Ford Driving Skills for Life program

4340-718: The Ford Transit and later the Ford Escort and the Ford Capri became common to both companies. In 1970, the Ford Taunus and the Ford Cortina came into production with a common base construction, both models being produced in left hand drive and right hand drive . Later on, the models became identical and the respective models right- and left-hand-drive exclusively. Rationalisation of model ranges meant that production of many models in

4464-469: The Formula 1 and BTCC championships meant that the rally budget at Boreham was significantly reduced, as a consequence Ford were not officially entered into the 1995 season as a manufacturer, the work instead being contracted out to RAS Sport of Belgium. Ford entered the 1996 season as full manufacturer entry, again with the Escort RS Cosworth, but now with backing from Repsol and a new lead driver, in

4588-473: The Group A cars come to the forefront of the world stage and the institution of championships not only for manufacturers and drivers, but also drivers of production and two-wheel drive cars. Group A would remain at the forefront of the championship for ten years, where a new specification, World Rally Car were made standard in 1997. The FIA also changed the basic scoring rules for manufacturers although they retained

4712-592: The Lombard RAC Rally , with both cars finishing in the top ten. Ford finished the championship with 94 points and 3rd position, and would retire the Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4 , as a new car would be ready for 1993 . Ford introduced the Escort RS Cosworth . Development of the Escort RS Cosworth continued during the 1994 season; a sequential gearbox and an antilag system being introduced, along with new larger 18 inch wheels for Tarmac rounds. This would be

4836-573: The Q8 sponsorship from the 1989 World Rally Championship season , the cars again being painted blue with cream coloured bumpers, but the driver line-up had almost completely changed, only Franco Cunico remained. He was now joined by Pentti Airikkala and Malcolm Wilson who had been teammates at the Rothmans Rally Team 10 years previously. Ford's season kicked off in Finland, where all three drivers left

4960-631: The Rally Monte Carlo , but he suffered an injury to his hand when he crashed out on the Tour de Corse , which left him hampered and struggling to a single-point-scoring finish on the following tarmac round in Spain . Injury worries for Sainz, meanwhile, came not from himself, but in the form of long-time co-driver Luis Moya , who was forced to end his unbroken year-on-year chain of appearances with his compatriot in order to recuperate, with Marc Marti stepping in for

5084-560: The Transit van continued at the company's Southampton facility until mid-2013, engines at Bridgend and Dagenham , and transmissions at Halewood . Development of European Ford is broadly split between Dunton in Essex (powertrain, Fiesta/Ka, and commercial vehicles) and Cologne (body, chassis, electrical, Focus, Mondeo) in Germany. Ford also produced the Thames range of commercial vehicles, although

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5208-675: The VW Sharan and SEAT Alhambra . With the introduction of the third generation of the Galaxy, Ford has moved the production of the people-carrier to the Genk plant, with Volkswagen taking over sole ownership of the Setúbal facility. 1987 World Rally Championship season 1987 marked the beginning of a new era for the WRC, as it was the first season driven without the powerful and popular Group B rally cars, seeing

5332-812: The industrialization of that country and consequently the Soviet war effort during World War II . To that end, in 1944, Stalin wrote a letter to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce stating that Henry Ford was "one of the world's greatest industrialists". During World War II, the United States Department of War picked Ford to mass-produce the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber at its Willow Run assembly plant. Ford Werke and Ford SAF , Ford's subsidiaries in Germany and France, respectively, produced military vehicles and other equipment for Nazi Germany 's war effort . Some of Ford's operations in Germany at

5456-452: The 1000 Lakes Rally in Finland, their speed and experience helping to negate some of the advantage of 4WD that their rivals enjoyed, they would finish 2nd and 3rd respectively. Ford would finish the season with 2nd and 3rd places for Blomqvist and Jimmy McRae , again against more capable rival machinery. Sporadic appearances throughout the season with cars that were compromised in one way or another meant that Stig Blomqvist would finish in

5580-546: The 1970s, manufactures the Transit Connect compact panel van as well as the "Jumbo" and long-wheelbase versions of the full-size Transit. This new production facility was set up near Kocaeli in 2002, and its opening marked the end of Transit assembly in Genk. Another joint venture plant near Setúbal in Portugal, set up in collaboration with Volkswagen , formerly assembled the Galaxy people-carrier as well as its sister ships,

