10 Interesting Facts About the Life of Henry Ford
1) Henry Ford made extra money as a pocketwatch repairman when he was in his early teens. A mechanical genius from a young age, Ford taught himself the craft of watch repair by repeatedly taking apart and putting back together a pocketwatch given to him by his father. He even made his own tools to work on watches, including tiny screwdrivers he laboriously filed from old nails, and tweezers made from the spring steel “bones” from a discarded corset.
2) When he was only 20 years old, Ford was promoted to Chief Engineer of the Thomas Edison Illumination Company’s main electrical plant in Detroit, which provided electrical power for the city. He worked there for six years before Edison himself encouraged Ford to follow his dreams of creating an affordable, reliable, gasoline-powered automobile.
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3) Among many, many other innovations Henry Ford brought to his manufacturing plants was a willingness to hire handicapped people, including the blind, deaf and those who had lost limbs in combat or in accidents. By 1919, more than 20 percent of Ford Motor Company’s workforce had some form of disability.
4) After being convinced he should seek a life in politics by his friend President Woodrow Wilson, Ford ran for a seat in the United States Senate in 1918. He only lost by 4,500 votes, even though he didn’t spend a dime on his campaign.
5) Henry Ford was America’s second billionaire, after oil magnate John D Rockefeller.
6) Still an innovator well into old age, Henry Ford debuted a prototype of a plastic-bodied car in August 1941. Even more amazing, the car’s body was biodegradable, with the lightweight panels made entirely from soybeans. While Ford hoped to include the soybean panels in production Ford cars and trucks to lighten weight and lessen the cost of new vehicles, the outbreak of World War II sidelined the project.
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7) One of the stranger objects on display at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan is a vial containing the last breath of Ford’s idol and former employer Thomas Edison. As the great inventor was dying, Ford convinced Edison’s son to sit beside Edison’s bed a glass test-tube, then capture his last breath and seal the tube with a cork.
8) Among Ford’s many inventions over the years is a summertime staple: the compressed charcoal briquette. With Ford plants turning out the Model T, which featured many parts made of oak, Ford found himself awash in wood scraps. Ford’s Brother-In-Law E.G. Kingsford suggested they create a charcoal manufacturing plant, and Ford named the product Kingsford Charcoal in his honor, with Kingsford still being a top producer of briquettes to this day. Talk about some cool Henry Ford facts!
9) During World War I, Ford took to the skies when he founded the Ford Airplane Company. While the company didn’t achieve the success Ford had hoped, it did create the sturdy and now-iconic Ford Tri-Motor airplane, which was produced between 1928 and 1933. A Ford Tri-Motor even appears in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.”
10) Ford designed and built his first operational steam engine in 1878, when he was only 15 years old!
As we wrap up these interesting facts about Henry Ford, it’s like uncovering hidden treasures! His story is full of fascinating twists and turns, showing us the power of determination and innovation. Let’s carry these facts about Henry Ford with us as we forge ahead, inspired by his incredible journey.
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Since 2001, the Ford Escape has been helping American drivers find their way to work, play and adventure in an economical, small SUV that goes big on style, performance and safety. Now, with the all-new 2020 Ford Escape, Ford is ready to help a whole new generation of drivers find all those things and more in the smartest SUV Ford has ever built, including two all-new gas/electric and plug-in hybrid powertrains with best-in-class range! Ready to buy a 2020 Ford Escape in Bentonville? You’ve got a bit to wait yet, as the 2020 Ford Escape won’t be on the lot at McLarty Daniel Ford for a few months. But read on for everything you need to know about this beautiful new SUV from Ford!
Ford debuted the 2020 Escape on March 2. In designing the sleek new silhouette, Ford drew upon the design of two legendary stablemates: the Ford Mustang and the race-bred Ford GT. Up front, the shield-shaped trapezoidal grille of the new 2020 Ford Escape is inspired by the latest generation of the Ford Mustang, while the lower front fascia borrows aerodynamic tricks from the GT. From there, the design strikes a bold new tone, with a gracefully sloped roof, integrated rear spoiler and smoothed underbody to help the new Escape cut through the wind for the most aerodynamic SUV Ford has ever built. In addition, the 2020 Ford Escape sheds more than 200 pounds when compared to the current model, thanks to the use of lightweight, high-strength steel alloys.
