1926 James Couzens U.s. Senator Mayor Detroit Michigan Politician American

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Seller: memorabilia111 ✉️ (809) 97.1%, Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 176333698121 1926 JAMES COUZENS U.S. SENATOR MAYOR DETROIT MICHIGAN POLITICIAN AMERICAN. A VINTAGE ORIGINAL PORTRAIT  7 1/8 X 10 INCH PHOTO  FROM 1926 OF U.S. SENATOR AND FORMER MAYOR OF DETROIT JAMES COUZENS James Couzens played a fundamental role in the birth of Ford Motor Company. Born in Chatham, Ontario in 1872, Couzens received a formal education at a business college before moving to Detroit, Michigan in 1890. He found work as a railroad car checker for the New York Central Railroad, where his industrious work ethic was noticed by one Alexander Malcomson, who hired Couzens as a clerk at his coal business in 1897. Malcomson was a major stockholder for the soon to be formed Ford Motor Company, and was seeking additional investors for Henry Ford’s burgeoning firm. Couzens borrowed heavily and invested $2500 to become one of Ford’s original stockholders, and when Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903, he was made company secretary. Couzens would eventually take over all of Ford’s business management, and become vice president and general manager. He oversaw Ford’s introduction of the Model T and guided the company’s rise to worldwide prominence. Though they had helped make each other very wealthy, the relationship between Ford and Couzens eventually soured. In 1915, Couzens resigned his position as general manager but retained a seat on the board. He would step down from Ford altogether in 1919, and sold his stock in the company back to Henry Ford for $30 million dollars. Following his departure from Ford, Couzens was elected mayor of Detroit. He served as mayor from 1919 to 1922, when he was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by a resignation. He was elected again two years later, and would serve on the U.S. Senate until his death in 1936. Couzens was also a noted philanthropist who donated much of his wealth to civic causes, especially those relating to children. He established the Children’s Fund of Michigan with a $10,000,000 grant, and donated $1 million to Children’s Hospital of Michigan. He also contributed $550,000 of his own money to create a housing project called Westacres in West Bloomfield, Michigan. As businessman, senator, and humanitarian, James Couzens demonstrated that a true measure of talent is not only how you enrich your own life, but the lives of those around you as well.
COUZENS, JAMES, a Senator from Michigan; born in Chatham, Province of Ontario, Canada, August 26, 1872; attended the public schools of Chatham; moved to Detroit, Mich., in 1890; railroad car checker 1890-1897; clerk in the coal business 1897-1903; was associated with the Ford Motor Co. in the manufacture of automobiles 1903-1919; president of the Bank of Detroit and director of the Detroit Trust Co.; commissioner of street railways 1913-1915; commissioner of the metropolitan police department 1916-1918; mayor of Detroit 1919-1922; appointed November 29, 1922, as a Republican to the United States Senate and elected on November 4, 1924, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Truman H. Newberry; on the same day was elected for the term commencing March 4, 1925; reelected in 1930 and served from November 29, 1922, until his death on October 22, 1936; unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1936; chairman, Committee on Civil Service (Sixty-ninth Congress), Committee on Education and Labor (Sixty-ninth and Seventieth Congresses), Committee on Interstate Commerce (Seventy-first and Seventy-second Congresses); philanthropist; died in Detroit, Mich.; interment in Woodlawn Cemetery. Henry Ford had the vision for the Ford Motor Company but the business side of Ford was handled by James Couzens, someone with so little mechanical ability that he couldn’t have assembled a kiddy car.Couzens’ focus on the business affairs of the company allowed Henry Ford the freedom to do what he did best: innovate. This partnership led to the huge success of the companyJames Couzens held the position of Ford’s General Manager  from 1903 until 1919 when he cashed out his original $2,500 investment which had grown to $29 million. In his life after the Ford Motor Company, Couzens followed a path of public service. He donated much of his wealth to civic causes, especially those relating to children.  He held the office of Mayor of Detroit from 1919 to 1922, and then to the U.S. Senate from 1922 until his death in 1936. James Couzens Facts From an early age, James Couzens (1872-1936) demonstrated determination and incisiveness. The former enabled him to set a course of action, and the latter to carry it out. These qualities drove the naturalized U.S. citizen to achieve successes in business, industry, and politics. He was an executive of the Ford Motor Company, mayor of the city of Detroit, and U.S. senator from Michigan. According to folk legend, a child born with a caul (fetal membrane) covering the head will have good fortune in life. The legend proved true for James Joseph Couzens, Jr. Born in Chatham, Ontario, on August 26, 1872, his mother, Eunice Clift Couzens, an English immigrant, kept the caul in a silk sack, giving it to Couzens' wife when he married. His father, James Joseph Couzens, also an English immigrant, was a grocer's clerk before becoming a laborer and salesman for a soap factory. The senior Couzens introduced his son to the business world by taking him on his sales rounds, where he learned about consumer behavior. By the age of nine, Couzens held multiple jobs. He pumped the organ at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, was a lamp-tender for the town, and sold soap for his father, who had started his own soap works. Throughout his life, Couzens would always be happiest when working the hardest. At the age of 12, he left the soap factory and found work as a bookkeeper at a flour mill, without any experience. However, he lost this job when his employer decided Couzens was too young. In order to avoid the soap works, he returned to school. Couzens enrolled in a two-year bookkeeping course at Canada Business College in Chatham, after completing two years of high school. His first job after school was as a newsbutcher (vendor) on the Erie and Huron Railroad. Serious Worker Couzens moved to Detroit, Michigan, in 1890 and was hired as a car-checker by the Michigan Central Railroad, working twelve hours a day, seven days a week He didn't make many friends. Couzens was standoffish, blunt, and had the appearance of a well-groomed banker or divinity student, even when in the rail yards. By asking for the job, he passed up others to become the boss of the freight office in the yards when he was 21. A strict disciplinarian, he wasn't a popular boss, but he did admit his mistakes. Couzens also had no qualms about speaking honestly to his patrons. Alex Malcomson liked Couzens' no-nonsense approach and hired him as an assistant bookkeeper and private car-checker in 1895. Before leaving Michigan Central, Couzens met his future wife, Margaret Manning. Her uncle was a banker and shipping company executive. Her nephew was a journalist. He rented a room in the Manning house, and the couple lived with her widowed mother after their marriage on August 31, 1898. The same year Couzens became a naturalized citizen. The couple would eventually have three sons (one dying in infancy, another as a teenager) and three daughters. Ford Motor Company In 1902 Malcomson entered into a secret agreement with Henry Ford to supply the credit needed for building a car. Because of previous business failures, Ford had difficulty obtaining credit and his scheme was considered to be a risky investment. Couzens was brought in to monitor Ford's expenditures, and later for project negotiations. Without sales, however, Malcomson was unable to meet obligations and investors had to be sought. On June 16, 1903, the Ford Motor Company was incorporated with 12 shareholders. Couzens, the next lowest shareholder, managed to purchase $2,500 in shares; his sister Rosetta put up $100 of the sum. Banker John S. Gray was named president, Couzens became business manager and secretary, while Ford held the titles of vice president and general manager of mechanics and production. Ford and Couzens did not regard each other highly, but were able to cultivate a relationship. Ford was a perfectionist. He didn't want to ship any cars until they ran well. At Couzens' insistence (and with his help in crating them for rail shipment), the first cars shipped on July 23, 1903. Complaints were heard that the cars couldn't climb hills. Ford wanted to halt production, but Couzens convinced him to send mechanics to customers to solve their problems, while continuing to build cars. Reorders came in. By the end of the year, the company had sold some 1,000 cars and all the shareholders had a 100 percent return on their investments. Couzens added the title of sales manager to his responsibilities. Under him, the company experienced phenomenal growth. Describing Couzens' immersion in the company, Harry Barnard in his book Independent Man: The Life of Senator James Couzens as quoted in the Ford Times: "J.C. was the entire office management—he hired and fired—he kept the books, collected, spent, and saved the cash, established agencies, and dictated policy." Although a cautious financial manager and administrator, Couzens came up with innovative policies that most thought would lose the company money. Instead they boosted growth. He organized a network of salaried branch managers, then developed an incentive system that paid them bonuses when certain sales figures were topped. In cooperation with banks, he established a loan program for dealers to buy Ford cars through bank deposits. The company and the banks shared the interest. Retaining employees was a major problem—even after stripping foremen of their authority to fire workers, raising wages 15 percent, and reducing the workday to nine hours. Couzens did not believe that the company was sharing enough of its wealth with workers to enable them to save for pensions and periods of unemployment. In 1914, Couzens, who had been promoted to vice president, "issued a revolutionary order" raising the minimum wage at the Ford plant to five dollars a day and reducing the work day to eight hours. Refusing to be cowed, he persisted until the executive board approved the plan. News of the plan spiked sales, enabling Couzens to push for expansion in other cities. The Ford Motor Company's legal wrangling with the Association of Licensed Automobile Manufacturers, which had begun in 1911, also turned out to be good for business. As Couzens later claimed, "The Selden suit was probably better advertising than anything we could put out." George Selden claimed to hold a patent covering all gasoline automobiles, which the association licensed. Lawsuits were threatened against manufacturers, dealers, and buyers of unlicensed cars, like the Ford. As noted by Barnard, Couzens "became the official voice of the opponents of the monopoly manufacturers." He organized and presided over the rival American Motor Car Association. He read law books, becoming so well versed on patent law that he could discuss and advise attorneys on the subject. Most importantly, he "assured prospective car buyers, 'we will protect you."' The company had sold 34,000 cars and netted more than six million in profits by the time a court found, in 1911, that Ford Motor had not infringed on Selden's patent. During his years at Ford, Couzens became a respected businessman, assuming directorates of several companies and serving as president of the Detroit Board of Commerce. He also had other business interests. He built the Couzens Building on Woodward Avenue in Detroit and was president of a shoe company. In 1909, he organized and presided over the Highland Park State Bank (and later, other banks), that became a banking subsidiary of Ford Motor Company. Couzens negotiated a deal with William C. Durant for General Motors to buy Ford Motor. However, a bank committee would not approve the loan, so the deal fell through. However, as Couzens' prestige and expertise as a business manager increased, his partnership with Henry Ford faltered. Ford had purchased enough shares to become majority shareholder in Ford Motor Company, and he was gradually taking a more active role in the company's activities. Ford overruled Couzens on a supplier contract, vetoed him on sales/promotion campaigns, and, during a tiff in 1914, withdrew his personal money from Couzens' Highland Park bank. Meanwhile, Couzens "found himself shocked by certain points of view taken by Ford," wrote Barnard. Among these were Ford's anti-Semitism and his idea to store the payroll in cash in a company vault. The final flare-up between the two occurred on October 12, 1915. Saying that it did not reflect the company view, Couzens had removed a pacifist article on the war (World War I) that Ford had approved for publication in the Ford Times. Ford had an outburst when he learned of Couzens' action. This gave Couzens the excuse he needed to resign, a move he had been contemplating for some time. Before Ford could release a statement, Couzens contacted his friend Jay G. Hayden, a journalist, who spread the story of the resignation to other papers. That day the resignation of the chief executive of the business known as "The Seventh Wonder of the World" subordinated European war dispatches. Public Servant Couzens was 43 years old and worth $40-$60 million when he resigned. He could have become a man of leisure. However, he was a workaholic, and one who had developed a social conscience. Couzens remained a Ford Motor Company director and president of the Highland Park State Bank. He also retained his position with the Detroit Street Railway Commission. In 1913 Mayor Oscar B. Marx had appointed him to the commission, whose aim was to convert the streetcar lines to municipal ownership. As an employee of Michigan Central, Couzens complained about the lack of lines. He even threw a few bricks during the 1891 railway strike. Now he forced a referendum on the issue, using his own money to print literature and fight injunctions; but the proposition failed, as it did a second time in 1918. In 1916 Couzens became more involved in politics. He served as treasurer of Senator Charles E. Townsend's campaign and was a delegate to the state and national Republican conventions. Mayor Marx appointed Couzens to head the police department. This appointment helped to win his re-election, which had been in doubt because of lax oversight of the police. Couzens accepted the appointment on the condition he be given a "free hand without political interference of any kind." His personal survey of police conditions revealed things to be worse than thought. With the goal of "a disciplined city," he ordered officers to enforce laws, took down the license numbers of cars parked near brothels, and eliminated parking in the busiest downtown sections. The city council rescinded the parking order, but later passed similar traffic control legislation. Noted Barnard, "Thus [Couzens] became the father of the city's modern traffic code." In 1917 Couzens became an inmate in his own jail. After issuing a statement about a municipal judge who gave blanket releases (let others fill in the names of those arrested), Couzens ordered the police officers to ignore the releases. When two officers did just that, he was called before the judge for contempt of court. He refused to pay a fine and was taken to jail. Couzens' fight with the judge went to the State Supreme Court and resulted in the outlawing of the giving of blanket releases. Mayor Couzens Detroit had just adopted a "strong mayor charter" when Couzens announced he would run for mayor. He reached this decision, not because anyone had encouraged him to, but because he thought he would make "a good mayor." Oddly, it was the streetcar system that probably led to his election. In protest against a fare increase, Couzens got on a car and paid the old fare. The newspapers and photographers were there to record his being pushed off the car. The stunt was repeated by others and led to riots, and abandonment of the rate increase. Couzens took the helm of the nation's fourth largest city in 1919 and embarked on an aggressive program of construction projects. During the first three years of his administration, he directed the expenditure of $243 million on schools, sewers, hospitals, and streets. Another project was the building of street railways. The city had finally passed the referendum in 1919. However, the Detroit Urban Railway refused to surrender its lines to the city until 1922, thereby establishing the nation's largest municipal-owned railway. Couzens assumed management of the street railway lines in addition to his mayoral duties. During his tenure as mayor, Couzens tackled the problem of postwar unemployment by creating city jobs and providing doles to needy families. Herbert Hoover, who was then secretary of commerce, would model unemployment relief on Couzens' program. In addition, the city expanded to its present 138-square-mile boundaries. No scandals marred his two terms in office, and he made appointments based on merit alone. The Philanthropist Speaking of his wealth, Couzens once said to his daughter, "It's a trust. It's