Happy Birtday Mustang! And a special milestone.

April 17th, 1964. That was the day that the automotive world was turned on it's ear. It was on this day that Ford Motor Company unveiled the all new 1964 1/2 Ford Mustang. Launched at the New York Worlds Fair, the Mustang quickly rose to be Ford's best selling car since the Model A. It also launched the pony car craze that led to the muscle car. Ford sold over 400,000 Mustangs in 1964. 100,000 of which were sold in the first 3 months of production.

That leads us to today's milestone. 49 years to the day of the introduction of the Mustang, Ford's Flat Rock, Michigan plant produced it's 1 millionth Mustang. Production of the Mustang was moved to Flat Rock from the famous Rouge factory in 2004 for the launch of the redesigned 2005 Mustang. Since 1964, over 8.5 million Mustangs have been tearing up American roads.

The car, a ruby red 2014 convertible was driven off the line by Raj Nair, Ford's Vice President for global product development. The production of the 1 millionth Flat Rock Mustang also helps to launch the 50th anniversary year of the Mustang. 


Source: Ford Motor Co.

Press release:

FLAT ROCK, Mich., April 17, 2013 – Happy Birthday Mustang! Forty-nine years to the day after its 1964 debut in New York, the iconic sports car celebrates another milestone: One million Mustangs have rolled off the line at Ford’s Flat Rock Assembly Plant since production moved there in 2004. Ford is celebrating this milestone as year 50 of continuous Mustang production gets under way at Flat Rock Assembly.

 

Raj Nair, group vice president for global product development, today rode off the line at Flat Rock Assembly Plant in a Ruby Red 2014 Mustang convertible. Nair was riding shotgun with Ed Salna, material planning and logistics manager at the plant. Salna is a 27-year veteran of Flat Rock Assembly, starting work there more than a year before the plant produced its first car.

 

“Mustang is one of the most beloved nameplates in the industry, with fans around the world and throughout Ford Motor Company,” said Nair. “The team here at Flat Rock Assembly has built an outstanding reputation for quality while producing one million Mustangs over the last nine years, and we expect that to continue for many years to come.”

 

Ford has built Mustangs near its home base in Dearborn, Mich. for 49 years. The car was built at Ford’s famous Rouge factory, just a few minutes from company headquarters, for four decades before moving a few miles south to Flat Rock in 2004.

 

Introduced in April 1964, Mustang proved to be far more popular than anyone expected, prompting Ford to add production capacity outside Michigan. By early 1965 plants in Metuchen, N.J. and San Jose, Calif. were also building Mustang. Less than two years later, on Wednesday, March 2, 1966, the one-millionth Mustang rolled off the line in Dearborn. To date, Ford has produced and sold more than 8.5 million Mustangs.

 

The launch of Mustang production at Flat Rock coincided with introduction of the then all-new fifth-generation model – first in the series to get a dedicated platform. In addition to the standard V6 and the V8-powered GT model, Mustangs coming out of Flat Rock Assembly Plant have included several special editions and race cars:

 

• In 2006 Flat Rock built a limited run of black and gold Shelby GT-H coupes for Hertz rental fleets to commemorate the 1966 Shelby GT350H rental car
• 2007 brought the debut of the Shelby GT500 Mustang developed by SVT with a supercharged 5.4-liter V8 producing 500 horsepower, the most ever for a Mustang then
• For the 2008 and 2009 model years, the Mustang lineup included the Bullitt, inspired by the car driven by the title character in the 1968 film of the same name
• For the 2012 and 2013 model years, Flat Rock built the track-optimized Boss 302
• The Flat Rock line has produced numerous competition versions of Mustang including the FR500, Boss 302R and the extremely successful Cobra Jet drag racer

The Flat Rock factory has been producing vehicles since 1987, when it opened as Mazda Motor Manufacturing USA and built the Mazda MX-6. In 1992 Ford purchased a 50 percent share in the plant and it was renamed AutoAlliance International. Over the years Flat Rock Assembly has produced the Mazda 626, Mazda6, Mercury Cougar and Ford Probe. In addition to Mustang, Flat Rock will add production of the Fusion sedan later this year.

 

“Flat Rock has gone through an amazing transformation over the past year,” said Tim Young, plant manager, Flat Rock Assembly Plant. “We’ve invested $555 million including a state-of-the-art, fully flexible body shop and an upgraded paint shop to make sure we’re continuing to build the best of the best for the next one million Mustangs.”

 

“The one-millionth Mustang is a true testament to the hard work and dedication of the Flat Rock Local 3000 membership,” said Tony Bondy, UAW Local 3000 chairman. “It’s been great building an iconic American car since 2004, and with the introduction of Fusion along with our new plant upgrades, we will keep building world-class quality in Flat Rock for years to come.”