Inside, the 2020 Ford Escape delivers a quiet, spacious and comfortable passenger compartment, with sliding second-row seats for best-in-class maximum second-row legroom, plus increased knee clearance and footwell length for a more comfortable ride, and 37.5 cubic feet of cargo room with the second row slid completely forward. Though the 2020 Escape is slightly smaller externally than the previous model, clever design and use of materials add up to an overall increase in headroom, shoulder room and hip room for all passengers.
Under that sleek new body are your choice of four new driveline options, including two gasoline engines, a gas/electric hybrid powertrain, and a plug-in hybrid powertrain. Standard on S, SE and SEL trim levels is the all-new 1.5-liter EcoBoost four cylinder, producing 180 horsepower and 177 lb.-ft. of torque, for towing of up to 2,000 pounds, plus world-class fuel economy thanks to cylinder deactivation when power needs are low. For more gas-powered oomph, there’s the optional 2.0-liter EcoBoost four, available on Titanium trims, producing 250 horsepower and 275 lb.-ft of torque for maximum towing of 3,500 pounds.
If you’re looking for the ultimate in fuel economy, check out the 2020 Ford Escape with Ford’s fourth-gen gas/electric hybrid powertrain, which includes a newly designed 2.5-liter Atkinson cycle generator linked to a continuously variable gearless transmission. The system is projected to deliver combined horsepower of 198, a top speed on the freeway of 85 mph in electric only mode, and 550 mile range on a single tank of gas while using both gas and electric power.
Available on every trim level except S and SE Sport is the all-new 2020 Ford Escape plug-in hybrid, which has an EPA-estimated range of 30 miles on a fully charged battery. Featuring the ability to charge at both 110-volt home charging stations and 240-volt commercial stations, the 2020 Ford Escape plug in hybrid can charge in 11 hours on 110-volt current, and 3.5-hours on 220. The system features four selectable modes to help drivers fine-tune their drive. These include:
— Auto EV mode, which allows the 2020 Escape to “decide” whether to run on gasoline or electric power.
— EV Now mode, which allows the 2020 Escape to operate solely on battery power.
— EV Later mode, which allows drivers to switch to full gasoline propulsion to conserve electric miles for later.
— EV Charge mode, which allows drivers to continue to charge the battery while driving and generate electric-only miles to use later.
“This all-new Escape brings a sleeker, sportier design with the capability to take you on just about any of your life’s adventures,” said Ford North America President Kumar Galhotra. “With our class-leading hybrid powertrains, customers will spend less time at the gas station and more time on the road.”
From our beautiful new showroom, to the all-new Ford Ranger, to the forthcoming 2020 Bronco, to the just released 2020 Ford Escape, it’s shaping up to be an exciting summer at the all-new McLarty Daniel Ford of Bentonville! Stop in soon, and let our friendly finance professionals fill you in on how you can be one of the first in Northwest Arkansas to own one of these beautiful new models from Ford!
These days, we’re all busier than ever, with most of us spending a significant portion of our day staring into a screen of one form or another. For anybody who ever went to be with bloodshot eyes after a day packed with screen time, the engineers behind the 2020 Ford Explorer have a partial solution. Ford recently announced that the all-new 2020 Ford Explorer will feature “Calm Screen” function — A.K.A. “Mindful Mode” — which reduces the information delivered by the 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster to a minimum. With Calm Screen mode activated, the gauge cluster directly in front of the steering wheel will display only speed and fuel level, allowing drivers to focus on the road ahead without distractions.
“We live in a world of ubiquitous screens, and the information can be overwhelming,” said Ford Explorer Marketing Manager Lee Newcombe. “The new ‘Mindful Mode’ in the all-new Explorer offers a break from the constant stream of information and alerts bombarding us by giving drivers the option to disengage and take a moment for themselves away from the chaos technology can wreak.”
In announcing the function, Ford cited a recent Nielsen Media study that found the average American spends half their day processing information from a screen. A study by Ford Trends Report, meanwhile, found that half of all adults would appreciate a mandatory, daily “time out” from their devices.
“It’s no secret many people are tethered to their devices – engaging with screens at all hours day and night,” said Sheryl Connelly with Ford Global Trends. “People are increasingly aware of and alarmed by their device dependency. Yet if there’s one opportunity throughout the day to reduce your exposure to digital demands, it’s when you’re driving. Ford’s new Explorer can serve as a sanctuary from chaos and distraction.”