a responsibility, and a tough one." As early as 1915, he began distributing money. He gave Blanche Leuven Brown $10,000 for her home for crippled children. In 1918 he paid the salary for an executive to set up the Detroit Patriotic Fund, the forerunner of the Detroit Community Fund and Community Chest, then served as its president and gave it yearly gifts averaging $150,000 for several years. A million-dollar gift in 1919 helped crippled children by converting the Brown home into a scientific institution. This institution later merged with the Michigan Hospital School, then Children's Free Hospital of Detroit (the "Free" has since been dropped). Another million dollar gift in 1922 paid for a branch of the hospital in Farmington, Michigan. Other Couzens' gifts built residences for nurses and established a fund for providing loans for business startups to physically handicapped veterans. However, Couzens' most impressive philanthropic project was the launch, in 1929, of the Children's Fund of Michigan. The fund, begun with an irrevocable gift of ten million dollars, to which Couzens added nearly two million more in 1934, supported existing agencies helping children and initiated activities in neglected fields. Principal areas of interest were public health, mental hygiene, research, and orthopedic treatment. The fund established clinics and laboratories in Detroit and out of state. Couzens oversaw the fund as its chairman until his death. Per his wishes, the fund was liquidated 25 years after its establishment. Couzens' charitable contributions totaled $30 million—the sum he received when he sold his Ford Motor Company stock in 1919. Senator Couzens Governor Alex J. Grosbeck's appointment of Couzens to replace Commodore Newberry in the U.S. Senate caused quite a stir. "His career in industry as well as in municipal government, plus his wealth and his reputation as a fighter formed a combination that caught the public fancy. … Indeed, he rivaled in public attention, quite successfully, that distinctive feature of the year 1922—the flapper," exclaimed Barnard. As a senator he remained true to his convictions. Unlike most politicians, he didn't kowtow to party lines, though often acting with Progressives. Consequently he never built a political bloc for himself. He was chairman of the Committee on Civil Service for one term, and sat on the Committee on Education and Labor and the Committee on Interstate Commerce during other terms. "Though wealthy himself, Couzens often employed class-warfare rhetoric as an advocate of 'soak-the-rich' tax policies, and his principal nemesis was Treasury Secretary Andrew Mellon," declared Lawrence W. Reed and David Bardallis in "Jeffords's False Parallel." After Mellon proposed reducing income taxes, Couzens introduced a resolution in February 1924 calling for an investigation of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, which had never been examined before. President Calvin Coolidge, in an attempt to cut Couzens out of the investigation, offered him an ambassadorship to the Court of St. James. His answer: "I won't be kicked upstairs." The inquiry ultimately found nothing illegal, just loose interpretations of the law resulting in large tax refunds and special deference. After the investigation, President Herbert Hoover signed an executive order stating that tax refunds greater than $20,000 be made public, and Congress created the Joint Committee on Taxation of the Senate and House, the first continuously staffed committee on a legislative subject. In 1925 Mellon brought suit for underpayment of taxes against Couzens and others who had sold their Ford stock to the Fords. Couzens was vindicated three years later when it was determined that he had overpaid his taxes by $900,000. Couzens was undecided whether to run for election in 1924. The Anti-Saloon League, chambers of commerce, manufacturers' associations, and the Ku Klux Klan (because Mrs. Couzens was a Catholic) all opposed him, and he had refused to sign a pledge of support for Republican candidates. When he did declare his candidacy on the 4th of July, he made it clear that party bosses could not dictate to him. He won the election by an enormous majority. During this term he was concerned about the speculation in banking securities. On the Senate floor, wrote Barnard, Couzens "criticized the Federal Reserve Board for encouraging 'a great orgy of speculation.' This, he said, was a 'dumb' policy that could only end in disaster." The stock market crash and bank closings would prove him prophetic. The issues of guaranteed wages for industrial workers, which he promoted after the crash, as well as the need for unemployment insurance and old-age pensions, were also of concern to Couzens. In 1930 Couzens almost ran unopposed when he stood for re-election. Back in the Senate, he led a revolt that blocked a national sales tax and pushed for relief for the unemployed. Although he tried to keep Detroit banks open, he was blamed for Governor William A. Comstock decision to close them on February 14, 1933. The "Couzens Resolution" presented a plan for reopening the banks, but the plan fell through. On Inauguration Day, March 4, nearly all banks nationwide were closed. One of Franklin Roosevelt's first acts as president was to declare a nationwide bank holiday and devise a plan for their reopening. After serving as a delegate to the World Economic and Monetary Conference in London, Couzens returned home to find a Detroit grand jury blaming him again for the bank failures. The smear campaign ended with his exoneration by a Senate committee. Declining to participate in partisan politics, Couzens supported the New Deal. He initiated an amendment for a ten percent surtax on large incomes to pay for unemployment relief, which garnered attacks, especially by publisher William Randolph Hearst. Because he wouldn't oppose Roosevelt and had voted against Republican legislation, Couzens knew his party probably would not support him for re-election. In 1935 Democrats began approaching Couzens about switching parties. In 1936 Michigan's state Democratic Party passed a resolution endorsing Couzens for re-election on their ticket. He turned down the overture, saying he wanted to maintain his independence by not being a "turncoat." Couzens also considered running as both a Republican and Democrat in the primary, but decided against this after Michigan's attorney general said he would have to declare a party for the general election, which might be Democratic. He also considered running as an independent, or not running at all. Further complicating Couzens' decision was his ill health. For years, he had suffered from various ailments. He had undergone numerous operations and hospitalizations. The year 1935 was no exception. However, he could not stand inactivity. Therefore, against his doctor's advice and wracked with pain, he was back in the Senate on January 3, 1936. It was impossible for him to imagine not being busy. On June 15, Couzens announced that he would be a Republican candidate for the Senate. In the only speech he made after his declaration, he told the Detroit Optimist Club: "I will be entirely content if the people of Michigan say I am through, if they are dissatisfied with my work." He then chartered a yacht and cruised through the Great Lakes with his son and friends instead of campaigning. In August he cancelled the campaign ads that had been developed, then cemented the end of his political career by issuing a statement in support of Roosevelt, saying "the outcome of my own candidacy is neither important to the nation nor to me, … " Roosevelt had confided to Couzens that he thought war might be coming; Couzens believed Roosevelt was the leader that the country would need. For his honesty and convictions, Couzens was defeated at the polls. Within days, Roosevelt declared that "the country needs you in public service," and offered him the chairmanship of the Maritime Commission. Although in and out of the hospital with serious illnesses after the September 12 primary, Couzens mustered the strength to be the honorary chairman of the committee for the Detroit reception of the president. On October 15, he left his hospital bed to meet with Roosevelt in his campaign rail car and join him in a parade and rallies. Couzens was pleased to hear the president giving voice to many of the government policies he had championed. Afterward he was taken back to the hospital. He never survived his final surgery and died in Detroit on October 22, 1936. Admiration for Couzens was demonstrated after his death. "Suddenly, it was remembered that he had been one of the great builders of American industry, starting from scratch; that he had struck mighty blows for the workingmen while still an industrialist; that, after making millions, he had retired not to leisure, but to public service; that he had been a great and constructive mayor before he had become an outstanding senator; that he had been a benefactor of children through philanthropy equaled by few; that he was that rare thing, an honest man in politics," summarized Barnard. The Detroit City Council honored him by passing a resolution to have his body lie in state at City Hall and the flags in the city flown at half-mast for 30 days. James J. Couzens (August 26, 1872 – October 22, 1936) was a U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan, the Mayor of Detroit, an industrialist, and philanthropist. Contents 1 Early life and career 2 Association with Henry Ford 3 Detroit work and political career 4 Senatorial career 5 Philanthropy 6 Miscellaneous 7 See also 8 References 9 Bibliography 10 External links Early life and career Couzens was born in Chatham, Ontario, Canada in 1872, the son of soapmaker James and Emma Clift Couzens.[1] He attended the public schools of Chatham and spent time at a business college.[1][2] He moved to Detroit, Michigan in 1890 and worked as a railroad car checker for the New York Central Railroad from 1890 to 1897.[2] Couzens' diligence at the railroad was noticed by Alexander Y. Malcomson, who hired the young man as a clerk in his coal business.[1] Couzens worked for Malcomson from 1897 to 1903.[2] In 1898, Couzens married Margaret Manning.[1] The couple had six children: a son born in 1899 who died in infancy; Homer Couzens, born in 1900; Frank Couzens (later mayor of Detroit),[3] born in 1902; Madeline, born in 1904; Margo, born in 1910, and Edith, born in 1911.[1] Association with Henry Ford In 1902, Henry Ford was organizing the Ford Motor Company; Alexander Malcomson was a major stakeholder in the company.[1] The two were seeking additional stockholders; Couzens borrowed heavily and invested $2500 in the new firm.[1] Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903 with John S. Gray as president, Ford as vice-president, Malcomson as treasurer, and Couzens as secretary.[1] Couzens took over the business management of the new firm for a salary of $2400.[1] In 1906, Gray died and Malcomson was eased out of the business, and Couzens became vice president and general manager of the company.[1] The company made both Ford and Couzens wealthy, due in no small part to Couzens's business acumen.[1] However, the two men gradually grew apart, and in 1915 Couzens resigned his position as general manager, although he retained a seat on the board.[1] In 1919, Ford purchased Couzens's shares in the company for $30,000,000.[1] He was inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame in 2012.[4] Detroit work and political career James Couzens was president of the Bank of Detroit and director of the Detroit Trust Company.[2] He was commissioner of street railways 1913-1915 and commissioner of the metropolitan police department 1916–1918.[2] He was mayor of Detroit 1919–1922.[2] As mayor, Couzens installed municipal street railways. Senatorial career Couzens was appointed November 29, 1922, as a Republican to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Truman H. Newberry.[2] This appointment was confirmed by his election on November 4, 1924, at which time he was also elected to a full term commencing March 4, 1925. He was reelected in 1930, serving in total from November 29, 1922, until his death on October 22, 1936.[2] He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1936, the loss generally attributed to Couzens support for Roosevelt's New Deal programs.[1] He was chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Civil Service in the Sixty-ninth Congress, the U.S. Senate Committee on Education and Labor in the Sixty-ninth and Seventieth Congresses, the U.S. Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce in the Seventy-first and Seventy-second Congresses.[2] Couzens' actions in Congress generally followed those of the Progressive Republicans, advocating acts such as high graduated income tax and public ownership of utilities. Couzens died in Detroit and is interred in Woodlawn Cemetery there.[2] Philanthropy Couzens established the Children's Fund of Michigan with a $10,000,000 grant. He also gave $1,000,000 for relief in Detroit and began a fund to make loans to the physically handicapped. Under Dr Frank Norton, Dr Kenneth Richard Gibson and their secretary, Kathryn Hutchison, the Children's Fund, among other things, provided free health and dental work for indigent Detroit children. The Fund was set up with a 25-year life span, and the project ended in the mid-1950s.[citation needed] In response to the Bath School Disaster, in which Andrew Kehoe, an embittered school board member and treasurer, killed 38 children by blowing up explosives he had planted in the basement of the Bath Consolidated School in Bath Township, Michigan, Couzens gave $75,000 to fund rebuilding. The new school was dedicated as the "James Couzens Agricultural School". He donated $600,000 to the University of Michigan for the building of a residence hall for female nursing students; it was named Couzens Hall in his honor.[5] In the 1930s, Couzens donated $1 million to Children's Hospital of Michigan, in response to a birthday request from his wife for "a simple box in which to keep my pearls". Couzens complied, including a note within the box describing the $1 million gift, stating "My dear, your new pearls will be all the children who are eventually treated there". Today, Children's Hospital of Michigan is part of the Detroit Medical Center. Disturbed by the failures of low-income housing projects that came out of the depression, he funded an alternative. He contributed $550,000 of his own personal money, combined with $300,000 from Oakland Housing, to create a managed low-income housing project called Westacres, in West Bloomfield, Michigan. The project gave the low-income factory working man a chance to own a home. The homes were located on 1 acre of land and the owners were required to farm the land to provide food for their families when seasonal layoffs took place. Miscellaneous Asked how to say his name, he told The Literary Digest: "Pronounced exactly as cousins." [6] The middle section of the Lodge Freeway in Detroit was originally named for him. After the entire freeway was renamed to The Lodge, only the service drive retains the Couzens name.[5] See also List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49) List of United States Senators born outside the United States James Couzens played a fundamental role in the birth of Ford Motor Company. Born in Chatham, Ontario in 1872, Couzens received a formal education at a business college before moving to Detroit, Michigan in 1890. He found work as a railroad car checker for the New York Central Railroad, where his industrious work ethic was noticed by one Alexander Malcomson, who hired Couzens as a clerk at his coal business in 1897. Malcomson was a major stockholder for the soon to be formed Ford Motor Company, and was seeking additional investors for Henry Ford’s burgeoning firm. Couzens borrowed heavily and invested $2500 to become one of Ford’s original stockholders, and when Ford Motor Company was founded in 1903, he was made company secretary. Couzens would eventually take over all of Ford’s business management, and become vice president and general manager. He oversaw Ford’s introduction of the Model T and guided the company’s rise to worldwide prominence. Though they had helped make each other very wealthy, the relationship between Ford and Couzens eventually soured. In 1915, Couzens resigned his position as general manager but retained a seat on the board. He would step down from Ford altogether in 1919, and sold his stock in the company back to Henry Ford for $30 million dollars. Following his departure from Ford, Couzens was elected mayor of Detroit. He served as mayor from 1919 to 1922, when he was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by a resignation. He was elected again two years later, and would serve on the U.S. Senate until his death in 1936. Couzens was also a noted philanthropist who donated much of his wealth to civic causes, especially those relating to children. He established the Children’s Fund of Michigan with a $10,000,000 grant, and donated $1 million to Children’s Hospital of Michigan. He also contributed $550,000 of his own money to create a housing project called Westacres in West Bloomfield, Michigan. As businessman, senator, and humanitarian, James Couzens demonstrated that a true measure of talent is not only how you enrich your own life, but the lives of those around you as well. Article I, Section 3, of the Constitution, sets three qualifications for senators: (1) they must be at least 30 years old; (2) they must have been citizens of the United States for at least nine years; and (3) they must be inhabitants of the states they seek to represent at the time of their election. The age and citizenship qualifications for senators are more stringent than those for representatives. In Federalist No. 62, James Madison justified this arrangement by arguing that the "senatorial trust" called for a "greater extent of information and stability of character": A senator must be thirty years of age at least; as a representative must be twenty-five. And the former must have been a citizen nine years; as seven years are required for the latter. The propriety of these distinctions is explained by the nature of the senatorial trust, which, requiring greater extent of information and stability of character, requires at the same time that the senator should have reached a period of life most likely to supply these advantages; and which, participating immediately in transactions with foreign nations, ought to be exercised by none who are not thoroughly weaned from the prepossessions and habits incident to foreign birth and education. The term of nine years appears to be a prudent mediocrity between a total exclusion of adopted citizens, whose merits and talents may claim a share in the public confidence, and an indiscriminate and hasty admission of them, which might create a channel for foreign influence on the national councils.