 

Ford is adding 1,400 jobs and a second shift at Flat Rock Assembly Plant to support new Fusion production as part of its plan to add 12,000 hourly jobs in the United States through 2015.

Officially licensed: 1940 Ford coupes

Want to build your dream 1940 Ford coupe hot rod, but don't want to feel guilty about cutting up an original '40 Ford? Well now you can build your dream rod thanks to Dennis Carpenter Ford Restoration Parts. Just in time for SEMA, Ford will display a bare metal body and a hot rod built using the new preproduction body. The bodies can be bought fairly reasonably at about $12,000. Which is not bad when compared with finding, buying, shipping, and then repairing an original body. 

 

The 1940 Ford is just one of many classic cars gaining the support and blessings of their original manufacturer for a full reproduction. It joins the classic 1932 Ford and 1964-1970 Mustangs. I've also included a picture of an all original '40 Deluxe Coupe spotted in Hershey.

 

Source: Ford Motor Co. 

 

Press release:

DEARBORN, Mich., Oct. 26, 2012 – One of the most cherished and collected classic cars of the pre-World War II and hot rod era – the iconic 1940 Ford Coupe – is the latest addition to Ford Motor Company’s growing stable of officially licensed all-steel reproduction car bodies.

 

Available now for ordering, and complementing the 1965-70 Mustang bodies, the 1940 Ford Coupe body is also constructed of modern, high-strength steel and is assembled using modern welding techniques. The new body comes rustproofed from the factory and is ready to be assembled as a custom hot rod or as a faithful tribute to the original.

 

At the upcoming Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show in Las Vegas, Ford will display a custom 1940 Ford hot rod built using a reproduction body and a new bare body shell that demonstrates the high-quality construction. Prices start at $11,900 plus shipping. The full body shell as well as individual steel panels are available through Dennis Carpenter Ford Restoration Parts, http://www.dennis-carpenter.com.

 

 

The fully built, copper-colored SEMA show car sports a new 5.0-liter V8 engine, four-speed automatic transmission and Mustang II front suspension. The roof has also been chopped or lowered to give the car an even meaner look.

 

“Like its older 1932 Deuce Coupe and younger Mustang siblings, the 1940 Ford is a bodystyle and design that represents Ford at its best,” said Dennis Mondrach, Ford Restoration Parts licensing manager. “The 1940 Ford Coupe has always been highly sought after and collectible. Unfortunately, good, solid restorable examples have become hard to find and expensive, so this faithful reproduction is bound to prove popular.”

 

The ’40 Ford: Part of American culture

The 1940 Ford has had a major influence on post-World War II America, said Detroit automotive historian Joe Cabadas, author of “’40 Ford: Evolution * Design * Racing * Hot Rodding.”

 

“Bootleggers down south always wanted to know who had the fastest car,” said Cabadas. “Because of its lightweight V8 engine, they started racing them on Sundays, and that is the beginning of stock car racing.”

 

After World War II, the 1940 Ford was at the forefront of another major cultural movement – hot rodding. The ’40 Ford got noticed by World War II veterans, who began buying up the cars and turning them into hot rods by adding performance equipment to the car’s flathead V8 engine.

 

The 1940 Ford has been a fixture in Hollywood, appearing in countless TV shows and movies such as “American Graffiti,” “Bugsy” and “Mulholland Drive.”

 

“With their big fenders and integrated headlights, the 1937-40 Ford was one of the first streamlined cars from Ford Motor Company,” Cabadas said. “Edsel Ford had a hand in its style. He wanted a family look for Ford and Lincoln vehicles, and so you can see some Lincoln Zephyr in it. The 1940 was also one of the few cars in its price class with a V8.”

 

Reproduction body: A blank canvas

Hobbyists looking to build a hot rod using the new 1940 body are limited only by their imagination and budget. The new body is available with a stock firewall that accommodates the original flathead V8. However, for those looking for greater performance from a modern powertrain, the new 1940 Ford body can alternatively be ordered with a recessed firewall that will allow much larger modern engines to be installed.

 

As with the officially licensed reproduction parts available for the 1965-70 Mustang bodies, Ford also supports the 1940 Ford with an array of correct mechanical and trim restoration parts. To see what is available for the 1940, visit www.fordrestorationparts.com.

 

Dennis Carpenter, owner of one of the nation’s largest classic Ford restoration parts companies, owes his start in the business more than 40 years ago to the 1940 Ford.

 

Carpenter was having trouble locating a good used set of dash knobs for a car he was restoring – and still owns – so he approached Ford and obtained permission to reproduce the knobs using original factory blueprints and designs. Today his company, Dennis Carpenter Ford Restoration Parts, produces many Ford-licensed parts for the 1940 Ford. With the body now back in production, Carpenter is gearing up to add even more trim parts for the car.