The break from the digital noise that “Mindful Mode” can provide will pair well with the 2020 Ford Explorer, which features an exceptionally quiet cabin thanks to advanced door sealing, sound deadening, and acoustic glass, as well as an available 14-speaker premium sound system by B&O, supportive multi-contour seats with available heat and ventilation, and the new Ford Co-Pilot360 suite of driver-assistance technologies.
Want to find your happy place? The all-new 2020 Ford Explorer will arrive at McLarty Daniel Ford this summer. If you want to be one of the first in Northwest Arkansas to own this beautiful new SUV from Ford, stop in at McLarty Daniel Ford, talk to our finance professionals, and get pre-approved today!
As we’ve mentioned a time or two, we love movies here at McLarty Daniel Ford. With springtime soon to be sprung, wouldn’t it be great if there was a quick and easy way to watch a high-definition movie outside, at the lake, at the campground, or even in your own backyard?
As we see everyday here at McLarty Daniel Ford, the big brains at Ford Engineering are always looking for new ways to make our lives cooler and more fun. Our wish appears to be their command, with the word that Ford recently received a patent for a way to instantly turn a pickup truck bed into a pop-up outdoor theater!
Ford Motor Company’s Ford Global Technologies LLC filed the patent application, titled “Portable Entertainment Support System for a Pickup Truck Box,” with the U.S. Patent Office in August 2017. The application was granted in mid-February.
As seen in design drawings filed with the Patent Office, the system consists of two rails that fit into special receivers — called “interface plates” in the patent — built into the inner walls of a pickup bed, one at the front near the cab, and another at the back near the tailgate. The front rail features a built-in, telescoping screen that rises up several feet higher than the pickup cab. The rear rail, meanwhile, includes three sockets, into which fit the mounting brackets for two high-definition speakers on either side and a high-definition digital projector in the middle.
Hit a button, and the screen pops up. From there, all you need to do is drop the tailgate, set up some lawn chairs, and then play your favorite Hollywood hits in the great outdoors, courtesy of your Ford F-150 and one clever screen.
In the “background” section of the patent filing, Ford describes how and why the system might be useful to truck owners, adding that the use of interface plates to mount the system will avoid requiring owners to drill or modifying their pickup box, which can lead to corrosion or compromise the integrity of the truck box.
There’s no word on when or if Ford will actually build and sell this very clever projector/screen mounting design, but it sure gets our wheels turning on how cool it would be to have something like this for overnight camping or trips to the lake. While we’d never suggest running afoul of the U.S. Patent Office or our friends at Ford, in looking at the drawings, it appears that a movie lover who was even moderately handy could come up with lightweight DIY projector and screen mounting rails that could quickly and easily drop into the stake pocket holes of their Ford truck’s bed in seconds, possibly using either wood, metal or PVC pipe. Hmmmmm….
Be right back. Gotta make a hardware store run!
To read the full patent application from Ford, with more detailed drawings, click here.
It was the end of an era at Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant on March 1, 2019, as the final 2019 Ford Taurus rolled off the assembly line, the last of over 8 million Taurus models built at the plant during the last 34 years of almost constant production.
Introduced in 1985 at the Los Angeles Auto Show, the first generation Ford Taurus was a revolutionary design, discarding the industry’s reliance on boxy, squared-off shapes in favor of a sleek, shapely and sculptural design that would set the bar for car design for the next decade. Just as revolutionary was the 1985 Taurus’ 140-horsepower 3.0-liter V6 engine, which featured one of the industry’s first applications of multi-port fuel injection.
In 1989, the Ford Taurus changed the industry again with the introduction of the Ford Taurus SHO. The acronym stood for Super High Output, with the models delivering on that promise thanks to a 220-horsepower, 24-valve high-performance V6 built in unique partnership with Yamaha. The engine, known internally at Ford as “The Shogun,” allowed the Ford Taurus SHO to rocket from zero to 60 in 6.7 seconds, with a top speed of 143 miles per hour. At the time, the Ford Taurus SHO was the fastest and most powerful four-door sedan under $20,000, with the only sedans offering more power in 1989 being the $51,000 BWM M5 and the $71,000 BMW 750iL.
The success of the Ford Taurus kept building, and by 1992, it was America’s best-selling car, with Ford-affiliated NASCAR teams running Taurus bodies starting in 1998. It remains Ford’s fifth best-selling vehicle of all time, with only the F-150, Escort, Model T and Mustang selling more examples. The nameplate was briefly retired in 2006 before the sixth-generation Taurus was introduced in 2008.
