The Ford Motor Company is beloved around the world for igniting the modern automotive industry that we know today. If it wasn’t for the Ford Motor Company, we wouldn’t have the mass-produced vehicles that we have today. The Ford Model T changed the way people looked at the automobile as a form of transportation. After the Model T achieved mass appeal, Ford managed to grow as a company. They brought drivers some of the most innovative vehicles of all time. However, as with any large company, there are successes and failures when it comes to launching a new model.
For Ford, these failures came in the form of the Edsel, the Probe, and many other failed models. There were even vehicles that didn’t have a Ford badge, such as the Lincoln Blackwood. There have been cars that caused a massive controversy for Ford, such as the Pinto. It famously became one of the least safe cars on the road. The Firestone Tire fiasco centered around the Ford Explorer at the start of the new millennium was another. We looked back at 25 cars and trucks that nearly bankrupted Ford.
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Photo Credit: Ford
25: Ford Explorer (2nd Generation)
The Ford Explorer was a breakout success for the Ford Motor Company. The first generation of the SUV went head-to-head with GM and Chrysler for family car supremacy. SUV models were taking over wagons as the preferred form of family transportation. These vehicles were more capable than a minivan and offered more versatility (via Motor Biscuit).
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When the second generation of the Explorer was announced, the company had to build on the success of the original. The truck was redesigned, but engineers took a shortcut in the roof design. When there was an issue with rollover incidents pertaining to Firestone tires exploding, this flaw in the design was discovered. It’s been reported Ford paid close to a billion dollars to settle all cases, not to mention the loss in sales and the bad press.