Coordinates	38°51′32″N85°8′26″N
company name	Ford Motor Company
company logo
company type	Public company
traded as
foundation	June 16, 1903
founder	Henry Ford
location city	Dearborn, Michigan
location country	U.S.
area served	Worldwide
key people	William C. Ford, Jr.(Executive Chairman)Alan R. Mulally(President & CEO)
industry	Automotive
products	AutomobilesAutomotive parts
services	Automotive financeVehicle leasingVehicle service
revenue	(2010)
operating income	(2010)
net income	(2010)
assets	(2010)
equity	(2010)
num employees	164,000 (2010)
divisions	FordLincoln
subsid	Automotive Components HoldingsFord CreditTrollerFord of EuropeFord do Brasil
company slogan	Drive one. Have you driven a Ford lately? Built Ford Tough Powered by You Feel the differenceMake Everyday Exciting One Ford
homepage	Ford.com }}

Ford Motor Company () is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK. Ford's former UK subsidiaries Jaguar and Land Rover were sold to Tata Motors of India in March 2008. In 2010 Ford sold Volvo to Geely Automobile. Ford discontinued the Mercury brand after the 2011 model year.

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. Henry Ford's methods came to be known around the world as Fordism by 1914.

Ford is the second largest automaker in the U.S. and the fifth-largest in the world based on annual vehicle sales in 2010. At the end of 2010, Ford was the fifth largest automaker in Europe. Ford is the eighth-ranked overall American-based company in the 2010 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues in 2009 of $118.3 billion. In 2008, Ford produced 5.532 million automobiles and employed about 213,000 employees at around 90 plants and facilities worldwide. During the automotive crisis, Ford's worldwide unit volume dropped to 4.817 million in 2009. In 2010, Ford earned a net profit of $6.6 billion and reduced its debt from $33.6 billion to $14.5 billion lowering interest payments by $1 billion following its 2009 net profit of $2.7 billion. Starting in 2007, Ford received more initial quality survey awards from J. D. Power and Associates than any other automaker. Five of Ford's vehicles ranked at the top of their categories and fourteen vehicles ranked in the top three.

Corporate governance

Members of the board as of early 2011 are: Richard A. Gephardt, Stephen Butler, Ellen Marram, Kimberly Casiano, Alan Mulally (President and CEO), Edsel Ford II, Homer Neal, William Clay Ford Jr. (Executive Chairman), Jorma Ollila, Irvine Hockaday Jr., John L. Thornton, and William Clay Ford, Sr. (Director Emeritus).

The main corporate officers are: Lewis Booth (Executive Vice President, Chairman (PAG) and Ford of Europe), Mark Fields (Executive Vice President, President of The Americas), Donat Leclair (Executive Vice President and CFO), Mark A. Schulz (Executive Vice President, President of International Operations), and Michael E. Bannister (Group Vice President; Chairman & CEO Ford Motor Credit). Paul Mascarenas (Vice President of Engineering, The Americas Product Development)

Market developments

During the mid to late 1990s, Ford sold large numbers of vehicles, in a booming American economy with soaring stock market and low fuel prices. With the dawn of the new century, legacy healthcare costs, higher fuel prices, and a faltering economy led to falling market shares, declining sales, and sliding profit margins. Most of the corporate profits came from financing consumer automobile loans through Ford Motor Credit Company.

By 2005, corporate bond rating agencies had downgraded the bonds of both Ford and GM to junk status, citing high U.S. health care costs for an aging workforce, soaring gasoline prices, eroding market share, and dependence on declining SUV sales for revenues. 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 face of demand for higher fuel efficiency and falling sales of minivans, Ford moved to introduce 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, Ford licensed similar Toyota hybrid technologies to avoid patent infringements. Ford announced that it will team up with electricity supply company Southern California Edison (SCE) to examine the future of plug-in hybrids in terms of how home and vehicle energy systems will work with the electrical grid. Under the multi-million-dollar, multi-year project, Ford will convert a demonstration fleet of Ford Escape Hybrids into plug-in hybrids, and SCE will evaluate how the vehicles might interact with the home and the utility's electrical grid. Some of the vehicles will be evaluated "in typical customer settings", according to Ford.

In December 2006, the company raised its borrowing capacity to about $25 billion, placing substantially all corporate assets as collateral to secure the line of credit. Chairman Bill Ford has stated that "bankruptcy is not an option". In order to control its skyrocketing labor costs (the most expensive in the world), the company 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 includes the establishment of a company-funded, independently run Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association (VEBA) trust to shift 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 approximately 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 gives hourly workers 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 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.

In January 2008, Ford launched a website listing the ten ''Built Ford Tough'' rules as well as a series of webisodes that parodied the TV show ''COPS''.

During November 2008, Ford, together with Chrysler and General Motors, sought financial aid at Congressional hearings in Washington, D.C. in the face of worsening conditions caused by the automotive industry crisis. The three companies presented action plans for the sustainability of the industry. The Detroit based automakers were unsuccessful at obtaining assistance through Congressional legislation. GM and Chrysler later received assistance through the Executive Branch from the T.A.R.P. funding provisions. On December 19, the cost of credit default swaps to insure the debt of Ford was 68 percent the sum insured for five years in addition to annual payments of 5 percent. That means it costs $6.8 million paid upfront to insure $10 million in debt, in addition to payments of $500,000 per year. In January 2009, Ford announced a $14.6 billion loss in the preceding year, making 2008 its worst year in history. Still, the company claimed to have sufficient liquidity to fund its business plans and thus, did not ask for government aid. Through April 2009, Ford's strategy of debt for equity exchanges, erased $9.9 B in liabilities (28% of its total), in order to leverage its cash position. These actions yielded Ford a $2.7 billion profit in fiscal year 2009, the company's first full-year profit in four years.

"The Way Forward"

In the latter half of 2005, Chairman Bill Ford asked newly appointed Ford Americas Division President Mark Fields to develop a plan to return the company to profitability. Fields previewed the Plan, dubbed ''The Way Forward'', at the December 7, 2005 board meeting of the company; and it was unveiled to the public on January 23, 2006. "The Way Forward" includes resizing the company to match current market realities, dropping some unprofitable and inefficient models, consolidating production lines, and shutting fourteen factories and cutting 30,000 jobs. These cutbacks are consistent with Ford's roughly 25% decline in U.S. automotive market share since the mid-late 1990s.

In 2010, Ford earned a net profit of $6.6 billion and reduced its debt from $33.6 billion to $14.5 billion lowering interest payments by $1 billion following its 2009 net profit of $2.7 billion. In the U.S., the F-Series is the best selling vehicle for 2010. Ford sold 528,349 F-Series trucks during the year, a 27.7% increase over 2009, out of a total sales of 1.9 million vehicles, or every one out of four vehicles Ford sold. Trucks sales accounts for a big slice of Ford's profits, according to USA Today. Ford's realignment also includes the sale of its wholly owned subsidiary, Hertz Rent-a-Car to a private equity group for $15 billion in cash and debt acquisition. The sale was completed on December 22, 2005. A 50–50 joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra Limited of India, called Mahindra Ford India, Limited (MIFL), ended with Ford buying out Mahindra's remaining stake in the company in 2005. Ford had previously upped its stake to 72% in 1998.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ford also became President of the company in April 2006, with the retirement of Jim Padilla. Five months later, in September, he stepped down as President and CEO, and naming Alan Mulally as his successor. Bill Ford continues as Executive Chairman, along with an executive operating committee made up of Mulally, Mark Schulz, Lewis Booth, Don Leclair, and Mark Fields.

The domain ''ford.com'' attracted at least 11 million visitors annually by 2008 according to a Compete.com survey.

Brands

Ford Motor Company manufactures automobiles under its own name and as Lincoln in the United States. In 1958, Ford introduced a new brand, the Edsel, but poor sales led to its discontinuation in 1960. In 1985, the Merkur brand was introduced to market Fords from Europe in the United States; it met a similar fate in 1989. The Mercury brand was also introduced by Ford in 1939 but poor sales also led to its discontinuation in 2010.

Ford has major manufacturing operations in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, the People's Republic of China, and several other countries, including South Africa where, following divestment during apartheid, it once again has a wholly owned subsidiary. Ford also has a cooperative agreement with Russian automaker GAZ.

Ford acquired British sports car maker Aston Martin in 1989, but sold it on March 12, 2007, retaining a small minority stake, and bought Volvo Cars of Sweden in 1999, selling it to Zhejiang Geely Holding Group in 2010. In November 2008 it reduced its 33.4% controlling interest in Mazda of Japan, to a 13.4% non-controlling interest. On November 18, 2010, Ford reduced their stake further to just 3%, citing the reduction of ownership would allow greater flexibility to pursue growth in emerging markets. Ford and Mazda remain strategic partners through joint ventures and exchanges of technological information. It shares an American joint venture plant in Flat Rock, Michigan called Auto Alliance with Mazda. It has spun off its parts division under the name Visteon.

Ford sold the United Kingdom-based Jaguar and Land Rover companies and brands to Tata Motors of India in March 2008.

Ford's ''FoMoCo'' parts division sells aftermarket parts under the Motorcraft brand name.

Ford's non-manufacturing operations include organizations such as automotive finance operation Ford Motor Credit Company. Ford also sponsors numerous events and sports facilities around the US, most notably Ford Center (now Chesapeake Energy Arena) in downtown Oklahoma City and Ford Field in downtown Detroit.

Overall the Ford Motor Company controls the Ford and Lincoln car brands.

Brands !! Years Used !! Markets
Ford	1903–present	Global
Lincoln (automobile)	Lincoln	1922–present
Mercury (Automobile)	Mercury	1939–2011

Global markets

Initially, Ford Motor Company models sold outside the U.S. were essentially versions of those sold on the home market, but later on, models specific to Europe were developed and sold. Attempts to globalize the model line have often failed, with Europe's Ford Mondeo selling poorly in the United States as the Ford Contour, while U.S. models such as the Ford Taurus have fared poorly in Japan and Australia, even when produced in right hand drive. The small European model Ka, a hit in its home market, did not catch on in Japan, as it was not available as an automatic. The Mondeo was dropped by Ford Australia, because the segment of the market in which it competes had been in steady decline, with buyers preferring the larger local model, the Falcon. One recent exception is the European model of the Focus, which has sold strongly on both sides of the Atlantic.

North America

! Calendar Year	! American sales
1999	4,163,369
2000	4,202,820
2001	3,971,364
2002	3,623,709
2003	3,483,719
2004	3,331,676
2005	3,153,875
2006	2,901,090
2007	2,507,366
2008	1,988,376
2009	1,620,888
2010	1,935,462

In the first five months of 2010, auto sales in the U.S. rose to 4.6 million cars and light trucks, an increase of 17% from a year earlier. The rise was mainly caused by the return of commercial customers that had all but stopped buying in 2009 during the recession. Sales to individual customers at dealerships have increased 13%, while fleet sales have jumped 32%. Ford reported that 37% of its sales in May came from fleet sales when it announced its sales for the month increased 23%. In the first seven months of 2010, vehicle sales of Ford increased 24%, including retail and fleet sales. 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.

Europe

At first, Ford in Germany and Ford in Britain built different models from one another until the late 1960s, with the Ford Escort and then the Ford Capri being common to both companies. Later on, the Ford Taunus and Ford Cortina became identical, produced in left hand drive and right hand drive respectively. Rationalisation of model ranges meant that production of many models in 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 such as "Jellymould" and "The Salesman's Spaceship."

Increasingly, the Ford Motor Company has looked to Ford of Europe for its "world cars", such as the Mondeo, Focus, and Fiesta, although sales of European-sourced Fords in the U.S. have been disappointing. The Focus has been one exception to this, which has become America's best selling compact car since its launch in 2000.

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 the Transit van continues at the company's Southampton facility, 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 the use of this brand name was discontinued circa 1965. Elsewhere in continental Europe, Ford assembles the Mondeo range in Genk (Belgium), Fiesta in Valencia (Spain) and Cologne (Germany), Ka in Valencia, and Focus in Valencia, Saarlouis (Germany) and Vsevolozhsk (Russia). Transit production is in Kocaeli (Turkey), Southampton (UK), and Transit Connect in Kocaeli.

Ford also owns a joint-venture production plant in Turkey. Ford-Otosan, established in 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, 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.

In 2008, Ford acquired a majority stake in Automobile Craiova, Romania. Starting 2009, Ford Transit Connect will be Ford's first model produced in Craiova, followed, in 2010, by low-capacity car engines and a new small class car.

Ford Europe has broken new ground with a number of relatively futuristic car launches over the last 50 years.

Its 1959 Anglia two-door saloon was one of the most quirky-looking small family cars in Europe at the time of its launch, but buyers soon became accustomed to its looks and it was hugely popular with British buyers in particular. It was still selling well when replaced by the more practical Escort in 1967.

The third incarnation of the Ford Escort was launched in 1980 and marked the company's move from rear-wheel drive saloons to front-wheel drive hatchbacks in the small family car sector.

The fourth generation Escort was produced from 1990 until 2000, although its successor – the Focus – had been on sale since 1998. On its launch, the Focus was arguably the most dramatic-looking and fine-handling small family cars on sale, and sold in huge volumes right up to the launch of the next generation Focus at the end of 2004.

The 1982 Ford Sierra – replacement for the long-running and massively popular Cortina and Taunus models – was a style-setter at the time of its launch. Its ultramodern aerodynamic design was a world away from a boxy, sharp-edged Cortina, and it was massively popular just about everywhere it was sold. A series of updates kept it looking relatively fresh until it was replaced by the front-wheel drive Mondeo at the start of 1993.

The rise in popularity of small cars during the 1970s saw Ford enter the mini-car market in 1976 with its Fiesta hatchback. Most of its production was concentrated at Valencia in Spain, and the Fiesta sold in huge figures from the very start. An update in 1983 and the launch of an all-new model in 1989 strengthened its position in the small car market.

Asia Pacific

In Australia and New Zealand, the popular Ford Falcon has long been considered the average family car and is considerably larger than the Mondeo, Ford's largest car sold in Europe. Between 1960 and 1972, the Falcon was based on a U.S. model of the same name, but since then has been entirely designed and manufactured in Australia, occasionlly being manufactured in New Zealand. Like its General Motors rival, the Holden Commodore, the Falcon uses a rear wheel drive layout. High performance variants of the Falcon running locally built engines produce up to . A ute (short for "utility", known in the US as pickup truck) version is also available with the same range of drivetrains. In addition, Ford Australia sells highly tuned limited-production Falcon sedans and utes through its performance car division, Ford Performance Vehicles.

In Australia, the Commodore and Falcon have traditionally outsold all other cars and comprise over 20% of the new car market. In New Zealand, Ford was second in market share in the first eight months of 2006 with 14.4 per cent. More recently Ford has axed its Falcon-based LWB variant of its lineup – the Fairlane and LTD ranges, and announced that their Geelong engine manufacturing plant may be shut down from 2013. They have also announced local manufacturing of the Focus small car starting from 2011.

However, with the acquisition of a stake in Japanese manufacturer Mazda in 1979, Ford began selling Mazda's Familia and Capella (also known as the 323 and 626) as the Ford Laser and Telstar, replacing the European-sourced Escort and Cortina.

In Australia, the Laser was one of Ford Australia's most successful models, and was manufactured in Ford's Homebush plant from 1981 until the plant's closure in September 1994. It outsold the Mazda 323, despite being almost identical to it, due to the fact the Laser was manufactured in Australia and Ford was perceived as a local brand.

In New Zealand, the Ford Laser and Telstar were assembled alongside the Mazda 323 and 626 until 1997, at the Vehicle Assemblers of New Zealand (VANZ) plant in Wiri, Auckland. The Sierra wagon was also assembled in New Zealand, owing to the popularity of station wagons in that market.

Through its relationship with Mazda, Ford also acquired a stake in South Korean manufacturer Kia, which built the (Mazda-based) Ford Festiva from 1988–1993, and the Ford Aspire from 1994–1997 for export to the United States, but later sold their interest to Hyundai (which also manufactured the Ford Cortina until the 1980s). Kia continued to market the Aspire as the Kia Avella, later replaced by the Rio and once again sold in the US.

Ford's presence in Asia has traditionally been much smaller, confined to Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Taiwan, where Ford has had a joint venture with Lio Ho since the 1970s. Ford began assembly of cars in Thailand in 1960, but withdrew from the country in 1976, and did not return until 1995, when it formed a joint venture with Mazda called Auto Alliance.

Ford India began production in 1998 with its Ford Escort model, which was later replaced by locally produced Ford Ikon in 2001. It has since added Fusion, Fiesta, Mondeo and Endeavour to its product line.

On March 9, 2010, Ford Motor Co. launched its first made-for-India compact car. Starting at 349,900 ($7,690), the Figo is Ford's first car designed and priced for the mass Indian market.

On July 28, 2011 Ford India signs MoU with the State of Gujarat to build assembly and engine plant in Sanand and will invest approximately US$1 billion on a 460-acre site.

South America

In South America, Ford has had to face protectionist government measures in each country, with the result that it built different models in different countries, without particular regard to rationalization or economy of scale inherent to producing and sharing similar vehicles between the nations. In many cases, new vehicles in a country were based on those of the other manufacturers it had entered into production agreements with, or whose factories it had acquired. For example, the Corcel and Del Rey in Brazil were originally based on Renault vehicles.

In 1987, Ford of Brasil and Ford of Argentina merged its operations with those of Volkswagen to form a company called Autolatina, with which it shared models. Sales figures and profitability were disappointing, and Autolatina was dissolved in 1995. With the advent of Mercosur, the regional common market, Ford was finally able to rationalize its product line-ups in those countries. Consequently, the Ford Fiesta and Ford EcoSport are only built in Brazil, and the Ford Focus only built in Argentina, with each plant exporting in large volumes to the neighboring countries. Models like the Ford Mondeo from Europe could now be imported completely built up. Ford of Brazil produces a pick-up truck version of the Fiesta, the Courier, which is also produced in South Africa as the Ford Bantam in right hand drive versions.

Africa and Middle East

In Africa, Ford's market presence has traditionally been strongest in South Africa and neighbouring countries, with only trucks being sold elsewhere on the continent. Ford in South Africa began by importing kits from Canada to be assembled at its Port Elizabeth facility. Later Ford sourced its models from the UK and Australia, with local versions of the Ford Cortina including the XR6, with a 3.0 V6 engine, and a Cortina-based 'bakkie' or pick-up, which was exported to the UK. In the mid-1980s Ford merged with a rival company, owned by Anglo American, to form the South African Motor Corporation (Samcor).