5704-668: The 1997 Acropolis Rally . Ford would end the 1978 season with a win for Hannu Mikkola on season ending Lombard RAC Rally, at the hands of an Escort RS1800, he would be followed home by Björn Waldegård and Britain's Russell Brookes, all in similar machinery. Ford had a long and successful history in rallying , winning the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 1979 with the Ford Escort RS1800 and drivers Hannu Mikkola , Björn Waldegård and Ari Vatanen . Ford did not officially enter any cars for these seasons after winning

5828-782: The 1998 drivers' standings, although, with the announcement of the looming high-profile arrival of Colin McRae to the team for the following year, this success did not deter the Finn from deciding to leave the M-Sport outfit, both he and Thiry proceeding to sign Subaru contracts for 1999. The Ford and M-Sport-built Ford Focus WRC replaced the Escort WRC for 1999 . It debuted on the Monte Carlo Rally in January, with Colin McRae and Simon Jean-Joseph driving

5952-509: The Acropolis Rally were renowned for breaking cars, and that turned out to be the case for the Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4 as all three cars retired with mechanical ailments. A single car was entered for Vatanen on his home rally in Finland; he kept the car on the road and won eight stages on his way to 7th place. The San Remo rally would prove to be more fruitful than the Acropolis had been when

6076-528: The Detroit United Auto Workers union announced that after discussion with the leaders of General Motors , Ford, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles , the carmakers would partially shut down factories on a "rotating" basis to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic . On March 24, representatives of Ford announced that production in the US, Canada, and Mexico would not resume on March 30 as originally planned, amid

6200-481: The Focus WRC at every event of the season. They finished 3rd and 4th respectively in the driver's championship, albeit only managing to bring Ford 2nd place in the manufacturers title race behind Peugeot . Once again, bit-part driver Piero Liatti was called upon to help improve Ford's points returns on asphalt. McRae and Sainz were joined for the 2001 season by a regular third driver in the returning Ford favourite of

6324-496: The Focus debuted at the 2003 Rally New Zealand , where Märtin in particular proved immediately competitive, leading only to later be forced into retirement with engine problems. The team's new leader did score his first of five career rally victories on that year's Acropolis Rally , however, (notwithstanding a dramatic mid-stage moment for him and navigator Michael Park , when the car's bonnet unexpectedly flew up), as well as becoming only

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6448-574: The Ford Fund announced its official name has changed to Ford Philanthropy. Ford has had manufacturing operations worldwide, including in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, India, the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and South Africa. Ford also helped the Soviet Union to construct Russian automaker GAZ . In May 2010, Ford reported that its sales increased 23% for

6572-787: The Indian automaker Tata Motors in March 2008. Ford owned the Swedish automaker Volvo from 1999 to 2010. In the third quarter of 2010, Ford discontinued the Mercury brand, under which it had marketed upscale cars in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Middle East since 1938. Ford is the second-largest U.S.-based automaker, behind General Motors , and the sixth-largest in the world , behind Toyota , Volkswagen Group , Hyundai Motor Group , Stellantis , and General Motors, based on 2022 vehicle production. At

6696-428: The Mercury in 1939 as a higher-priced companion car to Ford. Henry Ford purchased the Lincoln Motor Company in 1922, in order to compete with such brands as Cadillac and Packard for the luxury segment of the automobile market. In 1929, Ford was contracted by the government of the Soviet Union to set up the Gorky Automobile Plant in Russia initially producing Ford Model A and AAs, thereby playing an important role in

6820-481: The Models A , B, C, F, K, N, R, and S. Hundreds or a few thousand of most of these were sold per year. In 1908, Ford introduced the mass-produced Model T , which totaled millions sold over nearly 20 years. In 1927, Ford replaced the T with the Model A , the first car with safety glass in the windshield. Ford launched the first low-priced car with a V8 engine in 1932. In an attempt to compete with General Motors' mid-priced Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick, Ford created

6944-424: The Mustang, due to declining demand and profitability. The Focus Active, a crossover SUV based on the newly unveiled fourth-generation Focus, was also intended to be marketed in the United States. Due to the vehicle being manufactured in China, Ford later announced that it would not release the Focus Active in the United States, due to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Chinese exports . In March 2020,

7068-421: The Q8 cars returned, all three cars would finish this rally in the top ten, with Delecour finishing 4th overall ahead of Fiorio in 9th and Wilson in 10th. 1991 was the inaugural year for the Catalunya rally and was only registered as a round of the drivers championship, two cars were entered, one for Delecour and the other for Jose Maria Bardolet, a pairing that would secure 3rd and 4th positions respectively. To end