 

“When you see a beautifully restored 1940 Ford, it is like a piece of jewelry,” Carpenter said. “People just really love the lines of that car. It is timeless and appeals to all ages.”

 

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About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Mich., manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 168,000 employees and about 65 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products worldwide, please visit http://corporate.ford.com.

Book Review: Car Guys vs. Bean Counters

Bob Lutz, love him or hate him is one of my heroes. I see a lot of similarities between him and myself. Not only with the business prowess and the want to succeed, but also the fact that were are true dyed in the wool car guys. Having read Lutz's previous business book, Guts. I anxiously awaited the arrival of Car Guys vs. Bean Counters: The battle for the soul of American Business. At around 230 pages, I couldn't put this book. Every time I would pick it it up, I would get lost in the world of the auto industry I so truly love. There's a brief history lesson about GM's rise to to be the largest auto maker on the planet and the height of their style setting trends of the Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell era at  GM Design to loosing their ways in the Roger Smith era. But it's not all doom and gloom. There are plenty facts about what GM was doing right. And there's some interesting tidbits about other auto makers like Chrysler, Ford, Toyota, and VW. And lastly why the GM bankruptcy was an unfortunate truth that had to happen. bob Lutz is no stranger to the auto industry. His career has spanned nearly 5 decades and he has worked for all of the Detroit Big Three. I won't give away too much, but if you are passionate about cars and you are looking  for a great book to read. I highly recommend picking up Car Guys vs. Bean Counters.

The last Ford Crown Victoria heads on the last patrol

The Ford Crown Victoria can undoubtedly be classified as one of Ford Motor Company's best selling vehicle lines. Even it was fleet sales. Millions are in use throughout the world as police cars and taxi cabs. The Panther platform in which the Crown Vic was built on was first introduced 32 years ago and served all of Fords major divisions. The Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, Lincoln Town Car and the ill fated Mercury Marauder all shared the same chassis architecture.

What might be the most sad though about a true American workhorse fading in to glory is that the final Crown Victoria won't be preserved by Ford or by any collector that we're aware of in the U.S. Nope, the last Crown Vic is headed to Saudi Arabia. Hopefully who ever ends up with the final Crown Vic will realize just how special this car is to automotive history and won't run it til the wheels fall off.

Only time will tell what future lies for a rear wheel drive, V8 powered sedan for Ford holds. This is the first time since 1932 that there has not been one in Ford's line up. Many police departments and taxi companies have been hoarding Crown Victorias in an effort to keep their fleets going especially as many older models were killed off during the failed Cash for Clunkers program. And many aren't enthused with the new Taurus police interceptor.

Long live the Crown Victoria! Thanks for 32 great years!

Ford produces 9 millionth Mustang

It's hard to believe that since 1964 Ford has produced 9 million Mustangs. Having hung on long enough to become Ford's longest running car nameplate. The Mustang has always been popular, except maybe when the Mustang II came out in the 70s. But we'll fogive Ford for that mistake. A milestone like this makes you sit back and think about how the new CAFE standards will affect a car like the Mustang. We're still waiting for our 08 Bullitt.

Source: Ford Motor Company

PRESS RELEASE:

Ford Motor Company announced today it has built its 9 millionth Mustang. The GT Convertible Mustang is heading west to be delivered to a dealership in Iowa.

The Ford Mustang, approaching its 45th anniversary on April 17th, 2009, is one of the most widely recognized vehicles in the world. Today, one of every two sports cars sold in America is a Ford Mustang. The Mustang is also Ford Motor Company's longest-running nameplate. Mustang was introduced on April 17, 1964, at the New York World's Fair.

Mustang sales hit an astounding 419,000 in its first 12 months on the market, and topped the 1-million mark in the first two years, shattering the sales records of any single model in the history of the automobile. Mustang leads the nearly $1-billion aftermarket parts and accessories industry as the most personalized vehicle of all time, and has been recognized by SEMA as the most accessory-friendly new vehicle.

The 2009 Mustang offers a Glass Roof option and a new Warriors in Pink Package, available this summer.

It's official. Jaguar and Land Rover sold to Tata

Ford Motor Company has made official announcement that it has sold Jaguar and Range Rover to the Tata Motors of India. For $2.3 Billion, two of the most famous brands to symbolize Great Britan will now symbolize India. While Ford is selling the companies. They will maintain a stake in both automakers. Ford will also supply Tata with various components for both brands. Items such as stampings and powertrains will be supplied. While the deal is final, there are still some governmental hoops for Ford and Tata to jump through before it's all said and done. But these should not be a problem according to Ford. We're just keeping our fingers crossed that a $2,500 Jaguar doesn't become part of the plan. Though a plain jane $2,500 Land Rover would be cool for weekend off roading.