Following international condemnation of apartheid, Ford divested from South Africa in 1988, and sold its stake in Samcor, although it licensed the use of its brand name to the company. Samcor began to assemble Mazdas as well, which affected its product line-up, and saw the European Fords like the Escort and Sierra replaced by the Mazda-based Laser and Telstar. Ford bought a 45 per cent stake in Samcor following the demise of apartheid in 1994, and this later became, once again, a wholly owned subsidiary, the Ford Motor Company of Southern Africa. Ford now sells a local sedan version of the Fiesta (also built in India and Mexico), and the Focus. The Falcon model from Australia was also sold in South Africa, but was dropped in 2003, while the Mondeo, after briefly being assembled locally, was dropped in 2005.

Ford's market presence in the Middle East has traditionally been even smaller, partly due to previous Arab boycotts of companies dealing with Israel. Ford and Lincoln vehicles are currently marketed in ten countries in the region. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the UAE are the biggest markets. Ford also established itself in Egypt in 1926, but faced an uphill battle during the 1950s due to the hostile nationalist business environment. Ford's distributor in Saudi Arabia announced in February 2003 that it had sold 100,000 Ford and Lincoln vehicles since commencing sales in November 1986. Half of the Ford/Lincoln vehicles sold in that country were Ford Crown Victorias. In 2004, Ford sold 30,000 units in the region, falling far short of General Motors' 88,852 units and Nissan Motors' 75,000 units.

Environmental initiatives

Ford announced in late 2008 July that it will bring six of its more fuel-efficient European models to the U.S.

Compressed natural gas

The alternative fossil fuel vehicles, such as some versions of the Crown Victoria especially in fleet and taxi service, operate on compressed natural gas—or CNG. Some CNG vehicles have dual fuel tanks – one for gasoline, the other for CNG – the same engine can operate on either fuel via a selector switch.

Flexible fuel vehicles

Flexible fuel vehicles are designed to operate smoothly using a wide range of available ethanol fuel mixtures—from pure gasoline, to bioethanol-gasoline blends such as E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline) or E100 (neat hydrous ethanol) in Brazil. Part of the challenge of successful marketing alternative and flexible fuel vehicles in the U.S., is the general lack of establishment of sufficient fueling stations, which would be essential for these vehicles to be attractive to a wide range of consumers. Significant efforts to ramp up production and distribution of E85 fuels are underway and expanding.

Ford is also planning to produce 250,000 E85-capable vehicles a year in the US, adding to some 1.6 million already sold in the last 10 years.

Current Ford E85 Flexible Fuel Vehicles sold in North America and Europe are:

Ford F-150

Ford Crown Victoria

Ford Focus

Ford C-MAX

Ford Mondeo

Ford S-MAX

Ford Galaxy

Ford Taurus

Ford Ranger

Ford Explorer

Ford Expedition and EL/Max

Mercury Grand Marquis

Lincoln Town Car

Ford Fusion

Current Ford E100 Flex sold in the Brazilian market are:

Courier

Ford EcoSport

Ford Fiesta

Ford Focus

Ford Ka

Electric vehicles

Ford Motor Co. expects electric vehicles will represent a "major portion" of its lineup a decade from now as the automaker breaks away from a recent reliance on pickup trucks and SUVs. The stakes are high because Ford's stepped-up investment is coming at a time when the U.S. government is demanding steep increases in fuel economy and has put money forward to help automakers adopt new fuel-saving technologies.

Ford Motor Co. will partner with Coulomb Technologies to provide nearly 5,000 free in-home charging stations for some of the automaker's first electric vehicle customers, under the Ford Blue Oval ChargePoint Program.

Hybrid electric vehicles

In 2004 both Ford and Toyota agreed on a patent sharing accord which granted Ford access to certain hybrid technology patented by Toyota, in exchange Ford licensed Toyota some of their own patents.

Ford did improve fuel efficiency during 2005, with the introduction of the Hybrid-Electric Escape. With this vehicle, Ford was third to the automotive market with a hybrid electric vehicle and the first hybrid electric SUV to market. This was also the first hybrid electric vehicle with a flexible fuel capability to run on E85. The Escape's platform mate Mercury Mariner was also available with the hybrid-electric system in the 2006 model year—a full year ahead of schedule. The similar Mazda Tribute will also receive a hybrid-electric powertrain option, along with many other vehicles in the Ford vehicle line.

In 2005 Ford announced its goal to make 250,000 hybrids a year by 2010, but by mid-2006 announced that it would not meet that goal, due to excessively high costs and the lack of sufficient supplies of the hybrid-electric batteries and drivetrain system components. Instead, Ford has committed to accelerating development of next-generation hybrid-electric power plants in Britain, in collaboration with Volvo. This engineering study is expected to yield more than 100 new hybrid-electric vehicle models and derivatives. There are also plans for hybrid versions of the Ford Edge and Lincoln MKX.

Ford announced on 2007-07-09 that it will team up with Southern California Edison (SCE) to examine the future of plug-in hybrids in terms of how home and vehicle energy systems will work with the electrical grid. Under the multi-million-dollar, multi-year project, Ford will convert a demonstration fleet of Ford Escape Hybrids into plug-in hybrids, and SCE will evaluate how the vehicles might interact with the home and the utility's electrical grid. Some of the vehicles will be evaluated "in typical customer settings", according to Ford.

On June 12, 2008 USDOE expanded its own fleet of alternative fuel and advanced technology vehicles with the addition of a Ford Escape Plug-In Hybrid Flex-Fuel Vehicle. The vehicle is equipped with a lithium-ion battery supplied by Johnson Controls-Saft that stores enough electric energy to drive up to at speeds of up to .

In March 2009 Ford launched to the U.S. market the Ford Fusion Hybrid and the Mercury Milan Hybrid, both as 2010 models.

Ford is going to introduce a plug-in hybrid to challenge the Chevy Volt by 2012 and more charge-maintaining hybrids (traditional gas-electric hybrids), beginning with one in 2011.

Current and planned Ford hybrid electric vehicles:

2004– Ford Escape Hybrid

2006– Mercury Mariner

2009– Ford Fusion Hybrid/Mercury Milan

2009/10– Ford Edge/Lincoln MKX

All-electric vehicles

Ford ended the Think City experiment and ordered all the cars repossessed and destroyed, even as many of the people leasing them begged to be able to buy the cars from Ford. After outcry from the lessees and activists in the US and Norway, Ford returned the cars to Norway for sale.

Bill Ford was one of the first top industry executives to make regular use of an battery electric vehicle, a Ford Ranger EV, while the company contracted with the United States Postal Service to deliver electric postal vans based on the Ranger EV platform..Ford discontinued a line of electric Ranger pickup trucks and ordered them destroyed, though it reversed in January 2005, after environmentalist protest.

The North American Focus EV is based on next generation Focus fuel vehicle, converted to an electric propulsion system as a Production EV by Magna International, and is planned to be launched in late 2011. Ford plans to have 10,000 Focus EVs on the road beginning in late 2011 in partnership with Magna International and it will be a global vehicle that will be sold in the three key markets of North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The Focus EV has a maximum range of about 160 kilometers or 100 miles, and a top speed of about 120+ kilometers or 75+ miles per hour.

Current and planned Ford electric vehicles:

2010 All-electric Transit Connect

2011 All-electric small car in late 2011 (Ford Focus EV).

2013 C-MAX Energi coming fall 2012

Ford battery electric vehicle (BEV) demonstrators are included in a British project that is part of the UK government's zero carbon vehicle fleet of Focus BEVs. The BEV demonstrator fleet is being developed partly with public funding from the government's Technology Strategy Board (TSB), which promotes innovative industry-led projects that reduce CO2 while benefiting the UK's transport system.

Hydrogen

Ford also continues to study Fuel Cell-powered electric powertrains, and has demonstrated hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engine technologies, as well as developing the next-generation hybrid-electric systems. Compared with conventional vehicles, hybrid vehicles and/or fuel cell vehicles decrease air pollution emissions as well as sound levels, with favorable impacts upon respiratory health and decrease of noise health effects.

Ford has launched the production of hydrogen-powered shuttle buses, using hydrogen instead of gasoline in a standard internal combustion engine, for use at airports and convention centers. At the 2006 Greater Los Angeles Auto Show, Ford showcased a hydrogen fuel cell version of its Explorer SUV. The Fuel cell Explorer has a combined output of . It has a large hydrogen storage tank which is situated in the center of the car taking the original place of the conventional model's automatic transmission. The centered position of the tank assists the vehicle reach a notable range of , the farthest for a fuel cell vehicle so far. The fuel cell Explorer the first in a series of prototypes partly funded by the United States Department of Energy to expand efforts to determine the feasibility of hydrogen- powered vehicles. The fuel cell Explorer is one of several vehicles with green technology being featured at the L.A. show, including the 2008 Ford Escape Hybrid, PZEV emissions compliant Fusion and Focus models and a 2008 Ford F-Series Super Duty outfitted with Ford's clean diesel technology.

Increased fuel efficiency

Ford Motor Company announced it will accelerate its plans to produce more fuel-efficient cars, changing both its North American manufacturing plans and its lineup of vehicles available in the United States. In terms of North American manufacturing, the company will convert three existing truck and sport utility vehicle (SUV) plants for small car production, with the first conversion starting in December at its Michigan Truck Plant. In addition, Ford's assembly plants near Mexico City, Mexico, and in Louisville, Kentucky, will convert from pickups and SUVs to small cars, including the Ford Fiesta, by 2011. Ford will also introduce to North America six of its European small vehicles, including two versions of the Ford Fiesta, by the end of 2012. And last but not least, Ford is stepping up its production of fuel-efficient "EcoBoost" V-6 and four-cylinder engines, while increasing its production of hybrid vehicles. See the Ford press release.

Ford of Europe developed the ECOnetic programme to address the market and legislative need for higher fuel efficiency and lower CO2 emissions. As opposed to the hybrid engine technology used in competitor products such as the Toyota Prius, ECOnetic improves existing technology. Using lower consuming Duratorq TDCi diesel engines, and based on a combination of improved aerodynamics, lower resistance and improved efficiency, the Ford Fiesta is currently the lowest emitting mass-produced car in Europe, while the 2012 Ford Focus ECOnetic will have better fuel consumption that the Prius or the Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion. ECOnetic is not presently planned to be sold in North Americam due to current perceived lower consumer demand.

Ford has challenged University teams to create a vehicle that is simple, durable, lightweight and come equipped with a base target price of only $7,000 The students from Aachen University created the "2015 Ford Model T".

In 2000, under the leadership of the current Ford chairman, William Clay Ford, the Company announced a planned 25 percent improvement in the average mileage of its light truck fleet – including its popular SUVs – to be completed by the 2005 calendar year. In 2003, Ford announced that competitive market conditions and technological and cost challenges would prevent the company from achieving this goal.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts have, however, listed Ford as the seventh-worst corporate producer of air pollution, primarily because of the manganese compounds, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, and glycol ethers released from its casting, truck, and assembly plants. The United States Environmental Protection Agency has linked Ford to 54 Superfund toxic waste sites, twelve of which have been cleaned up and deleted from the list.

For the 2007 model year, Ford had thirteen U.S. models that achieve 30 miles per gallon or better (based on the highway fuel economy estimates of the EPA and several of Ford's vehicles were recognized in the EPA and Department of Energy Fuel Economy Guide for best-in-class fuel economy. Ford claimed to have eliminated nearly three million pounds of smog-forming emissions from their U.S. cars and light trucks over the 2004 to 2006 model years.

PC Power Management

On March 2010, Ford announced its PC Power Management system which it developed with NightWatchman software from 1E. The company is expected to save $1.2m on power cost and reduce carbon footprint by an estimated 16,000 to 25,000 metric tons annually when the system is fully implemented.

PC power management is being rolled out to all Ford computer users in US this month and it will be used in Ford operations around the world later in the year. Computers with this power profile enabled will monitor its usage patterns and decides when it can be turned off. PC user will be alerted of the approaching power down time and given the opportunity to delay it.

According to company reduction in carbon footprint and power cost will be achieved by developing 'Power Profiles' for every PC in the company.

Auto racing

Stock car racing

Ford is one of four manufacturers in NASCAR's three major series: Sprint Cup Series, Nationwide Series, and Camping World Truck Series. Major teams include Roush Fenway Racing and Yates Racing and Richard Petty Motorsports. Ford is represented by the mid-size Fusion in the Sprint Cup, the Mustang in the Nationwide Series, and by the F-150 in the Camping World Truck Series. Some of the most successful NASCAR Fords were the aerodynamic fastback Ford Torino and Mercury Montegos, and the aero-era Ford Thunderbirds. The Ford nameplate has won eight manufacturer's championships in Sprint Cup, while Mercury has won one. The Ford Fusion is also used in the ARCA Remax Series.

Formula One

Ford was heavily involved in Formula One for many years, and supplied engines to a large number of teams from 1967 until 2004. These engines were designed and manufactured by Cosworth, the racing division that was owned by Ford from 1998 to 2004. Ford-badged engines won 176 Grands Prix between 1967 and 2003 for teams such as Team Lotus and McLaren. Ford entered Formula One as a constructor in 2000 under the Jaguar Racing name, after buying the Stewart Grand Prix team which had been its primary 'works' team in the series since 1997. Jaguar achieved little success in Formula One, and after a turbulent five seasons, Ford withdrew from the category after the 2004 season, selling both Jaguar Racing (which became Red Bull Racing) and Cosworth (to Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven).

Rally

Ford has a long history in rallying and has been active in the World Rally Championship since the beginning of the world championship, the 1973 season. Ford took the 1979 manufacturers' title with Hannu Mikkola, Björn Waldegård and Ari Vatanen driving the Ford Escort RS1800. In the Group B era, Ford achieved success with Ford RS200. Since the 1999 season, Ford has used various versions of the Ford Focus WRC to much success. In the 2006 season, BP-Ford World Rally Team secured Ford its second manufacturers' title, with the Focus RS WRC 06 built by M-Sport and driven by ''Flying Finns'' Marcus Grönholm and Mikko Hirvonen. Continuing with Grönholm and Hirvonen, Ford successfully defended the manufacturers' world championship in the 2007 season. Ford is the only manufacturer to score in the points for 92 consecutive races; since the 2002 season opener Monte Carlo Rally.

Sports cars

Ford sports cars have been visible in the world of sports car racing since 1964. Most notably the GT40 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times in the 1960s and is the only American car to ever win overall at this prestigious event. Ford also won the 1968 International Championship for Makes with the GT40, which still stands today as one of the all-time greatest racing cars. Swiss team Matech GT Racing, in collaboration with Ford Racing, opened a new chapter with the Ford GT, winning the Teams title in the 2008 FIA GT3 European Championship.

The Ford Mustang has arguably been Ford's most successful sports car. Jerry Titus won the 1965 SCCA Pro B National Championship with a Mustang and the model went on to earn Ford the SCCA Trans-Am Championship title in both 1966 and 1967. Ford won the Trans-Am Championship again in 1970 with Parnelli Jones and George Folmer driving Boss 302 Mustangs for Bud Moore Engineering. Ford took the 1985 and 1986 IMSA GTO Championship with Mustangs driven by John Jones and Scott Pruett before returning to Trans-Am glory with a championship in 1989 with Dorsey Schroeder. Ford dominated Trans-Am in the 1990s with Tommy Kendal winning championships in 1993, 1995, 1996, and 1997 with Paul Gentilozi adding yet another title in 1999. In 2005 the Ford Mustang FR500C took the championship in the Rolex Koni Challenge Series in its first year on the circuit. In 2007 Ford added a victory in the GT4 European Championship. 2008 was the first year of the Mustang Challenge for the Miller Cup, a series which pits a full field of identical factory built Ford Mustang race cars against each other. Also in 2008, Ford won the manufacturers championship in the Koni Challenge Series and HyperSport drivers Joe Foster and Steve Maxwell won the drivers title in a Mustang GT.

Touring cars

Ford has campaigned touring cars such as the Focus, Falcon, and Contour/Mondeo and the Sierra Cosworth in many different series throughout the years. Notably, Mondeo drivers finished 1,2,3 in the 2000 British Touring Car Championship and Falcon drivers placed 1,2,3 in the 2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series.

Other

In the Indianapolis 500, Ford powered IndyCars won 17 times between 1965 and 1996. Ford has also branched out into drifting with the introduction of the new model Mustang. Most noticeable is the Turquoise and Blue Falken Tires Mustang driven by Vaughn Gittin Jr, A.K.A. "JR". with 750 RWHP (Rear Wheel Horsepower). In drag racing, John Force Racing drivers John Force, Tony Pedregon, and Robert Hight have piloted Ford Mustang Funny Cars to several NHRA titles in recent seasons. Teammates Tim Wilkerson and Bob Tasca III also drive Mustangs in Funny Car. Formula Ford, a formula for single-seater cars without wings and originally on road tires were conceived in 1966 in the UK as an entry-level formula for racing drivers. Many of today's racing drivers started their car racing careers in this category.

Ford trucks

Ford has produced trucks since 1908. Countries where Ford commercial vehicles are or were made include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada (badged Mercury too), France, Germany, India, Netherlands, Philippines, Spain (badged Ebro too), Turkey, UK (badged also Fordson and Thames) and USA.

From the 1940s to late 1970s Ford's Ford F-Series were used as the base for light trucks for the North American market.

Most of these ventures are now extinct. The European one that lasted longest was the lorries arm of Ford of Britain, which was eventually sold to Iveco group in 1986, and whose last significant models were the Transcontinental and the Cargo.

In the United States, Ford's heavy trucks division (Classes 7 and 8) was sold in 1997 to Freightliner Trucks, which rebranded the lineup as Sterling. Freightliner is in the process of discontinuing this line.