[20] The Senate (not the judiciary) is the sole judge of a senator's qualifications. During its early years, however, the Senate did not closely scrutinize the qualifications of its members. As a result, four senators who failed to meet the age requirement were nevertheless admitted to the Senate: Henry Clay (aged 29 in 1806), John Jordan Crittenden (aged 29 in 1817), Armistead Thomson Mason (aged 28 in 1816), and John Eaton (aged 28 in 1818). Such an occurrence, however, has not been repeated since.[21] In 1934, Rush D. Holt Sr. was elected to the Senate at the age of 29; he waited until he turned 30 (on the next June 19) to take the oath of office. In November 1972, Joe Biden was elected to the Senate at the age of 29, but he reached his 30th birthday before the swearing-in ceremony for incoming senators in January 1973. The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution disqualifies as senators any federal or state officers who had taken the requisite oath to support the Constitution but who later engaged in rebellion or aided the enemies of the United States. This provision, which came into force soon after the end of the Civil War, was intended to prevent those who had sided with the Confederacy from serving. That Amendment, however, also provides a method to remove that disqualification: a two-thirds vote of both chambers of Congress. Elections and term Originally, senators were selected by the state legislatures, not by popular elections. By the early years of the 20th century, the legislatures of as many as 29 states had provided for popular election of senators by referendums.[19] Popular election to the Senate was standardized nationally in 1913 by the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment. Term Senators serve terms of six years each; the terms are staggered so that approximately one-third of the seats are up for election every two years. This was achieved by dividing the senators of the 1st Congress into thirds (called classes), where the terms of one-third expired after two years, the terms of another third expired after four, and the terms of the last third expired after six years. This arrangement was also followed after the admission of new states into the union. The staggering of terms has been arranged such that both seats from a given state are not contested in the same general election, except when a vacancy is being filled. Class I comprises Senators whose six-year terms are set to expire on January 3, 2025. There is no constitutional limit to the number of terms a senator may serve. The Constitution set the date for Congress to convene — Article 1, Section 4, Clause 2, originally set that date for the third day of December. The Twentieth Amendment, however, changed the opening date for sessions to noon on the third day of January, unless they shall by law appoint a different day. The Twentieth Amendment also states that the Congress shall assemble at least once every year, and allows the Congress to determine its convening and adjournment dates and other dates and schedules as it desires. Article 1, Section 3, provides that the president has the power to convene Congress on extraordinary occasions at his discretion.[22] A member who has been elected, but not yet seated, is called a senator-elect; a member who has been appointed to a seat, but not yet seated, is called a senator-designate. Elections Further information: List of United States Senate elections Elections to the Senate are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years, Election Day, and occur simultaneously with elections for the House of Representatives.[23] Senators are elected by their state as a whole. The Elections Clause of the United States Constitution grants each state (and Congress, if it so desires to implement a uniform law) the power to legislate a method by which senators are elected. Ballot access rules for independent and minor party candidates also vary from state to state. In 45 states, a primary election is held first for the Republican and Democratic parties (and a select few third parties, depending on the state) with the general election following a few months later. In most of these states, the nominee may receive only a plurality, while in some states, a runoff is required if no majority was achieved. In the general election, the winner is the candidate who receives a plurality of the popular vote. However, in five states, different methods are used. In Georgia, a runoff between the top two candidates occurs if the plurality winner in the general election does not also win a majority. In California, Washington, and Louisiana, a nonpartisan blanket primary (also known as a "jungle primary" or "top-two primary") is held in which all candidates participate in a single primary regardless of party affiliation and the top two candidates in terms of votes received at the primary election advance to the general election, where the winner is the candidate with the greater number of votes. In Louisiana, the blanket primary is considered the general election and candidates receiving a majority of the votes is declared the winner, skipping a run-off. In Maine and Alaska, ranked-choice voting is used to nominate and elect candidates for federal offices, including the Senate.[24] Vacancies The Seventeenth Amendment requires that vacancies in the Senate be filled by special election. Whenever a senator must be appointed or elected, the secretary of the Senate mails one of three forms to the state's governor to inform them of the proper wording to certify the appointment of a new senator.[25] If a special election for one seat happens to coincide with a general election for the state's other seat, each seat is contested separately. A senator elected in a special election takes office as soon as possible after the election and serves until the original six-year term expires (i.e. not for a full-term). The Seventeenth Amendment permits state legislatures to empower their governors to make temporary appointments until the required special election takes place. The manner by which the Seventeenth Amendment is enacted varies among the states. A 2018 report breaks this down into the following three broad categories (specific procedures vary among the states):[26] Four states – North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin – do not empower their governors to make temporary appointments, relying exclusively on the required special election provision in the Seventeenth Amendment.[26]: 7–8  Eight states – Alaska, Connecticut, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Texas, Vermont, and Washington – provide for gubernatorial appointments, but also require a special election on an accelerated schedule.[26]: 10–11  The remaining thirty-eight states provide for gubernatorial appointments, "with the appointed senator serving the balance of the term or until the next statewide general election".[26]: 8–9  In ten states within the final category above – Arizona, Hawaii, Kentucky,[27] Maryland, Montana, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming – the governor must appoint someone of the same political party as the previous incumbent.[26]: 9 [28] In September 2009, Massachusetts changed its law to enable the governor to appoint a temporary replacement for the late senator Edward Kennedy until the special election in January 2010.[29][30] In 2004, Alaska enacted legislation and a separate ballot referendum that took effect on the same day, but that conflicted with each other. The effect of the ballot-approved law is to withhold from the governor authority to appoint a senator.[31] Because the 17th Amendment vests the power to grant that authority to the legislature – not the people or the state generally – it is unclear whether the ballot measure supplants the legislature's statute granting that authority.[31] As a result, it is uncertain whether an Alaska governor may appoint an interim senator to serve until a special election is held to fill the vacancy. In May 2021, Oklahoma permitted its governor again to appoint a successor who is of the same party as the previous senator for at least the preceding five years when the vacancy arises in an even-numbered year, only after the appointee has taken an oath not to run in either a regular or special Senate election.[28] Oath This article is part of a series on the Politics of the United States Federal government Legislature Executive Judiciary Elections Political parties Political ideologies Federalism Foreign relations flag United States portalicon Politics portal vte The Constitution requires that senators take an oath or affirmation to support the Constitution.[32] Congress has prescribed the following oath for all federal officials (except the President), including senators: I, ___ ___, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.[33] Salary and benefits US Senate salaries The annual salary of each senator, since 2009, is $174,000;[34] the president pro tempore and party leaders receive $193,400.[34][35] As of June 2003, at least 40 senators were millionaires;[36] in 2018, over 50 senators were millionaires.[37] Along with earning salaries, senators receive retirement and health benefits that are identical to other federal employees, and are fully vested after five years of service.[35] Senators are covered by the Federal Employees Retirement System (FERS) or Civil Service Retirement System (CSRS). FERS has been the Senate's retirement system since January 1, 1987, while CSRS applies only for those senators who were in the Senate from December 31, 1986, and prior. As it is for federal employees, congressional retirement is funded through taxes and the participants' contributions. Under FERS, senators contribute 1.3% of their salary into the FERS retirement plan and pay 6.2% of their salary in Social Security taxes. The amount of a senator's pension depends on the years of service and the average of the highest three years of their salary. The starting amount of a senator's retirement annuity may not exceed 80% of their final salary. In 2006, the average annual pension for retired senators and representatives under CSRS was $60,972, while those who retired under FERS, or in combination with CSRS, was $35,952.[35] Seniority Main article: Seniority in the United States Senate By tradition, seniority is a factor in the selection of physical offices and in party caucuses' assignment of committees. When senators have been in office for the same length of time, a number of tiebreakers are used, including comparing their former government service and then their respective state population.[38] The senator in each state with the longer time in office is known as the senior senator, while the other is the junior senator. For example, majority leader Chuck Schumer is the senior senator from New York, having served in the senate since 1999, while Kirsten Gillibrand is New York's junior senator, having served since 2009. Titles Like members of the House of Representatives, Senators use the prefix "The Honorable" before their names.[39][40] Senators are usually identified in the media and other sources by party and state; for example, Democratic majority leader Chuck Schumer, who represents New York, may be identified as "D–New York". And sometimes they are identified as to whether they are the junior or senior senator in their state (see above). Unless in the context of elections, they are rarely identified by which one of the three classes of senators they are in. Expulsion and other disciplinary actions The Senate may expel a senator by a two-thirds vote. Fifteen senators have been expelled in the Senate's history: William Blount, for treason, in 1797, and fourteen in 1861 and 1862 for supporting the Confederate secession. Although no senator has been expelled since 1862, many senators have chosen to resign when faced with expulsion proceedings – for example, Bob Packwood in 1995. The Senate has also censured and condemned senators; censure requires only a simple majority and does not remove a senator from office. Some senators have opted to withdraw from their re-election races rather than face certain censure or expulsion, such as Robert Torricelli in 2002. Majority and minority parties The "majority party" is the political party that either has a majority of seats or can form a coalition or caucus with a majority of seats; if two or more parties are tied, the vice president's affiliation determines which party is the majority party. The next-largest party is known as the minority party. The president pro tempore, committee chairs, and some other officials are generally from the majority party; they have counterparts (for instance, the "ranking members" of committees) in the minority party. Independents and members of third parties (so long as they do not caucus support either of the larger parties) are not considered in determining which is the majority party. Seating A typical Senate desk At one end of the chamber of the Senate is a dais from which the presiding officer presides. The lower tier of the dais is used by clerks and other officials. One hundred desks are arranged in the chamber in a semicircular pattern and are divided by a wide central aisle. The Democratic Party traditionally sits to the presiding officer's right, and the Republican Party traditionally sits to the presiding officer's left, regardless of which party has a majority of seats.[41] Each senator chooses a desk based on seniority within the party. By custom, the leader of each party sits in the front row along the center aisle. Forty-eight of the desks date back to 1819, when the Senate chamber was reconstructed after the original contents were destroyed in the 1812 Burning of Washington. Further desks of similar design were added as new states entered the Union.[42] It is a tradition that each senator who uses a desk inscribes their name on the inside of the desk's drawer.[43] Officers The Senate side of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. Except for the president of the Senate (who is the vice president), the Senate elects its own officers,[5] who maintain order and decorum, manage and schedule the legislative and executive business of the Senate, and interpret the Senate's rules, practices and precedents. Many non-member officers are also hired to run various day-to-day functions of the Senate. Presiding officer Main article: Presiding Officer of the United States Senate Under the Constitution, the vice president serves as president of the Senate. They may vote in the Senate (ex officio, for they are not an elected member of the Senate) in the case of a tie, but are not required to.[44] For much of the nation's history the task of presiding over Senate sessions was one of the vice president's principal duties (the other being to receive from the states the tally of electoral ballots cast for president and vice president and to open the certificates "in the Presence of the Senate and House of Representatives", so that the total votes could be counted). Since the 1950s, vice presidents have presided over few Senate debates. Instead, they have usually presided only on ceremonial occasions, such as swearing in new senators, joint sessions, or at times to announce the result of significant legislation or nomination, or when a tie vote on an important issue is anticipated. The Constitution authorizes the Senate to elect a president pro tempore (Latin for "president for a time"), who presides over the chamber in the vice president's absence and is, by custom, the senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service.[45] Like the vice president, the president pro tempore does not normally preside over the Senate, but typically delegates the responsibility of presiding to a majority-party senator who presides over the Senate, usually in blocks of one hour on a rotating basis. Frequently, freshmen senators (newly elected members) are asked to preside so that they may become accustomed to the rules and procedures of the body. It is said that, "in practice they are usually mere mouthpieces for the Senate's parliamentarian, who whispers what they should do".