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Full Version: Ford was the only one who could do it !
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Durning WWII , the army wanted a gas engine that would be used in the sherman tank , seems what they had wasn't able to handle it.
First they went to Chrysler for an engine and it flooped , then they gave GM a shot and they were no better getting an engine that would drive that massve tank , then they thought maybe , just maybe Ford could do it , Ford was not there first choice .
Any how Oh, Henry came up with a brillent idea , he designed a whole new engine just for this tank ,. what they got was a aluminum , V-8 rated at I believe 425 horse power. It did what they wanted and the rest is history.
By the way Gm's answer was to use 2 of there bus engines and Chryslers was to use 5 of there 6 bangers in a circle and it didn't work. But as usual Mr Ford knew what to do.
Interesting tidbit about Ford. Check this thread about another interesting Ford innovation, although the link may by mythical.

http://mach1club.com/showthread.php?tid=797
Leave it to Ford did you expect less?JamAwesome
I recently read an article about Ford Motor and how they have managed to be inovative and ahead of the pack.
It went on to say that Ford about every ten years manages to come out with a vehical design that makes them shine like no one else.

The article was very good and they went from the beginning of the company to the 2000's. Sure enough every ten yrs or so Ford came out with a hugh winner.

Sounds like an excellent read. If you come up with where you read it, link it for us. Not taking tax payer bail out money is a shine in my book!
Ford Image Goes Way Up For Not Taking Taxpayer Money

Results of a national study measuring the current perception of the Ford Motor Company, conducted by Aloft Group, Inc., a brand consulting and communication firm, show that consumer perception of the Ford brand improved after they chose to not receive a loan from the U.S government.

Prior to the federal bailout, 41% of consumers had a positive perception of the Ford brand, but according to the survey, after Ford declined to take the loan it increased to 63%.

“The fact that Ford did not take government loan money appears to have had a significant positive impact on how consumers perceive the Ford brand,” stated Matt Bowen, president and CEO of Aloft Group, Inc. “Changing consumers’ perception of a brand is typically a slow and uphill process. This is very unusual in that this positive brand perception upswing occurred in a relatively short time frame and under intense global scrutiny of the auto industry. This could considerably impact Ford’s long term brand value.”

Other key findings from the survey:

* 33% of overall respondents are more willing to consider buying a Ford since Ford chose to not take the bailout money.

* 27% of overall respondents believe that Ford did not take the bailout money that was offered because they wanted to send a positive message to the American public. Only 24% of overall respondents believe that Ford didn’t actually need the money.
It real simple, I've been a Mechanic and Ford lover now for roughly 40 years, and I'm still learning every day. There is a reason Ford won LeMans 3 Times! and the SCCA championship several different years kicking Ferrari's ass along with the Corvette's including the 427 Grandsport. And Indianapolis 3 or 4 times. I think Chevrolet won it once? They never even showed up at LeMans, Ford Dominated the drag strips of the late 60's. And until the last several years had a pretty solid record in nascar remember the 80's when GM couldn't catch Bill Elliott and the Thunderbird? GM whined and complained Cry until nascar let them install fastback windows in there Chevy's and Pontiacs but they still couldn't catch the Ford. And now Chevrolet has shown a little dominance in Nascar? Has anyone stopped to notice Chevrolet built a purpose built race engine for nascar several years ago? as did Chrysler. Ford just built there's in 2009/2010, Now Ford is starting to win again? Looks like a pattern is developing to me? When the playing field is level Ford always seems to come out on top! SSig_number1 Just an observation!! JTS 71 Mach1 Oh Yeah not drinking the Government koolaide is just plain Cool!!!
I don't know how many times I Have heard praise for the way Ford handles there financila issues ( No gov money ) The things that impressed me was how many old Chebby die hards are now switching to Ford. There not happy at all the way GM handled there problems.

Ford has always been a leader when it comes to the automotive field , in fact many years ago they were in the space industry and made some great things for the space program but got out of it to concentrate on what they do best.

As far as the article about how Ford has been ahead of the pack in the inovation . I do not recalll where I read the article , I guess a web search will have to do. I believe I did a facts and history about Ford , there is a ton of stuff out there . Good Luck