Every Car Brand Ford Used To Own (but Sold Or Shut Down)

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Were we to analyse successful item each section aliases marque Ford discarded, you'd move to nan unabridged 1,432-page "Les Miserables" for a shorter read. Brands Ford owned, astatine slightest partly, and discarded see Autolite, Comet, Continental, Edsel, Fordson, Ghia, Merkur, Meteor, Monarch, Frontenac, Troller, Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV), TH!NK, Matford, De Tomaso, AC Cars (from 1986 to 1992, good past nan Cobra era), and Thames. Currently, Ford is conscionable Ford and Lincoln, positive Motorcraft car parts. Ford did pump $500 cardinal into Rivian, but it's a partnership, not an ownership.

Let's statesman our defunct-division dive pinch Mercury, which met its extremity successful 2010. This ABC News header is astir apt nan astir meticulous summation of nan mid-tier caretaker of Ford's lineup: "Mercury's Demise Met With Sadness, Shrugs." Shrugs are fair; location wasn't overmuch to mourn by 2010. It was a unfortunate of marque murkiness and superfluity, for illustration GM's Pontiac. 

With thing to separate it from nan divisions supra and below, what would person been nan constituent successful keeping Mercury? There were nary bespoke platforms aliases drivetrains by nan mid-2000s, arsenic each Mercury exemplary corresponded straight to a Ford. Mountaineers were Explorers, Mariners were Escapes (also fundamentally Mazda Tributes), Grand Marquises were Crown Victorias, Montegos were Five Hundreds (both Volvos underneath), Montereys were Freestars, and Milans were Fusions. Mercury Cougars, beautiful though they were, still were conscionable nan next-generation Probe successful each but name. With nary chopped personality, buyers fled. Only 92,000 Mercurys were sold successful 2009, truthful Ford amputated nan marque to prevention nan company.

Ford and Mazda were for illustration Sammy Hagar-era Van Halen: A beneficial business successful which they struggled to support individual identities, occasionally produced bangers, sometimes clunkers, and yet divided up to spell their ain ways. 

In nan '70s, Mazda had oil-crisis woes. Its rotary engines were novel, but they burned oil, were innefficient, and wore retired apex seals for illustration they had a vendetta against them. But Ford liked Mazda for its creation and manufacturing effiencies, and Mazda liked surviving. Ford bought a life-saving 7% liking successful 1974, a 25% liking successful 1979, past a 33.4% liking successful 1996, erstwhile Ford made Scotsman Henry Wallace Mazda's president.

For a time, things were peachy. Mazda's G level underpinned Ford's Fusion and they collaborated connected nan Ford Escape/Mazda Tribute. But then came nan shortsighted effort to switch nan Mustang pinch nan Probe, which, on pinch its unfortunate name, was a front-wheel thrust Mazda MX-6. Ford religious couldn't tummy nan American pony car morphing into a Japanese probey car, truthful nan scheme was snuffed. Perhaps they should person produced that Ford Ghia Probe?

By 2008, Ford was cash-starved, and sold its controlling liking successful Mazda for $538 million. In 2015, Ford sold its remaining shares. While Ford famously eschewed Great Recession bailout money (except for that small $5.9-billion indebtedness successful 2009), Mazda needed a Japanese slope bailout during nan pandemic, contempt slayer products featuring the gorgeous, striking Kodo creation language. Don't blasted me, I voted for Kodo (with my dollars — I owned a CX-5).

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What's nan quality betwixt Aston Martin and nan kids successful "Jurassic Park?" At slightest Aston wasn't wrong Ford erstwhile it fell disconnected a cliff. Aston Martin faced bankruptcy for overmuch of its existence, truthful erstwhile Ford came knocking for 75% of Aston Martin successful 1987, it was a life-saving opportunity. The New York Times quoted Ford of Europe's then-chairmain, Kenneth Whipple, arsenic saying, "Ford engagement will let Aston Martin to grow its accumulation capabilities and afloat prosecute early merchandise programs. ... For Ford, it is an opportunity to participate nan high-image specialty marketplace wherever Aston Martin has earned an outstanding reputation.” Ford past purchased 100% of Aston successful 1994.

Then-Ford CEO Jaques Nasser crammed Aston Martin into nan "Premier Automotive Group" successful 1999 pinch Jaguar, Land Rover, Volvo, and Ford's ain Lincoln. The European upscale brands were expected to summation profits, but alternatively than being pontoons to drawback rising tides, they were millstones astir Ford's neck. In Aston's case, Ford realized keeping an exotic car shaper live passim economical fluctuations is tougher than sun-baked footwear leather. Even now, Aston relies connected Mercedes-AMG V8s to stem improvement costs.

The problem for Ford was that Aston Martins are niche, costly products. Just because Ford fto Aston ambush its parts bin to springiness nan 1994 DB7 a group of Mazda Miata doorway handles doesn't mean nan car would beryllium affordable. To enactment live done nan Great Recession, Ford jettisoned Aston for $925 cardinal successful March, 2007.

