Detroit Report: Ford Centennial Wrap Up
Photos
More than 225,000 Devotees Flock to Blue Oval Mecca
The tents are down and crowds have departed from Ford Motor Companys 152 acre world headquarters complex, but still the memories remain of the automakers centennial celebration that lasted from June 12 through 16.
Ford estimated that more than 225,000 people came to the five-day affair, called “The Road is Ours.”
“Attendance at the event was far beyond our expectations, said Gary Nielsen, executive director, Centennial Operations, Ford Motor Company. “We anticipated about 100,000 guests over the five days and we are thrilled by the huge turnout. Including todays visitors, our total numbers topped 225,000.”
There are still several ancillary events related to Fords 100th anniversary that will be occurring — the Model A Restorers Club (MARC) met in Dearborn June 30 through July 4 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the famed successor to the Model T. About 1,000 families from across North America, with some 800, came to take part in the event, which included a grand tour from Dearborn to the nearby Yankee Air Museum — housed in a hanger that was part of Fords World War II Willow Run B-24 bomber plant. One of the first national freeways — the Edsel Ford Freeway, also known now as a part of Interstate 94, was built to link Fords Rouge River complex with the former war plant.
There will be a Model T tour of the Detroit area later in July (this is separate from the cross-country Model T tour leading up to the centennial), a national Mustang Owners Club of America rally in early August in Dearborn, and events during the annual Woodward Dream Cruise August 16 in Detroits northern suburbs.
Heres a run down of some of the more interesting things that occurred at the centennial celebration, in no particular order:
- An overflow crowd of an estimated 1,500 shareholders attended the 48th annual shareholders meeting at the companys Conference and Event Center, near the Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village, in Dearborn. Security guards were stationed on the roof of the building while others screened the 1,500 shareholders and media, forcing several people to return to their cars to drop off pocketknives and cameras. Chairman and CEO Bill Ford Jr. mentioned that there were serious security concerns, but did not elaborate.
Bill Ford, the great-grandson of Henry Ford, is the fourth member of the family to head the company. Edsel B. Ford I officially served as president from 1919 until his death in 1943, although many historians would argue that he was overshadowed by his father and rivals like production leader Charles Sorensen and Harry Bennett, the companys notorious head of security. Later, the late Henry Ford II became the companys president and chairman.
About 66 members of the Ford family attended the stockholders meeting, including Bill Fords father, William Clay Ford Sr., and cousin Edsel B. Ford II.
Bill Ford noted that the automaker, which lost $6.4 billion in 2001 and 2002, is on track to turning itself around, and is expected to make about 70 U.S. cents per share or $1.2 billion for 2003. The companys quality has improved, as noted by a 5 percent rise in the J.D. Power & Associates customer survey, while recalls dipped 40 percent and warranty payments dropped 10 percent. Additionally, the automaker is launching 65 new and revised Ford, Mercury and Lincoln vehicles within the next five years — including a new Ford F-150 pickup truck, a new Ford Mustang, and a replacement for the Taurus called Futura.
“All these are signs that our plans are working and were getting back on track,” Ford said.
As part of its turnaround plan, the company eliminated 18,000 jobs and has closed or is scheduled to close several plants in the U.S. and Mexico. Until the companys fortunes improve, Bill Ford will not receive a salary in 2003, repeating his no salary pledge in 2002, but will receive stock options (valued at $21.6 million) as compensation and reimbursements of his personal travel and security costs, around $188,000.
- Other things that happened during the shareholders meeting were: a proposal to create an independent committee to oversee possible conflicts between the rights of the Ford family died by about 20 percentage points. The Ford family owns roughly 5 percent of the automakers common stock but controls 40 percent of the voting stock, and common shareholders.
Several members of environmental groups criticized Ford for depending too much on “gas-guzzling SUVs” and failing to keep its 1999 promise to improve the fuel economy of its sport utility vehicles and pickup trucks by 25 percent. But, Bill Ford said the automaker is going to release a hybrid electric version of its Escape SUV next year that will offer 35 to 40 miles per gallon in the city, but the U.S. federal government needs to offer potential customers at least a $3,000 tax credit to make the vehicle competitively priced.
Ford Vice Chairman Carl Reichardt, who was overseeing the operations of Ford Credit, announced that he would be retiring. Reichardt was the former chairman and CEO of Wells Fargo & Co., and was brought onto the automakers payroll in October 2001 by Bill Ford. This was one of Fords moves to placate Wall Street for the ousting of Ford CEO and President Jacques Nasser nearly two years ago.
- Also speaking at the shareholders meeting was William Clay Ford Sr., 78, the last of the three Ford brothers (Henry II and Benson) who helped lift the company out of its financial troubles following World War II. Telling a personal story to the crowd, Ford remembered how his grandfather taught him how to drive at age 10 on the grounds of Fair Lane, Dearborn. But, they had a misadventure when they drove out into the country and were pulled over doing about 70 miles per hour on a back road.
“Its a good thing the officer didnt ask for my grandfathers drivers license because to the best of my knowledge he didnt own one,” said Ford Sr.
- Environmentalists protested outside of the Ford headquarters complex, inflating a nearly 12 story tall, fierce-looking Tyrannosaurus Rex with banners telling passersby that the automaker was not doing enough to improve fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. At times, however, there were only a dozen or so people in the official protest area, designated by the city of Dearborn, which was separated from Fords property by the eight-lane Michigan Avenue boulevard.