Line of heavy trucks made by Ford for the North American market:

Ford F-650 – joint venture model from 2000 to present

Ford L9000 – last model year 1999

Ford LNT9000 – short nose tandem axle from 1970s to 1997

Ford LT9000 – tandem axle with last model year 1997

Ford FT900 – until 1998

Ford LT8000 – last model year 1998

Ford L7000 – last model year 1996

Ford continues to manufacture medium duty trucks under the F-650 and F-750 badges. In 2001, the company entered into a joint venture with Navistar International to produce medium duty commercial trucks. The first new model from the new corporation, known as Blue Diamond Truck Company LLC, was the 2006 model year LCF, the first Ford branded cab-over-engine design in the United States since Freightliner's acquisition of the Cargo in the mid-1990s.. The LCF was discontinued in 2009 and Ford's 2011 medium-duty commercial offerings are limited to the two F-Series.

In 1999 the end of the F800 meant Ford was not producing in any F-series heavy truck chassis.

In Europe, Ford manufactures the Ford Transit jumbo van which is classed as a Large Goods Vehicle and has a payload of up to 2,265 kg, there are options of a panel van, pickup or chassis cab. The Ford Transit is also available as a light van called the Ford Transit Connect and the Ford Ranger pickup is available.

Bus products

Ford manufactured complete buses in the company's early history, but today the role of the company has changed to that of a second stage manufacturer. In North America, the E-Series is still used as a chassis for small school buses and the F-650 is used in commercial bus markets. In the 1980s and 1990s, the medium-duty B700 was a popular chassis used by school bus body manufacturers (Thomas Built, Ward, Blue Bird, etc...), but Ford lost its market share due to industry contraction and agreements between body manufacturers. Older bus models included:

Prior to 1939, For buses were based on truck bodies:

Model B – 1930s

Model T – 1920s

F-105 school bus

During World War II Ford manufactured Ford Transit bus, a series of small transit buses with bodies built by second party:

09-B/19-B City transit bus – 1939–1941

19-B/29-B City transit bus – 1941–1942

49-B/79-B City transit bus – 1944–1947

69-B City transit bus – 1946–1947

29-B City transit bus – 1946–1947

72-T transit bus – 1944–1945

After 1946 the Transit City bus was sold as ''Universal Bus'' with the roof changed from fabric/wood to all metal:

79-B Universal transit bus – 1946–1947

Succeeding the Ford Transit bus was the Ford 8M buses:

8MB transit bus – with Wayne Works 1948–?

Following World War II and from 1950s onwards Ford lost out to General Motors. This lead to the end of transit buses for Ford in North America.

B500 or B-series – 1950-1990s based on Ford F-series truck chassis used by school bus body manufacturers

In Europe, Ford manufactures the Ford Transit Minibus which is classed in Europe as a Passenger Carrying Vehicle and there are options of 12, 15 or 17 seaters. In the past European models included:

EM

N-138

D series buses (Australia)

Ford tractors

The "Henry Ford and Son Company" began making Fordson tractors in Henry's hometown of Springwells (later part of Dearborn, Michigan from 1907 to 1928, from 1919 to 1932, at Cork, Ireland and 1933–1964 at Dagenham, England, later transferred to Basildon. They were also produced in Leningrad beginning in 1924.

In 1986, Ford expanded its tractor business when it purchased the Sperry-New Holland skid-steer loader and hay baler, hay tools and implement company from Sperry Corporation and formed Ford-New Holland which bought out Versatile tractors in 1988. This company was bought by Fiat in 1993 and the name changed from Ford New Holland to New Holland. New Holland is now part of CNH Global.

History

The Ford Motor Company was launched in a converted factory in 1903 with $28,000 in cash from twelve investors, most notably John and Horace Dodge (who would later found their own car company). Later Ford realized it would be better if he manufactured all of his company's automotive parts himself instead of using parts from aftermarket sources which lead to the production of the assembly line 1908. Henry's first attempt under his name was the Henry Ford Company on November 3, 1901, which became the Cadillac Motor Company on August 22, 1902. In 1908 Ford During its early years, the company produced just a few cars a day at its factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. Groups of two or three men worked on each car from components made to order by other companies. Henry Ford was 40 years old when he founded the Ford Motor Company, which would go on to become one of the world's largest and most profitable companies, as well as being one to survive the Great Depression. As one of the largest family-controlled companies in the world, the Ford Motor Company has been in continuous family control for over 100 years.

See also

Detroit Automobile Company

Dodge v. Ford Motor Company

Firestone and Ford tire controversy

Ford F-Series

Ford Mustang

Ford Racing

Ford V-8

Fordson tractor

The Henry Ford

Henry Ford Company

History of Ford Motor Company

List of Ford vehicles

List of Ford factories

List of Ford engines

List of Ford platforms

List of Ford VIN codes

List of CEOs of Ford Motor Company

Pay on production

Plug-in hybrid

Smith Electric Vehicles

Southern California Edison

Soybean Car

Special Vehicle Team (SVT)

Special Vehicle Operations (SVO)

United States Council for Automotive Research

Notes

References and further reading

External links

Official gateway to global websites

The Ford Story

Ford on Facebook

Ford on Twitter

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:All articles with unsourced statements Category:Car manufacturers of the United States Ford Category:Companies established in 1903 Category:Companies based in Wayne County, Michigan Category:Emergency services equipment makers Category:Family businesses Category:Lawn and garden tractors Category:Motor vehicle battery manufacturers Category:Motor vehicle manufacturers based in Michigan Category:Tractor manufacturers of the United States Category:Truck manufacturers Category:Dearborn, Michigan Category:Electric vehicle manufacturers Category:British Royal Warrant holders Category:Motor vehicle manufacturers of the United States Category:1903 establishments in the United States

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Coordinates	38°51′32″N85°8′26″N
Name	Jeremy Clarkson
Birth name	Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson
Birth date	April 11, 1960
Birth place	Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England, UK
Residence	Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, EnglandLangness, Isle of Man
Other names	''Jezza''
Notable works	See below
Networth	£2.7 million (estimated).
Salary	£2 million (estimated).
Height
Known for
Education	Repton SchoolHill House School, Doncaster
Employer
Occupation	Author, writer, journalist, broadcaster, talk show host
Home town	Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England
Years active	1988–present
Spouse	(divorced)
Children	3
Parents	Shirley and Eddie Clarkson
Website	topgear.com }}

Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson (born 11 April 1960) is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show ''Top Gear'' along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May. He also writes weekly columns for ''The Sunday Times'' and ''The Sun''.

From a career as a local journalist in Northern England, Clarkson rose to public prominence as a presenter of the original format of ''Top Gear'' in 1988. Since the mid-1990s Clarkson has become a recognised public personality, regularly appearing on British television presenting his own shows and appearing as a guest on other shows. As well as motoring, Clarkson has produced programmes and books on subjects such as history and engineering. From 1998 to 2000 he also hosted his own chat show, ''Clarkson''.

His opinionated but humorous tongue-in-cheek writing and presenting style has often generated much public reaction to his viewpoints. His actions both privately and as a ''Top Gear'' presenter have also sometimes resulted in criticism from the media, politicians, pressure groups and the public.

Despite the criticism levelled against him, Clarkson has also generated a significant following from the public at large, being credited as a major factor in the resurgence of ''Top Gear'' as one of the most popular shows on the BBC.

Personal life

Clarkson was born in Doncaster, South Yorkshire (West Riding at the time of his birth), to teacher Shirley Gabrielle Ward and travelling salesman Edward Grenville "Eddie" Clarkson; his parents ran a business selling tea cosies. They put the young Jeremy Clarkson's name down in advance for a number of private schools with no idea how they were going to pay the fees, until at the last moment, when he was 13, they made two Paddington Bear stuffed toys for each of their children. These proved so popular that they started selling them through the business with sufficient success to be able to pay the fees for Clarkson to attend Hill House School, Doncaster and later Repton School. By his own account, he was expelled from Repton School for "drinking, smoking and generally making a nuisance of himself."

Clarkson played the role of a public schoolboy, Taplin, in a BBC radio Children's Hour serial adaptation of Anthony Buckeridge's ''Jennings'' novels until his voice broke.

Clarkson suffered from testicular torsion as a teenager and has since become a patron of several charities raising awareness of this condition.

Clarkson is twice-married. His first marriage was in September 1989 to Alexandra James (now Hall). This marriage was short-lived, and in May 1993 he married his manager, Frances Cain (daughter of VC recipient Robert Henry Cain) in Fulham. The couple currently live in the town of Chipping Norton, situated in the Cotswolds, with their three children. Known for buying him car-related gifts, for Christmas 2007 Clarkson's wife bought him a Mercedes-Benz 600.

Clarkson's fondness for wearing jeans has been blamed by some for the decline in sales of denim in the mid 1990s, particularly Levi's, because of their being associated with middle aged men, the so-called 'Jeremy Clarkson effect'. After fashion gurus Trinny and Susannah labelled Clarkson's dress sense as that of a market trader, he was persuaded to appear on their fashion makeover show ''What Not to Wear'' in order to avoid being considered for their all-time worst dressed winner award. Their attempts at restyling Clarkson were however all rebuffed, and Clarkson stated he would rather eat his own hair than appear on the show again.

For an episode of the first series of the BBC's ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' broadcast in November 2004, Clarkson was invited to investigate his family history. It included the story of his great-great-great grandfather John Kilner (1792–1857), who invented the Kilner jar: a container for preserved fruit.

Clarkson is reportedly a big fan of the rock band Genesis and attended the band‘s reunion concert at Twickenham Stadium in 2007. He also provided sleeve notes for the reissue of the album ''Selling England by the Pound'' as part of the ''Genesis 1970–1975'' box set.

Clarkson has been involved in a protracted legal dispute about access to a "permissive path" across the grounds of his second home on the Isle of Man since 2005, after reports that dogs had attacked and killed sheep on the property. He eventually lost the dispute after the Isle of Man government started a public enquiry and was told to re-open the footpath in May 2010. The case is currently being brought before the High Court.

Clarkson is also an avid birdwatcher. His favorite bird noted as being the Peregrine Falcon.

Career

Writing career

Clarkson's first job was as a travelling salesman for his parents' business selling Paddington Bear toys. He later trained as a journalist with the ''Rotherham Advertiser'', before also writing for the ''Rochdale Observer'', ''Wolverhampton Express and Star'', ''Lincolnshire Life'' and the Associated Kent Newspapers.

In 1984 Clarkson formed the Motoring Press Agency (MPA), in which, with fellow motoring journalist Jonathan Gill, he would conduct road tests for local newspapers and automotive magazines. This developed into pieces for publications such as ''Performance Car''. He has regularly written for ''Top Gear'' magazine since its launch in 1993.

Clarkson went on to writing articles for a diverse spectrum of readers through regular columns in both the mass-market tabloid newspaper ''The Sun'', and for the more 'up market' broadsheet newspaper ''The Sunday Times''. The ''Times'' columns are republished in The Weekend Australian newspaper. He also writes for the Toronto Star-Wheels Section.

In addition to newsprint, Clarkson has written books about cars and several other, humorous, titles. Many of his books are aggregated collections of articles that he has written for ''The Sunday Times''.

Television

Clarkson's first major television role came as one of the presenters on the British motoring programme ''Top Gear'', from 27 October 1988 to 3 February 2000, in the programme's original format, and then again from 20 October 2002, when it was relaunched in a new format after a brief period off the air. He is credited with co-presenters James May and Richard Hammond as turning ''Top Gear'' into the most-watched TV show on BBC Two, rebroadcast to over 100 countries around the world. While closely associated with presenting motoring shows through the original ''Top Gear'' and Motorworld, by the late 1990s Clarkson had diversified into presenting programmes on other topics, beginning as presenter of the UK version of ''Robot Wars''. At the same time his television presence also branched out into appearances on a number of other shows, both as guest and guest host. From 1998 for three years he had his own talk show, ''Clarkson'', hosting 27 half-hour episodes aired in the United Kingdom between November 1998 and December 2000, and featured guest interviews with musicians, politicians and television personalities. In his television career, Clarkson went on to present a number of documentaries focused on non-motoring themes such as history and engineering, although the motoring shows and videos continued. Alongside his stand-alone shows, many often mirror the format of his newspaper columns and books, combining his love of driving and motoring journalism, with the examination and expression of his other views on the world, such as in ''Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld'', ''Jeremy Clarkson's Car Years'' and ''Jeremy Clarkson Meets the Neighbours''.

Clarkson's views are often showcased on television shows. In 1997 Clarkson appeared on the light hearted comedy show ''Room 101'', in which a guest nominates things they hate in life to be consigned to nothingness. Clarkson despatched caravans, houseflies, the sitcom ''Last Of The Summer Wine'', the mentality within golf clubs, and vegetarians. His public persona has seen him make several appearances on the prime time talk shows ''Parkinson'' and ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' since 2002. By 2003 his persona was deemed to fit the mould for the series ''Grumpy Old Men'', in which middle-aged men talk about any aspects of modern life which irritate them. Since the topical news panel show ''Have I Got News for You'' dismissed regular host Angus Deayton in October 2002, Clarkson has become one of the most regularly used guest hosts on the show in a role which attracts a sideways look at current affairs. On a more serious platform, Clarkson has appeared as a panellist on the political current affairs television show ''Question Time'' twice since 2003.

In 2007 Clarkson won the National Television Awards' Special Recognition Award. Also in 2007, it was reported that Clarkson earned £1 million a year for his role as a ''Top Gear'' presenter, and a further £1.7 million from books, DVDs and newspaper columns.

In 2007, Clarkson and co-presenter James May were the first people to reach the magnetic North Pole in a car, chronicled in a ''Top Gear'' polar special. Clarkson more recently sustained minor injuries to his legs, back and hand in an intentional high-speed head-on collision with a brick wall while making the 12th series of ''Top Gear''.

Persona

Clarkson is in favour of personal freedom and very much against government regulation, stating that government should "build park benches and that is it. They should leave us alone." He has a particular contempt for the Health and Safety Executive. He has often criticised the Labour Governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, especially the 'ban' culture, frequently fixating on the bans on smoking and 2004 ban on fox hunting.

Clarkson is often politically incorrect. He often comments on the media-perceived social issues of the day such as the fear of challenging adolescent youths, known as 'hoodies'. In 2007 Clarkson was cleared of allegations of assaulting a hoodie while visiting Central Milton Keynes, after Thames Valley Police said that if anything, he had been the victim. In the five-part series ''Jeremy Clarkson Meets the Neighbours'' he travelled around Europe in a Jaguar E-Type, examining (and in some cases reinforcing) his stereotypes of other countries.

As a motoring journalist, he is frequently critical of government initiatives such as the London congestion charge or proposals on road charging. He is also frequently scornful of caravanners and cyclists. He has often singled out John Prescott the former Transport Minister, and Stephen Joseph the head of the public transport pressure group Transport 2000 for ridicule.

Clarkson is unsympathetic to the green movement and has little respect for groups such as Greenpeace—he believes that the "eco-mentalists" are a by-product of the "old trade unionists and CND lesbians" who had found a more relevant cause— but "loves the destination" of environmentalism and believes that people should quietly strive to be more eco-friendly. Clarkson has unorthodox views regarding global warming: although he believes that higher temperatures are not necessarily negative and that anthropogenic carbon dioxide production has a negligible effect on the global climate, but is aware of the negative potential consequences of global warming, saying "let's just stop and think for a moment what the consequences might be. Switzerland loses its skiing resorts? The beach in Miami is washed away? North Carolina gets knocked over by a hurricane? Anything bothering you yet?"

In an attempt to prove the press and public furore over the 2007 UK child benefit data scandal was a fuss about nothing, he published his own bank account number and sort code, together with instructions on how to find out his address, in ''The Sun'' newspaper, expecting nobody to be able to remove money from his account. He later discovered that someone had been able to set up a monthly direct debit for £500 to Diabetes UK, and this person's identity was protected from the bank under the Data Protection Act 1998.

Clarkson has been highly critical of the United States and more recently President Barack Obama. In an article after Obama was sworn into office, Clarkson wrote (in reference to over 308,000,000 Americans) "they have got it into their heads that Barack Obama is actually a blend of Jesus, Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King." Clarkson has also been very critical of the Special Relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom. He referred to America as the United States of Total Paranoia, commenting that one needs a permit to do everything except for purchasing firearms.

Whilst Clarkson states such views in his columns and in public appearances, his public persona does not necessarily represent his personal views, as he acknowledged whilst interviewing Alastair Campbell saying "I don't believe what I write, any more than you (Alastair Campbell) believe what you say"

Clarkson has been described as a "skilful propagandist for the motoring lobby" by ''The Economist'' and a "dazzling hero of political incorrectness" by the ''Daily Mirror''. With a forthright and sometimes deadpan delivery, Clarkson is said to thrive on the notoriety his public comments bring, and has risen to the level of the bête noire of the various groups who disagree with his views. On the Channel 4 organised viewer poll, for the ''100 Worst Britons We Love to Hate'' programme, Clarkson polled in 66th place. By 2005, Clarkson was perceived by the press to have upset so many people and groups, ''The Independent'' put him on trial for various 'crimes', declaring him guilty on most counts.

Responses to Clarkson's comments are often directed personally, with derogatory comments about residents of Norfolk leading to some residents organising a "We hate Jeremy Clarkson" club. In ''The Guardian's'' 2007 'Media 100' list, which lists the top 100 most "powerful people in the [media] industry", based on cultural, economic and political influence in the UK, Clarkson was listed as a new entrant at 74th. Some critics even attribute Clarkson's actions and views as being influential enough to be responsible for the closure of Rover and the Luton manufacturing plant of Vauxhall. Clarkson's comments about Rover prompted workers to hang an "Anti-Clarkson Campaign" banner outside the defunct Longbridge plant in its last days.

The BBC often plays down his comments as ultimately not having the weight they are ascribed. In 2007 they described Clarkson as "Not a man given to considered opinion", and in response to an official complaint another BBC spokeswoman once said: "Jeremy's colourful comments are always entertaining, but they are his own comments and not those of the BBC. More often than not they are said with a twinkle in his eye." Some of his opponents state they take the view he is a man that should be ignored. Kevin Clinton, head of Road Safety at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has stated "We don't take what he says too seriously and hopefully other people don't either."

On his chat show, ''Clarkson'', he caused upset to the Welsh by placing a 3D plastic map of Wales into a microwave oven and switching it on. He later defended this by saying, "I put Wales in there because Scotland wouldn't fit."

His views on the environment once precipitated a small demonstration at the 2005 award ceremony for his honorary degree from Oxford Brookes University, when Clarkson was pied by road protester Rebecca Lush. Clarkson took this incident in good humour, responding 'good shot' and subsequently referring to Lush as "Banana girl". Clarkson has spoken in support of hydrogen cars as a solution.

