The Great Blue
That Conquered the World
The Ford we know is an American company that is famous for American icons, and yet capable to winning the hearts of the world with decidedly un-American cars. This is the story of a car company that understood the global stage.
by DANIEL WONG
he close of the 20th Century brought plenty of promises and saw numerous changes taking place, one of which being the appearance of globalisation in popular conscience. It was the buzzword in economics of the time, a phenomenon that was spurred by huge transnational businesses, the availability of cheaper travel that broadened people’s horizons, and the rise of the internet that connected people around the world. As much as people decried the idea, there was little that could have changed the world being brought together by big business, even though it wasn’t an entirely new idea. In fact a visionary industrialist from the start of the 20th Century believed in the virtues of globalisation, and his name was Henry Ford.
Ford believed that international trade and cooperation would pave the way to international peace, and in many ways he was right. However that conviction becomes rather ironic in the automotive business. Despite being one of the earliest drivers of a globalised industry, the business of building cars, rather paradoxically, is still one that retains strong national identities.
Buyers on the four corners of the global today expect a Japanese car to be absolutely bulletproof and fuel efficient, even if they are locally-assembled in their country. German cars are a byword for quality and being at the cutting edge of technology. Whereas cars hailing from America are often symbolic of the nation’s excess and prosperity, and there is reasons for this sort of ‘stereotype’.
Car companies have often been compared to a living organism. Just as living organisms would adapt and evolve to suit its environment, car companies would always produce cars that are suited for the environment from which they are developed in. As such it is this geographical and sociological influence from which car brands are able to maintain a strong national identity. There is however an exception to that rule, and that is Henry Ford’s car company, Ford.
It might have its roots in Michigan, in the heartland of the United States from which it came, but Ford was a global car company. Besides setting up factories abroad Henry Ford sought to spread his innovative production line method to the rest of the world, helping Fiat set up theirs, and even aided the Soviet government in setting up their first automobile plant.
Rather than just bring a slice of Americana into other parts of the world, Ford instead developed cars that suited the respective nations the brand set foot in. In Europe, Ford created iconic small cars such as the Anglia and the Escort, nimble sedans that were well suited for the country’s small roads. Likewise the same was said of Ford’s presence in Australia where they were producing big sedans and utes that were unique to the region. All of this was taking place while Ford was busy revolutionising the American automotive landscape with the Mustang, which captivated the country’s youth and growing urban population, and becoming the hero of the American working man with their F-series pick-up truck that were built to take on North America’s vast countryside.
It wasn’t just the automotive business where Ford was making its mark on the world. As Henry Ford, who was a race car builder and driver himself was reputed to have said, “Auto racing began five minutes after the second car was built.” Although Ford was dismissive of the racing’s core ideologies of proving a car’s worth later in life, he was an actively involved in racing before delving into running a car company. Two years before setting up the Ford Motor Company Henry Ford took part in a 10-lap race of the Detroit Driving Club with a car he built and won in 1901. A year later, Ford’s 999 race car was driven to victory in a race in Grosse Point, effectively giving Ford the publicity and financial backing needed to start his eponymous car company. Even the landmark Model T that was best known at making Ford’s fortunes from the dealer forecourt, was also put to racing in a number of races in America. Luckily for the rest of the world, even though Ford was no longer involved in racing himself, his company continued to carry his torch in the motorsport arena.
Like any American brand Ford had a strong motorsports presence in America. However rather than just be content at racing in the region’s series such as the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR, Ford – with their subsidiaries overseas – also looked at making their mark in motorsports events in regions where they were present.
In Europe, Ford as they were in America, became a working class hero with the Cortina and Escort tearing up the racing circuits of Europe and forging a legend amongst European motorsports fans. So too were Ford making their mark in rally events around the world, being among the top-runners in the field. Down in Australia on the other hand, Ford too were actively participating in the Australia Touring Car Championship, and later the popular V8 Supercar series. Ford even had a sizable presence in the cutthroat world of Formula One as an engine supplier, where they were able to power their partnering teams to 10 Constructor’s Titles and 13 Driver’s Titles.