“Taurus broke new ground at its start and we’re thankful for its role in our portfolio,” said Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president, U.S. marketing, sales and service. “Those same kinds of innovations will continue for today’s customers with Ford Explorer and the rest of our lineup.”
Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant and Chicago Stamping plant, where the Ford Taurus has been built since 1985, will be retooled in a $1 billion dollar investment that will add 500 new jobs, with the plant turning to production of the next-generation 2020 Ford Explorer, 2020 Police Interceptor Utility, and the 2020 Lincoln Aviator. It’s part of a move that will see Ford replace 75 percent of its current vehicle lineup by the end of 2020, expanding truck and SUV offerings with vehicles like the 2020 Ford Ranger, the all-new 2020 Ford Bronco, a still-unnamed off-road crossover, and a Mustang-inspired high-performance electric SUV.
We’re sad to see the Ford Taurus go, because we’ve sold a lot of them at this dealership since 1985. Still, we’re excited to see all that’s new coming from Ford, and if the revival of the Ranger and Bronco names is any guide, something tells us this won’t be the last we see of the iconic Taurus nameplate.
Ready to get in on all the exciting new things happening at Ford? Then stop in today at McLarty Daniel Ford of Bentonville, check out the all new 2019 Ford Ranger, and our award-winning lineup of Ford trucks, cars, vans and SUVs! Best of all: we can show you how you can take one home today! Come see us!
Letting go of the past is always hard. In the case of the old McLarty Daniel Ford dealership at 2609 S. Walton Boulevard, it was especially so given the location’s place in the history of Northwest Arkansas, including being the dealership where Walmart founder Sam Walton bought the now-iconic red-and-white 1979 Ford F-150 pickup he drove until his passing in April 1992.
But with the grand opening of our gleaming new dealership on March 15, the all-new McLarty Daniel Ford of Bentonville is ready for the next 50 years of serving the citizens of Northwest Arkansas. Built from the ground up with the goal of better serving our customers, our new 46,685 square foot facility includes a greatly expanded service area with more than double the number of advisors, a larger waiting area with more comfortable chairs, a larger showroom with dedicated space for Lincoln vehicles, an on-site car wash and much more room on the lot for an even bigger selection of new and pre-owned vehicles. Our hope is that the new McLarty Daniel Ford will serve not only as the premiere place to buy a new Ford or Lincoln vehicle in Northwest Arkansas, but also as a hub for showcasing the great things happening in our community for years to come.
Built by Harco Constructors of North Little Rock on a 10.6-acre site at a cost of over $10 million dollars, the multi-level dealership includes a bright and airy new showroom, lined with scenes of Bentonville, including one shot of Sam Walton’s F-150 parked in front of the original Walmart location downtown. “I commissioned a local guy and he took all the photos for us,” said McLarty Daniel Ford General Manager Jason Hooe. “We had a local print shop print them up. It was important to me to go local with everything. It couldn’t have turned out better. I think we got the right temperament for the store. It ties us to the community. The community is a big deal to me.”
The grand opening on March 15 was packed with state, local and national luminaries, as well as the customers who have shopped with McLarty Daniel Ford in the past. Bentonville Mayor Stephanie Orman, U.S. Representative Steve Womack and U.S. Senator John Boozman were on hand to speak, in addition to a free concert by Nashville recording artist Coffey Anderson.
The grand opening also included an event with Northwest Arkansas charity The Pack Shack, with dozens of volunteers on hand to pack thousands of free meals for the homeless. Hooe said that pairing the dealership’s official launch with a Pack Shack event is not only a great way to help the less fortunate, but also symbolic of the mission he sees for McLarty Daniel Ford of Bentonville in the years to come. “We’re not going to blow our own horn,” he said. “I’d rather have the first act of this business be a service to the community than have it be something where we say: ‘Look at us!'”
Another luminary on hand for the Grand Opening was Brad Bellamy, Marketing Reputation Manager for Ford Motor Company. Surveying the photos of Bentonville that hang in the dealership showroom before the ribbon cutting, Bellamy said: “You look around, and you see the different pictures on the walls. That’s unique to this dealership. And it shows how important the partnership is between Bentonville and McLarty Daniel Ford.”
Come help us celebrate the all-new McLarty Daniel Ford! Stop in today, look around, have some coffee or a bottled water in our beautiful new customer lounge, and let us show you what it means when we say McLarty Daniel Ford of Bentonville wants to be a completely different kind of dealership, and a resource for the people of Northwest Arkansas.
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