7192-401: The Quattro. Clarion Team Europe with driver Per Eklund contributed 26 points to the work's effort while Mig Linz 's entry, Georg Fischer added another eight, bolstering Audi's bid for second overall. The Philips Renault Elf team struggled through the season with the Group A Renault 11 Turbo . French drivers Jean Ragnotti and François Chatriot were unable to gain much success, with

7316-417: The Safari Rally) and Thomas Rådström of Sweden on loose-surface rounds (except Safari who was replaced by Petter Solberg). His former role at Toyota now redundant after his former team's withdrawal as manufacturers' champions at the end of the 1999 season, double world champion Spaniard Carlos Sainz chose to return to his 1997 team for the 2000 season , joining the incumbent Colin McRae. Both men drove

7440-473: The U.S. Education programs and scholarships include Alan Mulally Engineering Scholarship, Ford Blue Oval Scholars Program, Ford College Community Challenge (Ford C3), Ford Driving Dreams Tour, Ford Fund/Detroit Free Press Journalism Scholarship, Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL), Grants to Individuals Program, HBCU Community Challenge, Smithsonian Latino Center Young Ambassadors Program, and William Clay Ford Automotive Design Scholarship. On April 29, 2024,

7564-441: The UK switched to elsewhere in Europe, including Belgium and Spain as well as Germany. The Ford Sierra replaced the Taunus and Cortina in 1982, drawing criticism for its radical aerodynamic styling, which was soon given nicknames, the "Jellymould" and "The Salesman's Spaceship". In February 2002, Ford ended car production in the UK. It was the first time in 90 years that Ford cars had not been made in Britain, although production of

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7688-478: The bonnet and rear flanks of the car. British driver Malcolm Wilson returned, and was joined by a relatively unknown French driver called Francois Delecour . Both drivers were entered on six of the European rounds of the Championship, with Delecour also entering the Catalonia Rally in Spain. A third car was shared by Alessandro Fiorio and Gwyndaf Evans , and a single car was made available for Ari Vatanen at Rally Finland. Delecour surprised many with his pace on

7812-440: The burden of retiree health care from the company's books, thereby improving its balance sheet. This arrangement took effect on January 1, 2010. As a sign of its currently strong cash position, Ford contributed its entire current liability (estimated at US$ 5.5 billion as of December 31, 2009) to the VEBA in cash, and also pre-paid US$ 500 million of its future liabilities to the fund. The agreement also gave hourly workers

7936-526: The championship hopeful Kankkunen, persistently ineffective on asphalt rounds of the calendar, woes for which not even Thiry's performances could compensate. A late injury to the Belgian provided an early season cameo role for 1981 world champion Ari Vatanen , who finished third at the Safari Rally , behind compatriot Kankkunen and first-time world rally victor for Mitsubishi , Richard Burns . Kankkunen eventually scored sufficient points and podiums, including second ahead of Thiry in Britain, to finish fourth in

8060-424: The championship. Thiry finished on the podium for the final two rounds in Italy and Spain, results that would help him to finish sixth in the driver's standings. 1996 would prove to be the swan song year for both the Escort RS Cosworth and the preparation of works Ford cars at Boreham , resulting in the team finishing third in the manufacturers championship. 1997 saw the introduction of the Ford Escort WRC, which

8184-440: The chief executive officer of the company in August 2020; he previously served as Ford's chief operating officer. Hackett stayed in the company as an advisor until the second quarter of 2021. Ford is mainly owned by institutional investors, who own around 60% of shares. The largest shareholders in December 2023 were: The Ford Philanthropy, formerly known as the Ford Motor Company Fund (also known as Ford Fund, not affiliated with

8308-421: The company until 2014. Ford also named Mark Fields, its president of operations in the Americas, as its new chief operating officer Mulally was paid a compensation of over $ 174 million in his previous seven years at Ford since 2006. The generous amount has been a sore point for some workers of the company. In April 2016, Ford announced a plan to modernize its Dearborn engineering and headquarters campuses through

8432-400: The company; at the beginning the vaccination program would be in southeast Michigan, Missouri and Ohio, but it was to be expanded later on to other locations. In March 2022, Ford announced that it would restructure the company into three separate divisions. Ford Model E is to focus on electric vehicles; Ford Blue is to focus on internal combustion vehicles; and the existing commercial division

