A friend that worked at Ford in Bremerton gave me a copy of this and we used it in the first week of high school for over twenty five years. At that age, most of the students had little idea of what went into any vehicle, thank you Ford, one of the best we could find.
Thank you for this. It was a great flashback to a great period in car making. I spy my 1972 mercury marquis. Powder blue. It was gorgeous. Miss when cars drove like ships sailing.
Smashinbedrock Very true. But newer cars that stop on a dime now, and save lives, also create more confidence in driving, which make some of us reckless, and predatory on the road, not to mention, when discarded, way more environmental damage. As most of their components are non biodegradable plastics, and polymer blend parts, filled with leaching chemicals. Not such good way of protecting the future of life. Let alone, most everything we use now is made with plastic. But yes, safer driving, and better emissions for sure. I just miss the way they drove is all. Bliss
@@larkatmic dude...this was time back when "Doctors recommend you to smoke "xxx" brand cigarette at least an pack a day" or third party garbage collectors were dumping nuclear or chemical wastes near settlements. Those cars might have used less polymers, but I'm pretty sure they wasted a lot of material in process and some used even more toxic polymers.
Possibly the data storage center shown had Terabytes of total data even using the very strict data storage methods of the times. The amazing thing is that data may still exist somewhere in Fords archives the actual tapes may still be in a storeroom somewhere and still readable if the hardware needed still exists is another thing.
@@steve-ph9yg it's highly unlikely it would be terabytes. several hundred megabytes at most. For e.g. IBM introduced the model 2314 in 1965, it was a size of a smaller truck, and contained 8+1 magnetic disks each had a capacity of 29 megabytes. And that was a LOT back then.
@@LenryNmQ the INM 7000\700 series came out in the 1950’s the 7074 in 1960 the 2400 tape 729V tape unit had a normal capacity of 117 MB a max of 17MB. I could be wrong about TB’s but that Data Center had at least a thousand tapes so GB’s at least. I was a IBM 4300 series operator in the late 80’s early 90’s and hung a lot of 3400 tapes that were date stamped 1980 the year the IBM 4341 system was installed.
@@LenryNmQ I worked for EDS\GM at a GM assembly plant the plants automation was run on a 1960’s IBM 700 series mainframe that was handled by the automation support people.
Ah 1972 when the US still had about 1/4 of the workforce in manufacturing which most often pays well and is what produced the large middleclass the nation once had. That fell into the single digits around 2007-08 and has remained.
I've read that when labor unions were the strongest in the 1950s & 60s we had our strongest middle class and greatest economic equality that we've ever had. The war on those unions apparently started with Reagan.
@@JackF99 for the UAW the high point was 1975. My father in law used to say “the democrats were the working class party and the republicans were for the rich guys” 🤔
The plate on the car at 14:03 is 1972. My folks had a '72 wagon, I liked the "beak" style grill and a 400cid engine that ran as smooth as silk. The original battery lasted seven years in the mid-west!! In retrospect, it was the size of a ship but had drum breaks and bias ply tires ...AHHH! Good old r12 would freeze a melted chocolate bar in no time at all. Thank you for uploading it was a hoot to watch.
It is amazing how much goes into the building of just one car...huge facilities, a lot of money 💰, skilled workers and large quantities of natural resources...good video - thank you 😊
Same. My family have always had Ford vehicles since the beginning. Had a great uncle that worked with H. Ford, before ww1. I have a picture of his first car, a roadster. Written on the back of the picture is the notation that it had engine #1872. He helped build the vehicle that he wound up buying for himself. After serving in the war, he moved to Seattle area, opened a service station/dealership. Sold Ford cars/pickups & Texaco gas. He retired and sold his business around 1977.
More Cladding is what we need ! Lots and lots of Cladding!!!! and more in the 80s to! Some of those interior's look like kitchen cabinets. Thanks for loading it.
This looks very 1970s to me. Those lamb chop side burns, and woman’s beehive hairdo’s are a dead give away. I should know I lived it. Plus the cars in the 70s were huge!
@@MarioPalma-gm3vn The cars have the first generation so called Safety Bumpers which were first in use in 1973 so you are correct about 73/74 also because many cars in those years nothing changed
Loved IT thanks! We had a 1974 Galaxie, my neighbor a 1973 Mustang and a close friend of mine a 1972 Grabber. Plus a dear uncle of mine worked at FORD as an engineer. The lucky bas*** worked in Quality Control. So he could take any New FORD he wanted home!!! For "testing purposes" of course... The hottest dude in our neighborhood.
