In 1961, the Ford Motor Company acquired the Autolite trade name, an Ohio spark plug factory, a Michigan battery facility, limited distribution rights, and the services of several employees.[2] Autolite products became standard original factory equipment in Ford vehicles. A federal antitrust lawsuit was filed against Ford, which dragged on through the remainder of the 1960s, ultimately being decided in 1972 by the Supreme Court against Ford, and Ford was forced to sell its Autolite-related assets to the Bendix Corporation by 1973. In the UK, the Autolite name was replaced by Motorcraft in 1971.[3]
In 1963, the portion of the Autolite company which was not acquired by Ford merged with the Mergenthaler Linotype Company, and the Eltra Corporation was formed. The former Autolite portion became the Prestolite Motor and Ignition Company, later Prestolite Electric.
In 1973, the Bendix Corporation had purchased both FRAM and Autolite. In 1980, the Eltra Corporation was acquired by Allied Signal Corporation which was itself acquired by Honeywell in 1999. Bendix was acquired by Allied in 1983, thereby bringing Autolite back to its original parent, Electric Autolite (Eltra) as part of Allied Signal (Honeywell). In 2011, Honeywell sold its automotive Consumer Products Group to Rank Group, which introduced FRAM Group and several other companies to take over the operations and the transfer of ownership of the acquired trademarks.