8556-642: The cost of credit default swaps to insure the debt of Ford was 68 percent of the sum insured for five years, in addition to annual payments of 5 percent. That meant $ 6.8 million paid upfront to insure $ 10 million in debt, in addition to payments of $ 500,000 per year. In January 2009, Ford reported a $ 14.6 billion loss in the preceding year, a record for the company. The company retained sufficient liquidity to fund its operations. Through April 2009, Ford's strategy of debt-for-equity exchanges erased $ 9.9 billion in liabilities (28% of its total) in order to leverage its cash position. These actions yielded Ford

8680-409: The double world champion's home rally. Intrusive spectator parking on the event blinded Sainz, causing him to eventually crash out. With the Fords having initially dominated the stage times on the first rough gravel event of the year in Cyprus particularly through McRae, Märtin and François Duval , successive retirements left McRae as the sole occupier of the lead for the Blue Oval, which he lost after

8804-430: The driver front the team continued to be led by double World Rally champion Carlos Sainz , who drove all fourteen rounds, winning the Acropolis and Indonesia rallies, also often finishing on the podium. He would eventually finish third in the championship. The second seat was initially filled by German driver Armin Schwarz , however, he was replaced after the sixth round in Corsica, following some disappointing results, and

8928-487: The early to mid-1990s, Frenchman François Delecour . McRae's season oscillated between a protracted pointless run on the season's first few rounds, including retirement on the season-opening Monte Carlo Rally while leading the event from Tommi Mäkinen , and a run of three consecutive victories on the Argentine , Cypriot and Greek events, the latter placing him as joint leader of the championship with Makinen midway through

9052-455: The electric Mustang Mach-E SUV. According to Thatcham Research, an automotive research company, this model is not a self-driving car. It is classified as a level 2 or partial automation assistance system. This means that technology controls two or more driving aspects but still requires human driver control in cases of emergencies. The driver is still legally responsible for accidents. In August 2024 Pennsylvania State Police filed charges against

9176-484: The end of 2010, Ford was the fifth-largest automaker in Europe. The company went public in 1956 but the Ford family, through special Class B shares , retain 40 percent of the voting rights. During the 2008–2010 automotive industry crisis , the company struggled financially but did not have to be rescued by the federal government, unlike the other two major US automakers. Ford Motors has since returned to profitability, and

9300-471: The fact that his sponsorship money had not arrived. His understudy was a more than capable Juha Kankkunen , who completed the season in the second car, finishing on the podium on no less than six occasions. A third car was entered at the Network Q RAC Rally for Angelo Medghini. Ford finished second in the manufacturer's championship, being sandwiched by champions Subaru and third placed Mitsubishi. 1998 marked

9424-535: The final round in Great Britain Swedish and Spanish crews would finish in 6th and 7th places, whilst Lovell would finish in a disappointing 17th place in his bright yellow Sound 2000 sponsored Ford Sierra RS Cosworth . Ford would finish the season 2nd behind Lancia in the Manufacturers Championship, with a total of 79 points. It was evident from previous seasons that Ford did not have a car that

9548-438: The final season of the Escort WRC, with that year's Rally of Great Britain being its last event, ending the model name's thirty-year association with factory-backed international rallying. The team retained the services of four-time world champion Finn , Juha Kankkunen and Belgian Bruno Thiry , a championship mainstay and veteran pilot of previous Ford rallying models, including the Escort RS Cosworth. Carlos Sainz had left

9672-426: The final year at Ford for double champion Miki Biasion , his previous form had not continued and he would not finish higher than third place all season. His teammate Francois Delecour demonstrated how the car should be driven, by winning the season opening Monte-Carlo Rally , he would then miss four months of the season after breaking both of his ankles. A third car was driven on a number of rounds by Bruno Thiry, and

9796-511: The form of Carlos Sainz . Double champion Sainz had joined the Ford team after losing the battle for the 1995 championship to Colin McRae , he would have a number of new teammates at Ford, starting with Francois Delecour at Rally Sweden , and then former champion Stig Blomqvist at the Safari Rally in Kenya . Welsh driver Gwyndaf Evans , which his son Elfyn currently driving for the team, drove

9920-471: The formation of Ford Smart Mobility, a unit responsible for experimenting with car-sharing programs, self-driving ventures and other programs aimed at helping Ford better compete with Uber , Alphabet Inc. and other tech giants looking to edge in on the auto industry. On April 25, 2018, Ford announced that it would discontinue passenger cars in the North American market in the next four years, except for