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Speaking of British automakers Ford unwisely purchased, Land Rover was successful dire straits nether nan neglectful attraction of BMW successful nan precocious '90s. When Ford bought nan SUV marque from BMW for $2.9 cardinal successful 2000, it should person noticed nan look of alleviation connected BMW's face. 

Ford group astir modernizing Land Rover's products. Defenders sewage caller engines successful 2007, but nan vehicles' underlying building was arsenic it had been successful 1990. Discovery models gained stiffer integrated assemblage frames to resistance them into nan 21st century, arsenic good arsenic Jaguar engines, because location was nary escaping parts sharing. Range Rovers kept BMW's hand-me-down powertrains until Ford Jaguared them successful 2006, too.

You cognize really this goes. The Premier Automotive Group was for illustration a chimney channeling Ford's money into a wood chipper. In June 2008, Ford sold Land Rover and Jaguar to India's Tata Motors for $1.7 billion. You'll announcement this is little than nan $2.9 cardinal Ford paid for Land Rover alone, and is moreover little than nan $2.38 cardinal for Jaguar, meaning Tata sewage a two-for-one woody for nan ages.

Surprisingly, erstwhile Tata Motors looked astatine nan books for nan brands it bought, it recovered that Land Rover was, Tata Managing Director Ravi Kant told Automotive News (per MotorAuthority): "very patient and profitable." In Ford's defense, erstwhile your money reservoir bursts, you waste nan slow trickling money faucet truthful you tin spend actual money-hemorrhage-stopping plugs.

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Bill Hayden, past Jaguar's chairman, told Automotive News successful nan '80s that Jaguar "was a unspeakable statement making unspeakable cars." Wow, harsh, and he ran nan company. Jaguar only sold 51,939 cars successful 1988, truthful erstwhile Ford arrived successful 1989 with a $2.38 cardinal check, it was a defribrillator to Jag's ailing heart.

Righting nan institution went slowly, and income dropped to only 22,478 cars successful 1992. But Ford was determined. The V12s and inline-6s had a last hurrah successful 1997, past made measurement for modern V8s to powerfulness nan caller XJ8/XJR and XK8/XKR. The caller XJs and XKs were income successes, and nan people aspirated (N/A) and supercharged V8s were well-received.

Then came level sharing. Ford wanted a rival for nan BMW 5 Series that could sell 200,000 cars, truthful it took nan Lincoln LS/Ford Thunderbird platorm, nan Duratec V6 pinch a caller head, and optional N/A and supercharged V8s to create nan Jaguar S-Type. It sold conscionable 120,000. Then location was nan entry-level X-Type, based connected Ford's Mondeo platform. Aside from nan stigma of its plebeian heritage, early versions had unspeakable build quality.

Did Jaguar make money for Ford? It mislaid $715 cardinal successful 2006 and Ford hurled it astatine Tata Motors successful 2008, truthful let's say, "No." As for Jaguar's wellness these days, it's complicated. Jag took a twelvemonth disconnected from building cars and to opportunity their rebrand has been arguable is for illustration saying Mount Everest is "kinda tall."

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Arguably nan champion Ford/Volvo cross-pollination was erstwhile Paul Newman had a supercharged Mustang V8 crammed into his Volvo 960 wagon sometime successful nan '90s (he besides had a Volvo V90 wagon pinch a Corvette LS2, because Paul Newman was awesome). That was earlier Ford owned Volvo Cars, arsenic FoMoCo didn't spend $6.45 cardinal for nan institution until 1999, truthful location were nary charismatic Volvo Boss 302s aliases anything. Volvo was portion of Ford's scheme to grip Europe's luxury car market, gaining entree to nan information tech and engineering prowess of Sweden's shaper of refrigerator box-shaped cars.

The acquisition wasn't one-sided, though. The seller, Volvo Group, benefited by getting nan rate to acquisition immoderate of its competitors, including Renault Trucks and Mack Trucks. Also, nan woody helped Volvo Cars spell head-to-head pinch premium brands specified arsenic Mercedes and BMW.

Under Ford's ownership, a bevy of caller Volvo cars deed nan market, including nan C30 hatchback, nan S60 sedan, and nan "Twilight"-featured XC60 compact SUV, among others. In a uncommon departure from astir of nan brands discussed truthful far, it seemed arsenic if Volvo was doing good for Ford and was profitable. 

However, Ford's then-CEO Alan Mulally had a "One Ford" imagination group connected streamlining nan company's offerings, which caused Ford to spell from 97 automotive products to 20, and Volvo was successful nan different 77. There's small uncertainty Mulally saved Ford, but it had to wounded to waste Volvo for conscionable $1.8 cardinal to China's Geely Automobile.