Of all of Ford’s great endeavour into racing, none were quite as legendary as what happened in the 1960s. Back in the swinging 60s Ford was eyeing an entry into the world famous 24 Hours of Le Mans, and as the story goes Ford heard that Enzo Ferrari was interested to sell his company. There were negotiations for a deal for Ford to buy Ferrari, but Enzo – who wanted to maintain full control of his company’s racing operations – was angered that Ford wouldn’t let him race his cars in the Indianapolis 500 where Ford were fielding their own cars. This seemingly trivial spat caused the deal to fall through, and Henry Ford II, enraged by this last-minute change of heart ordered his racing division to beat Ferrari at their own game at Le Mans. The end result as you would know was the GT40, the most beautiful race car Ford, or indeed anyone, had ever built.
Contrary to popular belief, the British built and developed GT40 wasn’t the working class hero that came out fighting and bloodied the pride of the aristocratic Ferraris at racing, which everybody believed it was. Instead the GT40’s first few races in 1964 were disastrous, with retirements at both the Nürburgring 1000km and Le Mans. It was only after Ford handed the cars over to legendary American racer, Carroll Shelby – who also had a bone to pick and hatchet to bury with Enzo Ferrari – was Ford able to have their Le Mans winning race cars in 1966, and again by 1967, 1968, and 1969, a domination that had secured Ford’s name in motorsports lore.
The Ford GT40, with its homologated road-going versions, and later the 2005 GT and today’s GT remains as the only ‘supercar’ lineage that Ford had fostered, though that is no bad thing. Seen as a brand for the average working class, upselling a supercar wasn’t going to work in its favour. Rather than just stepping into Ferrari’s upmarket territory, Ford instead turned their ordinary models into brilliant performance cars for the average Joe. Though America got the iconic Mustang, Ford gave Europe the equally captivating Capri. Ford’s involvement with Formula One and rallying through Cosworth gave them the iconic Ford Escort RS, and later the Sierra RS Cosworth – a car that had paved the way for the likes of Mitsubishi and Subaru to bring their rally-inspired Lancer Evolution and Impreza WRX series to the road. That culmination of racing laurels and experience in creating iconic hot hatches isn’t lost to the Blue Oval today, as seen today with the likes of the affable Ford Fiesta ST and the intense Focus RS entering its third iteration.
Nevertheless, even though supercars weren’t on Ford’s grand plan, the company had been responsible for the success of several illustrious marques. In the 1980s Ford acquired the ailing British companies Aston Martin and Jaguar. Ford promptly turned both companies’ fortunes around. They were credited with giving Aston Martin the financial lifeline to turn it into a proper maker of beautiful luxury grand tourers, as well as cementing Jaguar’s reputation as a maker of beautiful four-door luxury cars. In 1999 Ford acquired Volvo and formed the Premier Automotive Group. Just as it was with Aston Martin and Jaguar, under Ford’s stewardship and financial clout Volvo was able to expand on their reputation of safety and introduced game-changing technologies to the world such as City Safety and Blind Spot Information System.
It was this global reach, understanding of each brand’s unique identity, and the markets in which Ford were present that left them in good stead when the economic turbulence of 2008 threw the world into disarray. Where Ford’s American counterparts, Chrysler and General Motors were adversely affected by the crisis, Ford on the other had managed to weather it the tumultuous times. While Ford helped Chrysler and General Motors in acquiring a government bailout, Ford was the only one of the Big Three American automotive giants that didn’t receive any government aid.
Although Ford sold off their European brands from their Premier Automotive Group – as well as their remaining stake in Mazda – the American giant returned leaner and stronger than ever. Key to Ford’s new direction was the ‘One Ford’ strategy, which saw the company leveraging on their European models and introducing it to the American market as a global product that is meant for every market in the world with as little changes needed as possible.
