Ford – Page 3 – American Car Historian

July 12, 2019July 21, 2019

NSP Fox Body Mustang

This is how one Nebraska State Trooper rolls . . . . in an iconic 1993 Fox Body Mustang:

Photo credit: My State Trooper brother-in-law

This Mustang SSP (Special Service Package) has a 5.0-liter 302ci V8 and just has to be a blast to drive. (It was featured on “The Drive” in May, where the author referenced Nebraska’s “famously flat highways”. For the record, Nebraska is not flat, and you only think that if you never get far from I-80 which was constructed in the Platte River Valley because the Valley is flat. That’s how road construction works.)

Anyway, Ford built the Mustang SSP cars from 1982 to 1993. In 1982, the California Highway Patrol bought 400 of them and nine other states followed suit the next year. One 1983 story touted the early version’s cornering capability as well as its speed (over 120 mph) and rapid acceleration (zero to 50 in 6.3 seconds). It was a welcome change for CHP officers as reported by the Oakdale Leader: “The CHP officer no longer has to be embarrassed struggling to hit 85 mph in the unimposing Dodge St. Regis, which was forced on the CHP by tough environmental laws.”

Ford advertised the Mustangs as “This Ford chases Porsches for a living,” a slogan reminiscent of this one from 1956, “It takes a Ford to catch a Ford”:

The Ford became the police car of choice in the 1930s because of cars like the 1932 flathead Ford and a specially built 1939 Ford with a Mercury motor capable of speeds up to 100mph. Ford’s overwhelming popularity with law enforcement continued until the late 1960s.

As law enforcement agencies across the country struggle with recruiting, they may want to consider allowing more officers to drive classic patrol cars. Applicants would likely be lining up (especially if they added the 1969 Dodge Monaco with the 440 Magnum back into the line-up)!

Sources:

“Fast Acceleration Spurring Sales of Mustang Special Service Cars.” The Hartford Courant, 11 May 1983, p. F2.

Ford. Advertisement. The Angola Herald, 4 April 1956, p. 4.

Ford. Advertisement. The Sandusky Register, 20 March 1956, page 1.

Peters, Eric. “Lots of Police Car Lore Offered in ‘Encyclopedia'”. The Courier News [Somerville], 23 August 2000, p. 6.

Photo. The Church Point News, 1 September 1959, p. 1.

Raymond-Barth, Mary. “CHP Adds Muscle to Enforcement, Instead of Being Left in the Dust.” Oakdale Leader, 27 April 1983, p. 1.

“Special Police Auto Arrives: Capable of Speeds of 100 MPH.” The Transcript Bulletin [Tooele], 12 December 1939, p.1.

“Something New.” The Brookville American, 1 May 1952, p. 1.

“The ’83 Ford Mustang Police Car.” The Courier Post [Cherry Hill], 24 May 1983, p. 140.

April 14, 2019April 14, 2019

Ford Snowmobile

And just like that, Nebraskans go from needing amphibious Amphicars to needing something like this:

That’s right, Nebraska, still not recovered from massive flooding, was treated to a blizzard this week. This Ford Model A snowmobile would be very handy for traversing the snow-covered roads, and it was actually called a snowmobile by inventor Virgil White. White was a New Hampshire Ford dealer, and he patented this special attachment for Ford cars and trucks in 1917.

The front wheels were replaced with runners that were 5 feet long and 18 inches wide. The rear axle was extended and wheels were added to hold the caterpillar tread. The kit sold for around $175 and was very popular, particularly with rural mail carriers and doctors.

Sources:

Constable, George N. “Snowmobile Ideas Began Drifting Around in 1913.” News Journal [Mansfield], 21 January 1986, p. 1-B.

“Ford Turns Out the Snowmobile.” The Calgary Daily Herald, 7 March 1925, p. 20.

“Snowmobiles for Automobiles is New Idea; Scheme Tested.” The Windsor Star, 10 January 1925, p. 3.

The Snowmobile. Advertisement. The Burlington Free Press, 6 October 1923.

December 16, 2018January 22, 2019

The Dodge Brothers and Henry Ford

This year marked the 100th anniversary of both the end of World War I and the influenza pandemic that was fueled, in part, by the large troop movements that accompanied that war. From 1918-19, the deadly flu virus infected approximately a third of the world’s population and was more deadly than the war itself, killing at least 50 million people. The casualties of the pandemic included two giants of the automobile industry, John and Horace Dodge. They are better known as the Dodge Brothers, and their deaths were a terrible loss.

I am frequently surprised at what is remembered, and what is not remembered, by history. For instance, when the charge up San Juan Hill is mentioned, most people immediately think of Teddy Roosevelt. He is certainly worth remembering, but fewer people know that a group of Buffalo Soldiers also fought valiantly there, led by “Black Jack” Pershing. The press’s fervent desire to mold history, not just report on it, is not a new phenomenon. In the case of the Dodge Brothers, a quick search on Amazon reveals only two or three books written about them compared to countless tomes written about Henry Ford. The irony is that Ford’s success is due, in no small part, to the efforts of the Dodge Brothers.

In Charles K. Hyde’s book titled The Dodge Brothers: The Men, the Motor Cars and the Legacy, the author describes the relationship between Ford and the Dodge Brothers in great detail. According to Hyde, Ford launched his third company in late 1902 and asked the Dodge Brothers to become his major parts supplier. The Dodges spent many thousands of dollars in equipment and materials to begin producing “running gear” for Ford, which consisted of the engine, transmission and axles, all mounted on a frame. The Dodge Brothers kept the blueprints for these early Fords, and buyers placed orders by visiting the Dodge plant. In a 1916 lawsuit filed by the Dodges, Henry Ford admitted that the Dodges made the entire Ford except the body, wheels and tires and that they also risked much financially while Ford himself invested no money or property and contributed only his experience and the design. Hyde also notes that no Ford investors or officials had any mechanical or manufacturing abilities other than Ford himself and the Dodge Brothers.

Ford had difficulty paying the Dodges for their work at first. In June of 1903, the Dodge Brothers agreed to write off $7,000 in overdue payments and to extend an additional $3,000 in credit to Ford in exchange for 10% of the Ford stock. The Dodge Brothers had given up other promising contracts to work exclusively for Ford, and their gamble did pay off handsomely. The Ford automobile was hugely successful and the money they earned providing parts, combined with the huge dividends paid on their Ford stock, made the Dodge Brothers very wealthy men. John Dodge was also a VP and director at Ford, and, by 1913, both Henry Ford and the Dodge Brothers were becoming uncomfortable with their dependence on each other.

To be continued . . . .

The Dodge Brothers and Henry Ford, Part 2

The Dodge Brothers and Henry Ford, Part 3

November 7, 2018

A Ford Edsel First

I ran across this old article about the Ford Edsel the other day, dateline September 7, 1957:

Ford Motor Company Chalks Up Another First

PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Ford Motor Co. can chalk up a first for its new Edsel line.

At a North Philadelphia dealer’s place, a new Edsel was parked on the pavement and left unguarded for a moment. When an employee went back for it, it had been stolen.

The dealer reported the car valued at $3,800, stolen at 3:20 p.m. to police. As far as was known it was the first stolen car case involving an Edsel.