[46] The presiding officer sits in a chair in the front of the Senate chamber. The powers of the presiding officer of the Senate are far less extensive than those of the speaker of the House. The presiding officer calls on senators to speak (by the rules of the Senate, the first senator who rises is recognized); ruling on points of order (objections by senators that a rule has been breached, subject to appeal to the whole chamber); and announcing the results of votes. Party leaders Main article: Party leaders of the United States Senate Each party elects Senate party leaders. Floor leaders act as the party chief spokesmen. The Senate majority leader is responsible for controlling the agenda of the chamber by scheduling debates and votes. Each party elects an assistant leader (whip), who works to ensure that his party's senators vote as the party leadership desires. Non-member officers In addition to the vice president, the Senate has several officers who are not members. The Senate's chief administrative officer is the secretary of the Senate, who maintains public records, disburses salaries, monitors the acquisition of stationery and supplies, and oversees clerks. The assistant secretary of the Senate aids the secretary's work. Another official is the sergeant at arms who, as the Senate's chief law enforcement officer, maintains order and security on the Senate premises. The Capitol Police handle routine police work, with the sergeant at arms primarily responsible for general oversight. Other employees include the chaplain, who is elected by the Senate, and pages, who are appointed. Procedure Daily sessions The Senate uses Standing Rules for operation. Like the House of Representatives, the Senate meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. At one end of the chamber of the Senate is a dais from which the presiding officer presides. The lower tier of the dais is used by clerks and other officials. Sessions of the Senate are opened with a special prayer or invocation and typically convene on weekdays. Sessions of the Senate are generally open to the public and are broadcast live on television, usually by C-SPAN 2. Senate procedure depends not only on the rules, but also on a variety of customs and traditions. The Senate commonly waives some of its stricter rules by unanimous consent. Unanimous consent agreements are typically negotiated beforehand by party leaders. A senator may block such an agreement, but in practice, objections are rare. The presiding officer enforces the rules of the Senate, and may warn members who deviate from them. The presiding officer sometimes uses the gavel of the Senate to maintain order. A "hold" is placed when the leader's office is notified that a senator intends to object to a request for unanimous consent from the Senate to consider or pass a measure. A hold may be placed for any reason and can be lifted by a senator at any time. A senator may place a hold simply to review a bill, to negotiate changes to the bill, or to kill the bill. A bill can be held for as long as the senator who objects to the bill wishes to block its consideration. Holds can be overcome, but require time-consuming procedures such as filing cloture. Holds are considered private communications between a senator and the leader, and are sometimes referred to as "secret holds". A senator may disclose the placement of a hold. The Constitution provides that a majority of the Senate constitutes a quorum to do business. Under the rules and customs of the Senate, a quorum is always assumed present unless a quorum call explicitly demonstrates otherwise. A senator may request a quorum call by "suggesting the absence of a quorum"; a clerk then calls the roll of the Senate and notes which members are present. In practice, senators rarely request quorum calls to establish the presence of a quorum. Instead, quorum calls are generally used to temporarily delay proceedings; usually, such delays are used while waiting for a senator to reach the floor to speak or to give leaders time to negotiate. Once the need for a delay has ended, a senator may request unanimous consent to rescind the quorum call. Debate Debate, like most other matters governing the internal functioning of the Senate, is governed by internal rules adopted by the Senate. During a debate, senators may only speak if called upon by the presiding officer, but the presiding officer is required to recognize the first senator who rises to speak. Thus, the presiding officer has little control over the course of the debate. Customarily, the majority leader and minority leader are accorded priority during debates even if another senator rises first. All speeches must be addressed to the presiding officer, who is addressed as "Mr. President" or "Madam President", and not to another member; other Members must be referred to in the third person. In most cases, senators do not refer to each other by name, but by state or position, using forms such as "the senior senator from Virginia", "the gentleman from California", or "my distinguished friend the chairman of the Judiciary Committee". Senators address the Senate standing next to their desks.[47] Apart from rules governing civility, there are few restrictions on the content of speeches; there is no requirement that speeches pertain to the matter before the Senate. The rules of the Senate provide that no senator may make more than two speeches on a motion or bill on the same legislative day. A legislative day begins when the Senate convenes and ends with adjournment; hence, it does not necessarily coincide with the calendar day. The length of these speeches is not limited by the rules; thus, in most cases, senators may speak for as long as they please. Often, the Senate adopts unanimous consent agreements imposing time limits. In other cases (for example, for the budget process), limits are imposed by statute. However, the right to unlimited debate is generally preserved. Within the United States, the Senate is sometimes referred to as "world's greatest deliberative body".[48][49][50] Filibuster and cloture Main articles: Filibuster in the United States Senate and Reconciliation (United States Congress) See also: Clay pigeon floor procedure The filibuster is a tactic used to defeat bills and motions by prolonging debate indefinitely. A filibuster may entail long speeches, dilatory motions, and an extensive series of proposed amendments. The Senate may end a filibuster by invoking cloture. In most cases, cloture requires the support of three-fifths of the Senate; however, if the matter before the Senate involves changing the rules of the body – this includes amending provisions regarding the filibuster – a two-thirds majority is required. In practice, the threat of filibuster is more important than its use; almost any motion that does not have the support of three-fifths of the Senate effectively fails. This means that 41 senators can make a filibuster happen. Historically, cloture has rarely been invoked because bipartisan support is usually necessary to obtain the required supermajority, so a bill that already has bipartisan support is rarely subject to threats of filibuster. However, motions for cloture have increased significantly in recent years. If the Senate invokes cloture, the debate does not necessarily end immediately; instead, it is limited to up to 30 additional hours unless increased by another three-fifths vote. The longest filibuster speech in the Senate's history was delivered by Strom Thurmond (D-SC), who spoke for over 24 hours in an unsuccessful attempt to block the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.[51] Under certain circumstances, the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 provides for a process called "reconciliation" by which Congress can pass bills related to the budget without those bills being subject to a filibuster. This is accomplished by limiting all Senate floor debate to 20 hours.[52] The Senate filibuster is frequently debated as the Constitution specifies a simple majority threshold to pass legislation, and some critics feel the de facto three-fifths threshold for general legislation prevents beneficial laws from passing. Detractors also note that the filibuster, elevated in importance in 1917, was prominently and persistently wielded in defense of white supremacy.[11][dubious – discuss] The nuclear option was exercised by both major parties in the 2010s to weaken the filibuster for confirmations. Supporters generally consider the filibuster to be an important protection for the minority views and a check against the unfettered single-party rule when the same party holds the Presidency and a majority in both the House and Senate.[citation needed] Voting When the debate concludes, the motion in question is put to a vote. The Senate often votes by voice vote. The presiding officer puts the question, and members respond either "Yea/Aye" (in favor of the motion) or "Nay" (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the result of the voice vote. A senator, however, may challenge the presiding officer's assessment and request a recorded vote. The request may be granted only if it is seconded by one-fifth of the senators present. In practice, however, senators second requests for recorded votes as a matter of courtesy. When a recorded vote is held, the clerk calls the roll of the Senate in alphabetical order; senators respond when their name is called. Senators who were not in the chamber when their name was called may still cast a vote so long as the voting remains open. The vote is closed at the discretion of the presiding officer, but must remain open for a minimum of 15 minutes. A majority of those voting determines whether the motion carries.[53] If the vote is tied, the vice president, if present, is entitled to cast a tie-breaking vote. If the vice president is not present, the motion fails.[54] Filibustered bills require a three-fifths majority to overcome the cloture vote (which usually means 60 votes) and get to the normal vote where a simple majority (usually 51 votes) approves the bill. This has caused some news media to confuse the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster with the 51 votes needed to approve a bill, with for example USA Today erroneously stating "The vote was 58–39 in favor of the provision establishing concealed carry permit reciprocity in the 48 states that have concealed weapons laws. That fell two votes short of the 60 needed to approve the measure".[53] Closed session Main article: Closed sessions of the United States Senate On occasion, the Senate may go into what is called a secret or closed session. During a closed session, the chamber doors are closed, cameras are turned off, and the galleries are completely cleared of anyone not sworn to secrecy, not instructed in the rules of the closed session, or not essential to the session. Closed sessions are rare and usually held only when the Senate is discussing sensitive subject matter such as information critical to national security, private communications from the president, or deliberations during impeachment trials. A senator may call for and force a closed session if the motion is seconded by at least one other member, but an agreement usually occurs beforehand.[55] If the Senate does not approve the release of a secret transcript, the transcript is stored in the Office of Senate Security and ultimately sent to the national archives. The proceedings remain sealed indefinitely until the Senate votes to remove the injunction of secrecy.[56] In 1973, the House adopted a rule that all committee sessions should be open unless a majority on the committee voted for a closed session. Calendars The Senate maintains a Senate Calendar and an Executive Calendar.[57] The former identifies bills and resolutions awaiting Senate floor actions. The latter identifies executive resolutions, treaties, and nominations reported out by Senate committee(s) and awaiting Senate floor action. Both are updated each day the Senate is in session. Committees Main article: United States congressional committee Committee Room 226 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building is used for hearings by the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Senate uses committees (and their subcommittees) for a variety of purposes, including the review of bills and the oversight of the executive branch. Formally, the whole Senate appoints committee members. In practice, however, the choice of members is made by the political parties. Generally, each party honors the preferences of individual senators, giving priority based on seniority. Each party is allocated seats on committees in proportion to its overall strength. Most committee work is performed by 16 standing committees, each of which has jurisdiction over a field such as finance or foreign relations. Each standing committee may consider, amend, and report bills that fall under its jurisdiction. Furthermore, each standing committee considers presidential nominations to offices related to its jurisdiction. (For instance, the Judiciary Committee considers nominees for judgeships, and the Foreign Relations Committee considers nominees for positions in the Department of State.) Committees may block nominees and impede bills from reaching the floor of the Senate. Standing committees also oversee the departments and agencies of the executive branch. In discharging their duties, standing committees have the power to hold hearings and to subpoena witnesses and evidence. The Senate also has several committees that are not considered standing committees. Such bodies are generally known as select or special committees; examples include the Select Committee on Ethics and the Special Committee on Aging. Legislation is referred to some of these committees, although the bulk of legislative work is performed by the standing committees. Committees may be established on an ad hoc basis for specific purposes; for instance, the Senate Watergate Committee was a special committee created to investigate the Watergate scandal. Such temporary committees cease to exist after fulfilling their tasks. The Congress includes joint committees, which include members from both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Some joint committees oversee independent government bodies; for instance, the Joint Committee on the Library oversees the Library of Congress. Other joint committees serve to make advisory reports; for example, there exists a Joint Committee on Taxation. Bills and nominees are not referred to joint committees. Hence, the power of joint committees is considerably lower than those of standing committees. Each Senate committee and subcommittee is led by a chair (usually a member of the majority party). Formerly, committee chairs were determined purely by seniority; as a result, several elderly senators continued to serve as chair despite severe physical infirmity or even senility.[58] Committee chairs are elected, but, in practice, seniority is rarely bypassed. The chairs hold extensive powers: they control the committee's agenda, and so decide how much, if any, time to devote to the consideration of a bill; they act with the power of the committee in disapproving or delaying a bill or a nomination by the president; they manage on the floor of the full Senate the consideration of those bills the committee reports. This last role was particularly important in mid-century, when floor amendments were thought not to be collegial. They also have considerable influence: senators who cooperate with their committee chairs are likely to accomplish more good for their states than those who do not. The Senate rules and customs were reformed in the twentieth century, largely in the 1970s. Committee chairmen have less power and are generally more moderate and collegial in exercising it, than they were before reform.[59] The second-highest member, the spokesperson on the committee for the minority party, is known in most cases as the ranking member.[60] In the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Select Committee on Ethics, however, the senior minority member is known as the vice-chair. Criticism Critiques on policy gridlock and the Senate's general usefulness as an institution, stem from a couple central points of criticism: not giving each citizen an equal voice, and specific Senate rules, such as the filibuster.[11][61] Representation bias The most controversial issue at the constitutional convention, the disparity between the most and least populous states, has grown since 1787, when Virginia had roughly ten times the population of Rhode Island, whereas today California has roughly 70 times the population of Wyoming, based on the 1790 and 2020 censuses. This means the votes of each Wyoming voter is worth ~70 times more than the votes of each California voter, while people living in the District of Columbia and the territories also have no vote in the Senate, just non-voting delegates.[62][63] One analysis of democracies found that only Argentina and Brazil's upper chambers are further from one person, one vote.[64] Critics argue that voters from small states receive much greater voice and funding[65] per capita than those from larger states, violating the one person, one vote ideal.