Ford
Ford are one of largest car makers in the world and they produce vehicles across a full range of classes. They were one of the early leaders in the auto industry and they really changed the way that cars were made. Over the years the company has had many ups and downs, more than most of their rivals but they have managed to survive through it all and today have become a car maker with a good reputation for quality vehicles.
No company has done more to make the car what it is today than Ford. They are the ones who took the car from being something that only the rich could afford and turned into a means of everyday transportation for the majority of people. They did this of course by changing the way that cars were built. Up until Ford came along cars were all built by hand a slow and expensive process that severely limited the number of cars that could be built. Ford came along and adapted the moving assembly line and began turning out cars at a much faster rate than they had been before. He was also turning them out at a much lower price and this made cars available to a much broader range of people.
The Ford Company was actually Henry Ford's third attempt at making cars. His fist two attempts had failed and he looked destined to be one those guys who was really good at building cars but really bad at running a business. That all changed however when he introduced the Model T. This is the car that made Ford and turned changed the face of the auto industry. With this car Ford became by far the most successful car maker in the world.
Unfortunately Ford's time at the top was short lived. The things that had worked to make Ford a success were no longer working and Henry Ford stubbornly refused to change his ways. Ford had become a success by offering just one type of car to all buyers, this worked for awhile but once the other manufacturers started mass producing cars as well it became obvious that it was necessary to make a range of cars. Ford refused to adapt to the changing situation and his company lagged behind his competitors.
Ultimately Ford Card was able to adapt and change to the new demands of the market but it took a long time and by then they were well behind their competitors. Although sales increased they never caught up to the leaders. Today Ford is firmly entrenched in second place in terms of American car makers. A big part of their problem was that for many years there was a perception that Ford cars were not of the same quality as their competitors. This has started to change as Ford are now one of the leaders when it comes to the initial quality of their vehicles.