With over a century in the automotive industry and a position in the top five car manufacturers globally, Ford is considered an industry pacesetter. The company was founded in 1903 and has since grown and expanded its reach to all countries except Cuba, Iran, Sudan, Indonesia, Japan, and North Korea. Although Ford is well known for designing and building cars, they also provide vehicle servicing, leasing, and automotive financial services.
Ford is one of the largest family-controlled companies, with the family owning 2% equity and 40% voting power. It is a remarkable feat to remain at the top, especially with rivals like General Motors, Toyota, Tata Motors, and Honda. No doubt, the fortune 500 company has faced some ups and downs over the years. Here, we've covered ten things Ford buyers may not know about their cars.
10 Ford's Secret Heritage Collection
Ever wondered if there was a museum where you could view all of Ford's automobiles? Yes, there is something of the sort, only it is not open to the public. On the outskirts of the firm's Dagenham factory, there is an unremarkable-looking warehouse containing over 100 years of blue oval archives.
Every vehicle there is in pristine condition, like something fresh out of the factory. Some of the most important Ford models there include Cosworths, the Model T, the Cortina, and various rally car models.
9 Ford Cars Were The First To Use Rear Seat Belts
When English engineer George Cayley invented the seat belt in the 1800s, it was intended for pilots. Later on, seat belts were used in taxis, but Ford was the first car manufacturer to include rear seat belts in their cars. The seat belt was lap-only, and it was included in their 1956 optional package.
As you can imagine, this innovation played an enormous role in rear-seat passenger safety. With rear seat belts, injuries were reduced in the incidence of a crash. Presently, almost all car manufacturers include rear seat belts in their cars.
8 The Ford Pinto Fatalities
In 1971, Ford introduced the Pinto. The Pinto had a serious problem with its design; if a rear-end collision occurred, the car's fuel tank quickly got punctured and caught fire because of its location. Ford knew about this problem.
The automakers analyzed how many deaths the Pinto will cause per year, how much will be spent on wrongful death lawsuits, and how much it will cost them to fix the problem. Ford decided to release the Pinto, and as many as 900 people lost their lives. The death rate exceeded Ford's expectations, leading to millions spent in lawsuits and about 1.5 million Pintos recalled.
7 The Art Of Camo
The Mustang is Ford's most exciting performance car. Gearheads are always pumped up when there is a new car dropping. People want to know what the company is up to, and there's the auto paparazzi. When Ford was working on the 2015 Mustang, the paparazzi would hound them and get pictures of the unreleased car.
Photographers were on trees, hiding behind buildings and tall grass, and even going so far as to fly drones above test tracks. To keep the paparazzi away, Ford employees had to camouflage the Mustang, using not one but three different techniques. That way, they could drive the Mustang on the test tracks without anyone recognizing the car.
6 Ford's Cost Cuts
Ford announced that it would be cutting costs. There have been ongoing talks of cutting materials and engineering costs by billions of dollars. There were also speculations of job slashes, but Ford stated that they didn't plan to reduce their workforce.
What Ford didn't tell their buyers is that cost cuts meant quality cuts. Of course. Ford's transaction price also increased by 5 percent in 2020, making Ford vehicles one of the most expensive worldwide.
5 The Ford 1.6 EcoBoost Engine Was A Fire Hazard
The EcoBoost engine is Ford's turbocharged direct-injection engine. This engine is naturally aspirated with better fuel efficiency and lesser greenhouse emissions. It sounds like the perfect engine, but the 1.6-liter inline-4 EcoBoost is a literal fire hazard.
Owners of 1.6-liter EcoBoost engined cars kept complaining of their coolant running low even after they topped it. This leads to overheating and the engine cylinder head cracking. Some car owners experienced engine failure, and for some others, their cars burst into flames. Ford recalled the models affected, added a coolant level sensor, and offered compensation in repairs.
4 The Automatic Transmission Defect
In 1980, just after the Pinto fatalities, Ford got into trouble yet again. The NHTSA had carried out an investigation and discovered that Ford automatic transmissions designed from 1966 to 1980 all had a fault; the transmission tended to slide from park into reverse, which meant vehicles could roll suddenly.
Apparently, Ford was aware of the defect and even chose to pay victims quietly instead of improving the design. The NHTSA decided to issue a recall of 23 million cars in what would have been the biggest recall in history. However, Ford managed to wade its way out of the decision by issuing 23 million stickers that reminded car owners to “make sure the gear selector lever is fully engaged in park."
3 Faulty PowerShift Transmission
Something Ford doesn't go around telling their buyers is that they had a nasty transmission problem in 2017. Ford used a PowerShift dual-clutch automatic transmission system for the 2011 Ford Fiesta and Ford Focus models. Before production, there was a problem with the transmission system.
The manufacturer could have worked more on the transmission until it was ready for production, but Ford decided to produce and release the vehicles. Soon, there were complaints about the vehicles jerking and vibrating during acceleration. Ford responded with a warranty extension, and by 2017 they had lawsuits that cost millions of dollars.
2 Electrical Problems
Many Ford models suffered acute electrical problems causing Ford to recall as many as 700,000 cars and trucks. Some models affected include the F-150, F-250 Super Duty, F-550 Super Duty, Explorer, Edge, Escape, Expedition, Ranger, transit vehicles, and even the Mustang.
Car owners complained of power lock failures, complete vehicle shutdown, power steering failure, battery charging problems, and more. There were other dangerous events like melted wires, melting fuses, the smell of burning from the AC vents, and engine fires.
1 Ford Fusion Drug Links
In 2017, when rail cars in Minnesota carried imported Ford Fusions and Lincolns, the employees found marijuana in seven Fusions. The event was established as unisolated when police officers in another area found fifteen Ford Fusions with about 40-60 lbs of marijuana each.
Fusions from Ford's plant in Mexico moving to Ohio and Pennsylvania were searched, and security agencies discovered over 400 lbs of drugs. On another isolated event, immigration and customs officers seized about 277 lbs of pot from a Ford car shipment. One would never know why Fusions were the choice car for drug smuggling.