- Rains had soaked visitors during the first day of the festival-like atmosphere, June 12, but they had also doused the first of three music concerts scheduled throughout the weekend. Earth, Wind & Fire and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra were supposed to play that Friday, followed by a fireworks display, but the rainwater had soaking the grassy field where spectators were supposed to sit, forcing a cancellation.
- The remaining two music concerts stayed on track with an estimated 41,000 people staying to see Beyonce Knowles of Destinys Child launch her solo career in a pay-for-view concert on the grounds of the Glass House on June 13. Then, country star Toby Keith wowed the crowd of 55,000 the following night with several patriotic American tunes after which a fireworks display closed out Sundays activities.
- The heightened concerns of terrorism since September 11, 2001, also impacted the goings on at the Ford Centennial. A no fly zone had been imposed over the Glass Houses grounds, while a double security “fence” — which was little more than two rows of a blue colored nylon cloth — allowed security guards to zip around the perimeter of the event without bumping into people. Otherwise, the “fence” only served to discourage people from wandering onto Fords grounds but wouldnt have stopped a determined wrongdoer (but fortunately nothing sinister took place). Still, people entering the event had to pass through metal detectors and those bringing their cars onto the grounds had to have them searched — with guards using mirrors to check underneath for bombs.
- Once on the grounds, there were classic and current car displays, ranging from a 1903 Ford Model A to the 2005 Mustang GT prototype, to bull riding shows (Ford is a sponsor), a Monster Truck Jam (it looked like they were crushing old General Motors cars for the most part), a Ford Racing display, a rock climbing tower, a kayak pool, and Detroit Lions themed inflatable slides and bouncers for the kids (the woeful Lions, one of the worst in the American NFL, is owned by William Clay Ford Sr., board member, grandson of Henry Ford, and father of Bill Ford Jr., the automakers current chairman and CEO).
- Land Rover fans could take a ride in a product from the Ford-owned British sport utility maker, up a steep dirt hill that was created for the centennial. Contrasting to the Land Rover experience there was a Model T ride — aboard one of the nearly 40 privately owned Model Ts whose owners agreed to participate in the event. The Model T ride featured a taped narration by Edsel B. Ford II, cousin of Bill Ford Jr. and son of the late Henry Ford II, who told the story of the automakers rise on June 16, 1903, and through the decades, with key product displays, such as the 1949 Ford sedans (Fords first all-new car following World War II that helped save the company from financial ruin), to the Mustang and Explorer.
- There was also a tie in to the upcoming 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first successful powered flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. A reproduction of the 1903 Wright Brothers Flyer was on display along with various flight simulator games for adults and children to play.
- Visitors to the Ford Centennial also had the chance to hop onto a shuttle bus to other nearby attractions, such as Dearborn, which was also hosting its annual Arab American Festival some three miles away from Ford World Headquarters (Dearborn is home to the largest concentration of Arab Americans outside of the Middle East). Shuttles also took visitors to The Henry Ford (the new overall name for Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village); Fair Lane (Henry and Clara Fords mansion that was completed around 1914, thanks to money earned from the success of the Model T); or the Edsel & Eleanor Ford mansion in the tony Grosse Pointe suburb of Detroit.
- There were long lines at a U.S. Post Office trailer for visitors to get their Ford tickets marked with a special stamp.
- Another attraction was the chance for visitors to pay a fee and take their vehicles for a spin around Fords Dearborn Proving Ground, which is about a mile south of Ford World Headquarters. The proving ground is the site of the former Ford Airport where Ford had partnered with the Stout Aircraft Company to produce its Tri-Motor aircraft in the 1920s and 1930s. Ford had made several major contributions to early aviation history including creating one of the first concrete runways, plus Henry Ford constructed one of the first airport hotels built nearby, which survives today as the Dearborn Inn. Also on display at the proving ground were three Tri-Motors and a small, one person plane nicknamed the Flivver that Ford initially developed as a kind of “Model T” for the sky.
- And shuttles took visitors to the old Ford Piquette Avenue plant in Detroit. Piquette was Ford Motor Companys second auto factory. Built in 1904, the three-story brick structure, with wooden oak floors, resembles an old New England mill (narrow, with windows taking up much of the wall space to provide natural light and ventilation). This was the plant where Henry Ford and his lieutenants invented the Model T, which later allowed the automaker to create its Highland Park factory, where the continuous moving assembly line became a fixture in the auto industry along with the five-dollar-a-day wage that raised the life of factory workers into middle class status.
Ford had sold off Piquette after opening Highland Park in January 1910, and the building went through several owners, including the defunct Studebaker car manufacturer. The main building was only lightly modified during the next 90 years, often being used for warehouse space. The third floor, where the Model T was conceived in a special walled off room, is the least touched, retaining the original flooring, and some of the original paint and signage. The building, for example, is split into four sections by firewalls and special metal doors were made to close automatically if a fire ever broke out. Ford designed the factory this way after fires destroyed Ransom E. Olds Oldsmobile factory in Detroit in 1901. The fire doors on the third floor carry the words “Absolutely No Smoking” (Henry Ford abhorred smoking).
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