Ford Motor Company was founded by Henry Ford on June 16, 1903. Under Henry Ford`s leadership, Ford Motor became a leader in assembly-line production, enabling it to bring down the cost of an automobile, particularly the Model T, to the point that ordinary Americans could afford one.
The company lost its sales leadership to General Motors in the 1920`s and by the time Henry Ford died in 1943, the company had declined to third behind Chrystler. The company was taken over by his grandson, Henry Ford II, who restored it to health.
After the financial crisis of 2008, the other two members of the Big Three both declared bankruptcy, while Ford maintained its independence and declined to be bailed out.