[66] This disparity in representation between large and small states has increasingly favored Republicans since the 1960s,[67][68][69] with David Wasserman estimating that Democrats would need to keep winning the popular vote by more than 6% to maintain control of the Senate.[70] David Leonhardt estimates that African Americans have roughly 75% of the representation of the average white American in the Senate, Asian Americans ~72%, and Hispanic Americans only 55%,[71] which raises concerns around structural racism.[72] Rules Critics argue the Senate's obsolescence stems not just from partisan paralysis but also a preponderance of arcane rules.[73][74] Senate office buildings External video video icon Senate Building, Washington DC, HD from 35mm There are presently three Senate office buildings located along Constitution Avenue, north of the Capitol. They are the Russell Senate Office Building, the Dirksen Senate Office Building, and the Hart Senate Office Building. Functions Legislation Further information: Act of Congress Bills may be introduced in either chamber of Congress. However, the Constitution's Origination Clause provides that "All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives".[75] As a result, the Senate does not have the power to initiate bills imposing taxes. Furthermore, the House of Representatives holds that the Senate does not have the power to originate appropriation bills, or bills authorizing the expenditure of federal funds.[76][77][78][79] Historically, the Senate has disputed the interpretation advocated by the House. However, when the Senate originates an appropriations bill, the House simply refuses to consider it, thereby settling the dispute in practice. The constitutional provision barring the Senate from introducing revenue bills is based on the practice of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, in which money bills approved by Parliament have originated in the House of Commons per constitutional convention.[80] Although the Constitution gave the House the power to initiate revenue bills, in practice the Senate is equal to the House in the respect of spending. As Woodrow Wilson wrote: The Senate's right to amend general appropriation bills has been allowed the widest possible scope. The upper house may add to them what it pleases; may go altogether outside of their original provisions and tack to them entirely new features of legislation, altering not only the amounts but even the objects of expenditure, and making out of the materials sent them by the popular chamber measures of an almost totally new character.[81] The approval of both houses is required for any bill, including a revenue bill, to become law. Both Houses must pass the same version of the bill; if there are differences, they may be resolved by sending amendments back and forth or by a conference committee, which includes members of both bodies. Checks and balances The Constitution provides several unique functions for the Senate that form its ability to "check and balance" the powers of other elements of the federal government. These include the requirement that the Senate may advise and must consent to some of the president's government appointments; also the Senate must consent to all treaties with foreign governments; it tries all impeachments, and it elects the vice president in the event no person gets a majority of the electoral votes. The Senate has the power to try impeachments; shown above is Theodore R. Davis's drawing of the impeachment trial of President Andrew Johnson, 1868 The president can make certain appointments only with the advice and consent of the Senate. Officials whose appointments require the Senate's approval include members of the Cabinet, heads of most federal executive agencies, ambassadors, justices of the Supreme Court, and other federal judges. Under Article II, Section 2, of the Constitution, a large number of government appointments are subject to potential confirmation; however, Congress has passed legislation to authorize the appointment of many officials without the Senate's consent (usually, confirmation requirements are reserved for those officials with the most significant final decision-making authority). Typically, a nominee is the first subject to a hearing before a Senate committee. Thereafter, the nomination is considered by the full Senate. The majority of nominees are confirmed, but in a small number of cases each year, Senate committees purposely fail to act on a nomination to block it. In addition, the president sometimes withdraws nominations when they appear unlikely to be confirmed. Because of this, outright rejections of nominees on the Senate floor are infrequent (there have been only nine Cabinet nominees rejected outright in United States history).[82] The powers of the Senate concerning nominations are, however, subject to some constraints. For instance, the Constitution provides that the president may make an appointment during a congressional recess without the Senate's advice and consent. The recess appointment remains valid only temporarily; the office becomes vacant again at the end of the next congressional session. Nevertheless, presidents have frequently used recess appointments to circumvent the possibility that the Senate may reject the nominee. Furthermore, as the Supreme Court held in Myers v. United States, although the Senate's advice and consent are required for the appointment of certain executive branch officials, it is not necessary for their removal.[83][84] Recess appointments have faced a significant amount of resistance and in 1960, the U.S. Senate passed a legally non-binding resolution against recess appointments.[citation needed] U.S. Senate chamber c. 1873: two or three spittoons are visible by desks The Senate also has a role in ratifying treaties. The Constitution provides that the president may only "make Treaties, provided two-thirds of the senators present concur" in order to benefit from the Senate's advice and consent and give each state an equal vote in the process. However, not all international agreements are considered treaties under U.S. domestic law, even if they are considered treaties under international law. Congress has passed laws authorizing the president to conclude executive agreements without action by the Senate. Similarly, the president may make congressional-executive agreements with the approval of a simple majority in each House of Congress, rather than a two-thirds majority in the Senate. Neither executive agreements nor congressional-executive agreements are mentioned in the Constitution, leading some scholars such as Laurence Tribe and John Yoo[85] to suggest that they unconstitutionally circumvent the treaty-ratification process. However, courts have upheld the validity of such agreements.[86] The Constitution empowers the House of Representatives to impeach federal officials for "Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors" and empowers the Senate to try such impeachments. If the sitting president of the United States is being tried, the chief justice of the United States presides over the trial. During an impeachment trial, senators are constitutionally required to sit on oath or affirmation. Conviction requires a two-thirds majority of the senators present. A convicted official is automatically removed from office; in addition, the Senate may stipulate that the defendant be banned from holding office. No further punishment is permitted during the impeachment proceedings; however, the party may face criminal penalties in a normal court of law. The House of Representatives has impeached sixteen officials, of whom seven were convicted (one resigned before the Senate could complete the trial).[87] Only three presidents have been impeached: Andrew Johnson in 1868, Bill Clinton in 1998, and Donald Trump in 2019 and 2021. The trials of Johnson, Clinton and both Trump trials ended in acquittal; in Johnson's case, the Senate fell one vote short of the two-thirds majority required for conviction. Under the Twelfth Amendment, the Senate has the power to elect the vice president if no vice-presidential candidate receives a majority of votes in the Electoral College. The Twelfth Amendment requires the Senate to choose from the two candidates with the highest numbers of electoral votes. Electoral College deadlocks are rare. The Senate has only broken a deadlock once; in 1837, it elected Richard Mentor Johnson. The House elects the president if the Electoral College deadlocks on that choice. See also Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate Elections in the United States List of African-American United States senators List of current United States senators United States presidents and control of Congress Women in the United States Senate Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobiles and commercial vehicles under the Ford brand, and luxury cars under its Lincoln brand. Ford also owns a 32% stake in China's Jiangling Motors.[8] It also has joint ventures in China (Changan Ford), Taiwan (Ford Lio Ho), Thailand (AutoAlliance Thailand), and Turkey (Ford Otosan). The company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is controlled by the Ford family; they have minority ownership but the majority of the voting power.[6][9] 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; by 1914, these methods were known around the world as Fordism. Ford's former UK subsidiaries Jaguar and Land Rover, acquired in 1989 and 2000, respectively, were sold to the Indian automaker Tata Motors in March 2008. Ford owned the Swedish automaker Volvo from 1999 to 2010.[10] In 2011, Ford discontinued the Mercury brand, under which it had marketed entry-level luxury cars in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Middle East since 1938. Ford is the second-largest U.S.-based automaker (behind General Motors) and the sixth-largest in the world (behind Toyota, Volkswagen Group, Hyundai Motor Group, Stellantis, and General Motors) based on 2022 vehicle production.[11] At the end of 2010, Ford was the fifth-largest automaker in Europe.[12] The company went public in 1956 but the Ford family, through special Class B shares, still retain 40 percent of the voting rights.[6][13] During the financial crisis of 2007–08, the company struggled financially but did not have to be rescued by the federal government, unlike the other two major US automakers.[14][15] Ford Motors has since returned to profitability,[16] and was the eleventh-ranked overall American-based company in the 2018 Fortune 500 list, based on global revenues in 2017 of $156.7 billion.[17] In 2008, Ford produced 5.532 million automobiles[18] and employed about 213,000 employees at around 90 plants and facilities worldwide. History Main article: History of Ford Motor Company 20th century Founder Henry Ford c. 1919 The Henry Ford Company was Henry Ford's first attempt at a car manufacturing company and was established on November 3, 1901. This became the Cadillac Motor Company on August 22, 1902, after Ford left with the rights to his name.[19] The Ford Motor Company was launched in a converted factory in 1903 with $28,000 (equivalent to $912,000 in 2022) in cash from twelve investors, most notably John and Horace Dodge (who would later found their own car company). The first president was not Ford, but local banker John S. Gray, who was chosen in order to assuage investors' fears that Ford would leave the new company the way he had left its predecessor. During its early years, the company produced just a few cars a day at its factory on Mack Avenue and later at its factory on Piquette Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. Groups of two or three men worked on each car, assembling it from parts made mostly by supplier companies contracting for Ford. Within a decade the company led the world in the expansion and refinement of the assembly line concept, and Ford soon brought much of the part production in-house (vertical integration). Henry Ford was 39 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. It has been in continuous family control for over 100 years and is one of the largest family-controlled companies in the world.[citation needed] The first gasoline-powered automobile had been created in 1885 by the German inventor Karl Benz (Benz Patent-Motorwagen). More efficient production methods were needed to make automobiles affordable for the middle class, to which Ford contributed by, for instance, introducing the first moving assembly line in 1913 at the Ford factory in Highland Park.[citation needed] A 1910 Model T (introduced in 1908), photographed in Salt Lake City Between 1903 and 1908, Ford produced the Models A, B, C, F, K, N, R, and S. Hundreds or a few thousand of most of these were sold per year. In 1908, Ford introduced the mass-produced Model T, which totaled millions sold over nearly 20 years. In 1927, Ford replaced the T with the Model A, the first car with safety glass in the windshield.[20] Ford launched the first low-priced car with a V8 engine in 1932.[citation needed] In an attempt to compete with General Motors' mid-priced Pontiac, Oldsmobile, and Buick, Ford created the Mercury in 1939 as a higher-priced companion car to Ford. Henry Ford purchased the Lincoln Motor Company in 1922, in order to compete with such brands as Cadillac and Packard for the luxury segment of the automobile market.[citation needed] In 1929, Ford was contracted by the government of the Soviet Union to set up the Gorky Automobile Plant in Russia initially producing Ford Model A and AAs thereby playing an important role in the industrialization of that country.[21] B-24 Liberator bombers being mass-produced at Ford's Willow Run assembly plant in 1944 During World War II, the United States Department of War picked Ford to mass-produce the Consolidated B-24 Liberator bomber at its Willow Run assembly plant.[22] Ford Werke and Ford SAF (Ford's subsidiaries in Germany and France, respectively) produced military vehicles and other equipment for Nazi Germany's war effort. Some of Ford's operations in Germany at the time were run using forced labor. The creation of a scientific laboratory in Dearborn, Michigan, in 1951, doing unfettered basic research, led to Ford's unlikely involvement in superconductivity research. In 1964, Ford Research Labs made a key breakthrough with the invention of a superconducting quantum interference device or SQUID.[23] Ford offered the Lifeguard safety package from 1956, which included such innovations as a standard deep-dish steering wheel, optional front, and, for the first time in a car, rear seatbelts, and an optional padded dash.[24] Ford introduced child-proof door locks into its products in 1957, and, in the same year, offered the first retractable hardtop on a mass-produced six-seater car.[25] In late 1955, Ford established the Continental division as a separate luxury car division. This division was responsible for the manufacture and sale of the famous Continental Mark II. At the same time, the Edsel division was created to design and market that car starting with the 1958 model year. Due to limited sales of the Continental and the Edsel disaster, Ford merged Mercury, Edsel, and Lincoln into "M-E-L," which reverted to "Lincoln-Mercury" after Edsel's November 1959 demise.[25] The Ford Mustang was introduced on April 17, 1964, during New York World's Fair (where Ford had a pavilion made by The Walt Disney Company).[26][27] In 1965, Ford introduced the seat belt reminder light.[citation needed] With the 1980s, Ford introduced several highly successful vehicles around the world. During the 1980s, Ford began using the advertising slogan, "Have you driven a Ford, lately?" to introduce new customers to their brand and make their vehicles appear more modern. In 1990 and 1994, respectively, Ford also acquired Jaguar Cars and Aston Martin.[28] During the mid-to-late 1990s, Ford continued to sell large numbers of vehicles, in a booming American economy with a soaring stock market and low fuel prices.[citation needed] With the dawn of the new century, legacy health care costs, higher fuel prices, and a faltering economy led to falling market shares, declining sales, and diminished profit margins. Most of the corporate profits came from financing consumer automobile loans through Ford Motor Credit Company.[29] 21st century William Clay Ford Jr., great-grandson of Henry Ford, serves as the executive chairman at the board of Ford Motor Company. By 2005, both Ford and GM's corporate bonds had been downgraded to junk status[30] as a result of high U.S. health care costs for an aging workforce, soaring gasoline prices, eroding market share, and an overdependence on declining SUV sales. Profit margins decreased on large vehicles due to increased "incentives" (in the form of rebates or low-interest financing) to offset declining demand.[31] 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, named The Way Forward, at the board meeting of the company on December 7, 2005, and it was unveiled to the public on January 23, 2006. "The Way Forward" included resizing the company to match market realities, dropping some unprofitable and inefficient models, consolidating production lines, closing 14 factories and cutting 30,000 jobs.[32] 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, the company licensed similar Toyota hybrid technologies[33] in order to avoid patent infringements.