"Ford also looked at making their mark in motorsports events in regions where they were present."
"...Ford was the only one of the Big Three American automotive giants that didn’t receive any government aid."
One of the products of Ford’s ambitious ‘One Ford’ plan was the Focus. Built for markets around the world, the Focus not only upheld the name’s reputation as the benchmark in handling for family cars, but it also pushed boundaries with advanced safety technologies and features. It came as little surprise then that the Focus became the best-selling car in the world in 2012 and 2013, selling over a million examples in both years.
Just as they had demonstrated with the Focus in Malaysia, Ford’s product portfolio has been developed to offer class-leading features that are ground-breaking to each model’s respective genres. The recently facelifted Ford Ranger features first-in-class technologies that are usually found on premium executive cars, not the least in a blue-collar pick-up truck, whereas Ford’s new Mondeo with its Aston Martin inspired styling was brimmed with the same technologies that defined Volvo as the leader in safety. Aside from raising the bar with their passenger car range, Ford Malaysia has also taken the bold step in spicing up the brand with the introduction of Ford’s highly-rated hot hatches, such as the Fiesta ST and the Focus ST, and the soon to be launched Mustang.
Available for the first time from Ford in right hand drive, the introduction of the sixth generation Mustang – a car that has been largely exclusive to North America – is finally stepping into the world beyond as another of Ford’s new global cars. Considering the legend surrounding Ford’s pony car that had even permeated into local automotive wisdom, Ford Malaysia is making no exceptions with the introduction of the Mustang, and with be introducing it with a choice of the 310PS/433Nm 2.3-litre 4-cylinder turbocharged Ecoboost or the full-fat 5-litre naturally-aspirated V8 with the whole 435PS and 541Nm of torque figures that everyone expects of the all-American icon.
In a way the arrival of the Mustang on our shores has brought the story of Ford and its ambitions full-circle. Just as Henry Ford believed in a globalised world, his company had truly grown to foster a globalised presence, and has now established a brand recognition that is known throughout the world. Be it in America, Europe, Australia, or Asia, Ford is one, and yet it is everything that it has come to be known for.
he close of the 20th Century brought plenty of promises and saw numerous changes taking place, one of which being the appearance of globalisation in popular conscience. It was the buzzword in economics of the time, a phenomenon that was spurred by huge transnational businesses, the availability of cheaper travel that broadened people’s horizons, and the rise of the internet that connected people around the world. As much as people decried the idea, there was little that could have changed the world being brought together by big business, even though it wasn’t an entirely new idea. In fact a visionary industrialist from the start of the 20th Century believed in the virtues of globalisation, and his name was Henry Ford.
Ford believed that international trade and cooperation would pave the way to international peace, and in many ways he was right. However that conviction becomes rather ironic in the automotive business. Despite being one of the earliest drivers of a globalised industry, the business of building cars, rather paradoxically, is still one that retains strong national identities.
Buyers on the four corners of the global today expect a Japanese car to be absolutely bulletproof and fuel efficient, even if they are locally-assembled in their country. German cars are a byword for quality and being at the cutting edge of technology. Whereas cars hailing from America are often symbolic of the nation’s excess and prosperity, and there is reasons for this sort of ‘stereotype’.
Car companies have often been compared to a living organism. Just as living organisms would adapt and evolve to suit its environment, car companies would always produce cars that are suited for the environment from which they are developed in. As such it is this geographical and sociological influence from which car brands are able to maintain a strong national identity. There is however an exception to that rule, and that is Henry Ford’s car company, Ford.
It might have its roots in Michigan, in the heartland of the United States from which it came, but Ford was a global car company. Besides setting up factories abroad Henry Ford sought to spread his innovative production line method to the rest of the world, helping Fiat set up theirs, and even aided the Soviet government in setting up their first automobile plant.
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