This film must have been made on December 31st 1969 because it has that great 70s vibe. I really enjoy all these informative videos from the past, very well made and they feel like a time capsule.
Agreed! At 8:06 you can see what appears to be a Mustang II. it could be a prototype or design study, but I doubt they had those until late 1971, early 1972.
Agreed! At 8:06 you can see what appears to be a Mustang II. it could be a prototype or design study, but I doubt they had those until late 1971, early 1972 (production versions in 1974).
Love this video. I have a 72 Ltd I'm the 2nd owner to. I have that build spec sheet in the glove box. Love seeing the computer that printed it on video. I like to believe I watched them build my Ltd before my eyes.
At that time, the car frames were not electroplated. That come later. For this reason, these cars didn't last for long, many were eaten from the rust. The tyres had inner tubes and made a distinctive "pop" noise when punctured and had to be replaced on the spot; and tube tyres broke rather frequently: young drivers can't imagine how frequent car breakdowns happened...
The hell are you talking about, tube tires? Tubeless tires had been an industry standard since the late fifties. Sure you could buy tube style tires in the aftermarket, but these cars all came out of the plant wearing tubeless tires. Now, the frames weren’t electroplated like the bodies were but that isn’t why they rusted so badly, that had to do with the chemical makeup of the steel itself. And it’s still a problem, Toyota has replaced millions of truck frames at huge expense because they still can’t lock the problem - and that’s a manufacturer who took some responsibility, most of the others don’t once past the warranty period.
GM started to offer airbags as an option on the full-size Oldsmobiles, Buicks, and Cadillacs starting in 1974. Ford never offered airbags as an option during the 1970s. However 50 1972 Mercury Monetarys were outfitted with airbags and were leased to Allstate insurance company in Northbrook Illinois for real time test purposes.
I am impressed. That's a lot more tech and automation than I thought they had in 69. Although I am shocked to see the paint crew was not wearing respirators!
bro there's a video from I believe 1937 on this channel that shows a assembly line for Ford I believe and holy shit being born in 89 myself I never gave much thought how advanced society was then. yes it's primitive compared to today but they were pressing steel, molding engine blocks, I mean the whole nine years. and it's also a historical video it started with a horse and buggy leaving town to make it to the train station some few hours away-if I had to guess they were talking about life in the early 1900's to late 1800's. they even showed beautiful concrete roads and highways with the cloverleaf design, in the mid 30's! like I said it just blew my mind I wish I remembered the name but I found it on this channel without much effort. If I had to guess I remember it was made in '37. hope you and everyone gets to see it!
Took a tour of the Ford assembly line in Dearborn years ago. If you had seniority back then you had the choice of putting the owners manual in the glove box or the unleaded gas sticker by the gas cap.
Well, the corrosion resistance paint didn't work too well-my Dad's rear bumper on his '76 Ford fell off, and he brought it home in the trunk-very interesting video, though!
That same thing happened to my Navy buddy's 76 LTD he was from Michigan RUST. we found a non rusty one in South East Virginia and swapped it out,Golden ad new!
It may be well to remember many of the cars in this video were prototypes, produced as much as five years before the model hit the showroom or we got our first look on the cover of "Popular Science" magazine.
I agree with you Mike, this documental was release in 1972. I saw a identification car with Michigan 1972, and the model LTD in the factory is 1973, and I saw a F-100 with the front face 1972.
Ive been saying this for a while. If a company built a bare bones car and sold it for cheap it would sell like hot cakes...but car companies dont want that because of profit. They can force you to buy what they make with all the bells and whistles because you need a car.