Source: Ford

PRESS RELEASE
FORD MOTOR COMPANY ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT TO SELL JAGUAR LAND ROVER TO TATA MOTORS

DEARBORN, Mich., March 26, 2008 – Ford Motor Company [NYSE: F] announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Jaguar Land Rover operations to Tata Motors.

The transaction is the culmination of Ford's decision last August to explore strategic options for the Jaguar Land Rover business, as the company accelerates its focus on its core Ford brand and "One Ford" global transformation.

The sale is expected to close by the end of the next quarter and is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals.

The total amount to be paid in cash by Tata Motors for Jaguar Land Rover upon closing will be approximately US $2.3 billion. At closing, Ford will then contribute up to approximately US $600 million to the Jaguar Land Rover pension plans.

"Jaguar and Land Rover are terrific brands," said Alan Mulally, president and CEO, Ford Motor Company. "We are confident that they are leaving our fold with the products, plan and team to continue to thrive under Tata's stewardship. Now, it is time for Ford to concentrate on integrating the Ford brand globally, as we implement our plan to create a strong Ford Motor Company that delivers profitable growth for all."

"This is a good agreement. It provides the Jaguar Land Rover management team and employees with the assurances needed to maintain their focus on delivering the best results for the business," said Lewis Booth, executive vice president, Ford Motor Company, who has responsibility for Ford of Europe, Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover. "I am confident that, under its new owner, Jaguar Land Rover will continue to build upon the significant improvements and product successes it has achieved in recent years."

As part of the transaction, Ford will continue to supply Jaguar Land Rover for differing periods with powertrains, stampings and other vehicle components, in addition to a variety of technologies, such as environmental and platform technologies. Ford also has committed to provide engineering support, including research and development, plus information technology, accounting and other services.

In addition, Ford Motor Credit Company will provide financing for Jaguar and Land Rover dealers and customers during a transitional period, which can vary by market, of up to 12 months.

The parties believe these arrangements will support Jaguar Land Rover's current product plans, while providing Jaguar Land Rover freedom to develop its own stand-alone capabilities in the future that will best serve its premium manufacturer requirements.

The parties do not anticipate any significant changes to Jaguar Land Rover employees' terms of employment on completion.

Speaking about today's agreement, Mr. Ratan N. Tata, Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors, commented: "We are very pleased at the prospect of Jaguar and Land Rover being a significant part of our automotive business. We have enormous respect for the two brands and will endeavor to preserve and build on their heritage and competitiveness, keeping their identities intact. We aim to support their growth, while holding true to our principles of allowing the management and employees to bring their experience and expertise to bear on the growth of the business."

Jaguar Land Rover's employees, trade unions and the UK Government have been kept informed of developments as the sale process progressed and have indicated their support for the agreement.

Speaking on behalf of Jaguar Land Rover, Geoff Polites, chief executive officer, said: "Jaguar Land Rover's management team is very pleased that Ford and Tata Motors have come to an agreement today. Our team has been consulted extensively on the deal content and feels confident that it provides for the business needs of both our brands going forward.

"We have also had the opportunity to meet senior executives from Tata Motors and the Tata group," Polites continued. "They have expressed confidence in the team that has delivered significant improvements in Jaguar Land Rover's business performance. We feel confident that we can forge a strong working relationship with our new parent company, and we look forward to a bright and successful future for Jaguar Land Rover."

It's official. It's Tata for Jag and Rover

There were many speculations and leaks that Indian car maker Tata Motors was the front runner to purchase Jaguar and Range Rover. Both Tata and Ford denied that this was case and that an announcement would be made after the new year. So here is the official word from Ford. Tata is the favorite to purchase both luxury brands. This will give Ford Motor Company a much needed boost in money.

Tata Motors was favored by many of the principal parties involved. Mainly by the unions for the workforce at both companies in England. Ford has also stated that they are interested in keeping involved with both Jaguar and Range Rover, suppling components and engines. A similar system was set up when Ford sold Aston Martin in 2007.

There are still many hurdles to jump before all of this dust settles, and we will keep you informed with the latest developments.

Source: Detroit Free Press.

PRESS RELEASE:
STATEMENT: POTENTIAL SALE OF JAGUAR LAND ROVER

DEARBORN, Mich., Jan. 3, 2008 – The following statement is attributable to Lewis Booth, executive vice president – Ford of Europe and Premier Automotive Group (Chairman – Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo and Ford of Europe):

"Ford is committed to focused negotiations at a more detailed level with Tata Motors concerning the potential sale of the combined Jaguar Land Rover business."

"There is still a considerable amount of work to do, and while no final decision has been made, we will proceed with further substantive discussions with Tata Motors over the forthcoming weeks with a view to securing an agreement that is in the best interests of all parties concerned."