I think Mr. Ford is leaving us...

Always easy to criticize others, even among critics, Ford can be admired for many things, not just for his keen foresight in what he remarkably "saw".

My Dad's hobby was horses & buggies; Model T's & Model A's were far too modern for him. LOL.

After experiencing riding 5 miles many times in a buggy to visit someone, & after buying my first car, a Model A ........ it was so easy to see why someone would go so far as to even mortgage their house to buy an inexpensive Ford that could cut such so very slow travel time with horses.

Ford's success could be attributed to his ability to simply & clearly "see" what people wanted ....... so he produced it, & rendered service to maintain it.

In our country today, this same philosophy always works well, even on a much smaller scale, with anyone who can "see" & recognize our freedom ...... from there on out all it takes is determination to produce.

One of Ford's desires was to try to build a car to last ........ after seeing what goes on this & similar Forums ...... maybe in the end, he could be given just a little credit for succeeding in this one area.
 
I've read that Adolf Hitler so admired Henry Ford he had a portrait of Henry on the wall of one of his private apartments. Henry might have been a great man. But, his son, Edsel Ford, the real father of the Model-A, was a better man! Just my opinion.

Bob-A:D
 
I have read / studied a lot of material about the start of Ford Motor Company. While I respect both the unwavering vision (an affordable car for the masses that could provide transportation instead of a toy for the rich) and mechanical genius of Henry Ford, I believe that the early success of the company is equally the result of having James Couzens on the payroll. Couzens managed the finances and kept the company going through some very tight times. He was excellent in financial matters, incredibly practical and a tireless worker who was constantly trying to push the company forward. He created the first advertising copy for the company. He also established the basic principles of the Dealer sales network - insisting on the "right kind of salesmen" for the dealers and putting in place many of the OEM / Dealer relationship requirements that survive even to today.

While Henry could deliver the right car for the right time, James Couzens made sure there was a company to make it and dealer network to sell and service it.
 
I agree about no successful Model T and Model A without James Couzens. He held the early company together. Also "cast Iron Charlie" Sorensen, who put made Henry's ideas tangible and made mass production happen. I just finished reading "my 40 years with Ford" by Charles Sorensen. Very Good Book.
 
FWIW:

I just had a meeting this morning with a very young self-made multi-millionaire farmer who started with nothing & now has over 3,700 acres under cultivation.

While in his field, he was telling me about how his new Ford diesel truck out performs all of his other Ford & other makes of trucks.

While he was describing all of the new Ford diesel engine features, I started thinking about how Henry Ford was quite aware that his funeral suit would not have a wallet full of cash, & his vest pockets would not have stocks & bonds, & that he well knew that everything he worked for & earned had to be left behind.

He did not choose to sit back & run a 5 cents lemonade stand .......... he did not choose to periodically sell peanuts at a baseball game .............. but like this young farmer & his young sons, he got off of his butt & taught an entire generation of Americans that what we leave behind is of most importance because it can last until today ........... books written afterwards to tell Ford's stories can even generate income for those who are still writing pro or con about him.

In my opinion, Henry Ford was only what was then called an American .......... living in a unique, one-of-a-kind country ......... & he did it all in his own American way.

This young farmer thought Ford's legacy is still living ..... but he remarked that one just has to look for it.
 
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