In 2008 an internet petition was posted on the Prime Minister's Number 10 website to "Make Jeremy Clarkson Prime Minister". By the time it closed, it had attracted 49,446 signatures. An opposing petition posted on the same site set to "Never, Ever Make Jeremy Clarkson Prime Minister" attracted 87 signatures. Clarkson later commented he would be a rubbish Prime Minister as he is always contradicting himself in his columns. In their official response to the petition, Number 10 agreed with Clarkson's comments.

In a 2008 poll of 5,000 female members of an online dating website, Clarkson came third in a poll of MISAs—Men I Secretly Adore—behind Jonathan Ross and Phillip Schofield. Characteristically, Clarkson was upset not to have come top.

In response to the reactions he gets, Clarkson has stated "I enjoy this back and forth, it makes the world go round but it is just opinion" and "I don't have any influence over what people do, I really don't. It makes no difference what I say. ''Top Gear'' is just fluff. It's just entertainment – people don't listen to me." On the opinion that his views are influential enough to topple car companies, he has argued that he has proof that he has had no influence. "When I said that the Ford Orion was the worst car ever it went on to become a best-selling car."

Clarkson was ranked 50th on Motor Trend Magazine's Power List for 2011, its list of the fifty most influential figures in the automotive industry.

Military interests

Clarkson has a keen interest in the British Armed Forces several of his DVDs and television shows have featured a military theme, whether it be flying in military jets or several Clarkson focused ''Top Gear'' spots having a military theme such as Clarkson escaping a tank in a Range Rover, an Apache helicopter shooting at a Lotus, a platoon of Irish Guardsmen shooting at a Porsche and Mercedes, or using a Ford Fiesta as a Royal Marine landing craft. Clarkson visited British troops in Baghdad in October 2005.

Clarkson presented a programme looking at recipients of the Victoria Cross, in particular focusing on his father-in-law, Robert Henry Cain, who received a VC for actions during the Battle of Arnhem in World War II.

In 2007 Clarkson wrote and presented ''Jeremy Clarkson: Greatest Raid of All Time'', a documentary about the World War II Operation Chariot, a 1942 Commando raid on the docks of Saint-Nazaire in occupied France. At the end of 2007 Clarkson became a patron of Help for Heroes, a charity aiming to raise money to provide better facilities to wounded British servicemen. His effort led to the 2007 Christmas appeal in ''The Sunday Times'' supporting Help for Heroes.

Clarkson borrowed a Lightning (serial XM172), an RAF supersonic jet fighter of the Cold War era, which was temporarily placed in his garden and documented on his TV show Speed.

Engineering interests

Clarkson is passionate about engineering, especially pioneering work. In ''Inventions That Changed the World'' Clarkson showcased the invention of the gun, computer, jet engine, telephone and television. He has previously criticised the engineering feats of the 20th century as merely improvements on the truly innovative inventions of the Industrial Revolution. He cites the lack of any source of alternative power for cars, other than by "small explosions". In ''Great Britons'', as part of a public poll to find the greatest historical Briton, Clarkson was the chief supporter for Isambard Kingdom Brunel, a prominent engineer during the Industrial Revolution credited with numerous innovations. Despite this, he also has a passion for many modern examples of engineering. In ''Speed'' and ''Extreme Machines'' Clarkson rides and showcases numerous vehicles and machinery. Clarkson was awarded an honorary degree from Brunel University on 12 September 2003, partly because of his work in popularising engineering, and partly because of his advocacy of Brunel.

In his book, ''I Know You Got Soul'' he describes many machines that he believes possess a soul. He cited the Concorde crash as his inspiration, feeling a sadness for the demise of the machine as well as the passengers. Clarkson was a passenger on the last BA Concorde flight on 24 October 2003. Paraphrasing Neil Armstrong he described the retirement of the fleet as "This is one small step for a man, but one huge leap backwards for mankind", and that the challenge of building Concorde had been a greater human feat than landing a man on the Moon.

His known passion for single- or two-passenger high-velocity transport led to his brief acquisition of an English Electric Lightning F1A jet fighter XM172, which was installed in the front garden of his country home. The Lightning was subsequently removed on the orders of the local council, which "wouldn't believe my claim that it was a leaf blower", according to Clarkson on a Tiscali Motoring webchat. In fact, the whole affair was set up for his programme ''Speed'', and the Lightning is now back serving as gate guardian at Wycombe Air Park (formerly RAF Booker).

In a ''Top Gear'' episode, Clarkson drove the Bugatti Veyron in a race across Europe against a Cessna private aeroplane. The Veyron was an £850,000 technology demonstrator project built by Volkswagen to become the fastest production car, but a practical road car at the same time. In building such an ambitious machine, Clarkson described the project as "a triumph for lunacy over common sense, a triumph for man over nature and a triumph for Volkswagen over absolutely every other car maker in the world." After winning the race, Clarkson announced that "It's quite a hollow victory really, because I've got to go for the rest of my life knowing that I'll never own that car. I'll never experience that power again."

Cars

Ownership

Clarkson and his family own or have owned: Ford Escort RS Cosworth

Mercedes-Benz CLK 63 AMG Black Edition

Toyota Land Cruiser Amazon Volvo XC90

Caterham Seven R400

Range Rover TDV8 Vogue SE Lotus Elise 111S Mercedes-Benz 600 Grosser

In addition to the many cars he has owned, as a motoring journalist Clarkson regularly has car companies deliver a choice of cars to his driveway for testing.

Clarkson wanted to purchase the Ford GT after admiring its inspiration, the Ford GT40 race cars of the 1960s. Clarkson was able to secure a place on the shortlist for the few cars that would be imported to Britain to official customers, only through knowing Ford's head of PR through a previous job. After waiting years and facing an increased price, he found many technical problems with the car. After "the most miserable month's motoring possible," he returned it to Ford for a full refund. After a short period, including asking ''Top Gear'' fans for advice over the Internet, he bought back his GT. He called it "the most unreliable car ever made", owing to never being able to complete a return journey with it. In 2006 Clarkson ordered a Gallardo Spyder and sold the Ford GT to make way for it. In August 2008 he sold the Gallardo because "idiots in Peugeots kept trying to race [him] in it" [Jeremy Clarkson - "The Italian Job" DVD]. In October, he also announced he sold his Volvo XC90. But in January 2009, in a review of the car printed in The Times, he said, "I’ve just bought my third Volvo XC90 in a row and the simple fact is this: it takes six children to school in the morning."

Likes

Clarkson often enthuses about whether a car gives you the proper "driving experience". He enthuses about needing to feel the front wheels connected to your fingers through the steering wheel. His preferred cars need to stir a passion and exhibit a 'soul', and look good, such as his preferred sportscar marque, Ferrari. Clarkson is often seen to be more than willing to accept several other flaws in a car such as practicality, build quality, reliability, if the basic criteria of performance and styling are deemed to have been met.. Clarkson seems to be an admirer of any car that delivers a performance and features for less money than traditionally known 'superior' marques, such as the Subaru Impreza, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, and Holden Monaro (marketed in the UK under the Vauxhall brand). He is also known for liking the Noble M12. However, sometimes his liking of cars is more in respect because they do not possess this 'soul' although it is portrayed in the TV show as a legitimate love. It was like that with the Nissan GTR. He said that it's great but 'sometimes I'd like it to go down the front of my trousers and have a little rummage' implying the GTR's lack of 'soul' and excitement.

Despite not liking Rover or Vauxhall, Clarkson does have an affection for the 'British' marques of Jaguar and Aston Martin, but has previously described this success as being down to the combination of British ingenuity with foreign funding, management and marketing. Clarkson often applies national stereotypes to cars, i.e. German cars are well built but too serious, Italian cars are stylish but temperamental, Japanese cars are hi-tech but soulless, and the present intermixing of nationalities in the global car industry becomes a source of comment.

Clarkson has a particular fondness for Alfa Romeos, and has owned several. He contends that "you cannot be a true petrolhead until you've owned one... it's like having really great sex that leaves you with an embarrassing itch." In his book ''I Know You Got Soul'' the Alfa Romeo 166 was one of only three cars classified as having that "special something". Clarkson quotably called the Brera, Alfa's latest sports car, "Cameron Diaz on wheels". Despite his love for Alfa Romeos, he was very critical of the company's supercar, the 8C Competizione. In both ''Top Gear'' and his 2009 video special ''Thriller'', Clarkson had no doubts about the car's beauty, but panned the poorly-designed suspension, comparing it to a Ford Mustang.

Clarkson has had mixed views on the Porsche 911 sports cars, feeling them to have uninspiring styling. He is also not a fan of the rear-engined flat six layout, feeling it a fundamentally flawed design. He has, however, often complimented the technical aspects and practicalities of many Porsches, over say the equivalent Ferrari of the time. In reviewing a 2003 Porsche 911 GT3 though, Clarkson conceded that Porsche had finally overcome the natural tendency of a Porsche mechanical layout to lose the grip in the rear tyres in a bend, and stated it was the first Porsche he had ever seriously considered buying. Clarkson also praised Porsche's supercar, the Carrera GT, in an October 2004 episode of ''Top Gear'', and even commented that it's one of the most beautiful cars he has ever driven. Clarkson has also expressed fondness for late-model V8 Holdens, available in the UK rebadged as Vauxhalls. Of the Monaro VXR he said, "It's like they had a picture of me on their desk and said [Australian accent] 'Let's build that bloke a car!'" and "I can't believe it... I've fallen in love... with a Vauxhall!" Clarkson suffered two slipped discs that he attributed to driving this car he described as being "back-breakingly marvellous".

Dislikes

Clarkson often derides any car that in his view might be bought by a Premier League footballer such as Wayne Rooney. Clarkson will often pick faults in the trim or build quality in any car he dislikes. He will also use his substantial frame to criticise any model with inadequate front or rear leg room or head room, and to criticise the throttle or brake pedal positions. Clarkson is also not a great fan of technological gadgetry where it detracts from or seeks to control the experience of driving, commenting that the only saving grace of the increasingly hi-tech BMW M5 was that in M mode all gadgetry was switched off, and it subsequently still retained the performance characteristics of historical M5s. He has frequently criticised the Mercedes-Benz practice of releasing a model and option list to suit every conceivable customer demand.

One of Clarkson's most infamous dislikes was of the British car brand Rover, the last major British owned and built car manufacturer. This view stretched back to the company's time as part of British Leyland. Describing the history of the company up to its last flagship model, the Rover 75, he stated "Never in the field of human endeavour has so much been done, so badly, by so many." In the latter years of the company Clarkson blamed the "uncool" brand image as being more of a hindrance to sales than any faults with the cars. On its demise, Clarkson stated "I cannot even get teary and emotional about the demise of the company itself – though I do feel sorry for the workforce."

Clarkson is also well known for his criticism of Vauxhalls and has described Vauxhall's parent company, General Motors, as a "pensions and healthcare" company which sees the "car making side of the business as an expensive loss-making nuisance". In spite of this, he has expressed approval of several recent Vauxhall models including the VXR models, the Monaro and Maloo, (both originally Australian Holdens) and the Zafira people carrier. Clarkson has expressed particular disdain of the Vauxhall Vectra, describing it as "One of my least favourite cars in the world. I've always hated it because I've always felt it was designed in a coffee break by people who couldn't care less about cars" and "one of the worst chassis I've ever come across". After a Top Gear piece by Clarkson for its launch in 1995, described by ''The Independent'' as "not doing [GM] any favours", Vauxhall complained to the BBC and announced, "We can take criticism but this piece was totally unbalanced."

Clarkson is known for destroying his most hated cars in various ways, including crushing a Yugo with a tank, catapulting a Nissan Sunny with a trebuchet, dropping a Porsche 911 onto a caravan (after plunging a piano onto the bonnet and dousing it in hydrochloric acid, amongst other things), getting a Land Rover and a box labelled "CND" to destroy a Citroën 2CV, allowing his American friend "Billy Bob" to destroy a Toyota Prius by shooting it with an arsenal of weaponry, shooting a Chevrolet Corvette with a helicopter gunship, dismantling a Buick Park Avenue with a bulldozer, or tearing a Lada Riva in half. In an episode of ''Top Gear'', Clarkson bought a Maserati Biturbo just to drop a skip on it to show how much the model ruined Maserati's reputation. In ''Jeremy Clarkson: Heaven and Hell'' (2005), he bought a brand-new Perodua Kelisa, proceeded to attack it with a sledgehammer, tore it apart with a heavy weight while being suspended in mid-air and finally blew it up.

Controversy

Clarkson's comments and actions have sometimes resulted in complaints from viewers, car companies, and national governments.

Offensive remarks

In October 1998 Hyundai complained to the BBC about what they described as "bigoted and racist" comments he made at the Birmingham Motor Show, where he was reported as saying that the people working on the Hyundai stand had "eaten a dog" and that the designer of the Hyundai XG had probably eaten a spaniel for his lunch. Clarkson also allegedly referred to those working on the BMW stand as "Nazis", although BMW said they would not be complaining. In a later incident during a ''Top Gear'' episode broadcast on 13 November 2005, Clarkson, while talking about a Mini design that might be "quintessentially German", made a mock Nazi salute, and made references to the Hitler regime and the German invasion of Poland by setting the GPS system to Poland.

In April 2007 he was criticised in the Malaysian parliament for having described one of their cars, the Perodua Kelisa, as the worst in the world, built "in jungles by people who wear leaves for shoes". A Malaysian government minister countered, pointing out that no complaints had been received from UK customers who had bought the car.

While in Australia, Clarkson made disparaging remarks aimed at Gordon Brown, in February 2009, calling him a "one-eyed Scottish idiot" and accused him of lying. These comments were widely condemned by the Royal National Institute of Blind People and also Scottish politicians who requested that he should be taken off air. Furthermore, the comments were condemned as racist. He subsequently provided a qualified apology for remarks regarding Brown's "personal appearance".

In July 2009 though, Clarkson made another indignant remark about the British Prime Minister during a warm-up while recording a ''Top Gear'' show, apparently describing Brown as "a silly cunt". Although several newspapers reported that he had subsequently argued with BBC 2 controller Janice Hadlow, who was present at the recording, the BBC denied that he had been given a "dressing down". John Whittingdale, Conservative chair of the Culture Select Committee remarked: "Many people will find that offensive, many people will find that word in particular very offensive [...] I am surprised he felt it appropriate to use it."

On 6 July 2010 Clarkson reportedly angered gay rights campaigners after he made a remark on Top Gear that did not get aired on the 4 July's episode. But guest Alastair Campbell wrote about it on twitter. Clarkson apparently said he "Demanded the right not to get bummed". The BBC later said that they cut this remark out as they had to "Cut Down" the interview as it was too long to fit into the show.

Road safety

Clarkson readily discusses high speed driving on public roads, and criticises road safety campaigns involving cameras and speed bumps. In 2002 a Welsh Assembly Member Alun Pugh wrote to BBC director general Greg Dyke to complain about Clarkson's comments that he believed encouraged people to use Welsh roads as a high speed test track. A BBC spokesman said that suggestions Clarkson had encouraged speeding were "nonsense". Clarkson has also made similar comments about driving in Lincolnshire. As of 2004 Clarkson was reported as having a clean licence. In a November 2005 ''Times'' article, Clarkson wrote on the Bugatti Veyron, "On a recent drive across Europe I desperately wanted to reach the top speed but I ran out of road when the needle hit 240mph", and "From the wheel of a Veyron, France is the size of a small coconut. I cannot tell you how fast I crossed it the other day. Because you simply wouldn’t believe me." In 2007 the celebrity lawyer Nick 'Mr. Loophole' Freeman got a charge against Clarkson of driving at 86 mph in a 50 mph zone on the A40 road in London dropped, on the basis that the driver of the car loaned to Clarkson from Alfa Romeo could not be ascertained. In 2008 the BBC faced calls to sack Clarkson after he claimed in a talk at the Hay Festival to have been given a speeding ticket for driving at 186 mph on the A1203 Limehouse Link road in London. At the same talk he stated he had "never been pulled over for speed while working on ''Top Gear''. I don't drive very fast." The reported version of events by the ''Daily Mail'' were disputed by a BBC spokesman.

Piers Morgan feud

From 2000 to 2006 Clarkson had a public feud with Piers Morgan, which began when Morgan published pictures of Clarkson kissing his BBC producer, Elaine Bedell.

On the final Concorde flight, Clarkson threw a glass of water over Morgan during an argument. In March 2004 at the British Press Awards, he swore at Morgan and punched him before being restrained by security; Morgan says it has left him with a scar above his left eyebrow. In 2006 Morgan revealed that the feud was over, saying "There should always be a moment when you finally down cudgels, kiss and make up." Clarkson also mentioned that despite not getting on with Morgan, he can at least be in the same room as him at the same time.

Activities on ''Top Gear''

In 2004 the BBC apologised unreservedly and paid £250 in compensation to a Somerset parish council, after Clarkson damaged a 30-year-old horse-chestnut tree by driving into it to test the strength of a Toyota Hilux. In December 2006 the BBC complaints department upheld the complaint of four ''Top Gear'' viewers that Clarkson had used the phrase "ginger beer" (rhyming slang for "queer") in a derogatory manner, when Clarkson picked up on and agreed with an audience member's description of the Daihatsu Copen as being a bit "gay". The ''Top Gear: Polar Special'' was criticised by the BBC Trust for glamorising drink driving in a scene showing Clarkson and James May in a vehicle, despite Clarkson saying to the camera "Don't write in to complain about us drinking and driving, because we're sailing!" (As they were on top of frozen water.) They stated the scene "was not editorially justified" despite occurring outside the jurisdiction of any drink driving laws.

