Henry Ford has an incredible legacy of innovation and achievement, but few know that Ford Motor Company was actually his third attempt at building a business around his dream of creating an affordable car for the masses. This month marks the 125th anniversary of the dissolution of the first of those two attempts.
Ford, having already created his first vehicle, the Quadricycle, in 1896, left his position at Edison Illuminating Company three years later to join the Detroit Automobile Company as its chief engineer. The business produced just 20 vehicles, which sold poorly. The first of them was a delivery wagon in January of 1900. Early auto assembly was tedious and laborious, and Ford’s desire to produce higher-quality vehicles was at odds with other stakeholders’ priorities. In 1901, the company’s stockholders voted to dissolve the Detroit Automobile Company.
The early demise of the Detroit Automobile Company was not unexpected, as the emerging American auto industry — centered around New England rather than Detroit — was filled with more than 50 companies each vying to make their name. Its production record and the length of its existence were actually better than many competitors that had suffered the same fate.
Eager to restore his reputation and promote his name, which was not well known outside of Detroit, Ford resolved that racing would be the key to his future. Supported by a few of his company’s former shareholders, Ford enlisted a team to help build Sweepstakes, with which he would run his one and only race. Ford defeated the heavily favored Alexander Winton in October of 1901 on a track located in the Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe in what is considered to be the birth of Ford Racing.
“I never thought anything of racing, but the public refused to think about the automobile as anything but a fast toy. Therefore, we had to race.”Henry Ford
With his victory, Ford now had the financial backing to make his dream a reality. However, his second venture, this time bearing his name, again proved not to be the right fit for Ford. The Henry Ford Company was created in March 1902, but Ford left shortly thereafter due to contention regarding the company’s vehicles and their readiness for the public, as well as his desire to create more race cars. The company agreed to discontinue using Ford’s name and ultimately became what is now known as Cadillac.
Undeterred by another setback, Ford continued to pursue his vision for a durable, low-cost automobile for the masses. Just a year later, he and several investors partnered to incorporate Ford Motor Company. And just a few short years and several models later, the Model T was introduced, and that, along with the moving assembly line, catapulted Henry Ford and his third business venture into a leading global corporation that has stood the test of time.
Today, Ford continues a similar pursuit as it works to design and assemble affordable electric vehicles. Join us on Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time to learn more about the next chapter in this journey.
Leslie Armbruster is an Archives manager at Ford