[34] Ford announced that it would 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 multimillion-dollar, multi-year project, Ford is to convert a demonstration fleet of Ford Escape Hybrids into plug-in hybrids, and SCE is to evaluate how the vehicles might interact with the home and the utility's electrical grid. Some of the vehicles are to be evaluated "in typical customer settings", according to Ford.[35][36] William Clay Ford Jr., great-grandson of Henry Ford (and better known by his nickname "Bill"), was appointed executive chairman in 1998, and also became chief executive officer of the company in 2001, with the departure of Jacques Nasser, becoming the first member of the Ford family to head the company since the retirement of his uncle, Henry Ford II, in 1982. Ford sold motorsport engineering company Cosworth to Gerald Forsythe and Kevin Kalkhoven in 2004, the start of a decrease in Ford's motorsport involvement. Upon the retirement of president and chief operations officer Jim Padilla in April 2006, Bill Ford assumed his roles as well. Five months later, in September, Ford named Alan Mulally as president and CEO, with Ford continuing as executive chairman. In December 2006, the company raised its borrowing capacity to about $25 billion, placing substantially all corporate assets as collateral.[37] Chairman Bill Ford has stated that "bankruptcy is not an option".[38] Ford 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 included 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 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 gave hourly workers the job security they were seeking by having the company commit to substantial investments in most of its factories. Horton Classic Car Museum, Nocona, Texas. The automaker reported the largest annual loss in company history in 2006 of $12.7 billion,[39] and estimated that it would not return to profitability until 2009.[40] 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.[41] On June 2, 2008, Ford sold its Jaguar and Land Rover operations to Tata Motors for $2.3 billion.[42][43] During congressional hearings held in November 2008 at Washington D.C., Ford's Alan Mulally stated that "We at Ford are hopeful that we have enough liquidity. But we also must prepare ourselves for the prospect of further deteriorating economic conditions". He went on to state that "The collapse of one of our competitors would have a severe impact on Ford" and that Ford Motor Company supported both Chrysler and General Motors in their search for government bridge loans in the face of conditions caused by the 2008 financial crisis.[44][45] Together, the three companies presented action plans for the sustainability of the industry. Mulally stated that "In addition to our plan, we are also here today to request support for the industry. In the near-term, Ford does not require access to a government bridge loan. However, we request a credit line of $9 billion as a critical backstop or safeguard against worsening conditions as we drive transformational change in our company".[46] GM and Chrysler received government loans and financing through T.A.R.P. legislation funding provisions.[47] On December 19, the cost of credit default swaps to insure the debt of Ford was 68 percent of the sum insured for five years, in addition to annual payments of 5 percent. That meant $6.8 million paid upfront to insure $10 million in debt, in addition to payments of $500,000 per year.[48] In January 2009, Ford reported a $14.6 billion loss in the preceding year, a record for the company. The company retained sufficient liquidity to fund its operations. Through April 2009, Ford's strategy of debt-for-equity exchanges erased $9.9 billion in liabilities (28% of its total) in order to leverage its cash position.[49] These actions yielded Ford a $2.7 billion profit in fiscal year 2009, the company's first full-year profit in four years.[50] In 2012, Ford's corporate bonds were upgraded from junk to investment grade again, citing sustainable, lasting improvements.[51] On October 29, 2012, Ford announced the sale of its climate control components business, its last remaining automotive components operation, to Detroit Thermal Systems LLC for an undisclosed price.[52] On November 1, 2012, Ford announced that CEO Alan Mulally would stay with the company until 2014. Ford also named Mark Fields, its president of operations in the Americas, as its new chief operating officer[53] Mulally was paid a compensation of over $174 million in his previous seven years at Ford since 2006. The generous amount has been a sore point for some workers of the company.[54] In April 2016, Ford announced a plan to modernize its Dearborn engineering and headquarters campuses through a ten-year building project. The result would see the number of Ford employees working in these areas doubling, to 24,000. During construction, some 2000 of the employees were relocated out of the campus to a temporary location in a disused section of the local shopping mall.[55] Facilities would also be altered to allow ride-sharing and electric and self-driving vehicles.[56] Estimates of the construction cost were $1.2 billion.[57] The historic, once abandoned Michigan Central Station was purchased by Ford Motor Company in May 2018 and is expected to undergo a significant four-year renovation. On January 3, 2017, Ford CEO Mark Fields announced that in a "vote of confidence" because of the pro-business climate being fostered in part by President-elect Donald Trump, Ford had canceled plans to invest $1.6 billion in a new plant in Mexico to manufacture the Ford Focus; instead, the company would invest $700 million in Michigan, which it planned to use to create 700 new jobs. The Focus would now be manufactured in the existing plant in Mexico.[58] Also in 2017, Ford began development of a new mixed-use urban campus in the Corktown neighborhood of Detroit, with its purchase, renovation, and occupation of The Factory at Michigan and Rosa Parks. The new site was expected to have a major focus on the development of autonomous vehicle and electric vehicle technology.[59] Ford later began buying up other parcels of land in Corktown including a very high-profile purchase of Michigan Central Station which is planned to become the hub of their Corktown campus, and the adjacent Roosevelt Warehouse.[60] Ford expects to move 2,500 of its employees, roughly 5 percent of its southeast Michigan workforce, to the campus with space for an additional 2,500 entrepreneurs, technology companies and partners.[61] Bill Ford envisioned the first-floor concourse of the train station to be a public gathering place with retail outlets and restaurants.[62] In February 2017, Ford Motor Co. acquired majority ownership of Argo AI, a self-driving car startup.[63] In May 2017, Ford announced cuts to its global workforce amid efforts to address the company's declining share price and to improve profits. The company is targeting $3 billion in cost reduction and a nearly 10% reduction in the salaried workforce in Asia and North America to enhance earnings in 2018.[64][65] Jim Hackett was announced to replace Mark Fields as CEO of Ford Motor. Mr. Hackett most recently oversaw the formation of Ford Smart Mobility, a unit responsible for experimenting with car-sharing programs, self-driving ventures and other programs aimed at helping Ford better compete with Uber, Alphabet Inc. and other tech giants looking to edge in on the auto industry.[66][67] On April 25, 2018, Ford announced that it would discontinue passenger cars in the North American market in the next four years, except for the Mustang, due to declining demand and profitability.[68] The Focus Active, a crossover SUV based on the newly unveiled fourth-generation Focus, was also intended to be marketed in the United States. Due to the vehicle being manufactured in China, Ford later announced that it would not release the Focus Active in the United States, due to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Chinese exports.[69][70] In March 2020, the Detroit United Auto Workers union announced that after discussion with the leaders of General Motors, Ford, and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, the carmakers would partially shut down factories on a "rotating" basis to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic.[71] On March 24, representatives of Ford announced that production in the US, Canada, and Mexico would not resume on March 30 as originally planned, amid the further coronavirus pandemic spread.[72] In the first quarter of 2020, Ford's sales dropped by 15%, entailing the loss of $2 billion.[73] With the change in the demand for the sport vehicles, on January 6, 2021, Ford reported a sales fall of 9.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 542,749 vehicles, compared to 601,862 in 2019.[74] In April 2021, Ford said that it would provide COVID-19 vaccines for its employees, who were to obtain them at the company; at the beginning the vaccination program would be in southeast Michigan, Missouri and Ohio, but it was to be expanded later on to other locations.[75] In March 2022, Ford announced that it would restructure the company into three separate divisions. Ford Model E is to focus on electric vehicles; Ford Blue is to focus on internal combustion vehicles; and the existing commercial division is to be rebranded as Ford Pro, to focus on vehicle distribution and service.[76][7] In August 2022, Ford announced it planned layoffs of roughly 3,000 employees and contract workers, confirming earlier reporting. The cuts would mostly affect divisions in the US, Canada, and India, which Jim Farley said would allow the company to prepare for the future of electric, software-heavy vehicles.[77][78] In February 2023, Ford announced that it was going to cut 3,800 jobs across Europe, with the job cuts mainly focusing on their German and British workforce. Ford will be cutting 2,300 jobs from Germany, 1,300 from the United Kingdom, and an additional 200 jobs in the rest of Europe, according to the head of Ford Germany, Martin Sander. The cuts will mainly be done to the company's engineers.[79] Ford announced that their electric vehicle business had lost $3 billion before taxes over the past two years and will lose a similar amount in 2023 as the company looks to significantly invest in Electric Technology. The Ford Model E is expected to be profitable by 2026.[80] In April 2023, United Kingdom ministers approved Ford's BlueCruise technology. Because of this assisted driving technology, Ford drivers can now legally take their hands off the wheel on certain roads. Its top speed is 129 km/h (80 mph). BlueCruise uses sensors and cameras to regulate the car's speed and to keep track of speed limits and road signs. It also monitors and keeps a safe distance from other vehicles. It also comes equipped with an eye-tracking system. If the driver stops looking at the road then the car will gradually reduce its speed. This technology will initially be offered in Ford's 2023 model of the electric Mustang Mach-E SUV. According to Thatcham Research, an automotive research company, this model is not a self-driving car. It is classified as a level 2 or partial automation assistance system. This means that technology controls two or more driving aspects but still requires human driver control in cases of emergencies. The driver is still legally responsible for accidents.[81] Logo evolution 1903 1903   1907 1907   1909 1909   1911 1911   1912 1912   1912 variant 1912 variant   1927 1927   1957 1957   1976 1976   2003 2003   2017 2017 Corporate affairs Executive management Members of the Ford board as of March 2023 are: William Clay Ford Jr. (executive chairman), Jim Farley (president and CEO), Kimberly Casiano, Alexandra Ford English (daughter of William Clay Ford Jr.), Henry Ford III (son of Edsel Ford II), William W. Helman IV, Jon Huntsman Jr., William E. Kennard, John C. May, Beth E. Mooney, John L. Thornton, John Veihmeyer, Lynn Vojvodich Radakovich, and John S. Weinberg.[82] Jim Farley succeeded Jim Hackett as the chief executive officer of the company in August, 2020; he previously served as Ford's chief operating officer. Hackett stayed in the company as an advisor until the second quarter of 2021.[83] Ford Motor Company Fund The Ford Motor Company Fund (also known as Ford Fund, not affiliated with the Ford Foundation), based in Dearborn, Michigan, is the philanthropic arm of the Ford Motor Company.[84] Established in 1949[85] by Henry Ford II,[citation needed] Ford Fund is a nonprofit corporate foundation[86] financed by contributions from Ford Motor Company. In 2017, Ford Fund contributed $63 million[87] to various causes[84] with a focus on education, driving safely and community building. The Ford Driving Skills for Life program is a driver safety program aimed at teens that were developed together with the Governors Highway Safety Association and safety experts.[88] The Ford Volunteer Corps allows Ford employees and retirees to sign up for volunteering work on local projects in more than 40 countries.[89] The Ford Fund invests $18 million annually in education in the United States and around the world, but accepts applications only from nonprofit organizations registered in the U.S.[90] Education programs and scholarships include Alan Mulally Engineering Scholarship, Ford Blue Oval Scholars Program, Ford College Community Challenge (Ford C3), Ford Driving Dreams Tour, Ford Fund/Detroit Free Press Journalism Scholarship, Ford Next Generation Learning (Ford NGL), Grants to Individuals Program, HBCU Community Challenge, Smithsonian Latino Center Young Ambassadors Program, and William Clay Ford Automotive Design Scholarship. Operations Ford has had manufacturing operations worldwide, including in the United States, Canada, Mexico, China, India, the United Kingdom, Germany, Turkey, Brazil, Argentina, Australia, and South Africa. Ford also has a cooperative agreement with Russian automaker GAZ. North America Ford dealer in Garden City, New York, c. 1930–1945 In May 2010, Ford reported that its sales increased 23% for the month, and that 37% of its sales came from fleet sales.[91] In June 2010, sales to individual customers at dealerships increased 13% while fleet sales rose by 32%.[92] In the first seven months of 2010, fleet sales of Ford for the same period rose 35% to 386,000 units while retail sales increase 19%.[93] Fleet sales account for 39 percent of Chrysler's sales and 31 percent for GM's.[93] Europe Main article: Ford of Europe The Ford Research Center in Aachen, Germany, photographed in 2006 At first, Ford in Germany and Ford in Britain built different models from one another until 1965, when the Ford Transit and later the Ford Escort and the Ford Capri became common to both companies. In 1970, the Ford Taunus and the Ford Cortina came into production with a common base construction, both models being produced in left hand drive and right hand drive. Later on, the models became identical and the respective models right- and left-hand-drive exclusively. 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, the "Jellymould" and "The Salesman's Spaceship." Ford's Dunton Technical Centre in Laindon, United Kingdom, the largest automotive research and development facility in the country,[94] pictured in 2006 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 continued at the company's Southampton facility until mid-2013, 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 with the introduction of the Ford Transit in 1965. Elsewhere in continental Europe, Ford assembles the Mondeo, Galaxy, S-Max[95] and Kuga[96] in Valencia (Spain), Fiesta in Cologne (Germany), Focus in Saarlouis (Germany), Ecosport[97] and Puma[98] in Craiova (Romania). 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, the Ford Transit Connect was Ford's first model produced in Craiova, followed, in 2012, by low-capacity car engines and a new small class car, the B-Max.[99] 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. On October 24, 2012, Ford announced that it would close its Genk assembly plant in eastern Belgium by the end of 2014.[100] In 2015, Ford announced that it took control of Ford Sollers, Ford's joint venture with Russian company Sollers.[101][102] In September 2018, at the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Hannover, Germany, Ford introduced an electric tractor-trailer concept vehicle dubbed the F-Vision, which would have Level 4 autonomous driving capability.[103] On March 1, 2022, Ford announced that it was suspending its Sollers joint venture operation in Russia, in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[104] East and Southeast Asia Ford formed its first passenger-vehicle joint venture in China in 2001, six years behind GM and more than a decade after VW. It has spent as of 2013 $4.9 billion to expand its lineup and double production capacity in China to 600,000 vehicles. This includes Ford's largest-ever factory complex in the southwestern city of Chongqing. Ford had 2.5% of the Chinese market in 2013, while VW controlled 14.5% and GM had 15.6%, according to consultant LMC Automotive. GM outsells Ford in China by more than six-to-one.[105] 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.