10044-436: The further coronavirus pandemic spread. In the first quarter of 2020, Ford's sales dropped by 15%, entailing the loss of $ 2 billion. With the change in the demand for the sport vehicles, on January 6, 2021, Ford reported a sales fall of 9.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 542,749 vehicles, compared to 601,862 in 2019. In April 2021, Ford said that it would provide COVID-19 vaccines for its employees, who were to obtain them at

10168-551: The future of plug-in hybrids in terms of how home and vehicle energy systems will work with the electrical grid. Under the multimillion-dollar, multi-year project, Ford is to convert a demonstration fleet of Ford Escape Hybrids into plug-in hybrids, and SCE is to evaluate how the vehicles might interact with the home and the utility's electrical grid. Some of the vehicles are to be evaluated "in typical customer settings", according to Ford. William Clay Ford Jr. , great-grandson of Henry Ford (and better known by his nickname "Bill"),

10292-434: The gains, the company finished the year with a $ 2.7 billion loss, largely attributed to finance restructuring at Volvo . On June 2, 2008, Ford sold its Jaguar and Land Rover operations to Tata Motors for $ 2.3 billion. During congressional hearings held in November 2008 at Washington D.C., Ford's Alan Mulally stated that "We at Ford are hopeful that we have enough liquidity. But we also must prepare ourselves for

10416-451: The highlight of their season coming at Portugal with Ragnotti's second-place finish. Volkswagen Motorsport followed their success of the previous season with Swede Kenneth Eriksson , the 1986 winner of the championship for drivers of Group A cars. Eriksson was able to place fourth overall on the season, beaten only by Lancia drivers. Volkswagen, lacking a major second driver, was surpassed by not only Lancia, but Audi and Renault as well in

10540-488: The industry. Mulally stated that "In addition to our plan, we are also here today to request support for the industry. In the near-term, Ford does not require access to a government bridge loan. However, we request a credit line of $ 9 billion as a critical backstop or safeguard against worsening conditions as we drive transformational change in our company". GM and Chrysler received government loans and financing through T.A.R.P. legislation funding provisions. On December 19,

10664-400: The job security they were seeking by having the company commit to substantial investments in most of its factories. The automaker reported the largest annual loss in company history in 2006 of $ 12.7 billion, and estimated that it would not return to profitability until 2009. However, Ford surprised Wall Street in the second quarter of 2007 by posting a $ 750 million profit. Despite

10788-574: The largest family-controlled companies in the world. The first gasoline-powered automobile was created in 1885 by the German inventor Karl Benz , with his Benz Patent-Motorwagen . More efficient production methods were needed to make automobiles affordable for middle class people. To which Ford contributed by, for instance, introducing the first moving assembly line in 1913 at the Ford factory in Highland Park . Between 1903 and 1908, Ford produced

10912-418: The latter, achieved on the landmark occasion of the fiftieth running of the fabled endurance event, and its last at World Rally Championship level, in retrospect proved to be the last career victory for McRae and British navigator Nicky Grist , ironically on the day on which the Scot became the first world championship driver to reach the quarter-century mark of individual WRC wins, and came to stand alone as

11036-459: The manufacturer standings. Ford Motor Company made its return to serious competition by enlisting drivers Ari Vatanen and Stig Blomqvist , but struggled early on with the Sierra XR 4x4 . The car was dropped, its replacement on the works team coming in the end of the season in the form of the redesigned Sierra RS Cosworth , which met with much greater success, challenging the dominant Lancias in

11160-541: The mid-to-late 1990s, Ford continued to sell large numbers of vehicles, in a booming American economy with a soaring stock market and low fuel prices. With the dawn of the new century, legacy health care costs , higher fuel prices, and a faltering economy led to falling market shares, declining sales, and diminished profit margins. Most of the corporate profits came from financing consumer automobile loans through Ford Motor Credit Company . By 2005, both Ford and GM 's corporate bonds had been downgraded to junk status as

11284-540: The month, and that 37% of its sales came from fleet sales. In June 2010, sales to individual customers at dealerships increased 13% while fleet sales rose by 32%. In the first seven months of 2010, fleet sales of Ford for the same period rose 35% to 386,000 units while retail sales increase 19%. Fleet sales account for 39 percent of Chrysler's sales and 31 percent for GM's. At first, Ford in Germany and Ford in Britain built different models from one another until 1965, when