In November 2008 Clarkson attracted over 500 complaints to the BBC when he joked about lorry drivers murdering prostitutes. The BBC stated the comment was a comic rebuttal of a common misconception about lorry drivers and was within the viewer's expectation of Clarkson's ''Top Gear'' persona. Chris Mole, the Member of Parliament for Ipswich, where five prostitutes were murdered in 2006, wrote a "strongly worded" letter to BBC Director-General Mark Thompson, demanding that Clarkson be sacked. Clarkson dismissed Mole's comments in his ''Sunday Times'' column the following weekend, writing, "There are more important things to worry about than what some balding and irrelevant middle-aged man might have said on a crappy BBC2 motoring show." On the next ''Top Gear'' programme, Clarkson appeared sincerely apologetic and stated "It has been all over the news and the internet and after many complaints I feel I must apologise." However, instead of apologising for his comments, he went on to say "I'm sorry I didn't put the [Porsche] 911's time on the board last week" (after he set it on fire in the previous week's show), much to the studio audience's amusement. Andrew Tinkler, chief executive of the Eddie Stobart Group, a major trucking company, stated that "They were just having a laugh. It’s the 21st century, let’s get our sense of humour in line."

In an episode aired after the watershed on 1 August 2010, Clarkson described a ''Ferrari F430 Speciale'' as "speciale needs". He said the car owned by co-presenter James May looked "like a simpleton". Media regulator Ofcom investigated after receiving two complaints, and found that the comments "were capable of causing offence" but did not censure the BBC.

Filmography

Presenter

{|class=wikitable |-

! Year !! Title |- | 1988–2000 || ''Top Gear'' (1977) |- | 1995–96 || ''Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld'' |- | 1996 || ''Clarkson: Unleashed On Cars'' |- | 1997 || ''Apocalypse Clarkson'' |- | 1997 || ''Jeremy Clarkson's: Extreme Machines'' |- | 1998 || ''The Most Outrageous Jeremy Clarkson Video In The World...Ever!'' |- | 1998 || ''Robot Wars'' |- | 1999 || ''Jeremy Clarkson: Head To Head'' |- | 1998–2000 || ''Clarkson (chat show)'' |- | 2000 || ''Jeremy Clarkson: At Full Throttle'' |- | 2000 || ''Clarkson's Car Years'' |- | 2001 || ''Clarkson's Top 100 Cars'' |- | 2001 || ''Speed'' |- | 2001 || ''You Don't Want To Do That'' |- | 2002 || ''Clarkson: No Limits'' |- | 2002 – present|| ''Top Gear (2002)'' |- | 2002 || ''Jeremy Clarkson Meets The Neighbours'' |- | 2003 || ''Clarkson: Shootout'' |- | 2003 || ''The Victoria Cross: For Valour'' |- | 2004 || ''Clarkson: Hot Metal'' |- | 2004 || ''Inventions That Changed the World'' |- | 2005 || ''Clarkson: Heaven And Hell'' |- | 2006 || ''Clarkson: The Good, The Bad And The Ugly'' |- | 2007 || ''Clarkson: Supercar Showdown'' |- | 2007 || ''Jeremy Clarkson: The Greatest Raid of All Time'' |- | 2008 || ''Clarkson: Thriller'' |- | 2009 || ''Clarkson: Duel'' |- | 2010 || ''Clarkson: The Italian Job'' |}

Other roles

{|class=wikitable |-

! Year !! Title !! Role |- | 1993 || ''Mr Blobby's Christmas (Music Video) || Guest |- | 1997 || ''Room 101'' || Guest |- | 1997 || ''The Mrs Merton Show'' || Guest |- | 2002 || ''100 Greatest Britons'' || Guest |- | 2002 || ''Have I Got News for You'' || Guest Host |- | 2002 || ''Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' || Guest |- | 2003 || ''Patrick Kielty Almost Live'' || Guest |- | 2003 || ''Parkinson'' || Guest |- | 2003 || ''Question Time'' || Participant |- | 2003 || ''Grumpy Old Men'' || Participant |- | 2004 || ''Call My Bluff'' || Participant |- | 2004 || ''QI'' || Participant |- | 2004 || ''Who Do You Think You Are?'' || Participant |- | 2005 || ''Top of the Pops'' || Guest Host |- | 2006 || ''Cars'' || Voice Artist of Harv in UK Version. |- | 2006 || ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' || Guest Host |- | 2006 || ''The F Word || Participant |- | 2008 || ''The One Show'' || Guest |- | 2008 || ''Have I Got News for You'' || Guest Host |- | 2009 || ''The Chris Moyles Show'' || Guest |- | 2009 || ''Love the Beast'' || Guest |- | 2009 || ''8 out of 10 Cats'' || Guest |- | 2009 || ''Have I Got News For You'' || Guest |- | 2010 || ''Have I Got News For You'' || Guest Host |- | 2010 || ''QI'' || Participant |}

Videos/DVDs

Running Series

# Clarkson – Unleashed On Cars (1996, VCI Video, VHS/DVD). # Apocalypse Clarkson (1997, VCI Video, VHS/DVD). # The Most Outrageous Jeremy Clarkson Video In The World...Ever! (1998, VCI Video, VHS/DVD). # Clarkson – Head To Head (1999, VCI Video, VHS/DVD). # Clarkson – At Full Throttle (2000, VCI Video, VHS/DVD). # Clarkson's Top 100 Cars (2001, VCI Video, VHS/DVD). # Clarkson – No Limits (2002, VCI Video, VHS/DVD). # Clarkson – Shoot Out (2003, VCI Video, VHS/DVD). # Clarkson – Hot Metal (2004, VCI Video, VHS/DVD). # Clarkson – Heaven & Hell (2005, 2|Entertain, DVD). # Clarkson – The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (2006, 2|Entertain, DVD). # Clarkson – Supercar Showdown (2007, 2|Entertain, DVD). # Clarkson – Supercar Showdown – Behind The Scenes (2007, 2|Entertain, DVD). # Clarkson – Thriller (2008, 2|Entertain, DVD). # Clarkson - Thriller - Behind The Scenes (2008, 2|Entertain, DVD). # Clarkson – Duel (2009, 2|Entertain, DVD). # Clarkson – Duel – Behind The Scenes (2009, 2|Entertain, DVD). # Clarkson – The Italian Job (2010, 2|Entertain, DVD).

Voice-Over Compilations

# Jeremy Clarkson's Motorsport Mayhem (1995, Arison International, VHS/DVD). # Jeremy Clarkson's More Motorsport Mayhem (1996, Arison International, VHS).

Television Compilations

# Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld (1996, BBC Video, VHS). # Jeremy Clarkson's Extreme Machines (1997, BBC Video, VHS). # Jeremy Clarkson's Speed (2001, BBC Video, VHS). # The Jeremy Clarkson Collection (2008, 2|Entertain, DVD).

Bibliography

{| class=wikitable |-

! Book !! Publisher !! Year |- | Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld || BBC Books Penguin Books || 1996 Reprinted 2004 |- | Clarkson On Cars || Virgin Books Penguin Books || 1996 Reprinted 2004 |- | Clarkson's Hot 100 || Virgin Books Carlton Books || 1997 Reprinted 1998 |- | Planet Dagenham || Andre Deustch Carlton Books || 1998 Reprinted 2006 |- | Born To Be Riled || BBC Books Penguin Books || 1999 Reprinted 2007 |- | Jeremy Clarkson On Ferrari || Lancaster Books Salamander Books || 2000 Reprinted 2001 |- | The World According To Clarkson || Icon Books Penguin Books || 2004 Reprinted 2005 |- | I Know You Got Soul || Micheal Joseph Penguin Books || 2005 Reprinted 2006 |- | And Another Thing... || Micheal Joseph Penguin Books || 2006 Reprinted 2007 |- | Don't Stop Me Now!! || Micheal Joseph Penguin Books || 2007 Reprinted 2008 |- | For Crying Out Loud! || Micheal Joseph Penguin Books || 2008 Reprinted 2009 |- | Driven To Distraction || Micheal Joseph Penguin Books || 2009 Reprinted 2010 |- | How Hard Can It Be? || Micheal Joseph Penguin Books || 2010 Reprinted 2010 |}

Two books containing the best columns from previous publications, entitled "The Collected Thoughts Of Clarkson" and "Never Played Golf" were issued by Top Gear Magazine, in 2003 and 2004 respectively.

Footnotes

References

''Jeremy Clarkson's Motorworld'' (1996), ISBN 0-563-38730-0

''Clarkson on Cars: Writings and Rantings of the BBC's Top Motoring Correspondent'' (1996), ISBN 0-86369-964-2

''Clarkson's Hot 100'' (1997), ISBN 1-85227-730-0

''Jeremy Clarkson's Planet Dagenham: Drivestyles of the Rich and Famous'' (1998), ISBN 0-233-99335-5

''Born to Be Riled: The Collected Writings of Jeremy Clarkson'' (1999) (re-published 2007), ISBN 0-563-55146-1

''Jeremy Clarkson's Ultimate Ferrari'' (2001), ISBN 1-84065-358-2

''The World According To Clarkson'' (2004), ISBN 0-7181-4730-8

''Clarkson on Cars'' (2004), ISBN 0-14-101788-0

''I Know You Got Soul'' (2004), ISBN 0-7181-4729-4

''Motorworld'' (2004), ISBN 0-14-101787-2

''The World According to Clarkson 2: And Another Thing...'' (2006), ISBN 0-7181-4985-8

External links

Archive of Clarkson's ''Sunday Times'' columns

Jeremy Clarkson on Top Gear

Category:Article Feedback Pilot Category:1960 births Category:Living people Category:Critics of the European Union Category:English writers Category:English journalists Category:English television presenters Category:Motoring journalists Category:Never Mind the Buzzcocks Category:Old Reptonians Category:People from Doncaster Category:The Sunday Times people Category:Top Gear Category:People educated at Hill House School, Doncaster

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Coordinates	38°51′32″N85°8′26″N
name	Henry Ford
birth date	July 30, 1863
birth place	Greenfield Township, Dearborn, Michigan, U.S.
death date	April 07, 1947
death place	Fair Lane, Dearborn, Michigan, U.S.
occupation	Business, Engineering
spouse	Clara Jane Bryant
parents	William Ford and Mary Ford
children	Edsel Ford
religion	Protestant Episcopal
networth	$188.1 billion, based on information from Forbes, February 2008.
signature	Henry Ford Signature.svg }}

Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was a prominent American industrialist, the founder of the Ford Motor Company, and sponsor of the development of the assembly line technique of mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry. As owner of the Ford Motor Company, he became one of the richest and best-known people in the world. He is credited with "Fordism": mass production of inexpensive goods coupled with high wages for workers. Ford had a global vision, with consumerism as the key to peace. His intense commitment to systematically lowering costs resulted in many technical and business innovations, including a franchise system that put dealerships throughout most of North America and in major cities on six continents. Ford left most of his vast wealth to the Ford Foundation but arranged for his family to control the company permanently.

He was known worldwide especially in the 1920s for a system of Fordism that seemed to promise modernity, high wages and cheap consumer goods, but his antisemitism in the 1920s has been a source of controversy.

Early years

Ford was born July 30, 1863, on a farm in Greenfield Township (near Detroit, Michigan). His father, William Ford (1826–1905), was born in County Cork, Ireland, of a family originally from western England, who were among migrants to Ireland as the English created plantations. His mother, Mary Litogot Ford (1839–1876), was born in Michigan; she was the youngest child of Belgian immigrants; her parents died when Mary was a child and she was adopted by neighbors, the O'Herns. Henry Ford's siblings include Margaret Ford (1867–1938); Jane Ford (c. 1868–1945); William Ford (1871–1917) and Robert Ford (1873–1934).

His father gave him a pocket watch in his early teens. At 15, Ford dismantled and reassembled the timepieces of friends and neighbors dozens of times, gaining the reputation of a watch repairman. At twenty, Ford walked four miles to their Episcopal church every Sunday.

Ford was devastated when his mother died in 1876. His father expected him to eventually take over the family farm, but he despised farm work. He told his father, "I never had any particular love for the farm—it was the mother on the farm I loved."

In 1879, he left home to work as an apprentice machinist in the city of Detroit, first with James F. Flower & Bros., and later with the Detroit Dry Dock Co. In 1882, he returned to Dearborn to work on the family farm, where he became adept at operating the Westinghouse portable steam engine. He was later hired by Westinghouse company to service their steam engines. During this period Ford also studied bookkeeping at Goldsmith, Bryant & Stratton Business College in Detroit.

Marriage and family

Ford married Clara Ala Bryant (1866–1950) in 1888 and supported himself by farming and running a sawmill. They had a single child: Edsel Ford (1893–1943).

Career

In 1891, Ford became an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company. After his promotion to Chief Engineer in 1893, he had enough time and money to devote attention to his personal experiments on gasoline engines. These experiments culminated in 1896 with the completion of a self-propelled vehicle which he named the Ford Quadricycle. He test-drove it on June 4. After various test-drives, Ford brainstormed ways to improve the Quadricycle.

Also in 1896, Ford attended a meeting of Edison executives, where he was introduced to Thomas Edison. Edison approved of Ford's automobile experimentation; encouraged by him, Ford designed and built a second vehicle, completing it in 1898. Backed by the capital of Detroit lumber baron William H. Murphy, Ford resigned from Edison and founded the Detroit Automobile Company on August 5, 1899. However, the automobiles produced were of a lower quality and higher price than Ford liked. Ultimately, the company was not successful and was dissolved in January 1901.

With the help of C. Harold Wills, Ford designed, built, and successfully raced a 26-horsepower automobile in October 1901. With this success, Murphy and other stockholders in the Detroit Automobile Company formed the Henry Ford Company on November 30, 1901, with Ford as chief engineer. However, Murphy brought in Henry M. Leland as a consultant and, as a result, Ford left the company bearing his name in 1902. With Ford gone, Murphy renamed the company the Cadillac Automobile Company.

Teaming up with former racing cyclist Tom Cooper, Ford also produced the 80+ horsepower racer "999" which Barney Oldfield was to drive to victory in a race in October 1902. Ford received the backing of an old acquaintance, Alexander Y. Malcomson, a Detroit-area coal dealer. They formed a partnership, "Ford & Malcomson, Ltd." to manufacture automobiles. Ford went to work designing an inexpensive automobile, and the duo leased a factory and contracted with a machine shop owned by John and Horace E. Dodge to supply over $160,000 in parts. Sales were slow, and a crisis arose when the Dodge brothers demanded payment for their first shipment.

Ford Motor Company

In response, Malcomson brought in another group of investors and convinced the Dodge Brothers to accept a portion of the new company. Ford & Malcomson was reincorporated as the Ford Motor Company on June 16, 1903, with $28,000 capital. The original investors included Ford and Malcomson, the Dodge brothers, Malcomson's uncle John S. Gray, James Couzens, and two of Malcomson's lawyers, John W. Anderson and Horace Rackham. In a newly designed car, Ford gave an exhibition on the ice of Lake St. Clair, driving 1 mile (1.6 km) in 39.4 seconds, setting a new land speed record at 91.3 miles per hour (147.0 km/h). Convinced by this success, the race driver Barney Oldfield, who named this new Ford model "999" in honor of a racing locomotive of the day, took the car around the country, making the Ford brand known throughout the United States. Ford also was one of the early backers of the Indianapolis 500.

Model T

The Model T was introduced on October 1, 1908. It had the steering wheel on the left, which every other company soon copied. The entire engine and transmission were enclosed; the four cylinders were cast in a solid block; the suspension used two semi-elliptic springs. The car was very simple to drive, and easy and cheap to repair. It was so cheap at $825 in 1908 ($}} today) (the price fell every year) that by the 1920s, a majority of American drivers had learned to drive on the Model T.

Ford created a massive publicity machine in Detroit to ensure every newspaper carried stories and ads about the new product. Ford's network of local dealers made the car ubiquitous in virtually every city in North America. As independent dealers, the franchises grew rich and publicized not just the Ford but the very concept of automobiling; local motor clubs sprang up to help new drivers and to encourage exploring the countryside. Ford was always eager to sell to farmers, who looked on the vehicle as a commercial device to help their business. Sales skyrocketed—several years posted 100% gains on the previous year. Always on the hunt for more efficiency and lower costs, in 1913 Ford introduced the moving assembly belts into his plants, which enabled an enormous increase in production. Although Ford is often credited with the idea, contemporary sources indicate that the concept and its development came from employees Clarence Avery, Peter E. Martin, Charles E. Sorensen, and C. Harold Wills. (See Piquette Plant)

Sales passed 250,000 in 1914. By 1916, as the price dropped to $360 for the basic touring car, sales reached 472,000. (Using the consumer price index, this price was equivalent to $7,020 in 2008 dollars.)

By 1918, half of all cars in America were Model T's. However, it was a monolithic black; as Ford wrote in his autobiography, "Any customer can have a car painted any colour that he wants so long as it is black". Until the development of the assembly line, which mandated black because of its quicker drying time, Model T's were available in other colors, including red. The design was fervently promoted and defended by Ford, and production continued as late as 1927; the final total production was 15,007,034. This record stood for the next 45 years. This record was achieved in just 19 years from the introduction of the first Model T (1908).

President Woodrow Wilson asked Ford to run as a Democrat for the United States Senate from Michigan in 1918. Although the nation was at war, Ford ran as a peace candidate and a strong supporter of the proposed League of Nations.

Henry Ford turned the presidency of Ford Motor Company over to his son Edsel Ford in December 1918. Henry, however, retained final decision authority and sometimes reversed his son. Henry started another company, Henry Ford and Son, and made a show of taking himself and his best employees to the new company; the goal was to scare the remaining holdout stockholders of the Ford Motor Company to sell their stakes to him before they lost most of their value. (He was determined to have full control over strategic decisions.) The ruse worked, and Henry and Edsel purchased all remaining stock from the other investors, thus giving the family sole ownership of the company.

By the mid-1920s, sales of the Model T began to decline due to rising competition. Other auto makers offered payment plans through which consumers could buy their cars, which usually included more modern mechanical features and styling not available with the Model T. Despite urgings from Edsel, Henry steadfastly refused to incorporate new features into the Model T or to form a customer credit plan.

Model A and Ford's later career

By 1926, flagging sales of the Model T finally convinced Henry to make a new model. He pursued the project with a great deal of technical expertise in design of the engine, chassis, and other mechanical necessities, while leaving the body design to his son. Edsel also managed to prevail over his father's initial objections in the inclusion of a sliding-shift transmission.

The result was the successful Ford Model A, introduced in December 1927 and produced through 1931, with a total output of more than 4 million. Subsequently, the Ford company adopted an annual model change system similar to that recently pioneered by its competitor General Motors (and still in use by automakers today). Not until the 1930s did Ford overcome his objection to finance companies, and the Ford-owned Universal Credit Corporation became a major car-financing operation.

