Running head: FORD AND GMC
Ford and GMC
Rosemary E. Beeson
Shad Brown
B. Scott Hubbard
Justin Marcon
Brian Philpot
University of Phoenix
FIN/324 Financial Analysis for Managers
Brad Thompson
August 12, 2003
Ford and GMC
Abstract
This paper will look at a comparison of two of major automotive manufacturers in the United States: Ford and GMC. The paper will discuss the products, history, stock profile and its financial status in the marketplace.
Ford Motor Company
History
Ford Motor Company was established in 1903. The founder of the company was Henry Ford, along with 11 business associates, signed the company’s articles of incorporation. As with most great enterprises, Ford Motor Company's beginnings were modest. The company had anxious moments in its infancy. The earliest record of a shipment is July 20, 1903, approximately one month after incorporation, to a Detroit physician. With the company's first sale came hope—a young Ford Motor Company had taken its first steps.(www.ford.com)
Ford’s greatest contribution to manufacturing was the moving assembly line. The first plant was in Highland Park in Michigan. In 1913, the assembly was started and allowed individual workers to have the work come to them, rather then moving from place to place. This greatly improved the manufacturing process. Since cars could be produced quicker, they became more affordable for consumers. This is where Ford believed that the future was headed.
Beginning in 1903, the company began using the first 19 letters of the alphabet to name new cars. In 1908, the Model T was born. 19 years and 15 million Model T's later, Ford Motor Company was a giant industrial complex that spanned the globe. In 1925, Ford Motor Company acquired the Lincoln Motor Company, thus branching out into luxury cars, and in the 1930's, the Mercury division was created to establish a division centered on mid-priced cars. Ford Motor Company was growing. (www.ford.com)...