11408-576: The most successful driver in the history of the World Rally Championship. In September 2002, Ford announced they would not be renewing McRae's contract - given his desire for a £5m contract, and the cost of developing the new 2003 car. Both McRae and Sainz joined the then less seasoned Sébastien Loeb at new championship full-timers, Citroën . In the absence of the departed McRae and Sainz, Ford opted to promote their younger supporting drivers, Estonian Markko Märtin and Belgian François Duval , to their top two seats. A comparatively thorough redesign of

11532-636: The only Ford finisher being Alessandro Fiorio who had replaced Cunico. Ford would finish 8th in the championship , with a total of 22 points. The 1991 World Rally Championship season was an opportunity for Ford to push for victory again, and to evolve the Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4 ; lessons learned on the stages would be used to simultaneously develop the Ford Escort RS Cosworth . The cars were again predominantly blue with title sponsorship from Q8 , but now featured extra sponsors like Autoglass and Noberasco , which were displayed in white sections on

11656-593: The other two rallies. The Sierra RS Cosworth proved to be far more successful in comparison, it would not win during 1987 , but it did achieve a number of podium finishes. The car debuted on the Safari Rally, again driven by Stig Blomqvist , but would retire following a fire, its next outing would be on the island of Corsica. Blomqvist would again retire with turbo failure, but his teammates Carlos Sainz and Didier Auriol would fare much better, finishing 7th and 8th respectively. Ari Vatanen paired up with Blomqvist on

11780-483: The pair finished 5th and 3rd respectively. The fast, flowing Finnish stages of the 1000 Lakes Rally allowed Biasion to continue his string of good results, he would collect more points by finishing in 5th place, Delecour however, seemed to be suffering the bad luck in the team as he finished the rally off the road, these gremlins would strike both Delecour and Bardolet in Catalunya. Biasion and Wilson would fare much better on

11904-464: The past two years and will lose a similar amount in 2023 as the company looks to significantly invest in Electric Technology. The Ford Model E is expected to be profitable by 2026. In April 2023, United Kingdom ministers approved Ford's BlueCruise technology. Because of this assisted driving technology, Ford drivers can now legally take their hands off the wheel on certain roads. Its top speed

12028-545: The policy of having two rallies not count toward manufacturers totals. New Zealand and the Ivory Coast were selected in 1987 to count solely for drivers' titles. Martini Lancia proved most successful in adjusting to the new lower-powered cars, adopting the Lancia Delta HF 4WD, driven by Finns Juha Kankkunen and Markku Alén as well as Italian Miki Biasion . Between the three, Lancia would gather nine rally wins over

12152-450: The presence of Richard Burns and Petter Solberg at former team, Subaru . Sainz's third place in the championship beat his Scottish teammate's fourth place in the standings. His only victory of the year came on that year's Rally Argentina , which he inherited after the unlikely exclusion of both of the initially 1–2 finishing dominant works Peugeots of Marcus Grönholm and Englishman Burns. McRae began his own season with fourth place on

12276-407: The prospect of further deteriorating economic conditions". He went on to state that "The collapse of one of our competitors would have a severe impact on Ford" and that Ford Motor Company supported both Chrysler and General Motors in their search for government bridge loans during the 2008–2010 automotive industry crisis . Together, the three companies presented action plans for the sustainability of

12400-456: The rallies in Portugal, Finland and Italy. Blomqvist would also be entered for Round 2 in Rally Sweden, whilst Sainz and Auriol were entered in Corsica. A three car team of Blomqvist, Sainz and Mark Lovell were entered for the season closing Lombard RAC Rally . Blomqvist kicked off Ford's season with 2nd place on his home round in a Rallysport Sweden prepared Sierra XR4x4, the best result for

12524-540: The retirement of president and chief operations officer Jim Padilla in April 2006, Bill Ford assumed his roles as well. Five months later, in September, Ford named Alan Mulally as president and CEO, with Ford continuing as executive chairman. In December 2006, the company raised its borrowing capacity to about $ 25 billion, placing substantially all corporate assets as collateral. Chairman Bill Ford has stated that "bankruptcy

12648-480: The road, killing three spectators, Ford withdrew their entry for that rally. Fifth place for Grundel on the Lombard RAC Rally marked the end of the road for the RS200, as Group B rallying was banned for 1987, Ford finished fifth in the manufacturers championship behind rivals Peugeot , Lancia , Volkswagen and Audi . Ford started the post Group B era with the Sierra XR4x4, which had the benefits of 4WD , but