Ford did not believe in accountants; he amassed one of the world's largest fortunes without ever having his company audited under his administration.

Labor philosophy

The five-dollar workday

Ford was a pioneer of "welfare capitalism", designed to improve the lot of his workers and especially to reduce the heavy turnover that had many departments hiring 300 men per year to fill 100 slots. Efficiency meant hiring and keeping the best workers.

Ford astonished the world in 1914 by offering a $5 per day wage ($}} today), which more than doubled the rate of most of his workers. A Cleveland, Ohio newspaper editorialized that the announcement "shot like a blinding rocket through the dark clouds of the present industrial depression." The move proved extremely profitable; instead of constant turnover of employees, the best mechanics in Detroit flocked to Ford, bringing their human capital and expertise, raising productivity, and lowering training costs. Ford announced his $5-per-day program on January 5, 1914, raising the minimum daily pay from $2.34 to $5 for qualifying workers. (Using the consumer price index, this was equivalent to $111.10 per day in 2008 dollars.) It also set a new, reduced workweek, although the details vary in different accounts. Ford and Crowther in 1922 described it as six 8-hour days, giving a 48-hour week, while in 1926 they described it as five 8-hour days, giving a 40-hour week. (Apparently the program started with Saturdays as workdays and sometime later it was changed to a day off.)

Detroit was already a high-wage city, but competitors were forced to raise wages or lose their best workers. Ford's policy proved, however, that paying people more would enable Ford workers to afford the cars they were producing and be good for the economy. Ford explained the policy as profit-sharing rather than wages. It may have been Couzzens who convinced Ford to adopt the $5 day.

The profit-sharing was offered to employees who had worked at the company for six months or more, and, importantly, conducted their lives in a manner of which Ford's "Social Department" approved. They frowned on heavy drinking, gambling, and what might today be called "deadbeat dads". The Social Department used 50 investigators, plus support staff, to maintain employee standards; a large percentage of workers were able to qualify for this "profit-sharing."

Ford's incursion into his employees' private lives was highly controversial, and he soon backed off from the most intrusive aspects. By the time he wrote his 1922 memoir, he spoke of the Social Department and of the private conditions for profit-sharing in the past tense, and admitted that "paternalism has no place in industry. Welfare work that consists in prying into employees' private concerns is out of date. Men need counsel and men need help, oftentimes special help; and all this ought to be rendered for decency's sake. But the broad workable plan of investment and participation will do more to solidify industry and strengthen organization than will any social work on the outside. Without changing the principle we have changed the method of payment."

Labor unions

Ford was adamantly against labor unions. He explained his views on unions in Chapter 18 of ''My Life and Work''. He thought they were too heavily influenced by some leaders who, despite their ostensible good motives, would end up doing more harm than good for workers. Most wanted to restrict productivity as a means to foster employment, but Ford saw this as self-defeating because, in his view, productivity was necessary for any economic prosperity to exist.

He believed that productivity gains that obviated certain jobs would nevertheless stimulate the larger economy and thus grow new jobs elsewhere, whether within the same corporation or in others. Ford also believed that union leaders (particularly Leninist-leaning ones) had a perverse incentive to foment perpetual socio-economic crisis as a way to maintain their own power. Meanwhile, he believed that smart managers had an incentive to do right by their workers, because doing so would maximize their own profits. (Ford did acknowledge, however, that many managers were basically too bad at managing to understand this fact.) But Ford believed that eventually, if good managers such as he could fend off the attacks of misguided people from both left and right (i.e., both socialists and bad-manager reactionaries), the good managers would create a socio-economic system wherein neither bad management nor bad unions could find enough support to continue existing.

To forestall union activity, Ford promoted Harry Bennett, a former Navy boxer, to head the Service Department. Bennett employed various intimidation tactics to squash union organizing. The most famous incident, in 1937, was a bloody brawl between company security men and organizers that became known as The Battle of the Overpass.

In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Edsel (who was president of the company) thought Ford had to come to some sort of collective bargaining agreement with the unions, because the violence, work disruptions, and bitter stalemates could not go on forever. But Henry (who still had the final veto in the company on a ''de facto'' basis even if not an official one) refused to cooperate. For several years, he kept Bennett in charge of talking to the unions that were trying to organize the Ford company. Sorensen's memoir makes clear that Henry's purpose in putting Bennett in charge was to make sure no agreements were ever reached.

The Ford company was the last Detroit automaker to recognize the United Auto Workers union (UAW). A sit-down strike by the UAW union in April 1941 closed the River Rouge Plant. Sorensen recounted that a distraught Henry Ford was very close to following through with a threat to break up the company rather than cooperate but that his wife Clara told him she would leave him if he destroyed the family business. She wanted to see their son and grandsons lead it into the future. Henry complied with his wife's ultimatum. Overnight, the Ford Motor Co. went from the most stubborn holdout among automakers to the one with the most favorable UAW contract terms. The contract was signed in June 1941.

Ford Airplane Company

Ford, like other automobile companies, entered the aviation business during World War I, building Liberty engines. After the war, it returned to auto manufacturing until 1925, when Ford acquired the Stout Metal Airplane Company.

Ford's most successful aircraft was the Ford 4AT Trimotor, often called the "Tin Goose" because of its corrugated metal construction. It used a new alloy called Alclad that combined the corrosion resistance of aluminum with the strength of duralumin. The plane was similar to Fokker's V.VII-3m, and some say that Ford's engineers surreptitiously measured the Fokker plane and then copied it. The Trimotor first flew on June 11, 1926, and was the first successful U.S. passenger airliner, accommodating about 12 passengers in a rather uncomfortable fashion. Several variants were also used by the U.S. Army. Ford has been honored by the Smithsonian Institution for changing the aviation industry. 199 Trimotors were built before it was discontinued in 1933, when the Ford Airplane Division shut down because of poor sales during the Great Depression.

Willow Run

President Franklin D. Roosevelt referred to Detroit as the "Arsenal of Democracy". The Ford Motor Company played a pivotal role in the Allied victory during World War I and World War II. With Europe under siege, the Ford company's genius turned to mass production for the war effort. Specifically, Ford developed mass production for the B-24 Liberator bomber, still the most-produced Allied bomber in history. When the planes started being used in the war zones, the balance of power shifted to the Allies.

Before Ford, and under optimal conditions, the aviation industry could produce one Consolidated Aircraft B-24 Bomber a day at an aircraft plant. Ford showed the world how to produce one B-24 an hour at a peak of 600 per month in 24-hour shifts. Ford's Willow Run factory broke ground in April 1941. At the time, it was the largest assembly plant in the world, with over .

Mass production of the B-24, led by Charles Sorensen and later Mead Bricker, began by August 1943. Many pilots slept on cots waiting for takeoff as the B-24s rolled off the assembly line at Ford's Willow Run facility.

Peace and war

World War I era

Ford opposed war, which he thought was a terrible waste. Ford became highly critical of those who he felt financed war, and he tried to stop them. In 1915, the pacifist Rosika Schwimmer gained favor with Ford, who agreed to fund a peace ship to Europe, where World War I was raging. He and about 170 other prominent peace leaders traveled there. Ford's Episcopalian pastor, Reverend Samuel S. Marquis, accompanied him on the mission. Marquis headed Ford's Sociology Department from 1913 to 1921. Ford talked to President Wilson about the mission but had no government support. His group went to neutral Sweden and the Netherlands to meet with peace activists. A target of much ridicule, Ford left the ship as soon as it reached Sweden.

Ford plants in Britain produced tractors to increase the British food supply, as well as trucks and aircraft engines. When the U.S. entered the war in 1917 the company became a major supplier of weapons, especially the Liberty engine for airplanes, and anti-submarine boats.

In 1918, with the war on and the League of Nations a growing issue in global politics, President Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, encouraged Ford to run for a Michigan seat in the U.S. Senate. Wilson believed that Ford could tip the scales in Congress in favor of Wilson's proposed League. "You are the only man in Michigan who can be elected and help bring about the peace you so desire," the president wrote Ford. Ford wrote back: "If they want to elect me let them do so, but I won't make a penny's investment." Ford did run, however, and came within 4,500 votes of winning, out of more than 400,000 cast statewide.

Mental collapse and World War II

Ford had long opposed war and continued to believe that international business could generate the prosperity that would head off wars; when World War II erupted in 1939 he said the people of the world had been duped. Like many other businessmen of the Great Depression era, he never liked or entirely trusted the Franklin Roosevelt Administration. He was not, however, active in the isolationist movement of 1939–41, and he supported the American war effort and realized the need to support Britain with weapons to fight the Nazis. He "lined up behind the war effort" when the U.S. entered in late 1941, and the company became a major component of the "Arsenal of Democracy." Following a series of strokes in the late 1930s he became increasingly senile and was more of a figurehead; other people made the decisions in his name. After Edsel Ford's death, Henry Ford nominally resumed control of the company in 1943, but his mental strength was fading fast. In reality the company was controlled by a handful of senior executives led by Charles Sorensen and Harry Bennett; Sorensen was forced out in 1944. Ford's incompetence led to discussions in Washington about how to restore the company, whether by wartime government fiat or by instigating some sort of coup among executives and directors. Nothing happened until 1945, with bankruptcy a serious risk, Edsel's widow led an ouster and installed her son, Henry Ford II, as president; the young man fired Bennett and took full control.

''The Dearborn Independent''

Ford in the early 1920s sponsored a weekly newspaper that published (among many non-controversial articles) strongly anti-semitic views. At the same time Ford had a reputation as one of the few major corporations actively hiring black workers; he was not accused of discrimination against Jewish workers or suppliers.

In 1918, Ford's closest aide and private secretary, Ernest G. Liebold, purchased an obscure weekly newspaper for Ford, ''The Dearborn Independent''. The ''Independent'' ran for eight years, from 1920 until 1927, during which Liebold was editor.

The newspaper published ''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'', which was discredited by ''The Times'' of London as a forgery during the ''Independent'''s publishing run. The American Jewish Historical Society described the ideas presented in the magazine as "anti-immigrant, anti-labor, anti-liquor, and anti-Semitic." In February 1921, the ''New York World'' published an interview with Ford, in which he said: "The only statement I care to make about the Protocols is that they fit in with what is going on." During this period, Ford emerged as "a respected spokesman for right-wing extremism and religious prejudice," reaching around 700,000 readers through his newspaper. The 2010 documentary film ''Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story'' (written by Pulitzer Prize winner Ira Berkow) noted that Ford wrote on May 22, 1920: “If fans wish to know the trouble with American baseball they have it in three words—too much Jew.”

In Germany, Ford's anti-Jewish articles from ''The Dearborn Independent'' were issued in four volumes, cumulatively titled ''The International Jew, the World's Foremost Problem'' published by Theodor Fritsch, founder of several anti-semitic parties and a member of the Reichstag. In a letter from 1924, Heinrich Himmler described Ford as "one of our most valuable, important, and witty fighters." Ford is the only American mentioned in ''Mein Kampf.'' Speaking in 1931 to a Detroit News reporter, Hitler said he regarded Ford as his "inspiration", explaining his reason for keeping Ford's life-size portrait next to his desk.

On February 1, 1924, Ford received Kurt Ludecke, a representative of Hitler, at his home. Ludecke was introduced to Ford by Siegfried Wagner (son of the famous composer Richard Wagner) and his wife Winifred, both Nazi sympathizers and anti-Semites. Ludecke asked Ford for a contribution to the Nazi cause, but was apparently refused.

While Ford's articles were denounced by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the articles explicitly condemned pogroms and violence against Jews (Volume 4, Chapter 80), but blamed the Jews for provoking incidents of mass violence. None of this work was written by Ford, but he allowed his name to be used as author. According to trial testimony, he wrote almost nothing. Friends and business associates have said they warned Ford about the contents of the ''Independent'' and that he probably never read the articles. (He claimed he only read the headlines.) But, court testimony in a libel suit, brought by one of the targets of the newspaper, alleged that Ford did know about the contents of the ''Independent'' in advance of publication.

A libel lawsuit brought by San Francisco lawyer and Jewish farm cooperative organizer Aaron Sapiro in response to anti-Semitic remarks led Ford to close the ''Independent'' in December 1927. News reports at the time quoted him as saying he was shocked by the content and unaware of its nature. During the trial, the editor of Ford's "Own Page," William Cameron, testified that Ford had nothing to do with the editorials even though they were under his byline. Cameron testified at the libel trial that he never discussed the content of the pages or sent them to Ford for his approval. Investigative journalist Max Wallace noted that "whatever credibility this absurd claim may have had was soon undermined when James M. Miller, a former ''Dearborn Independent'' employee, swore under oath that Ford had told him he intended to expose Sapiro."

Michael Barkun observed,

That Cameron would have continued to publish such controversial material without Ford's explicit instructions seemed unthinkable to those who knew both men. Mrs. Stanley Ruddiman, a Ford family intimate, remarked that 'I don't think Mr. Cameron ever wrote anything for publication without Mr. Ford's approval.'

According to Spencer Blakeslee,

The ADL mobilized prominent Jews and non-Jews to publicly oppose Ford's message. They formed a coalition of Jewish groups for the same purpose and raised constant objections in the Detroit press. Before leaving his presidency early in 1921, Woodrow Wilson joined other leading Americans in a statement that rebuked Ford and others for their antisemitic campaign. A boycott against Ford products by Jews and liberal Christians also had an impact, and Ford shut down the paper in 1927, recanting his views in a public letter to Sigmund Livingston, ADL.

Ford's 1927 apology was well received. "Four-Fifths of the hundreds of letters addressed to Ford in July of 1927 were from Jews, and almost without exception they praised the Industrialist." In January 1937, a Ford statement to the ''Detroit Jewish Chronicle'' disavowed "any connection whatsoever with the publication in Germany of a book known as the ''International Jew''."

In July 1938, prior to the outbreak of war, the German consul at Cleveland gave Ford, on his 75th birthday, the award of the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, the highest medal Nazi Germany could bestow on a foreigner. James D. Mooney, vice-president of overseas operations for General Motors, received a similar medal, the Merit Cross of the German Eagle, First Class.

Distribution of ''International Jew'' was halted in 1942 through legal action by Ford, despite complications from a lack of copyright. It is still banned in Germany. Extremist groups often recycle the material; it still appears on antisemitic and neo-Nazi websites.

One Jewish public figure who was said to have been friendly with Ford was Detroit Judge Harry Keidan. When asked about this connection, Ford replied that Keidan was only half-Jewish. A close collaborator of Ford during World War II reported that Ford, at the time over 80 years old, was shown a movie of the Nazi concentration camps and was ill stricken by the atrocities.

The damage, however, had been done. Testifying at Nuremberg, convicted Hitler youth leader Baldur von Schirach who, in his role as military governor of Vienna deported 65,000 Jews to camps in Poland, stated,

The decisive anti-Semitic book I was reading and the book that influenced my comrades was [...] that book by Henry Ford, "The International Jew." I read it and became anti-Semitic. The book made a great influence on myself and my friends because we saw in Henry Ford the representative of success and also the representative of a progressive social policy.

International business

Ford's philosophy was one of economic independence for the United States. His River Rouge Plant became the world's largest industrial complex, pursuing vertical integration to such an extent that it could produce its own steel. Ford's goal was to produce a vehicle from scratch without reliance on foreign trade. He believed in the global expansion of his company. He believed that international trade and cooperation led to international peace, and he used the assembly line process and production of the Model T to demonstrate it.

He opened Ford assembly plants in Britain and Canada in 1911, and soon became the biggest automotive producer in those countries. In 1912, Ford cooperated with Agnelli of Fiat to launch the first Italian automotive assembly plants. The first plants in Germany were built in the 1920s with the encouragement of Herbert Hoover and the Commerce Department, which agreed with Ford's theory that international trade was essential to world peace. In the 1920s, Ford also opened plants in Australia, India, and France, and by 1929, he had successful dealerships on six continents. Ford experimented with a commercial rubber plantation in the Amazon jungle called Fordlândia; it was one of his few failures. In 1929, Ford accepted Joseph Stalin's invitation to build a model plant (NNAZ, today GAZ) at Gorky, a city now known under its historical name Nizhny Novgorod. He sent American engineers and technicians to the Soviet Union to help set it up, including future labor leader Walter Reuther.

The Ford Motor Company had the policy of doing business in any nation where the United States had diplomatic relations. It set up numerous subsidiaries that sold cars and trucks and sometimes assembled them:

Ford of Australia

Ford of Britain

Ford of Argentina

Ford of Brazil

Ford of Canada

Ford of Europe

Ford India

Ford South Africa

Ford Mexico

Ford Philippines

By 1932, Ford was manufacturing one third of all the world’s automobiles. Ford's image transfixed Europeans, especially the Germans, arousing the "fear of some, the infatuation of others, and the fascination among all". Germans who discussed "Fordism" often believed that it represented something quintessentially American. They saw the size, tempo, standardization, and philosophy of production demonstrated at the Ford Works as a national service—an "American thing" that represented the culture of United States. Both supporters and critics insisted that Fordism epitomized American capitalist development, and that the auto industry was the key to understanding economic and social relations in the United States. As one German explained, "Automobiles have so completely changed the American's mode of life that today one can hardly imagine being without a car. It is difficult to remember what life was like before Mr. Ford began preaching his doctrine of salvation". For many Germans, Ford embodied the essence of successful Americanism.

In ''My Life and Work'', Ford predicted that if greed, racism, and short-sightedness could be overcome, then economic and technological development throughout the world would progress to the point that international trade would no longer be based on (what today would be called) colonial or neocolonial models and would truly benefit all peoples. His ideas in this passage were vague, but they were idealistic.

Racing

Ford maintained an interest in auto racing from 1901 to 1913 and began his involvement in the sport as both a builder and a driver, later turning the wheel over to hired drivers. He entered stripped-down Model Ts in races, finishing first (although later disqualified) in an "ocean-to-ocean" (across the United States) race in 1909, and setting a one-mile (1.6 km) oval speed record at Detroit Fairgrounds in 1911 with driver Frank Kulick. In 1913, Ford attempted to enter a reworked Model T in the Indianapolis 500 but was told rules required the addition of another 1,000 pounds (450 kg) to the car before it could qualify. Ford dropped out of the race and soon thereafter dropped out of racing permanently, citing dissatisfaction with the sport's rules, demands on his time by the booming production of the Model Ts, and his low opinion of racing as a worthwhile activity.

