Ford's Created Another Monster, Maybe

Here's a question: Would Swedish meatballs go with General Tso's Chicken?

Why am I asking? Well, it's because Ford is selling Volvo to the Chinese.

In particular, Ford is selling their Swedish boxy sedan division to Geely, one of the larger Chinese car manufacturers.

In a sense, this is a good thing because Ford doesn't have to worry about Volvo's dead weight. In the time Ford owned it, the Swedish car maker never posted a profit. Ford can't keep bleeding money, so getting rid of Volvo is a quick way to stop the flow.

But some people think it's a very shortsighted move.

Ford has sold Geely a carmaker and distribution network that's already set up in major markets across the country. Geely can pair it's cheaper cars with the more expensive Volvos and have the classic combo of basic and luxury cars.

So Ford has, in all likelihood, created a major competitor.

But that's what Ford does. It creates competitors. It's in the company's nature and in the family's DNA.

A hundred years ago, Henry Ford didn't instantly found the company that uses his name. There were three attempts. The first went up in flames faster than an oil rig fire. The second, though, lasted much longer, but without Henry. You see, Henry Ford had the same temper as a drunk, cracked out, grizzly bear. He pissed off his backers, who promptly threw him out of the company.

The backers hired a man named Henry Leland, who restarted car production under the name Cadillac. After a few years Cadillac cemented its reputation as a fine motor car and was bought out by William C. Durant's General Motors Corporation. At that point, GM already owned Buick and Oldsmobile, so by adding Cadillac, Durant created the basis for what became one of the largest companies in the world.

If Henry Ford hadn't pissed off his backers, Cadillac wouldn't exist and General Motors would have been a very different company.

Henry went on to create a third company, under his name, and created the Model T. That's where the Dodge brothers, Horace and John, came into the picture.

They were contracted to build chassis parts for Ford's cars. For a while the relationship was a good one and both parties prospered. But, eventually, Ford either pissed off the Dodge brothers or they got tired of being working for good old Henry.

So the Dodge brothers went out and started their own car company. It was a success, one of the top ten selling car companies in the US. But, after the brothers died in the early 20, Walter P. Chrysler came along and bought the company. This created the core for what we now know as the Chrysler Group.

If Ford hadn't alienated the brothers, Dodge wouldn't exist today.

Then, in the mid '20s, Ford pissed off (see a trend here?) one of his major supervisors, William S. Knudsen. This caused Knudsen to go work for GM, where he was put in charge of the Chevrolet division. At that point, Chevrolet was in a bit of a pickle. Back then it was in a different market position than it is today. Its cars were in the mid-luxury segment, rather like Buick is today. Chevrolets were selling, but not at the level management wanted them to.

So Knudsen took the car downmarket, putting it in direct competition with Ford. He also streamlined production.

Chevrolet sales took off and left Ford in the dust. Over the next 60 years, Chevrolet would stay Number 1 in the American market, with Ford surpassing it only a handful of times.

If Henry Ford hadn't done what he did best, pissing people off, Chevrolet might not exist and GM would be much, much different.

But where would the world be if Henry Ford had mastered his temper? Certainly, other companies would have risen and taken Ford on, but I'm not sure they would have been worthy competitors like GM and Chrysler.

The unending war between the Big Three gave us the Muscle Car War, the cheap V8 engine, acres of chrome and countless pieces of important engineering. It's proof that competition is what powers industry. There is no reason to make your product better unless you're trying to beat the other son of a bitch at his own game.

So let the Chinese cars come. With Ford's track record, it should be one hell of a show.