12772-468: The season, Gwyndaf Evans joined Wilson and Delecour. It would not be a happy hunting ground for the British drivers on their home rally, the Lombard RAC Rally , both drivers retiring in the forests of Wales on day 2, their French teammate would go on to finish in 6th place. A winless season left Ford finishing the manufacturers championship in fourth place, with 54 points. There were a number of changes for

12896-420: The season-opening Monte-Carlo Rally; after a spirited drive, he finished in third place, leading home teammates Wilson and Fiorio, who finished 7th and 10th respectively. This feat was not to be repeated in Portugal, where all three cars retired after going off the road. Delecour also failed to finish in Corsica after suffering differential issues, while Wilson finished in fifth place. The rough and rugged stages of

13020-449: The season. Leading the points standings outright upon entering his final home round , however, McRae led in the initial stages only to crash out of the event, allowing a consistently points-scoring Richard Burns to sneak past him for the title. Ford also lost their opportunity for the manufacturers' title on this event, as rivals Peugeot secured a decisive 1–2 finish with Marcus Grönholm and Harri Rovanperä . Sainz, meanwhile, endured

13144-617: The second car in Rally Indonesia , it would be his only appearance before replaced by Bruno Thiry for the rest of the season. Sainz's pace was undeniable, even in the ageing Escort RS Cosworth , as he would go on to win the Indonesian Rally and finish on the podium on every rally he finished, however, retirements in Kenya, Finland and on his home round in Spain would leave him finishing third in

13268-476: The start ramp, but would not see the finish, Airikkala suffered a gearbox problem, Cunico suffered an accident and Wilson withdrew after a service infringement. Results weren't much better on Cunico's home rally in Italy, where he and Wilson again both retired and Airikkala finished in a disappointing 11th place. Airikkala was seeded in car number 1 for the final round in Great Britain, but he and Wilson would again retire,

13392-566: The team at the end of the 1997 season and took the Repsol S.A. sponsorship with him. The Escort WRC started the Monte-Carlo Rally with a new blue and white Ford livery, and a dedication to ex-Ford rally legend Roger Clark who died earlier in the year. As events transpired, neither driver would manage to mark the Escort's swansong year with a final victory. The Escort still proved, frustratingly for

13516-596: The third non- Scandinavian victor of the Rally Finland , formerly the 1,000 Lakes Rally. The junior Duval, meanwhile, as had been publicly predicted by team boss Malcolm Wilson, secured a podium finish on this year's Tour de Corse , having scored his first ever podium finish earlier in the year in Turkey . The two drivers finished the season in 4th and 9th places respectively in the drivers' standings. Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford )

13640-483: The thirteen race season, dominating the manufacturers' race for the championship. Meanwhile, the three drivers split success between them, placing closely in the top three places for the drivers' title by the end of the season. Audi Sport retained both Hannu Mikkola and Walter Röhrl , although they could not duplicate the success of their Group B seasons, both placing well down in the drivers' title competition. Audi however did gain some points from others team running

13764-482: The time were run using forced labor . The creation of a scientific laboratory in Dearborn, Michigan, in 1951, doing unfettered basic research, led to Ford's involvement in superconductivity research. In 1964, Ford Research Labs made a key breakthrough with the invention of a superconducting quantum interference device or SQUID . Ford offered the Lifeguard safety package from 1956 , which included such innovations as

13888-455: The top flight. Sainz would collect points for 5th in Corsica and then 6th in Finland, another rally where Auriol would finish on the podium, this time in 3rd place, two places ahead of Blomqvist. Auriol's luck would run out on the San Remo rally in Italy, suffering an accident that would force him to retire, Sainz and Blomqvist would finish low down the order in 5th and 7th places respectively. For

14012-483: The turbo restrictor diameter from 40mm, down to 38mm, and in the background, development work continued on the Ford Escort RS Cosworth . Ford would follow a similar strategy to 1991 by electing to enter the European gravel and Tarmac rounds only. Biasion and Delecour were paired up on all of the rallies that Ford entered except Catalunya, where Delecour was joined by Jose Maria Bardolet, and in Great Britain, where Biasion