In ''My Life and Work'' Ford speaks (briefly) of racing in a rather dismissive tone, as something that is not at all a good measure of automobiles in general. He describes himself as someone who raced only because in the 1890s through 1910s, one had to race because prevailing ignorance held that racing was the way to prove the worth of an automobile. Ford did not agree. But he was determined that as long as this was the definition of success (flawed though the definition was), then his cars would be the best that there were at racing. Throughout the book, he continually returns to ideals such as transportation, production efficiency, affordability, reliability, fuel efficiency, economic prosperity, and the automation of drudgery in farming and industry, but rarely mentions, and rather belittles, the idea of merely going fast from point A to point B.

Nevertheless, Ford did make quite an impact on auto racing during his racing years, and he was inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 1996.

Later career

When Edsel, president of Ford Motor Company, died of cancer in May 1943, the elderly and ailing Henry Ford decided to assume the presidency. By this point in his life, he had had several cardiovascular events (variously cited as heart attack or stroke) and was mentally inconsistent, suspicious, and generally no longer fit for such a job.

Most of the directors did not want to see him as president. But for the previous 20 years, though he had long been without any official executive title, he had always had ''de facto'' control over the company; the board and the management had never seriously defied him, and this moment was not different. The directors elected him, and he served until the end of the war. During this period the company began to decline, losing more than $10 million a month ($}} a month today). The administration of President Franklin Roosevelt had been considering a government takeover of the company in order to ensure continued war production,

Sidelights

Interest in materials science and engineering

Henry Ford long had an interest in materials science and engineering. He enthusiastically described his company's adoption of vanadium steel alloys and subsequent metallurgic R&D; work.

Ford long had an interest in plastics developed from agricultural products, especially soybeans. He cultivated a relationship with George Washington Carver for this purpose. Soybean-based plastics were used in Ford automobiles throughout the 1930s in plastic parts such as car horns, in paint, etc. This project culminated in 1942, when Ford patented an automobile made almost entirely of plastic, attached to a tubular welded frame. It weighed 30% less than a steel car and was said to be able to withstand blows ten times greater than could steel. Furthermore, it ran on grain alcohol (ethanol) instead of gasoline. The design never caught on.

Ford was interested in engineered woods ("Better wood can be made than is grown") (at this time plywood and particle board were little more than experimental ideas); corn as a fuel source, via both corn oil and ethanol; and the potential uses of cotton. Ford was instrumental in developing charcoal briquets, under the brand name "Kingsford". His brother in law, E.G. Kingsford, used wood scraps from the Ford factory to make the briquets.

Ford was a prolific inventor and was awarded 161 U.S. patents.

Georgia residence and community

Ford maintained a vacation residence (known as the "Ford Plantation") in Richmond Hill, Georgia. He contributed substantially to the community, building a chapel and schoolhouse and employing numerous local residents.

Preserving Americana

Ford had an interest in "Americana". In the 1920s, Ford began work to turn Sudbury, Massachusetts, into a themed historical village. He moved the schoolhouse supposedly referred to in the nursery rhyme, "Mary had a little lamb", from Sterling, Massachusetts, and purchased the historic Wayside Inn. This plan never saw fruition. Ford repeated the concept of collecting historic structures with the creation of Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan. It may have inspired the creation of Old Sturbridge Village as well. About the same time, he began collecting materials for his museum, which had a theme of practical technology. It was opened in 1929 as the Edison Institute. Although greatly modernized, the museum continues today.

On the idea that he invented the automobile

Henry Ford did not invent the automobile, as is occasionally believed. Indeed, he began as a race driver of other people's cars. As Ford himself noted, by the 1870s, the notion of a "horseless carriage was a common idea". Many people worked toward the idea, as the history of steam road vehicles and of automobiles shows. Ford was, however, more influential than any other single person in changing the paradigm of the automobile from a very expensive, heavy, hand-built toy for rich people into a lightweight, reliable, affordable, mass-produced mode of transportation for working-class people.

On the idea that he invented the assembly line

Both Ford and Ransom E. Olds are sometimes credited with the invention of the assembly line, although (as is the case with many inventions) the assembly line's development included many inventors. It combined the idea of interchangeable parts (another gradual technological development that is often mistakenly attributed to one individual or another). After 5 years of empirical development, Ford's first moving assembly line (employing conveyor belts) began mass production on or around April 1, 1913. The concept was first applied to subassemblies, and shortly after to the entire chassis. Although it is inaccurate to say that Ford personally invented the assembly line, his sponsorship of its development and use was central to its explosive success in the 20th century.

Miscellaneous

Ford was the winner of the award of Car Entrepreneur of the Century in 1999.

Ford published a book, circulated to youth at that time, called "The Case Against the Little White Slaver" which documented many dangers of cigarette smoking attested to by many researchers and luminaries.

Ford dressed up as Santa Claus and gave sleigh rides to children at Christmas time on his estate.

Ford was especially fond of Thomas Edison, and on Edison's deathbed, he demanded Edison's son catch his final breath in a test tube. The test tube can still be found today in Henry Ford Museum.

In 1923, Ford's pastor, and head of his sociology department, Episcopal minister Samuel S. Marquis, claimed that Ford believed, or "once believed" in reincarnation. Though it is unclear whether or how long Ford kept such a belief, the ''San Francisco Examiner'' from August 26, 1928, published a quote which described Ford's beliefs:

I adopted the theory of Reincarnation when I was twenty six. Religion offered nothing to the point. Even work could not give me complete satisfaction. Work is futile if we cannot utilise the experience we collect in one life in the next. When I discovered Reincarnation it was as if I had found a universal plan I realised that there was a chance to work out my ideas. Time was no longer limited. I was no longer a slave to the hands of the clock. Genius is experience. Some seem to think that it is a gift or talent, but it is the fruit of long experience in many lives. Some are older souls than others, and so they know more. The discovery of Reincarnation put my mind at ease. If you preserve a record of this conversation, write it so that it puts men’s minds at ease. I would like to communicate to others the calmness that the long view of life gives to us.

Popular culture

In Aldous Huxley's ''Brave New World'' (1932), society is organized on 'Fordist' lines and the years are dated A.F. or Anno Ford ('In the Year of our Ford') - a reference to A.D., Anno Domini ("in the year of our Lord"); and the expression 'My Ford' is used instead of 'My Lord.'

Symphonic composer Ferde Grofe composed a tone poem in Henry Ford's honor (1938).

Ford is treated as a character in several historical novels, notably E. L. Doctorow's ''Ragtime'' (1975), and Richard Powers' novel ''Three Farmers on the Way to a Dance'' (1985).

Ford, his family, and his company were the subjects of a 1986 biography by Robert Lacey entitled ''Ford: The Men and the Machine''. The book was adapted in 1987 into a film starring Cliff Robertson and Michael Ironside.

In the 2005 alternative history novel ''The Plot Against America'', Philip Roth features Ford as Secretary of Interior in a fictional Charles Lindbergh presidential administration.

The British author Douglas Galbraith uses the event of the Ford Peace Ship as the center of his novel ''King Henry'' (2007). Ford appears as a Great Builder in the 2008 strategy video game Civilization Revolution.

Honors

In December 1999, Ford was among 18 included in Gallup's List of Widely Admired People of the 20th Century, from a poll conducted of the American people.

In 1928, Ford was awarded the Franklin Institute's Elliott Cresson Medal.

The United States Postal Service honored Ford with a Prominent Americans series (1965–1978) 12¢ postage stamp.

See also

Detroit, Toledo and Ironton Railroad

Dodge v. Ford Motor Company

Edison and Ford Winter Estates

Fair Lane

Ford Family Tree

List of people on the cover of Time Magazine: 1920s

List of most wealthy historical figures

William B. Mayo

Notes

References

Memoirs by Ford Motor Company principals

| ref = harv | postscript = }}.

Biographies

Bak, Richard (2003). ''Henry and Edsel: The Creation of the Ford Empire''. Wiley ISBN 0-471-23487-7

Brinkley, Douglas G. ''Wheels for the World: Henry Ford, His Company, and a Century of Progress'' (2003)

Halberstam, David. "Citizen Ford" ''American Heritage'' 1986 37(6): 49–64. interpretive essay

Jardim, Anne. ''The First Henry Ford: A Study in Personality and Business Leadership'' Massachusetts Inst. of Technology Press 1970.

Lacey, Robert. ''Ford: The Men and the Machine'' Little, Brown, 1986. popular biography

ACLS e-book ACLS e-book ACLS e-book

Nye, David E. ''Henry Ford: "Ignorant Idealist."'' Kennikat, 1979.

Watts, Steven. '' The People's Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century'' (2005)

Specialized studies

Batchelor, Ray. ''Henry Ford: Mass Production, Modernism and Design'' Manchester U. Press, 1994.

Bonin, Huber et al. ''Ford, 1902–2003: The European History'' 2 vol Paris 2003. ISBN 2-914369-06-9 scholarly essays in English; reviewed in * Holden, Len. "Fording the Atlantic: Ford and Fordism in Europe" in ''Business History '' Volume 47, #Jan 1, 2005 pp 122–127

Brinkley, Douglas. "Prime Mover". ''American Heritage'' 2003 54(3): 44–53. on Model T

Bryan, Ford R. ''Henry's Lieutenants'', 1993; ISBN 0-8143-2428-2

Bryan, Ford R. ''Beyond the Model T: The Other Ventures of Henry Ford'' Wayne State Press 1990.

Dempsey, Mary A. "Fordlandia," ''Michigan History'' 1994 78(4): 24–33. Ford's rubber plantation in Brazil

Grandin, Greg. ''Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City''. London, Icon, 2010. ISBN 978-1-84831-147-3

Jacobson, D. S. "The Political Economy of Industrial Location: the Ford Motor Company at Cork 1912–26." ''Irish Economic and Social History'' 1977 4: 36–55. Ford and Irish politics

Kraft, Barbara S. ''The Peace Ship: Henry Ford's Pacifist Adventure in the First World War'' Macmillan, 1978

Levinson, William A. ''Henry Ford's Lean Vision: Enduring Principles from the First Ford Motor Plant'', 2002; ISBN 1-56327-260-1

Lewis, David L. "Ford and Kahn" ''Michigan History'' 1980 64(5): 17–28. Ford commissioned architect Albert Kahn to design factories

Lewis, David L. "Henry Ford and His Magic Beanstalk" . ''Michigan History'' 1995 79(3): 10–17. Ford's interest in soybeans and plastics

Lewis, David L. "Working Side by Side" ''Michigan History'' 1993 77(1): 24–30. Why Ford hired large numbers of black workers

McIntyre, Stephen L. "The Failure of Fordism: Reform of the Automobile Repair Industry, 1913–1940: ''Technology and Culture'' 2000 41(2): 269–299. repair shops rejected flat rates

Meyer, Stephen. ''The Five Dollar Day: Labor Management and Social Control in the Ford Motor Company, 1908–1921'' (1981)

Nolan; Mary. ''Visions of Modernity: American Business and the Modernization of Germany'' (1994)

Roediger, David, ed "Americanism and Fordism—American Style: Kate Richards O'hare's 'Has Henry Ford Made Good?'" ''Labor History'' 1988 29(2): 241–252. Socialist praise for Ford in 1916

Segal, Howard P. "'Little Plants in the Country': Henry Ford's Village Industries and the Beginning of Decentralized Technology in Modern America" ''Prospects'' 1988 13: 181–223. Ford created 19 rural workplaces as pastoral retreats

Tedlow, Richard S. "The Struggle for Dominance in the Automobile Market: the Early Years of Ford and General Motors" ''Business and Economic History'' 1988 17: 49–62. Ford stressed low price based on efficient factories but GM did better in oligopolistic competition by including investment in manufacturing, marketing, and management.

Thomas, Robert Paul. "The Automobile Industry and its Tycoon" ''Explorations in Entrepreneurial History'' 1969 6(2): 139–157. argues Ford did NOT have much influence on US industry,

Valdés, Dennis Nodin. "Perspiring Capitalists: Latinos and the Henry Ford Service School, 1918–1928" ''Aztlán'' 1981 12(2): 227–239. Ford brought hundreds of Mexicans in for training as managers

Wilkins, Mira and Frank Ernest Hill, ''American Business Abroad: Ford on Six Continents'' Wayne State University Press, 1964

Williams, Karel, Colin Haslam and John Williams, "Ford versus `Fordism': The Beginning of Mass Production?" ''Work, Employment & Society'', Vol. 6, No. 4, 517–555 (1992), stress on Ford's flexibility and commitment to continuous improvements

Further reading

Baldwin, Neil; ''Henry Ford and the Jews: The Mass Production of Hate''; PublicAffairs, 2000; ISBN 1-58648-163-0

Higham, Charles, ''Trading With The Enemy'' The Nazi–American Money Plot 1933–1949 ; Delacorte Press 1983

Kandel, Alan D. "Ford and Israel" ''Michigan Jewish History'' 1999 39: 13–17. covers business and philanthropy

Lee, Albert; ''Henry Ford and the Jews''; Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1980; ISBN 0-8128-2701-5

Reich, Simon (1999) "The Ford Motor Company and the Third Reich" ''Dimensions'', 13(2):15–17 online

Wallace, Max ''The American Axis: Henry Ford, Charles Lindbergh and the Rise of the Third Reich''; ISBN 0-312-33531-8

External links

Automobile History Online—Henry Ford history and photos

Full text of ''My Life and Work'' from Project Gutenberg

Commentary on Ford's ''My Life and Work''

Notable quotations and speech excerpts

Timeline

Quotes

Nevins and Hill tell the story of Peace Ship in ''American Heritage''

College student reports on the 1915 Peace Ship expedition

The Henry Ford Heritage Association

American Corporations and Hitler

The Washington Post reports on Ford and General Motors response to alleged collaboration with Nazi Germany

Power, Ignorance, and Anti-Semitism: Henry Ford and His War on Jews by Jonathan R. Logsdon, Hanover Historical Review 1999

Review of "Henry Ford and The Jews" by Neil Baldwin

Review of "The People's Tycoon" by Steven Watts. Henry Ford may have regretted his innovation (SF Chronicle)

Ford's middle name is James

}}

References

Category:1863 births Category:1947 deaths Category:19th-century American Episcopalians Category:American Episcopalians Category:American businesspeople Category:American founders of automobile manufacturers Category:Antisemitism Category:Automotive pioneers Category:American people of Belgian descent Category:Businesspeople in steel Category:Deaths from cerebral hemorrhage Category:Ford executives Henry Ford Category:Georgists Category:History of the United States (1865–1918) Category:International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductees Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Land speed record personalities Category:National Inventors Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from Dearborn, Michigan Category:Propagandists Category:Protocols of the Elders of Zion Category:United States presidential candidates, 1916 Category:Chief executives in the automobile industry

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Coordinates	38°51′32″N85°8′26″N
name	Petter Solberg
birth date	November 18, 1974
nationality	Norwegian
years	1998–present
teams	Ford, Subaru, Petter Solberg World Rally Team
races	164
championships	1 (2003)
wins	13
podiums	45
stagewins	400
points	641
first race	1998 Swedish Rally
first win	2002 Rally GB }}

Petter "Hollywood" Solberg (born 18 November 1974 in Askim), from Spydeberg in Østfold, Norway, is a professional rally driver. He debuted in the World Rally Championship in 1998 and was signed by the Ford factory team in 1999. The following year, Solberg started his successful partnership with the Subaru World Rally Team.

With the Subaru works team, Solberg finished runner-up to Marcus Grönholm in 2002 and then became the first Norwegian to win the drivers' world title in 2003. In the following two seasons, he finished runner-up to Sébastien Loeb. Following Subaru's withdrawal from the WRC at the end of the 2008 season, Solberg secured private backing to start the Petter Solberg World Rally Team and competed with a 2006-spec Citroën Xsara WRC for the majority of the 2009 season, before switching to a 2008-spec Citroën C4 WRC for Rally Catalunya and Rally GB.

Career

Early career

Solberg won a nationwide RC car championship at the age of 13 as he inherited his interest of motorsport through his parents, mother Tove and father Terje, who were keen ''bilcross'' (an "inexpensive version" of Norwegian rallycross, similar to Swedish folkrace and Finnish ''jokamiehenluokka'') competitors and rallycross enthusiasts. He used to help out around the home farm rebuilding competition cars, as he was not yet old enough to drive. Solberg entered his first ''bilcross'' in 1992, three days after his 18th birthday and only one day after he got his driving license. He went on to become Norwegian champion in rallycross as well as hillclimb in both 1995 (winning 19 out of 21 events) and 1996 (winning 15 out of 19 events). In 1995 he took part in his maiden rally, the Norwegian Rally Bjørkelangen, by driving a Volvo 240 in the ''Volvo Original'' class. His female navigator by then was Maude from Sweden, nowadays spouse of his older brother Henning. In 1998 Petter became the Norwegian Rally Champion, his brother Henning won this title five times in a row between 1999 and 2003.

WRC career

By this time and with the aid of his compatriot John "Mr Škoda" Haugland, who helped him on events in the late 1990s, the World Rally Championship team bosses were starting to recognize Solberg's potential and by the end of 1998, after winning a comparative test drive, he agreed to drive for three years as a junior pilot for the Ford Motor Company. Initially expected by Malcolm Wilson to maintain a somewhat lower profile, Solberg actually became a nominated points-scorer for Ford on, of all events, the gruelling test that was the Safari Rally in early 1999, after usual understudy to the team's star driver Colin McRae, Thomas Rådström, suffered an injury and was subsequently ruled out from taking part.

2000-04

In 2000, however, Solberg was able to leave Ford's M-Sport outfit prematurely, due to an insufficient contract, to sign with the Prodrive Subaru World Rally Team (SWRT), then led by a driving staff of Richard Burns and Juha Kankkunen. His first podium had to wait until the Acropolis Rally, Greece the following year, as an altruistic Solberg forsook as many of his own points as possible, as he did in dropping voluntarily from 4th to 5th in Sanremo, to assist his senior team-mate Burns in sneaking to the title.

In 2002, with four-time champion Tommi Mäkinen installed as his new team-mate in the light of Burns' departure to Peugeot, Solberg won his first ever WRC event in Wales (Wales Rally GB) after a consistent display of driving prowess and an unlikely accident by Marcus Grönholm. In 2003, Solberg beat fellow WRC young-gun, Citroen-mounted Sébastien Loeb at the Wales Rally GB, launching him to his second win in Wales and his first (and to date, only) World Rally Championship title.

