We already brought you part one of our list of 15 things you probably did not know about Ford, and now we’re back with part two! Check out eight more fascinating facts about the iconic car company that you definitely (probably) did not know below. You might be surprised by what you find out!
Number Eight: It’s Responsible for Popularizing the Peanuts. It’s true! The Peanuts gang were featured as animated characters in a Ford commercial in 1963, and the success of the commercial helped launched them to animated fame.
Number Seven: It Owns Lincoln. Henry bought The Lincoln Motor Company in 1925, and it subsequently became part of Ford Motor. However, he decided to keep the Lincoln name since it was already so popular, which turned out to be a smart move on his part.
Number Six: It’s Had the Same Logo Since 1907. While many companies choose to rebrand themselves every five to 10 years, this isn’t the case with Ford. They’ve had the same iconic blue and white logo since 1907, which is over 100 years ago!
Number Five: The Cars Are Speedier Than You Realize. In fact, it was a Ford GT40 that won the famous 24-hour-long Le Mans race not one, but four years in a row.
Number Four: The Company Is Family-Run. It might be giant, but the company is still completely family-run. A person cannot be the official CEO of Ford unless he or she is the direct descendant of Henry himself. This means that men who want to climb a few rungs in the corporate ladder shouldn’t marry into the company just to get ahead – it definitely won’t work.
Number Three: It Remains One of the World’s Largest Car Manufacturers. Ford is fifth in the world on the list of the biggest car manufacturers. It comes behind Toyota, General Motors, Volkswagen, and Hyundai.
Number Two: It’s Responsible for the First Vehicle. The very first car ever made was a Ford Model A, and it was made in 1903. The Model A had a top speed of just 30 miles per hour.
Number One: Henry Invented the Phrase “An Arm and a Leg.” Well, specifically, Henry invented the phrase. One day, someone asked him why he seemed not to care much about spending money. He responded by saying it’s because the vehicles cost consumers “an arm and a leg.” We hope you enjoyed our list of 15 things you didn’t know about Ford!