14136-449: The two Martini Racing -liveried works machines. It set several fastest stage times and McRae finished a provisional third place on the stages, only to be disqualified later due to an illegal water pump. McRae gave the Focus its first win two events later at the Safari Rally , in Kenya , finishing over 15 minutes ahead of the second placed Toyota Corolla WRC of Didier Auriol . Although McRae then immediately followed up this success with

14260-705: The use of this brand name was discontinued with the introduction of the Ford Transit in 1965. Elsewhere in continental Europe, Ford assembles the Mondeo, Galaxy , S-Max and Kuga in Valencia (Spain), Fiesta in Cologne (Germany), Focus in Saarlouis (Germany), Ecosport and Puma in Craiova (Romania). Ford also owns a joint-venture production plant in Turkey. Ford Otosan , established in

14384-490: Was appointed executive chairman in 1998, and also became chief executive officer of the company in 2001, with the departure of Jacques Nasser , becoming the first member of the Ford family to head the company since the retirement of his uncle, Henry Ford II , in 1982. Ford sold motorsport engineering company Cosworth to Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven in 2004, the start of a decrease in Ford's motorsport involvement. Upon

14508-496: Was fully capable of challenging Lancia and their Delta Integrale, so for the 1989 season the Blue Oval was absent for most of the rallies, entering cars for the Corsica and Lombard RAC Rally rounds only. Three cars were entered in Corsica, a Q8 liveried car for Gianfranco Cunico , a yellow Sound 2000 sponsored car for Mark Lovell and a third car for French driver Pierre-César Baroni . Lovell would retire after suffering from

14632-514: Was going to cut 3,800 jobs across Europe, with the job cuts mainly focusing on their German and British workforce. Ford will be cutting 2,300 jobs from Germany, 1,300 from the United Kingdom, and an additional 200 jobs in the rest of Europe, according to the head of Ford Germany, Martin Sander. The cuts will mainly be done to the company's engineers. Ford also announced during the year that their electric vehicle business had lost $ 3 billion before taxes over

14756-552: Was introduced on April 17, 1964, during the 1964 New York World's Fair , where Ford had a pavilion made by The Walt Disney Company . In 1965, Ford introduced the seat belt reminder light. With the 1980s, Ford introduced several highly successful vehicles around the world. During the 1980s, Ford began using the advertising slogan, "Have you driven a Ford, lately?" to introduce new customers to their brand and make their vehicles appear more modern. In 1990 and 1994, respectively, Ford also acquired Jaguar Cars and Aston Martin . During

14880-475: Was joined by Malcolm Wilson . Delecour kicked off his season by winning 5 stages in Monte Carlo on his way to 4th place, twelve minutes and four places ahead of his Italian teammate, who would have a better result in Portugal, finishing 2nd behind his former teammate Juha Kankkunen . Engine troubles had denied Delecour any points in Portugal, but it would hold for both he and Biasion on the Acropolis rally, where

15004-534: Was not as powerful as its rivals, and then replaced it with the RWD Sierra RS Cosworth which was more powerful, but lacked grip and traction on the gravel rallies that dominate the World Rally Championship. Stig Blomqvist was entered into the Monte Carlo, Swedish and New Zealand rounds of the championship in a white Texaco sponsored Ford Sierra XR4x4, he could only muster a 6th-place finish on his home rally, after being disqualified and crashing out of

15128-540: Was now being run by the Cumbria-based M-Sport team, rather than being based at the long term Ford Motorsport home of Boreham . The team continued to be sponsored by Repsol , with a distinctive white and orange livery, and the car featured dramatic changes to the engine, as it was the Escort Group A car's main weak point, and also had several other cosmetic changes including a new front bumper and rear spoiler. On

15252-503: Was responsible for the manufacture and sale of the famous Continental Mark II . At the same time, the Edsel division was created to design and market that car starting with the 1958 model year. Due to limited sales of the Continental and the Edsel disaster, Ford merged Mercury, Edsel, and Lincoln into "M-E-L," which reverted to "Lincoln-Mercury" after Edsel's November 1959 demise. The Ford Mustang

15376-406: Was the eleventh-ranked overall American-based company in the 2018 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues in 2017 of $ 156.7 billion. In 2023, Ford produced 4.4 million automobiles, and employed about 177,000 employees worldwide. The company operates joint ventures in China ( Changan Ford ), Taiwan ( Ford Lio Ho ), Thailand ( AutoAlliance Thailand ), and Turkey ( Ford Otosan ). Ford owns

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