This video was a class movie in my elementary school science class back in 1973. It was made in 1972 and is really just about how Ford built cars back then, but it featured their 1973 lineup and most especially, the Galaxie, Custom, L.T.D. and Country Squire models. Yeah, they built the Pinto in those years, too. But, they still kept Henry Ford's car alive. Unlike today, where they build trucks, vans, and suburban-driven CUVs and defecate on their most legendary name by applying it to one of the grocery getters. How the mighty fall! 💩! 🐰
Dude mentioned his merchandise, samples, and his dog before he mentioned his kids, and never said a thing about a wife....that man definitely had his priorities in order....😅😂🤣🤘🏻🇺🇸
A lot of it seems to have been shot at the Rouge River plant that was Henry Ford's baby.... it took roughly 10yrs (in the late teens-early twentys) to build and was a true work of art and efficiency it served them well into the 90's when it was redeveloped due age and contamination... and changes in production philosophy
@@rodrossi9749 believe me I'm 60 now, but best times of my life was in the Eighties, when I was in my twenties, the music, politics was not as divisive, most people were just looking for a good time. I'm a boomer no cell phones, but then again, wouldn't have this amazing device in my hand, able to see almost any film or documentary I desire at any time. That is amazing.
I was actually more surprised how few people were smoking in the film. Prior to the 90's it was a whole other world when it came to tobacco use. I grew up in the 80's and most 'nicer/ fancier' restaurants in my home town had cigarette vending machines in the lobby and people regularly smoked while pumping gasoline .... and yes there were signs that said not to.... they smoked anywhere and everywhere and occasionally the real hardcore smokers would use their current cigarette to light the next repeatedly (chain smoking). Most men smoked, chewed, or dipped... and a few did all three.... different times different values... I guess something's have gotten better... and no more leaded gasoline
Happy New Year to all automotive lovers. This video is a montage of Ford's construction of automobiles from raw material to finish. Some scenes are from the late sixties - the finished models are mostly 1972 models - incidentally 72 and 73 models were very similar depending on the body type. Enjoy, Ciao, L
Airbags were optional equipment on big GM cars from 1974-1976. They were expensive so, not many were sold. But, one documented case made big news when an airbag equipped 1974 Olds 88 had a head on collision with a regular car. The driver of the 88 walked away (he also wore his seat belt) and the other driver was killed. That got the ball rolling to get them in all cars.
My grandfather worked the final inspection assembly line in Dallas and Louisville plant . He retired in 1978 after 30yrs so if you drive a Ford from 1948 to 1978 chances are he made adjustments to your doors and bumpers. Lol 😆
I had a '76 Mercury (something) wagon, a '78 Mercury Cougar, and also an '81 Ford Fairmont. The only one I had door troubles with was the '76 wagon. Only the passenger doors stayed the way they were supposed to. Even the wagon door was ever so slightly off-kilter. Also had a 1970 F250, no door problems with that bad boy. Well, the gas cap came off a lot, like at every gas station you went near. That sucker got 8 mpg if you drove it like Granny would drive it. It would do anything you asked of it, though. God, I miss vehicles that had real steel or aluminum bumpers.
Ford only employs about 175,000 people today. A significantly lower amount than stated in this early 70's video. A lot of that is probably due to outsourcing, but still a very large employment difference compared to almost 50 years ago.
In the film they claimed almost 500,000 employees world-wide, now it's around 190,000. A lot of that is due to automation. You don't see people spot welding or hand painting anymore like they did in this movie. As artificial intelligence gets more advanced, you will see people loose jobs by the tens of millions in the US alone.
Not 1969 for sure when I seen all those Mavericks and 71-73 Mustangs sitting there. Noticed that they were painting all those cars with no chemical masks or protection at all. Much hand assembly welding, installing dashes, steering columns and headliners by hand. They use automation for those tasks now.
And a lot of people lost their jobs. My grandmother started at ford in 1970 hand soldering circuit boards. By the time she retired in 1998 she just sat there and watched a machine do it for her. And the factory went from 2,000 employees to less then a 100.
Definitely NOT 1969, instead 1972. Production 1972 big Fords on the assembly line. Prototype and pilot built 1973 models with the big bumpers. Jack Telnack was a lifetime Ford designer. That was FoMoCo's baroque period in design with heavily moulded trim pieces and blocky body contours. Later, Telnack was influential with the 1979 Mustang with its trim aero design. Prototype models are being displayed outside at Ford's Product Development Center in Dearborn...that design building and courtyard were built in 1953 but are being torn down and replaced in 2020. Many people dislike FoMoCo design of that era but their big cars were imposing and had an incredible ride with great noise suppression. Robots and automation now have replaced workers welding and painting on the assembly line. The work environment at that time was so brutal that men were physically worn out in their 50s.