[106] Now based in the Bo-win Sub District of the Sriracha District in Chonburi, the factory still produces passenger automobiles. The factory, built in 1941 in Singapore, was soon taken over by the Japanese during the war and was the site of a surrender of the British to the Japanese, at the factory site which is now a national monument in Singapore. On April 30, 2013, Ford Motor Co. launched their car and truck line in Myanmar. Previously, heavy importation taxes had stifled imported car purchases in Myanmar, but due to currency reform, lifting of previous import restrictions, and the abolishment of shadow currency, Myanmar's car market had grown in demand.[107] South Korea In 1967, Ford partnered with the South Korean company Hyundai, and at the new factory in Ulsan, South Korea, built the European Ford Cortina until 1974 when Hyundai introduced their all-new Hyundai Pony in 1975. Ford then developed a relationship with Korea's oldest car manufacturer Kia which built vehicles co-engineered with Mazda, later selling the Ford Festiva from 1988 to 1993, and the Ford Aspire from 1994 to 1997 for export to the United States. With the acquisition of a stake in Japanese manufacturer Mazda in 1979, Ford began selling Mazda's Familia and Capella as the Ford Laser and Telstar throughout the region, replacing the European-sourced Escort and Cortina. From 1989 to 1996, Kia imported the Mercury Sable from Ford in the U.S. and sold them in South Korea as the Kia Sable. Though the Sable was branded and marketed as a Kia, it retained the Mercury badges and emblem. Ford lost their Kia interest to Hyundai in 1998 during the Asian financial crisis. Kia had declared bankruptcy in 1997; in 1998, Hyundai Motor Company acquired 51% of the company, outbidding Ford which had owned an interest in Kia Motors since 1986.[108] After subsequent divestments,[109] Hyundai Motor Company owns less than 50% of the company but remains Kia's largest stakeholder. As of 2020, Ford sells the Explorer, Mondeo, and Mustang,[110] as well as the Lincoln Aviator, Continental, Corsair, MKZ, and Nautilus in South Korea.[111] South and West Asia Ford India began production in 1998 at Chennai, Tamil Nadu, with its Ford Escort model, which was later replaced by the locally produced Ford Ikon in 2001. It has since added the Fusion, Fiesta, Mondeo and Endeavour models to its product line. On March 9, 2010, Ford launched its first made-for-India compact car. Starting at ₹349,900, the Figo was Ford's first car designed and priced for the mass Indian market.[112] On July 28, 2011, Ford India signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the State of Gujarat for the construction of an assembly and engine plant in Sanand and planned to invest approximately US$1 billion on a 460-acre site.[113] In 2019, the company and Mahindra & Mahindra formed a joint venture to develop, market and distribute Ford-branded vehicles in India.[114] In September 2021 Ford India announced plans to shut down both its assembly plants. The company said that it intends to maintain its parts and service network.[115] Ford's market presence in the Middle East has traditionally been small, partly due to previous Arab boycotts of companies dealing with Israel. Ford and Lincoln vehicles are currently marketed in ten countries in the region.[116] Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates 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.[117] 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 and Lincoln vehicles sold in that country were Ford Crown Victorias.[118] 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. South America Ford assembly plant in General Pacheco, Argentina, as seen in the 1960s In South America, Ford's primary operations are in Brazil, Argentina, and Ford Andina[119] (Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela). Ford employs over 18,000 people and operates seven assembly or other plants in the region.[120] In 1987, Ford Brasil and Ford Motor Argentina merged their operations with the Brazilian and Argentine operations of Volkswagen Group, forming a new joint-venture company called Autolatina with a shared model range.[121] Autolatina was dissolved in 1995.[121] In early 2021, Ford's Brazil branch announced it would completely cease production in the country over the course of a few months.[122] Africa 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 facility in Port Elizabeth; the company later 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).[123] 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.[124] 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[125] and Telstar.[126] 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; the Mondeo, after briefly being assembled locally, was dropped in 2005. The Mondeo was later reintroduced in 2015, badged as the Fusion, but was dropped in 2017.[127] Research Ford Research and Innovation Center is the name of the technology research facilities of Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, Michigan Palo Alto, California Aachen, Germany Nanjing, China The Ford Research and Innovation Center in Palo Alto was first opened in 2012, and in January 2015, announced plans to significantly expand its operations.[128][129][130][131] Former operations East and Southeast Asia Ford decided to shut down their entire operations in Indonesia, including their dealer network by second half of 2016.[132][133] Ford of Japan Main article: Ford Motor Company of Japan Ford established a manufacturing facility in the port city of Yokohama in February 1925, where Model T vehicles were assembled using imported knock-down kits.[134] The factory subsequently produced 10,000 Model A's up to 1936. Production ceased in 1940 as a result of political tensions between Japan and the United States. After World War II, Ford did not have a presence in Japan, as the Ford facility was appropriated by the Japanese Government until 1958 when property was returned as a possession of the Ford Motor Company and became a research and development location for Ford partner Mazda. In 1979, Ford acquired a 24.5% ownership stake in Mazda, and in 1982, Ford and Mazda jointly established a sales channel to sell Ford products in Japan, including vehicles manufactured in North America, at a dealership called Autorama (Japanese). The Autorama sales channel was renamed Ford Sales of Japan in 1997.[135] Vehicles sold at Autorama locations were the North American assembled Ford Explorer, Probe (1989–1998), Mustang, Taurus (1989–1997), Thunderbird (1990–1993), Lincoln Continental, and Lincoln LS. Ford products manufactured in Europe that were sold in Japan were the Ford Mondeo, Ka, Focus, Focus C-MAX, Fiesta, and the Galaxy. Mazda manufactured Ford vehicles in Japan and sold them as Fords at the Autorama locations. They were the Ford Telstar (Mazda Capella), Laser, Festiva, Festiva Mini Wagon, Ixion (Mazda Premacy), Freda (Mazda Bongo Friendee), Spectron (Mazda Bongo), and commercial trucks J80 and the J100 (Mazda Bongo truck). Ford increased its shareholding in Mazda to 33.4% in 1996, but as of July 2016, it is listed at 11%.[136] Ford did sell a small range of vehicles in Japan; as of October 2010, the Ford Mustang, Escape, Explorer (and Explorer truck), Ford Kuga, Lincoln Navigator, Lincoln MKX, and more recently, the Ford Ecosport were available in Japan. As of February 2016, Ford no longer maintains a regional office in Minato, Tokyo, Japan, and sales of new cars in Japan have ended.[137][138] Oceania Ford FG X Falcon (Australia) (2014–2016; 2014 model shown) The Ford stamping plant in Geelong, Victoria, Australia. It closed in 2016. In Australia and New Zealand, the popular Ford Falcon (1960–2016) had 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 until 2016, occasionally being manufactured in New Zealand. Like its General Motors rival, the Holden Commodore, the Falcon used a rear-wheel-drive layout. High-performance variants of the Falcon running locally built engines produce up to 362 hp (270 kW). A ute (short for "utility", known in the U.S. as pickup truck) version is also available with the same range of drivetrains. In addition, Ford Australia sold highly tuned limited-production Falcon sedans and utes through its performance car division, Ford Performance Vehicles until it closed in 2014. In Australia, the Commodore and Falcon had traditionally outsold all other cars and constituted 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%.[139] More recently, Ford has axed its Falcon-based LWB variant of its lineup– the Fairlane and LTD ranges. Ford discontinued the Fairlane in 2007 and LTD in 2008. Ford had announced that their Geelong engine manufacturing plant would be shut down between 2013 and 2016. They had earlier announced local manufacturing of the Focus small car starting from 2011, but instead decided to import the model from Ford's plant in Thailand.[140] In Australia, the Laser was one of Ford Australia's most successful models and was manufactured in Ford's Homebush West plant from 1981 until the plant's closure in September 1994. It outsold the Mazda 323, despite being almost identical to it because the Laser was manufactured in Australia and Ford was perceived as a local brand.[141] According to research carried out by Ford Australia in 1984, a third of Laser buyers were unaware that the Ford model was based on the Mazda 323.[142] 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.[143] The Sierra wagon was also assembled in New Zealand, owing to the popularity of station wagons in that market.[144] The scheduled closure of Ford's Australian manufacturing base in 2016 was confirmed on May 23, 2013. Headquartered in the Victorian suburb of Broadmeadows, the company had registered losses worth AU$600 million over the five years prior to the announcement. It was noted that the corporate fleet and government sales that account for two-thirds of large, local car sales in Australia are insufficient to keep Ford's products profitable and viable in Australia. The decision will affect 1200 Ford workers—over 600 employees in Geelong and more than 500 in Broadmeadows—who will lose their jobs by October 2016. The closure of Ford's plants in Norlane Geelong and Broadmeadows Melbourne occurred on October 7, 2016.[145] Products and services Automobiles See also: List of Ford vehicles, List of Lincoln vehicles, and List of Mercury vehicles The 2017 model year F-150 Ford Motor Company sells a broad range of automobiles under the Ford marque worldwide, and an additional range of luxury automobiles under the Lincoln marque in the United States. The company has sold vehicles under a number of other marques during its history. The Mercury brand was introduced by Ford in 1939, continuing in production until 2011 when poor sales led to its discontinuation.[146] In 1958, Ford introduced the Edsel brand, but poor sales led to its discontinuation in 1960. In 1985, the Merkur brand was introduced in the United States to market products produced by Ford of Europe; it was discontinued in 1989. Ford acquired the British sports car maker Aston Martin in 1989, later selling it on March 12, 2007,[147] although retaining an 8% stake.[148][149] Ford purchased Volvo Cars of Sweden in 1999,[150] 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.[151] 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 exchanges of technological information and joint ventures, including an American joint venture plant in Flat Rock, Michigan called Auto Alliance.[152] In 2015, Ford sold its remaining 3% stake in Mazda.[153] Ford sold the United Kingdom-based Jaguar and Land Rover companies and brands to Tata Motors of India in March 2008. On April 25, 2018, Ford announced that it planned to phase out all but one of its North American automobile models (the Mustang will be the sole surviving model) to focus primarily on trucks and SUVs. Ford had also planned to introduce an "Active" crossover version of the next-generation Focus, but canceled those plans due to tariff issues between the United States and China.[154] Trucks An advertisement for the 1939 Ford V-8 pick-up truck An advertisement for the 1961 Ford H-Series truck Ford has produced trucks since 1908, beginning with the Ford Model TT, followed by the Model AA, and the Model BB. Countries where Ford commercial vehicles are or were formerly produced include Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada (also badged as Mercury), France, Germany, India, Netherlands, Philippines, Spain (badged Ebro too), Turkey, UK (badged also Fordson and Thames), and the United States. From the 1940s to the late 1970s, Ford's Ford F-Series was 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 became part of the Iveco group in 1986. Ford had a minority share in the new company and Iveco took over sales and production of the Ford Cargo range.[155] Ford's last significant European truck models were the Transcontinental and the Cargo. At the end of 1996, Ford sold the rights to its heavy trucks division to the Freightliner Trucks division of Daimler AG, with Ford producing the Cargo, Louisville, and Aeromax, through the 1998 model year. During the 1998 model year, Freightliner began production of its own versions of Ford-developed trucks in St. Thomas, Ontario, launching the Sterling truck brand.[156][157] Slotted between Freightliner and Western Star, Sterling trucks were produced through 2009. Line of heavy trucks made by Ford for the North American market: Ford F-Series "Big Job" (1951-1957) "Super Duty/Extra Heavy Duty (1958-1962) Ford N-Series (1963-1969) Ford L-Series trucks (1970-1998) aka Ford "Louisville Line" Ford Aeromax (1988-1998) Ford Louisville (1996-1998) Sterling (1998-2009) Ford C-Series (1957-1990) Ford Cargo/CF-Series (1986-1997) Ford H-Series (1961-1966) aka "Two-story Falcon" Ford W-Series (1966-1977) Ford CL-Series (1978-1995) For 1999, Ford briefly withdrew from production of medium-duty trucks. For the 2001 model year, the company entered into a joint venture with Navistar International (the supplier of diesel engines for 1-ton F-Series trucks), named Blue Diamond Truck Company LLC.[158] As part of the joint venture, sharing a common truck chassis, the two companies would produce medium-duty (Class 6–7) trucks in a Navistar facility in Mexico, with each manufacturer supplying its own powertrain and bodywork, with the Ford F-650/F-750 Super Duty and International 4000/DuraStar sharing an assembly line. In 2006, the joint venture debuted the Ford LCF/International CityStar.[159] Using a modified F-Series chassis adopted to fit a Mazda Titan cab, the LCF was a low-cab forward truck that was sold through 2009.[160] 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.[161] Buses A Ford B700 bus chassis, with a body by Thomas Built 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 including Thomas Built, Ward, and Blue Bird, but Ford lost its market share due to industry contraction and agreements between body manufacturers. Older bus models included: Prior to 1936, Ford buses were based on truck bodies: Model B – 1930s Model T – 1920s F-105 school bus A 1937 Ford Transit Bus in Seattle In 1936, Ford introduced the Ford Transit Bus, a series of small transit buses with bodies built by a second party. Originally a front-engine design, it was modified to a rear-engine design in 1939. About 1,000 to 1,200 of the original design were built, and around 12,500 of the rear-engine design, which was in production until 1947[162] (rebranded as the Universal Bus in 1946). Rear-engine Transit Bus chassis model numbers:[163] 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 the 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 the 1950s onwards, Ford lost out to General Motors.[163] This led 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.[164] In the past, European models included: EM N-138 D series buses (Australia) Tractors A Ford N series tractor 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 between 1933 and 1964 at Dagenham, England, later transferred to Basildon. They were also produced in Leningrad beginning in 1924. Ford reentered the tractor market in 1939 with the Ford N-series tractors. The Ford 8N, introduced in 1947, became the most popular tractor of all time in North America. Production of the N line of models ended in 1952. The Ford NAA tractor was introduced as an entirely new model in 1953. It was a replacement for the Ford N-Series tractors. Larger than the 8N, with a four-cylinder engine, and streamlined styling. 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. Financial services Ford offers automotive finance through Ford Motor Credit Company. Automotive components Ford's FoMoCo parts division sells aftermarket parts under the Motorcraft brand name. It has spun off its parts division under the name Visteon. FordWorks Program Ford Motor Company created the FordWorks program in 2016[165][166] with the aim to bring people with disabilities back into the workforce.[167] It was the first automotive program to focus on bringing people with autism in the workforce in the US. They targeted people with autism[165][166] but have expanded their criteria to people with other disabilities.[167] Ford has partnered with Upbound to broaden their hiring under the FordWorks program.