In his title defence, however, Solberg's winning of five of a possible sixteen events, including the hat-trick making Wales Rally GB, proved insufficient to deny the title to a now increasingly efficient Loeb. On Solberg's part, a perhaps unfortunate string of bad luck was encapsulated by three DNFs (retirements) in mid-season.

2005

Welcoming a new team-mate for the year in Australian Chris Atkinson, who replaced the disappointing Finn who had been the former Champion's SWRT team-mate throughout 2004, Mikko Hirvonen, Solberg started his 2005 season brightly as he sought an immediate answer to Loeb, the Norwegian winning two of the first three events, in Sweden and Mexico. These successes coincided with the early seizing of a championship lead. He was, however, soon overtaken by a rampant Loeb, and was left to score 71 points for the year, pipping Peugeot's Marcus Grönholm to the championship runner-up spot on a tie break.

He added an unwanted Wales Rally GB win after the death in a day three crash of fellow competitor Markko Märtin's co-driver, Michael Park, with Loeb sacrificing his victory on the road in order to avoid having to simultaneously celebrate the title. Solberg won three rallies in all, though was severely affected by bad luck while challenging for wins at the end of the season, most notably on the Telstra Rally Australia, where he was forced to retire after striking a wayward kangaroo.

2006

For 2006, Solberg continued his partnership with the Subaru team, driving a new version of the Impreza WRC. His main sponsor was 24SevenOffice with a 5 million kroner sponsorship deal, a Norwegian record. His results, though, proved patchy in comparison to Loeb. While Loeb went on to register five rally victories on the bounce in a privately (Kronos) run Citroën Xsara WRC, his winning of the title unhampered even by breaking his arm at an advanced stage of the season, Solberg could only comparatively muster a handful of runner-up places on rallies all season — in Mexico, Argentina and Australia. Failure to claw his way any higher than sixth in the year's final points standings duly brought an end to the chain of top three drivers' championship appearances which Subaru had enjoyed since 1994.

2007

The Norwegian did, at least, get his 2007 season off to a rather more auspicious start, managing a joint-career-best finish of sixth place on the Rally Monte Carlo. He surrendered a potential third place finish in Sweden after a substantial time loss, as well as being bested by his brother, Henning, in the race for the final podium place on the siblings' home event – Rally Norway. In Mexico, Argentina and Sardinia Petter struggled with his Impreza — technical problems caused two retirements and a plummet down the leaderboard in Italy. Good pace in Portugal and taking third place on the Acropolis Rally at least appeared to mark a turnaround in the quality of the younger Solberg's results, although even Greek event wasn't problem-free for the Norwegian as he experienced some damper problems.

Despite Subaru's confidence in their car performance and reliability built up during summer break tests, Impreza S12A failed again — Solberg had to retire on day two in Finland, after monstrous handling and steering problems which the engineers were unable to deal with. On the next round, Rallye Deutschland, where he finished sixth, the car by itself was reliable, but the Norwegian hit a rock on SS5 heavily damaging the steering, which had cost him considerable amount of time because the team wasn't able to fully repair it. The New Zealand event was another problem-ridden outing for Solberg — he described the handling difficulties as similar to those he had experienced in Finland earlier.

At the next round on Rally Catalunya, it was a difficult rally for Solberg  — he struggled to maintain a good pace and in the end finished sixth, almost 3 minutes adrift from the winner, Loeb. He was however pleased with changes in car setup made for day 3, which seemed promising for the following Tour de Corse. Unfortunately for the Norwegian, the setup wasn't as good and he had problems with handling again which, along with a stalled engine on the start of SS5, resulted in a disappointing fifth place, behind young Finn Jari-Matti Latvala. In Japan, his team's home event, Petter clocked several top-ten times on the early stages, but crashed badly on SS5 then, probably due to damage sustained in accident, his gearbox locked in sixth gear, forcing his retirement for the day. He later rejoined the competition under the SupeRally format and finished 16th, managing to score two points in the Manufacturers' Championship. On the day of his 33rd birthday, Solberg finished fifth on Rally Ireland, calling it "the most difficult rally he has ever done"; he had also found his car's performance better than in previous events.

On the final event of the season, Wales Rally GB, Solberg had consistent pace and won the battle for fourth with Spaniard Dani Sordo even though the Norwegian hit a rock in the morning and again had some minor handling issues. This result allowed Subaru to retain their third place in the Manufacturers' Championship, and Solberg ended the 2007 season in fifth place overall. He also took part in the 2007 Race of Champions, representing Norway, along with his brother, Henning. He didn't manage to win the first race with David Coulthard, but in Nation's Cup Norwegian brothers made their way to the semi-finals.

2008

For the 2008 season, Solberg and Atkinson were retained by SWRT as driving staff. Solberg started his season with a fifth place in Monte Carlo and fourth in Sweden, but went on to retire or finish outside point-scoring positions in the following four events. A radical new hatchback homologation of the long-serving Subaru Impreza, the WRC2008, debuted on the Acropolis Rally, marked by the Norwegian collecting a runner-up spot to Sébastien Loeb.

Although Solberg went on to break his personal record in consecutive point-scoring finishes, Acropolis remained his only podium of the season. He finished sixth overall in the drivers' championship, four points behind teammate Chris Atkinson, while Subaru took third place in the manufacturers' standings.

2009

Subaru announced on 16 December 2008 that they would not be participating in the World Rally Championship any longer, a mere day after Suzuki announced their withdrawal. Petter and co-driver Phil Mills were left without a ride. Looking at their options with the remaining teams they had to sit out the 2009 season opening Rally Ireland. After careful evaluation of several privateer options including Ford and Citroën cars, Solberg confirmed having acquired (most likely leased) a Citroën Xsara WRC (in 2006 WRC spec) as of 25 January 2009, and that Phil Mills and himself would return to the WRC in a privateer team for the 2009 Rally Norway. On 1 February 2009, Solberg indicated that five sponsors for the 2009 season were in place. The sponsors announced were Microsoft, Pareto, Hurtigruta Carglass and two undisclosed sponsors.

On 6 February 2009, Solberg officially unveiled the Petter Solberg World Rally Team, with himself as driver and Phil Mills as codriver. The team served Solberg and his 2006-spec. Citroën Xsara WRC with active suspension and diffs. A 13-member team, PSWRT employed ex-Subaru World Rally Team members Ken Rees as team manager, and François-Xavier "FX" Demaison as chief engineer. The PSWRT also returned Solberg's personal friend and ex-SWRT member, Tore Dahl, to the WRC scene as a mechanic. Swede Sven-Inge Neby, for about 40 years the engineer of Petter's father-in-law Per-Inge Walfridsson and his brothers Lars-Erik Walfridsson and Stig-Olov Walfridsson, is another support to the international team.

It took some time to adapt to the new car during their first round in Norway, but eventually Petter and Phil managed to secure a sixth place and three points in the drivers' championship. Following that result and a new engine from Citroën, Solberg finished third in the Cyprus Rally, being the first true privateer in a privately run team to be in the podium since Malcolm Wilson back in 1993. Solberg managed to repeat this feat in Sardinia.

Solberg and Mills retained their consistent fight for 3rd and 4th position through the three next rallies; Portugal, Argentina (Retired from 3rd position due to loss of fuel pressure on the final stage) and Italy. Solberg "threatened" to swap to a Peugeot 307, unless he got the 2006 spec upgrades for his Xsara. He received the upgrades (mainly improved intercooler and mechanical differentials) for Sardinia, which made them able to defend a 3rd place, in very hot conditions. Solberg expressed that they were unable to push harder in hot temperatures, and remained open to analyze what to do for the next events. Solberg was believed to be in talks of upgrading to a Peugeot 307 CC but decided to stick with the Xsara. After retiring from Rally Finland, Solberg decided to miss Australia to concentrate on finding a more competitive car. After testing a Citroën C4 WRC in France, and a Ford Focus WRC in Britain, Solberg confirmed he would drive a C4 at the final two rounds of the season, Rally Catalunya and Wales Rally GB. The car was to be a 2008-spec C4, but would feature updates to bring it as close as possible to the factory cars of Sébastien Loeb and Dani Sordo. Solberg continued to drive for his own Petter Solberg World Rally Team for Catalunya, but was a nominated points scorer for the Citroen Junior Team at Wales Rally GB, alongside Sebastien Ogier. He finished in 4th position in both of these events, and ended up 5th in the overall 2009 Drivers' Championship standings.

2010

Solberg announced on 12 January 2010 that he had purchased two Citroën C4 WRC (2009 spec) cars from Citroën and that he would compete in the 2010 World Rally Championship. On the Swedish Rally Solberg was unable to find the rhythm and pace, and finished 9th earning him 2 points. At the second round of the season, the Corona Mexico Rally, Petter held the lead after day 1, with a 27sec gap down to Loeb on 3rd. With Petter sweeping the road on Saturday Loeb advanced to a 55 sec lead by the end of the day, with Solberg on 2nd place 2.7 sec ahead of Sebastien Ogier. A great battle for 2nd place played out on Sunday, with Petter Solberg trailing Ogier with 0.6sec going into the last super special stage. Petter sat a fastest stage time here by 1.4 sec which secured the 2nd place podium finish, marking the best result by PSWRT to date. In the third Round of the season, Rally Jordan, Solberg trailed Latvala (−16s), Ogier (−19s) and Loeb (−43s) going into the last day. Ogier was sacrificed in a new level of tactics, sending him out as first car as road sweeper for Loeb, while receiving penalties and losing his good position. The exploiting of the rules received much criticism, and was subsequently banned for the next rally. The other drivers kept their position with Solberg scoring a 3rd place podium. In Rally Turkey, 16–18 April, Solberg held a good position through the whole rally, and had a serious chance to battle for the victory on the last day, positioned 2nd on the road, 16sec after Loeb. With several stages canceled on safety reasons due to too much mud, and later a scary meet with a tree on the slippery conditions, Solberg wisely stopped fighting and conceded to secure the 2nd place. Hirvonen, Latvala, Sordo and Ogier all had incidents/offs, hindering them to challenge Solbergs position. This result put Petter second in the Driver's Championship standings, 1 point ahead of Hirvonen and 6 points ahead of Latvala, but a full 40 points after Loeb, with 4 out of 13 rallies completed. In Rally New Zealand Solberg made a tactical blunder, simply by not adapting any road position tactics, and finished in first position on day 1, with a marginal lead. Sweaping Saturday's stages left him 54 sec behind, in 5th place, realistically out of reach of a win. But for the final 30 km stage of the rally, four drivers were within 18 seconds of the lead, which lead to an epic four-way battle for the victory, between Ogier, Latvala, Solberg and Loeb. Three of them took a maximum attack, high-risk approach, which none of them managed to complete without incident. Ogier and Loeb both had a spin that cost them some seconds, and Solberg going too fast around a high speed bend hit a telegraph pole on the road shoulder and retired from 3rd position. Latvala did no serious mistakes and took his 3rd WRC win by 2.4 seconds. Loeb crashed two times during this rally, but still managed to finish only 15 seconds behind. On 11 June 2010, PSWRT announced that Phil Mills have decided to leave the codriver seat to focus on other things in life. This brings to an end a 152-event unbroken run of the pair competing together, over 11 years since 1999. In their time they have driven for Ford, Subaru and for their own Citroen team, winning 13 individual world rallies and the 2003 world title. 29 June PSWRT announced that Chris Patterson would be Solberg's new codriver.

In their first rally together, the tarmac event Rally Bulgaria, Petter and Chris put in an impressive performance; five stage wins and finished 3rd, 6.8sec off Dani Sordo in 2nd place.

After more podiums in Japan, France and Spain, Solberg finished 2nd on Rally GB, securing his goal of finishing in the top three in the championship.

2011

On 14 January 2011, PSWRT confirmed that Solberg will compete in the 2011 World Rally Championship in a Citroën DS3 WRC.

In February, Solberg had his driving licence suspended in Sweden after police caught him travelling 32kph above the speed limit on the way to the fifth stage of the country's WRC round, forcing co-driver Chris Patterson to take up the wheel.

Personal life

Solberg is married to a Swede, Pernilla Walfridsson, with whom he has a son, Oliver. Pernilla is the daughter of former Volvo factory driver and 1980 European Rallycross Champion, Per-Inge "Pi" Walfridsson (who also claimed a remarkable fourth overall in the 1973 RAC Rally). Pernilla was also, for some time, one of the world's leading female rally drivers.

WRC victories

:{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; max-width: 49em;" width=100% ! No. ! Event ! Season ! Co-driver ! Car |- |align="right" style="padding-right: 0.5em;"| 1 | 58th Network Q Rally of Great Britain |align="center"| 2002 | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC |- |align="right" style="padding-right: 0.5em;"| 2 | 31st Cyprus Rally |align="center"| 2003 | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC |- |align="right" style="padding-right: 0.5em;"| 3 | 16th Telstra Rally Australia |align="center"| 2003 | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC |- |align="right" style="padding-right: 0.5em;"| 4 | 47ème Tour de Corse – Rallye de France |align="center"| 2003 | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC |- |align="right" style="padding-right: 0.5em;"| 5 | 59th Wales Rally of Great Britain |align="center"| 2003 | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC |- |align="right" style="padding-right: 0.5em;"| 6 | 34th Propecia Rally New Zealand |align="center"| 2004 | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC |- |align="right" style="padding-right: 0.5em;"| 7 | 51st Acropolis Rally |align="center"| 2004 | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC |- |align="right" style="padding-right: 0.5em;"| 8 | 1st Rally Japan |align="center"| 2004 | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC |- |align="right" style="padding-right: 0.5em;"| 9 | 60th Wales Rally of Great Britain |align="center"| 2004 | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC |- |align="right" style="padding-right: 0.5em;"| 10 | 1º Supermag Rally d'Italia Sardinia |align="center"| 2004 | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC |- |align="right" style="padding-right: 0.5em;"| 11 | 54th Uddeholm Swedish Rally |align="center"| 2005 | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC |- |align="right" style="padding-right: 0.5em;"| 12 | 19º Corona Rally México |align="center"| 2005 | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC |- |align="right" style="padding-right: 0.5em;"| 13 | 61st Wales Rally of Great Britain |align="center"| 2005 | Phil Mills | Subaru Impreza WRC |}

WRC results

! Year

! Entrant

! Car

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! 13

! 14

! 15

! 16

! WDC

! Points

rowspan=2

! Shell Norge

Toyota Celica GT-Four

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

–

0

! Petter Solberg

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

rowspan=3

!rowspan=2

! Ford Escort WRC

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

19th

2

Ford Focus WRC

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

! Petter Solberg

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

rowspan=3

BP Ford World Rally Team>Ford Motor Co

Ford Focus WRC>Ford Focus WRC 00

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

10th

6

! Petter Solberg

!rowspan=2

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

! Subaru World Rally Team

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

! Subaru World Rally Team

Subaru Impreza WRC>Subaru Impreza WRC2001

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFDFDF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

! 10th

! 11

rowspan=2

555 Subaru World Rally Team

Subaru Impreza WRC>Subaru Impreza WRC2001

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

Subaru Impreza WRC>Subaru Impreza WRC2002

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFDFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#FFDF9F"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#FFDF9F"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#FFDF9F"

bgcolor="#FFFFBF"

Subaru World Rally Team>555 Subaru World Rally Team

Subaru Impreza WRC>Subaru Impreza WRC2003

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#FFDF9F"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#FFDF9F"

bgcolor="#FFFFBF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFDFDF"

bgcolor="#FFFFBF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#FFFFBF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#FFFFBF"

rowspan=2

!rowspan=2

Subaru Impreza WRC>Subaru Impreza WRC2003

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#FFDF9F"

Subaru Impreza WRC>Subaru Impreza WRC2004

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#FFFFBF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#FFFFBF"

bgcolor="#FFDF9F"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#FFFFBF"

bgcolor="#FFFFBF"

bgcolor="#FFFFBF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

rowspan=2

Subaru World Rally Team

Subaru Impreza WRC>Subaru Impreza WRC2004

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#FFFFBF"

Subaru Impreza WRC>Subaru Impreza WRC2005

bgcolor="#FFFFBF"

bgcolor="#FFDF9F"

bgcolor="#DFDFDF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFDFDF"

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

bgcolor="#FFDF9F"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#FFFFBF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#FFDF9F"

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

! Subaru World Rally Team

Subaru Impreza WRC>Subaru Impreza WRC2006

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFDFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFDFDF"

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFDFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#FFDF9F"

! 6th

! 40

rowspan=2

Subaru World Rally Team

Subaru Impreza WRC>Subaru Impreza WRC2006

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

5th

47

Subaru Impreza WRC>Subaru Impreza WRC2007

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFDFDF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#FFDF9F"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

rowspan=2

Subaru World Rally Team

Subaru Impreza WRC>Subaru Impreza WRC2007

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#CFCFFF"

6th

46

Subaru Impreza WRC>Subaru Impreza WRC2008

bgcolor="#DFDFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

rowspan=2

Petter Solberg World Rally Team

! Citroën Xsara WRC

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#FFDF9F"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#FFDF9F"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

5th

35

! Citroën C4 WRC

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

! Petter Solberg World Rally Team

! Citroën C4 WRC

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFDFDF"

bgcolor="#FFDF9F"

bgcolor="#DFDFDF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#FFDF9F"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFDFDF"

bgcolor="#FFDF9F"

bgcolor="#DFDFDF"

bgcolor="#DFDFDF"

! Petter Solberg World Rally Team

! Citroën DS3 WRC

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

bgcolor="#FFDF9F"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

bgcolor="#DFFFDF"

! 5th*

! 94*

* Season in progress

IRC results

! Year

! Entrant

! Car

! 1

! 2

! 3

! 4

! 5

! 6

! 7

! 8

! 9

! 10

! 11

! 12

! WDC

! Points

! Petter Solberg

! Peugeot 207 S2000

bgcolor="#EFCFFF"

! –

! 0

References

External links

pettersolberg.com – official website

Petter Solberg's profile at RallyBase.nl

Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:World Rally Champions Category:World Rally Championship drivers Category:Norwegian rally drivers Category:Intercontinental Rally Challenge drivers

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