Mike. Ford knew early on the dangers inherent in the Pinto's design as well as the cost to correct the problem with improved gas tanks. They weighed this cost against projected damage and litigation cost and made a decision intended for the benefit of their shareholders. They never looked back and neither did the Federal Trade Commission designed to protect us. But don't be too mad at Ford, They all do it. And we are too busy looking at The NFL and Kardishian's buttocks to care.
@@andrewbillingsley9377 I had a used pinto and the recall fix was a plastic shield between the rear diff and the tank so the sharp edges of the diff wouldn't poke holes in the tank in a rear collision. It was still better than a Vega tho the Vega looked better. I'm lucky as I don't like the NFL or Kardishian's. Baseball is the best............
@@jetsons101 so your saying the only car that rusted out on the dealer ship lots looked better all rusted out with blown engines were better looking than the Pinto? Yeah, RIGHT!! What the hell is wrong with you?
@@markreisen7038 ??? I'm not sure what your getting at. But the Vega was better looking "when new before the rust started showing," Ref: Wikipedia, The Vega received praise and awards at its introduction, including 1971 Motor Trend Car of the Year. I said when they were new it looked better, I never said it was great. If I had the $$$ in high school I would have gotten a 70 hemi Cuda or a 69 Boss 302 or 429. When new the Pinto just didn't look right but was better than a Vega, not great just better. Nothing wrong with me as I have a very happy life and great friends and family.
One thing they didn't plan on was the cars back in these years rusted like hell. I owned some of them and it didn't matter what brand. My 71 Vega I bought used in 73 had newspaper stuffed into the cowl and puttied over. Had to change the fenders that year also. They were complete rust.
People look back at cars from this era with rose coloured glasses. Cars weren’t expected to last more than a few years because you’d trade it in once you’d paid off the note - so two or three years would be the expected service life and anything after that was a bonus. To its credit Ford introduced body electroplating (or E-plate) in the late fifties for its high end models at the Wixom, Michigan plant, and the tanks and such were installed at most of the other Ford plants through the sixties, but some plants didn’t get it till the late seventies and the last one got it in 1983! And all it was, was a way to ensure the entire body was correctly primed - a lot of cars left the factory with bare metal in tight nooks and crannies, so no wonder they rotted out so fast.
I think Ford LTD was at its crown glory from 69 to 72 and it really was a nice car too. I was in 7th grade when my little girlfriend's mom bought a new 72 Gran Torino station wagon woody sides and that was a nice car too!
Watching this video should make anyone realize: the truly awe-inspiring variety of skills that encompassed the production of a vehicle, at one time. And these were just average people, mind you--anyone could be taught to do these things, and be part of this massive undertaking! This feat of engineering. Nowadays, sadly: the average American would never be permitted such opportunities. :0( And least not in manufacturing. Software is everything, it seems. It is certainly presented--ad nauseam--as the solution to everything. And yet: should it be? Shouldn't something that we do be tangible? Truly, that I think is the sort of America that Americans most mourn (those at least with some inkling of it still). A time when you could dedicate yourself to meaningful--tangible--work; and make a life worth living in the process. We are all so easily expended now. And perhaps, because: nothing is real.
As someone who has ended up working in the IT field; mostly dealing with software and the 'virtual' world (because that's the opportunities that came my way); I agree with you. There is a particular sense of satisfaction and joy that comes with creating, moulding, and modifying tangible, physical objects. Feeling textures with our hands, and not having everything trapped behind the transparent pane of glass we know of as our iPad display, or our computer monitor. Were things perfect back then? Definitely not. Are certain things easier, and far better today? Definitely. That doesn't distract from the fact that good things have been lost to time. I wonder what good things we have today, which will be lost to time because we take them for granted, and won't realise their value until they're all but gone!
stop it ! they asked customers what they wanted ,,,,, and then spend advertising money to sell what they didn,t want .... and not as much add dollars on cars they did ,
I watch this, see all the computers churning away, all the expert designers, all the cool concept car designs....and all I can think about is that lousy Ford Pinto I had to drive in college.
@@Creeperboy099 True. But would you believe it: somebody ran a stoplight at an intersection, and totaled it. No fireball, but I wasn't too sad to see it go.
They're making lots of huge sedans with big V8 engines . But within a year or two the fuel crisis will hit , the Japanese will fill the gap in the market and it'll take companies like Ford a long time to recover .
But it would still take 30-40 years before Asian manufacturers actually became a head to head rival. The gas crisis just opened the door to them and become a viable option to Americans.