[167] Marques Current marques Origin Marque Estab. Added Markets  US Ford 1903 1903 Global  US Lincoln 1917 1922 North America, Middle East, China, South Korea Former marques Origin Marque Years Markets Fate  US Continental[168][169] 1956–1986 North America Discontinued  US Edsel 1957–1960 North America Discontinued  US Fordson 1917–1964 North America, Ireland, U.K. Discontinued  US Mercury 1939–2011 North America, Middle East Discontinued  US Merkur 1985–1989 North America Discontinued  AUS FPV 2002–2014 Australia Discontinued  BRA Troller 2007–2021 Brazil Defunct company, plant closed by Ford Brasil  JPN Mazda 1974–2015 Global Sold shares  SWE Volvo 1999–2010 Global Sold to Geely  UK Aston Martin 1989–2007 Global Sold to a private consortium  UK Jaguar 1989–2008 Global Sold to Tata Motors  UK Land Rover 2000–2008 Global Sold to Tata Motors  ITA De Tomaso 1971–1974 Global Sold to Alejandro de Tomaso  ITA Moto Guzzi 1973–1974 Global Sold to Alejandro de Tomaso  ITA Benelli 1972–1974 Global Sold to Alejandro de Tomaso  CAN Meteor 1949–1976 Canada Discontinued  CAN Monarch 1946–1961 Canada Discontinued  CAN Frontenac 1960 Canada Discontinued Motorsport Main article: Ford Performance FIA World Championships Along with Shelby and Chevrolet, Ford is one of only three American constructors to win titles on the international scene at the FIA World Championships. As a constructor, Ford won the World Sportscar Championship three times in 1966 (both sports prototype category and Grand Touring (GT) category), 1967 (GT category), and 1968 (sports prototype category), and at the World Rally Championship Ford won 4 World Drivers' Championships (in 1979, 1981, 2017 and 2018) as well as 4 World Manufacturers' Championships (in 1979, 2006, 2007 and 2017). As an engine supplier, Ford also won 13 Formula One World Drivers' Championships and 10 Formula One World Constructors' Championships. Open-wheel racing IndyCar Arie Luyendyk's record-setting Ford Cosworth-powered IndyCar from 1996 IndyCars with Ford engines first competed in 1935 using a production-based Ford V8 in the Miller-Ford racer.[170][171] A pushrod Ford V8 raced with Lotus in 1963, and Ford's first Indy win was in 1965 with a DOHC V8.[172][173] Ford motors, including the Ford-sponsored DFX engine developed by Cosworth, have won the Indianapolis 500 eighteen times.[174] On May 12, 1996, Arie Luyendyk, while driving an IndyCar powered by a Ford Cosworth XB engine, broke the Indianapolis 500 records for fastest qualification lap (237.498 mph; 382.216 km/h) and fastest qualification four-lap average (236.986 mph; 381.392 km/h).[175][176] These speed records still stand as of 2022.[177] Formula Ford Formula Ford, conceived in the UK in 1966, is an entry-level type of formula racing with wingless single-seater cars. Many of today's formula racing drivers started their car racing careers in this category. 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).[178] Ford has announced that it will return to Formula One in 2026 following a partnership with Red Bull Powertrains, supplying power units to Red Bull Racing and Scuderia AlphaTauri.[179] Stock car racing Ryan Blaney driving the No. 21 Wood Brothers Ford in 2016 at Michigan International Speedway Ford is one of three manufacturers in NASCAR's three major series: the Cup Series, Xfinity Series, and Truck Series. Major teams include RFK Racing, Team Penske, Stewart-Haas Racing, and Wood Brothers Racing. Ford is represented by the Mustang GT in the Cup Series, and the Xfinity Series and by the F-150 in the Truck Series. Some of the most successful NASCAR Fords were the aerodynamic fastback Ford Torino, Ford Torino Talladega, Mercury Cyclone Spoiler II, 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. In the Sprint Cup Series, Ford earned its 1,000th victory in the 2013 Quicken Loans 400.[180] The Ford Fusion is also used in the ARCA Racing Series. Ford had last won a drivers' championship in the Cup Series with Joey Logano in 2022. Rally Main article: Ford World Rally Team Jari-Matti Latvala driving the Ford Focus RS WRC 09 in 2010 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.[181] 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.[182] Rallycross Ford has competed in rallycross with its Ford Fiesta and Ford Focus. Tanner Foust won the Global RallyCross Championship in 2011 and 2012 and was runner-up in the FIA European Rallycross Championship in 2011 and 2012. Toomas Heikkinen won the Global RallyCross Championship title in 2013 and Joni Wiman won it in 2014. Other notable Ford drivers include Marcus Grönholm, Ken Block, and Brian Deegan. Sports cars Main article: Ford GT § Racing Ford sports cars have been visible in the world of sports car racing since 1964. Most notably the Ford GT40 won the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times (in 1966, 1967, 1968 and 1969) and is the only American car to ever win overall at this prestigious event. Ford also won four titles at the World Sportscar Championship with the GT40. 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. Ford Mustang Main article: Ford Mustang § Racing A GT racing version of the Ford Mustang, competing in the Koni Challenge in 2005 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 Follmer 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 Kendall winning championships in 1993, 1995, 1996, and 1997 with Paul Gentilozzi 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 that 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. Ford and Michelin teamed up to provide custom-engineered tires for the Ford Performance vehicle lineup. Ford Performance director Dave Pericak said: "That confidence extends from our upcoming racing effort at Le Mans in 2016 with the all-new Ford GT, to the Ford Performance vehicle lineup, including the Shelby GT350 and F-150 Raptor".[183] Touring cars Ford Performance Racing Ford Falcon V8 Supercar at Eastern Creek in Australia in 2008 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, and 3 in the 2000 British Touring Car Championship and Falcon drivers placed 1, 2, and 3 in the 2005 V8 Supercar Championship Series. Drag racing 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. Drifting Ford has 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") that produces 750 RWHP (Rear Wheel Horsepower). Environmental initiatives 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 The Ford Focus Flexifuel was the first E85 flexible fuel vehicle commercially available in the European market. 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.[184] Current Ford E100 Flex sold in the Brazilian market are the Courier, Ford EcoSport, Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus, and Ford Ka. Electric drive vehicles This section needs to be updated. The reason given is: this section did not include newer electric and hybrid models. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (January 2021) Hybrid electric vehicles See also: Hybrid electric vehicle Ford Escape plug-in hybrid test vehicle Alan Mulally (wearing red tie) with then-President George W. Bush at the Kansas City Assembly plant in Claycomo, Missouri, on March 20, 2007, touting Ford's new hybrid cars In 2004, Ford and Toyota agreed a patent-sharing accord that granted Ford access to certain hybrid technology patented by Toyota; in exchange, Ford licensed some of its own patents to Toyota.[185][186][187] In 2004, Ford introduced the Escape Hybrid. 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.[188] 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 a 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.[189] 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. In September 2007, Ford announced a partnership with Southern California Edison (SCE) to examine how plug-in hybrids will work with the electrical grid. Under the multimillion-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.[35][36] 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 10-kilowatt (13 hp) lithium-ion battery supplied by Johnson Controls-Saft that stores enough electric energy to drive up to 30 miles (48 km) at speeds of up to 40 mph (64 km/h).[190] In March 2009, Ford launched hybrid versions of the Ford Fusion Hybrid and the Mercury Milan Hybrid in the United States, both as 2010 models.[191] As of November 2014, Ford has produced for retail sales the following hybrid electric vehicles: Ford Escape Hybrid (2004–2012), Mercury Mariner Hybrid (2005–2010), Mercury Milan Hybrid (2009–2010), Ford Fusion Hybrid (2009–present), Lincoln MKZ Hybrid (2010–present), Ford C-Max Hybrid (2012–present), and Ford Mondeo Hybrid (2014–present). By June 2012, Ford had sold 200,000 full hybrids in the U.S. since 2004,[192] and, as of September 2014, the carmaker has sold over 344,000 hybrids in the United States.[192][193][194][195] The top selling hybrids in the U.S. market are the Fusion Hybrid with 127,572 units, followed by Escape Hybrid with 117,997 units, and the C-Max Hybrid with 54,236.[193][194][195][196][197] As of November 2014, Ford is the world's second-largest manufacturer of hybrids after Toyota Motor Corporation, with 400,000 hybrid electric vehicles produced since their introduction in 2004.[198] Plug-in electric vehicles See also: Plug-in electric vehicle As of October 2014, Ford has produced the following plug-in electric vehicles: the all-electric Ford Ranger EV (1997–2002), Ford TH!NK (1999–2003), Transit Connect (2010–2012), and Ford Focus Electric (December 2011–present); and the plug-in hybrids C-MAX Energi (October 2012–present) and the Fusion Energi (February 2013–present), sold under the Mondeo nameplate in Europe.[199][200] Since the launch of the Focus Electric in 2011, combined sales of all Ford plug-in electric models amounted to just over 56,000 through October 2015.[201] The Azure Transit Connect Electric was produced between 2010 and 2012 as a collaboration between Azure Dynamics and Ford Motor Company. Bill Ford was one of the first top industry executives to make regular use of a 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.[202] The all-electric pickup truck leased 205 units to individuals and 1,500 units to fleets in the U.S. from 1998 to 2002.[203][204] From 2009 to 2011, Ford offered the Ford TH!NK car. Ford ended production 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 an outcry from the lessees and activists in the U.S. and Norway, Ford returned the cars to Norway for sale.[205] Four hundred and forty units were leased in the U.S. from 1999 until 2003.[204] In 2017, Ford CEO Mark Fields announced that the company would invest $4.5 billion in further development of plug-in electric vehicles by 2020.[206] The Azure Transit Connect Electric was an all-electric van developed as a collaboration between Azure Dynamics and Ford Motor Company, but Azure was the official manufacturer of record.[207] The Transit Connect Electric had an official U.S. Environmental Protection Agency all-electric range of 56 mi (90 km).[208] The EPA rated the combined city/highway fuel economy at 62 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (3.8 L/100 km equivalent).[208] Deliveries for fleet customers in the U.S. and Canada began in December 2010.[209] Production of the electric van was stopped in March 2012 as a result of Azure's bankruptcy protection filing. Ford continues to provide servicing.[210] Around 500 units were sold before Azure stopped production.[211] The Ford Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid shares its powertrain with the Ford C-Max Energi. The Ford Focus Electric is based on the next generation Focus internal combustion vehicle, converted to an all-electric propulsion system as a production electric car by Magna International, and retail sales began in the U.S. in December 2011.[212][213] The Focus Electric has an EPA rated range of 76 mi (122 km) and a combined city/highway fuel economy of 105 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent (2.2 L/100 km).[214] Available also in Canada and several European countries, 3,965 units have been sold in the U.S. through September 2014.[193][194][195][215] The Ford C-Max Energi is a plug-in hybrid released in the U.S. in October 2012. The C-Max Energi has an EPA rated all-electric range of 20 mi (32 km) and a combined city/highway fuel economy in all-electric mode at 88 MPG-e (2.7 L/100 km).[216] U.S. sales totaled 33,509 units through December 2016.[193][194][217][218][219] Deliveries of the Ford Fusion Energi began in the United States in February 2013.[220][221] The Fusion Energi has an all-electric range of 20 mi (32 km) and an equivalent fuel economy EPA rating of 88 MPG-e (2.7 L/100 km).[216] As of December 2016, a total of 43,327 units have been delivered in the U.S. since its inception.[194][217][218][219] Both Energi models share the same powertrain technology and have the same EPA combined city/highway fuel economy in hybrid operation of 38 mpg‑US (6.2 L/100 km; 46 mpg‑imp).[216] When asked about a battery-electric vehicle with a 200-mile (320 km) range, Fields said in April 2016 "Clearly that's something we're developing for". Ford has a pending trademark application on the "Model E" name,[222] preventing the Tesla Model 3 in using the name.[223] In October 2017, Ford announced its Team Edison battery-electric vehicle group to lead the company's renewed efforts into the EV market, in which it currently offers only the Focus subcompact and has plans for a small 300-mile SUV by 2020.[224] The new team will be headquartered in Detroit and have offices in Europe and Asia.[225] In 2022, Ford began manufacturing its E-Transit electric cargo vans at its plant in Kansas City, Missouri. The first deliveries of the new vehicles are expected in the next few weeks.[226] a photograph showing the front-left quarter of a grey automobile Ford Mustang Mach-E 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.[227] 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 174 hp (130 kW). 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 350 miles (563 km), 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 In July 2008, Ford Motor Company announced that it would 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 planned to convert three existing truck and sport utility vehicle (SUV) plants for small car production, with the first conversion at its Michigan Truck Plant. In addition, Ford's assembly plants near Mexico City, Mexico, and in Louisville, Kentucky, were to be converted from pickups and SUVs to small cars, including the Ford Fiesta, by 2011. Ford then also planned to introduce to North America six of its European small vehicles, including two versions of the Ford Fiesta, by the end of 2012.[228] 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 was the lowest-emitting mass-produced car in Europe[229] while the 2012 Ford Focus ECOnetic will have better fuel consumption than the Prius or the Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion.[230] ECOnetic is not presently planned to be sold in North American due to current perceived lower consumer demand.[231] Ford has challenged University teams to create a vehicle that is simple, durable, lightweight, and comes equipped with a base target price of only $7,000. The students from Aachen University created the "2015 Ford Model T".[232][233] In 2000, under the leadership of the current Ford chairman, William Clay Ford, the company announced[234] a planned 25 percent improvement in the average mileage of its 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.[235] 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.[236] However, 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.[237] Efficient Buildings As part of a renovation of the Ford River Rouge Complex, in 2010 Ford unveiled a 10.4-acre (42,000 m2) living roof covering part of the Dearborn Truck plant, consisting of sedum, a low-growing groundcover. The sedum retains and cleanses rainwater and moderates the internal temperature of the building, saving energy.[238] In 2016, Ford announced a ten-year renovation plan for its Dearborn campus.[239] The plan features consolidation of office and lab spaces in to fewer and much larger buildings, which will be built to LEED standards, and will feature extensive use of wetlands and park spaces.[240][241] The new campus features new multi-story parking decks with solar power-generating roofs,[242] and a new natural gas power plant. The DTE Ford Central Energy Plant is a 34MW combined heat-and-power plant which features a high efficiency design and LEED Gold buildings.[243] Sponsorships Ford sponsors numerous events and sports facilities around the U.S., most notably the Ford Center in downtown Evansville, Indiana, and Ford Field in downtown Detroit.[244] The company has also been a major sponsor of the UEFA Champions League for over two decades, and is also a longtime sponsor of the Sky media channel's coverage of Premier League football. Between 1994 and 1999, Ford was the main kit sponsor of German Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln. Sales numbers Calendar Year US sales Market share of US sales[245] 1997 3,877,458[246] 25.0% 1998 3,922,604[247] 24.5% 1999 4,163,369[248] 23.9% 2000 4,202,820 23.6% 2001 3,971,364 22.7% 2002 3,623,709[249] 21.2% 2003 3,483,719 20.5% 2004 3,331,676[250] 19.3% 2005 3,153,875 18.1% 2006 2,901,090[251] 17.0% 2007 2,507,366 15.2% 2008 1,988,376[252] 14.7% 2009 1,620,888[253] 15.3% 2010 1,935,462[254] 16.4% 2011 2,143,101[255] 16.4% 2012 2,250,165[256] 15.2% 2013 2,493,918[257] 15.7% 2014 2,480,942[258] 14.7% 2015 2,613,162[259] 14.6% 2016 2,614,697[260][261] 14.6% 2017 2,586,715[262] 14.7% 2018 2,497,318[262] 14.1% 2019 2,422,698[263] 13.8% 2020 2,044,744[264] 13.7% 2021 1,905,955[265] 12.4%
  • Condition: Used
  • Type: Photograph
  • Year of Production: 1926

PicClick Insights - 1926 James Couzens U.s. Senator Mayor Detroit Michigan Politician American PicClick Exclusive

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